Espionage through the ages presented

Despite the bitter cold temperatures and biting wind, nearly a dozen people bundled up to attend the “History of Espionage” presentation given by Weston County Museum board member Linda Nessul at the Weston County Event Center on Thursday morning, Nov. 17. 
From spies invading Jericho in biblical times to encrypted codes and hidden transmitters, Nessul cruised through 3,000 years of espionage history. 
She began with accounts of Moses sending 12 spies into the Promised Land, and the two spies protected by a harlot in Jericho named Rahab, who hid them in her house in exchange for her family’s protection. 
“Spies usually work for something,” Nessul explained, adding that other examples of biblical espionage include the accounts of Gideon and Judas. 
Even the mottos of Israel’s modern day Shin Bet, which is comparable to the Central Intelligence Agency, can be traced back to their scriptural roots, Nessul said, in Psalm 121 and Proverbs 11:14, 24:6.
The birth of modern espionage was founded by Sun Tzu, author of “The Art of War,” and he is credited with establishing the importance of knowing one’s enemy well, developing the earliest form of secret agents, according to Nessul.
“Sun Tzu set the foundation for modern espionage,” she said. 
The next nation that comes into play is the Egyptian kingdom. As a rich and powerful nation, Egypt acquired enemies and that necessitated a need to inquire information. 
“All of the resources in Egypt initially went into protecting Pharaoh,” Nessul began. 
However, as Greece and Rome became threats, the Egyptians sent spies beyond the palace walls and developed the first stages of encrypted writings, invisible inks and toxins. 
Despite the leaps and bounds made in espionage, Egypt still did not have a centralized system of spies, so Nessul said that without coordination, it remained “messy.” 
The Greeks took the stage next as the masters of disguise and deception, which was demonstrated during the Trojan War. An uncommonly known character in the famed story was the Grecian double agent named Sinon, Nessul said. Sinon claimed he was left behind by Odysseus and wanted to align with Troy. He deceptively said the Trojan horse was a gift from the gods the Greeks used as protection. Eager to have this supernatural protection, the Trojans gladly took the horse, and before long, the Greek warriors came out of hiding and conquered the city of Troy. 
The Roman empire later developed the use of internal spies, which included food scouts, tax collectors and information seekers.
“They (Rome) also saw the needs of spies to protect them, but much of their spying was internal,” Nessul said. “The Romans had as many internal spies as external.” 
However, this was met with the disapproval of many citizens, so the group was banned and later recreated to be less offensive and more professional, she added. Rome also made advances in technical collection by hiding people behind curtains to eavesdrop unsuspectingly, similar to a modern use of hidden microphones.
Although Rome performed significant espionage, Hannibal was more impressive. A key player in the development of espionage, he surveyed not only his enemies but also the topography of the land, and used that information to decimate the Roman army. 
“Hannibal had a very, very good intelligence system,” Nessul said. 
Entering into the Dark and Middle Ages, the Catholic Church became the “biggest power at hand” through the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition, which had “huge networks of informants” that bribed and killed people during this religious and political war.
Sir Francis Walsingham, principal secretary under Queen Elizabeth I, set up an extensive espionage network to intercept the mail of Mary Queen of Scots and expose her plot to overthrow Elizabeth. His spy work allowed Queen Elizabeth to have one of the most successful reigns in history, Nessul said, and this led to the age of the industrial espionage of the Modern Era. 
The use of technology made its way into espionage during the Revolutionary War, and George Washington was a brilliant spy master, according to Nessul. Popular espionage methods included hiding messages in various objects, encrypting codes and using common workers as undercover agents — which sometimes involved a woman hanging laundry in a certain coded pattern. 
“He also was really big on gadgets,” Nessul said. “Some of the first encrypted writing on
a large scale was done during the Revolu-tionary War.” 
Additionally, Nathan Hale was a famous American spy executed by the British Army during the war after he was caught. His bravery and willingness to defend his country earned him a “proud place” in modern-day CIA headquarters, she said. 

As technology continued developing, the need to encrypt messages became more prevalent, according to Nessul. This was especially true during the Civil War, so more methods were introduced. 
Aerial imagery was first used in this time with an artist sketching the battle scene from a hot air balloon to report it back to headquarters. In World War I, aerial imagery was further developed, including arming pigeons with cameras. 
Additionally, windmills were used to send out Morse code signals and other similar methods were involved. 
During World War II, the German Enigma, the first automated coding machine, was invented. Franklin D. Roosevelt developed the first civilian centralized intelligence services in the United States called the Office of Strategic Services, later rebuilt as the CIA in 1946, Nessul said. 
Modern gadgets such as miniaturized cameras, weapons disguised as everyday accessories, and bugging devices made an appearance during the Cold War. A youth group from the Soviet Union gifted the U.S. government with a plaque of the great U.S. seal. Unbeknownst to the leaders at the time, the seal contained a hidden transmitter and was used to spy on government meetings months before it was discovered.
The next major event in the history of espionage was the emergence of China, Nessul explained. 
“China’s goal is to lead the world in everything, and they don’t care how they get there,” she said, adding that popular companies like GE Appliances, Motorola (Lenovo), Dirt Devil and more are owned by China. 
The rise of technology, specifically smart technology, has created more convenience, but it also opens people up to a greater risk of vulnerability, Nessul said.
“Technology has created all sorts of problems for intelligence,” she said. “If China decides they want to shut down the U.S., they could do that.” 
“(James) Woolsey, who was the director of CIA, said, ‘Yes we have slain a large dragon (Soviet Union), but we now live in a jungle filled with a bewildering variety of poisonous snakes. And in many ways, the dragon was easier to keep track of.’” Nessul said. “So, when you think about the problems that we face today in terms of China, Vladimir Putin
in Russia, Afghanistan, ISIS … all of the issues that we face today — that’s those poisonous snakes.” 
However, Nessul said, the authorities in Washington, D.C. are “starting to wake up” and take proactive measures against the rising threat of China.