{"id":2805,"date":"2026-09-04T14:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T14:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spyscribe.com\/isdb\/?page_id=2805"},"modified":"2026-10-31T13:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T13:57:12","slug":"articles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/spyscribe.com\/isdb\/articles\/","title":{"rendered":"Articles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Intelligence<\/span><\/div>\n\n

Intelligence Desk<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Reporting, analysis, history, and fiction<\/h6>\n
from the world of espionage.<\/h6>\n

From the breaking developments to enduring Cold War<\/p>\n

stoies, from tradecraft to technology-insighe and<\/p>\n

contect that deepen your understanding of the<\/p>\n

world behind the fiction.<\/p>\n

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Dead Drops<\/h3>\n

Current intelligence, espionage news, and trends.<\/p>\n

View Desk<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"03_agency_files\"<\/span><\/div>\n\n

Agency Files<\/h3>\n

Profiles and histories of the world's intelligence agencies and units.<\/p>\n

View Desk<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"04_case_files\"<\/span><\/div>\n\n

Case Files<\/h3>\n

Spies, operatives, penetrations and betrayals that shaped hisory.<\/p>\n

View Desk<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"05_black_projects\"<\/span><\/div>\n\n

Black Projects<\/h3>\n

DARPA, IARPA, NSA and emerging technologies shaping the future.<\/p>\n

View Desk<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"06_tradecraft\"<\/span><\/div>\n\n

Tradecraft<\/h3>\n

Methods, techniques and terminology of intelligence.<\/p>\n

View Desk<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"07_signals_and_shadow\"<\/span><\/div>\n\n

Signals & Shadows<\/h3>\n

Crytography, SIGNET and the history of codebreaking.<\/p>\n

View Desk<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"08_fiction_desk\"<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n

The Fiction Desk<\/h3>\n

Authors, books, characters and spy fiction culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

View Desk<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"09_hales_desk\"<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n

Hale's Desk<\/h3>\n

Commentary and original features from Alexander Hale..<\/p>\n

View Desk<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"Quantum<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Quantum Computing and the Future of Espionage<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Somewhere right now, intelligence agencies are almost certainly recording encrypted traffic they cannot read, and storing it. Not because they expect to crack it tomorrow, but because they're betting on being able to crack it eventually. The strategy has a\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

October 23, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

READ ARTICLE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\"USS<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Ship That Knew Too Much<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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October 22, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

READ ARTICLE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\"Cold<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Numbers Stations<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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October 22, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

READ ARTICLE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\"Biometric<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Death of the Fake Passport? Biometrics and Modern Espionage<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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October 22, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

READ ARTICLE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\"Noir<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Brush Pass: Simple, Fast and Surprisingly Difficult<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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October 22, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

READ ARTICLE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\"Writing<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Writing a Convincing Mole<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Few characters are more at home in espionage fiction than the mole.
\nA mole sits inside an intelligence service, government agency, military organization, corporation, or other institution while secretly serving an adversary. Unlike the outside spy trying to penetrate a secure organization, the mole already possesses what the adversary wants most: access.
\nThat makes the mole extraordinarily useful to an intelligence service.
\nIt also makes the mole extraordinarily useful to a novelist.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

September 22, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

READ ARTICLE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\"What<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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What Makes a Spy Novel a Spy Novel?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Alexander Hale | Intelligence Editor, ISDb<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Few characters are more at home in espionage fiction than the mole.
\nA mole sits inside an intelligence service, government agency, military organization, corporation, or other institution while secretly serving an adversary. Unlike the outside spy trying to penetrate a secure organization, the mole already possesses what the adversary wants most: access.
\nThat makes the mole extraordinarily useful to an intelligence service.
\nIt also makes the mole extraordinarily useful to a novelist.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

September 21, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

READ ARTICLE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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\"The<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The 25 Spy Novels Every Espionage Reader Should Know<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Alexander Hale | Intelligence Editor, ISDb<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

There is no definitive list of the 25 greatest spy novels.
\nThat is worth admitting at the outset.
\nEspionage fiction has been evolving for more than a century, and its best books are remarkably different from one another. Some celebrate adventure. Others dismantle it. Some follow professional intelligence officers; others place ordinary people in situations they barely understand. The spy may be the hero, the villain, the traitor, the bureaucrat, or the unfortunate person standing between two gov<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

September 14, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

READ ARTICLE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Search Intelligence Desk<\/h3>\n<\/div>