How American spies hacked Russian communications lines | Real Time Headlines

In the late 1970s, American spy Jim Olson was stationed in Moscow. At the time, it was one of the highest-risk, high-stakes CIA stations in the world.

Olson served overseas for more than 30 years, intercepting sensitive Russian messages sent via microwave transmissions. He knew that if they were caught, it could mean spending the rest of their lives in Soviet prisons.

Many of the transmissions involved military and defense messages, and they eventually discovered that their strategy to intercept these messages was compromised. For the Russians, something safer is brewing: Their communications are going underground.

“We know exactly what they’re doing,” Olson told CNBC senior Washington correspondent Eamonn Javers on CNBC’s latest original podcast series.The Crimes of the Putin Merchant“.

Eamonn Javers spent nearly a year working on this series Investigate criminal networks And discover how Russian hackers became rich Millions of dollars stolen from U.S. investors. Javers interviewed FBI agents, prosecutors – Even a spy like Orson – Revealing shocking details large scale criminal enterprise.

In episode six, Javers talks to Olson, who details his dangerous mission to preserve vital information. After satellite images confirmed that the Russians had begun digging a cable tunnel, CIA agents knew they had to act quickly—before the well dried.

“We decided to pursue it,” he said.

Olson and two other agents were assigned to the mission in Moscow and were trained on how to hack into those cables (and how to do it covertly).

But the task won’t be easy: Olson must disguise himself as a Russian peasant and travel to the countryside on a public bus, a route frequently patrolled by militiamen. He breaks into a manhole on the side of the highway, monitors the tunnel for potentially toxic gases (or Russian police), and then buries himself in the shadows.

Javers asked Olson how it felt to carry out such a mission, which he called “mission impossible.” He asked if fear ever entered his mind.

“Fear doesn’t play into it because you’re so focused on the mission,” Olson said. “We just do what we’re trained to do, and when you execute something like this, it’s a huge sense of accomplishment.”

For spies like Olsen who put their lives on the line, motivation is everything.

“It’s humbling because you feel like your country has a lot of trust in you to carry out this mission,” Olson said. “And you can make a significant contribution to the security of our country — that’s pretty heavy stuff. ”