Espionage Era

National agencies have had a busy week in the shadows.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a secretive trip to Moscow Tuesday. The visit was reportedly to warn Russia against attacking NATO allies, though President Trump said it didn’t have to do with any Kremlin plans to “test NATO resolve,” calling the visit “semi-routine.” It was a CIA leader’s first Moscow mission since 2021’s attempt to dissuade Putin from invading Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, Wednesday, the DOJ and FBI announced they disrupted an eight-year Chinese state-sponsored hacking operation responsible for break-ins (and attempted break-ins) on the DOJ, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Senate, and other government agencies. 

The feds seized the domains behind two “botnet” tools (networks of thousands of hacked routers) used to seek out weak spots in “critical infrastructure and other sensitive networks” for Beijing’s military and spies.

Verse to consider whether you’ve been caught for international espionage, cheating on a test, or sneaking more than your share of french fries… “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.”
Psalm 103:12-13 (CSB) (read full passage)