Selectric bug
cryptomuseum.com
cryptomuseum.com
Now it becomes clear where all that weaponry and defense systems used in Syria comes from. And they keep hinting that they are only using a fraction of their capability, mostly old stuff.
If you think the USA defence establishment is equal or better, then I have to point out that they have nothing like SpaceX, Tesla or Google's self drive cars. The secret sauce is that the private sector knows how to innovate and iterate and deliver working products.
Is it possible that the Russians have their own secret private sector building stuff? If so, they would need an entire secret economy that is impervious to sanctions, etc.
The USA's extreme anticommunism led people to believe in its own supremacy and manifest destiny. Now, it is true that communism is a terrible system of economic organisation and capable of the casual deaths of millions, but that does not reflect on the intellectual capabilities of individual Russians. Or small teams that managed to achieve enough political protection to deliver great work.
It's something of an accident of history that HN celebrates Musk rather than Korolev, Tesla rather than Theremin.
Now it becomes clear where all that weaponry and defense systems used in Syria comes from
This isn't really a surprise; Russia has been arming Syria since its independence just after WW2. Much of the weaponry is the ubiquitous AK-47 / RPG-7 and clones; their air force uses MiG and Sukhoi aircraft.
Is it possible that the Russians have their own secret private sector building stuff?
No. They do have rather a lot of freebooter ""cyberwarfare"" people, though, usually engaged in credit card fraud and the like.
And surprised that the NSA could not get IBM to provide 220v selectrics.
Or just use a step down transformer to convert 220v to 110v
It's explained in the article:
<quote>
Planting the bug
The bugs were probably planted inside the IBM Selectric typewriters when the machines were in transit (perhaps in Poland or Moscow itself) awaiting customs inspection prior to their delivery to the US embassy in Moscow.
</quote>
The article lists about 11 tons of equipment, that would be one hell of a bag.
"Bag" (also called "pouch") is a bit of a misnomer. It's not limited in shape, size or weight by the Vienna Convention so it can really be anything that can be transported, including ISO containers.
For example, one of the toilet pumps of the ISS was sent in a diplomatic bag to the US, which is around the same weight as one Selectric https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14017
I remember reading about one incident in the 1980s were a Russian truck of 9 tons was turned down at first at the Swiss border but could pass through later.
I'd guess the typewriters weren't shipped in tamper-proof containers and were simply altered en route. I once read a story that I can't find again about the CIA intercepting a shipment of (what I think were fighter planes?) and disassembling them overnight, then putting them back together to be on the train again the next morning. It was a great story, I wish I could find it again.
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intellig...
I think you've just figured out how to get Julian Assange out of the embassy. Place him in the diplomatic bag. Now we have to find a way to classify him as an 'article for official use'.