The appointment of diplomat Maximilian Rasch to the strategic post of BND vice-president signals the German spy service’s rising influence. Rasch, now tasked with overseeing the BND’s foreign affairs, served in Kyiv and is close to the agency’s director.
A note from the Five Eyes earlier this month warned of Chinese intelligence recruiting via LinkedIn. But this very real threat is already outdated, and Intelligence Online can reveal that Beijing is now developing new methods that are much more difficult to uncover.
The French president is due to visit Syria early this week, days after a deadly bombing in Damascus on 2 July. As well as business leaders keen to tap into the local market, the economic delegation should include several top executives from state-owned companies, covering sectors ranging from energy to defence.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s term in office is set to end without a resolution to the matter of how the fight against disinformation should be organised at government level. Should it stay under the remit of the Foreign Office and its intelligence services, or be dealt with in a separate department altogether, as Westminster recommends?
The priorities of the nine Vietnamese military personnel officially invited to Paris for the Eurosatory defence and security trade fair were different to those hoped by their French partners.
A key example of the near-forced privatisation of the country’s public assets, the national airway Pakistan International Airlines has just been transferred to private ownership. But in reality, the local defence sector is still in the driving seat.
Taiwanese defence groups are increasingly looking to French drone manufacturers. One such group, I-SEE, which had kept a low profile, is pushing ahead with its cooperation projects on the island.
A couple employed by European missile manufacturer MBDA were dismissed because of the husband’s past trips abroad. His travels were detailed in an unsigned memo from a French intelligence service, which focused on the man’s work placements in Israel and Armenia when he was studying for his engineering degree.
World View’s stratospheric observation systems were discreetly integrated into Washington’s ISR architecture during operations against Iran. Using Palantir, the balloons also feed GEOINT to US special operations command and support image and signals intelligence collection across the Indo-Pacific.
Li Qian’s appointment to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the latest sign that the Chinese Communist Party apparatus is tightening its grip on diplomatic affairs. A generation of leaders born in the 1960s is gradually taking up diplomatic leadership positions, ahead of the expected reshuffle between the 5th plenum, at the end of 2026, and the 21st Congress, at the end of 2027.
Appointments, financial results, new contracts: every Wednesday, we report on events both big and small that matter in the global corporate intelligence community.
Oman’s communications ministry announced last year its intention to build a semiconductor plant in Dhofar Governorate with financing from outside investors. But the latter are said to be nervous over the tech partner on the project, a Taiwan-born entrepreneur who has close connections to Beijing but little track record in the sector.
Australia’s ASIO domestic security service is under fire from Beijing after a report mentioned Chinese espionage. The diplomatic pressure is weighing heavily on the debate over Canberra’s intelligence priorities in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.
A whistle blower who collaborated with Russian paramilitary group Wagner in Central African Republic and was then exfiltrated to France in 2024 has seen his asylum seekers’ application rejected by the French authorities. His case has been at the heart of a tussle within the French administration ever since.
Family members of the former politician, who was condemned last month to a long prison sentence following a contract for Google computers, have been engaging with public affairs firms on a campaign to build awareness of his plight.
The Ukrainian special forces have officially endorsed five joint operations carried out by the Black Spark movement over the past year. The group itself claims to have carried out more.
A number of high-profile figures, including close associates of Emmanuel Macron, veteran diplomats and academics, are set to take up posts at key French embassies this summer.
BlueBird Tech’s products are much sought after by the intelligence services of Kyiv’s allies, who are using diplomatic pouches to take the gear out of Ukraine.
At the height of an unprecedented cull within the People’s Liberation Army, more is learned from looking at the purge’s survivors than its victims. Although Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli and Zhong Shaojun have avoided prison, they have not been cleared of wrongdoing or reinstated. Rather, they have been demoted, a punishment in its own right.
Russia hosted delegations from 145 countries at its annual meeting of senior security officials. US representatives were among those who took part in the summit.
Across the globe, spies gather in inconspicuous places to meet contacts and hold discreet conversations. This week, your reporter put on his trainers and headed to the Suzanne Lenglen stadium in the French capital, where officers playing a game of football on their lunch break have a feeling they are being watched.
The latest generation of Russia’s Geran drones, now jet-powered, has dramatically narrowed Ukraine’s interception window. Insufficient numbers of Giraffe radars combined with a lack of mass-produced high-speed interceptors means the hole in Kyiv’s air defences is widening.
The sanctioned vessels of the Russian ghost fleet have become bolder in their efforts to evade Western sanctions. They are being monitored ever more closely by the EU, NATO and European armed forces as a result.
The top jobs at the European agencies responsible for police cooperation and border control within the EU are up for grabs in the coming months. A succession race is now underway, with several countries taking up positions.
The EU’s judicial cooperation agency Eurojust has reaffirmed its key role in connecting Iraq and European judiciaries in cases relating to the Islamic State group. European prosecutors had lost direct access to Baghdad’s vast trove of evidence after the UN ended its investigation in September 2024.
A US data centre whose main investor is a Chinese firm is at the centre of a legal dispute filed by allegedly unpaid consultants. They want the US financial regulator to dig out its files on the company in question.
For a few euros a month, a German IPTV company enables its customers to access Russian TV channels that are otherwise banned from broadcast in the European Union.
Israeli private intelligence group Black Cube claims to specialise in business rather than political espionage. But the history of its work in Uruguay suggests the two worlds can easily blur.
Australia’s ASIO domestic intelligence agency sounded the alarm regarding emerging threats targeting AUKUS in its annual assessment. Specifically, it highlighted acts of sabotage and espionage, including those originating from allies.
The war in Ukraine and growing interest in intelligence across the EU is boosting its satellite centre, whose budget continues to rise. The agency is betting on member countries’ increasing appetite for sovereign imagery and analysis to rival its Washington counterpart.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s delegation to Damascus also included representatives from the corporate intelligence sector seeking to establish themselves in the promising Syrian market.
Israeli private intelligence group Black Cube has a history of politically-directed casework in Eastern Europe. But EU authorities’ claims that the firm runs “disinformation” campaigns misses an important point about the nature of its work.
The 73rd Ukrainian Special Operations Centre has recently had access through its US and UK partners to Canadian company Shark Marine Technologies navigation, sonar and underwater mapping systems. This equipment is enhancing the unit’s reconnaissance capabilities along the Crimean coastline.
Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban are struggling to rekindle ties with Western capitals. During a trip to Brussels in June, a delegation made a short stopover in Paris where it was mostly given the cold shoulder.
Philipp Wolff, a lawyer with prior experience at the BND, is spearheading the sweeping reforms currently shaking up the German security apparatus. He has close ties to France and frequently travels across Europe to brief partner agencies on the revolution underway in Berlin.
Long regarded as a “Private Mossad”, Black Cube has said little about its employees other than that they come mostly from Israeli government backgrounds. But Intelligence Online has learned that the group’s politically-inflected work has harnessed people from a variety of professions.
EU funding for monitoring the West African coastal area has sparked a fierce competition in which a French start-up is making its mark.
After a nine year stint in Paris, the current Russian ambassador to France, Alexei Mechkov, should be called back to Moscow by the end of the year. His successor has yet to be announced.
Businessman Chao Yi-Long is said to have invited friends with no background in tech to a key meeting in Oman in 2025, making his start-up look more developed than it was. Documents show Muscat nearly signed away $250m for his semiconductor project.
Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the driving force behind the UAE’s AI projects, has started to introduce his descendants to Emirati tech’s inner circles. His daughter, Sheikha Fatima bint Tahnoon, is about to step into the limelight.
The consulting firm led by Stanley McChrystal recently won a $420,000 contract to help the US Customs and Border Protection crack down on fentanyl trafficking.
The Thai defence ministry was due to announce its choice to build the Royal Thai Navy’s new frigate at the end of June. It did not do so for administrative reasons. However, Intelligence Online can reveal the technical ranking of the bids.
Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community.
The president of the EU Commission is to acquire liaison officers who can work with the member states’ intelligence services. The unprecedented move reflects the Brussels-based executive’s determination to have more and better intelligence, despite reticence from several countries.
With the signing of the Armenian side of the so-called Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, Washington has accelerated its shift to a security-focused approach in the Caucasus.
The Australian Citizens Party, originally the Australian branch of the political movement led by the late far-right political activist Lyndon LaRouche, intensified its campaigns against the Australian intelligence agency and the AUKUS agreement in 2026. It appears to receive support from the CCP via its United Front influence apparatus.
With fighting against the Houthi rebels resuming, the supply of electricity remains a key issue in the conflict. The rivalry between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi is undermining the power supply to the key ancient port city of Aden.
The ex-prime minister is increasingly playing the role of a trailblazer for Emirati defence companies, seeking to forge partnerships with French firms.
World View’s stratospheric observation systems were discreetly integrated into Washington’s ISR architecture during operations against Iran. Using Palantir, the balloons also feed GEOINT to US special operations command and support image and signals intelligence collection across the Indo-Pacific.
Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the driving force behind the UAE’s AI projects, has started to introduce his descendants to Emirati tech’s inner circles. His daughter, Sheikha Fatima bint Tahnoon, is about to step into the limelight.
The top jobs at the European agencies responsible for police cooperation and border control within the EU are up for grabs in the coming months. A succession race is now underway, with several countries taking up positions.
Australia’s ASIO domestic security service is under fire from Beijing after a report mentioned Chinese espionage. The diplomatic pressure is weighing heavily on the debate over Canberra’s intelligence priorities in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.
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