August 4, 1945, a delegation from the Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union presents a wood carving of the Great Seal to US Ambassador W. Averell Harriman, as a “gesture of friendship” to the USSR’s World War II ally. It isn’t until 1952 during George F. Kennan's term as ambassador that the bug contained inside is discovered. The bug contained no power supply, or active electronic component of any sort. The specifics of the device were unknown for so long that the device became known as “The Thing”.
The Thing had a tiny capacitive membrane, which was then connected to a quarter-wavelength antenna. The device utilised a passive resonant cavity, which meant that it sat dormant and undetectable until it was activated by a remote Soviet transmitter. Activating the receiver meant that the Soviets would aim a radio transmitter at the great seal. When the bug recieved the signal at the specified frequency it would then begin to transmit the sounds it heard in the room at a second higher frequency.
The device was so good that it remained unknown for 7 years until British broadcasters reported hearing American voices while on their radio near the American embassy. And since there were no Americans broadcasting there had to have been a bug. Even with this information and after numerous sweeps of the building the bug remained hidden. It was only during a later secret sweep that the device was discovered. Utilising a signal generator and a receiver which would generate audio feedback when a signal at a specific frequency was picked up was the device discovered. After the device was discovered, and a relatively lengthy investigation the true nature of the device was known.
After its discovery in 1952 it all but disappeared. And while the Russians knew that their device had been discovered they moved on to other espionage devices. However in 1960 the device reappeared at the United Nations as a part of the Gary Powers U2 incident. At this point Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. utilised the device and the seal it was contained in a proof that Russia was spying on the US, therefore justifying the US spying on Russia.
Resources:
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/08/theremins-bug/
http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/thing/index.htm
http://www.counterespionage.com/the-great-seal-bug-part-1.html
In your last sentence, you state that this incident justified the U.S. spying on Russia. Could you expand on that? I know that the times often called for certain measures to be put in place, but it doesn't seem to be right to do something illegal just because another country did it. All in all, I think this demonstrates the amount of tension between the Soviets and the West and to what extent both side were willing to go to.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, in times of war, there really are no "rules." After all, the one rule within society that is perhaps the utmost sin would be murder. However, in war, murder is justified because the opposing country is doing the same. Espionage, although it is corrupt, in my opinion, is not as much of a sin as war itself. After all, all the government seeks is protection for their own people. However, it is interesting that sometimes the government is unable to even do that. How effective was The Thing? While it may have been good at remaining unnoticed, did it actually give anything valuable to the Soviets?
ReplyDelete