ESTONIA: Spy Caught [6 March 2009]
21 Feb 2010 2313MST Summary: The confession of a member of multination spy ring shows Moscow continues to penetrate NATO security with relative ease.
Development: On 25 February, Hermann Simm, the official in charge of Estonia’s National Security System, pleaded guilty to treason and was sentenced to over twelve years in prison. Simm supervised the flow of classified documents in Estonia, including sensitive NATO information. Estonian counterintelligence discovered Simm’s meetings with his handler, and began an investigation into his travels. This led to Simm’s subsequent and trial, during which he admitted that his network included at least five spies operating in the intelligence divisions of other NATO countries. To allow this admission in open court is unusual for western intelligence agencies, as they often quietly retire their intelligence officials to avoid embarrassment.
Analysis: The revelation of Simm’s espionage and at least five others in the organization is the most significant spy scandal in NATO’s post-Soviet history. Furthermore, because we do not know the identity of the other spies in the ring, the full scope of Russian penetration of NATO is unknown. The alliance will now have to redouble its efforts to identify moles and stay-behind agents left in place after the collapse of the ‘Iron Curtain”. This is problematic, especially given the scope of the Russian penetration of NATO, for if NATO countries lose confidence in their ability to share intelligence with each other, it hinders their ability to react to challenges, particularly challenges from Russia. Russia has effectively scored two blows against NATO: they have acquired much of their most sensitive information, and they have increased division and untrustworthiness in an already weakened alliance.
[Matthew Perry]