INVESTIGATINGIntelligenceRussia's covert assassination unit Center 795 ran hits globally for years until one operative routed communications through Google Translate — giving the FBI real-time access to their messages.
“Russia's covert assassination unit Center 795 ran hits globally for years until one operative routed communications through Google Translate — giving the FBI real-time access to their messages.”
For years, Russian intelligence operated a covert assassination unit known as Center 795. The unit ran targeted killings across the globe with operational security that kept them hidden from Western intelligence. Then one agent made a mistake: he used Google Translate to communicate with handlers.
Center 795's operational security was sophisticated — encrypted communications, dead drops, compartmentalized cells. Then one agent routed his messages through Google Translate. Google's servers. In the United States. Where the FBI has legal authority to monitor communications.
Once the FBI identified the Google Translate traffic, they had real-time access to the unit's communications. Messages intended for Russian intelligence handlers were simultaneously readable by American law enforcement. The most sensitive communications of a covert assassination program, delivered directly to the FBI.
The unit's operations spanned multiple countries. The hits were professional — the kind of targeted operations that require state-level resources, intelligence, and planning. Center 795 operated in the shadows until one person's laziness — choosing Google Translate over secure translation methods — brought the entire operation into the light.
Billion-dollar intelligence operations can be undone by one person's operational laziness. The most sophisticated assassination program in the world was compromised because an agent couldn't be bothered to translate a message without Google's help.
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