MI6 on the darknet: British intelligence will recruit Russian agents

The British foreign intelligence agency MI6 has created its own darknet portal called Silent Courier, a digital platform for confidential recruitment of agents around the world. Particular attention will be paid to finding informants in Russia.

This is reported by the BBC.

The British Foreign Office stated that the main goal of the project is to simplify communication with potential informants and increase the effectiveness of intelligence operations in response to growing global threats.

The official announcement of the launch of the resource is expected to come from the current head of MI6, Richard Moore, who will give a speech on Friday in Istanbul.

Technologies vs. regimes

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stressed that national security is a key priority for the government:

“The world is changing rapidly and the threats are only increasing. Britain must stay ahead of its adversaries – and that is what our services, working in the shadows, help us with.”

Cooper added that MI6 will receive new technological tools that will allow it to recruit agents even in the most closed and controlled countries, such as Russia.

According to the publication, the portal will be available on the darknet starting Friday. Anyone can anonymously send information to British intelligence regarding terrorism, state threats, or the activities of foreign intelligence services.

The platform will operate on the principle of maximum confidentiality — users are recommended to:

use a VPN,

access from devices not associated with personal data,

Follow the instructions that will be published on the official MI6 YouTube channel.

Analysts compare the launch of Silent Courier to the digital initiatives of the CIA, which in 2023 ran social media campaigns urging Russians to cooperate with American intelligence. However, it is worth noting that previous US experience in China ended in failure: Chinese counterintelligence hacked the CIA’s darknet channels, resulting in the loss of many agents.

The British MI6 seems to be drawing conclusions from other people’s mistakes – and trying to adapt digital technologies to the new conditions of geopolitical confrontation.

Recall that the idea of creating supposedly special “gamer troops” in Russia is actively being spread in pro-Kremlin media – that is, mobilized shooter fans who should learn how to control drones more quickly . In fact, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation (CDC), this is an element of covert mobilization.

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