US Intelligence Agencies Spend Millions On Bait Conferences

For the CIA or other US intelligence agencies to try and tempt individuals to defect from their countries, to work along with them, or to provide their opinion on a certain subject of interest, they have allegedly taken some pretty extreme measures in order to do it.

Intelligence agencies like the CIA have allegedly spent tens of millions of dollars on hosting bait conferences in an effort to try and persuade intellectuals to defect from other countries. Or for them to try and gain a connection with someone, or information from someone, who might make for a good source for the agency.

For these staged scientific conferences, they will allegedly fund the event through some cover business, and plant operatives at the scene as guests, kitchen workers, staff etc. That cover business that intelligence agencies frequently use in order to put on these elaborate shows/conferences is alleged to be known as Centra Technology Inc.

Those who have been invited to attend or speak at the conference, of course have had no idea that they might have just been a pawn in some elaborate CIA plot to try and persuade some target of interest to cooperate with their initiatives. Or for them to try and establish some connection with an individual; to begin a long-game of seduction. It's also a chance for agents to try and gain access to sensitive material from a specific individual that they might not otherwise have had access to.

According to a former CIA operative, US intelligence officers allegedly flock to a variety of academic conferences around the world, because these events are likely to have many individuals in attendance who might be a person of interest to the agency.

There are conferences all over that they are allegedly said to monitor, in order to try and identify anyone of interest. And when they attend these conferences, the information that they gather there could go on to play a major role in one day shaping future policy.

And apparently it isn't only US intelligence officials who could possibly be found at these events, but there are allegedly other intelligence officers from foreign agencies frequently attending them as well. The allegations surrounding this spy academia activity are further detailed in the recently released book by award-winning investigative journalist Daniel Golden, known as Spy Schools.

According to Golden, these conferences have been taking place at college campuses all around the United States. These schools have effectively become the front lines of international espionage. Golden says that he believes that the schools are aware that this practice goes on, but the academic institutions might not be willing to do anything to stop it due to their financial interests in the matter, or other reasons.

Pics:
Pixabay

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/oct/10/the-science-of-spying-how-the-cia-secretly-recruits-academics
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/10/book-talk-spy-schools/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/10/03/%E2%80%98spy-schools-how-cia-fbi-and-foreign-intelligence-secretly-exploit-america%E2%80%99s
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spy-schools-author-daniel-golden-intelligence-agencies-exploit-colleges/
https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/09/29/when-spies-target-boston-universities/QLK28vTfwUdlDbPvmiW4hJ/story.html