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Next issue: 17 August 2026
New intelligence specialists, a strengthened Latin America team and military cooperation: regardless of the difficulties in relations between the two countries, Washington is quietly bolstering its security presence in the British capital.
Moldova-born businessman Alex Sekler claims to have collected dozens of complaints against CGI Group, following a publicity drive against the firm, its founder Zvika Nave, and its listed president, former Shin Bet head Yaakov Peri.
The Politburo convened a meeting in May with representatives from China’s foreign affairs and business communities to rally diplomats and the diaspora against extraterritorial legislation, primarily from the US and Europe, which threatens the interests of Chinese firms and the Party.
Rivalries between Russian intelligence agencies are intensifying against a backdrop of slow progress on the front lines in Ukraine, economic tensions, and heightened security risks.
The Chinese Communist Party is preparing to deploy elite police units in Central Europe to protect Chinese interests. This move, which comes as tensions between China and the European Union are running high, will also serve to establish contingents to monitor and influence the region.
For the first time ever, the UAE carried out direct strikes against Iran at the height of the conflict. But faced with urgent operational needs, Abu Dhabi turned to foreign platforms, whilst those developed by its own EDGE Group remained on the sidelines.
John Kiriakou has become prominent in the social media sphere, even as he continues intelligence-related work in the private sector.
The French foreign intelligence agency had this month to call back three of its officiers based in Tblisi after Georgia's State Security Service exposed the DGSE's recruitment of a key figure close to former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, sparking a rift between the countries.
The United Arab Emirates has secured exclusive access to the Shahed drone interceptors made by Ukraine's Skyfall, beating out Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The first deliveries arrived last week, but their deployment is hampered by a lack of operators and incomplete integration into local command systems.
A key ally of US President Donald Trump, Sergio Gor is now a vital liaison for Central Asian governments seeking to curry favour with Washington. Currently US ambassador to India and Special Envoy for South and Central Asia born, the diplomat born in Tashkent has become a key liaison between the region and US business interests.
Based in the United Arab Emirates and presented as a multilateral advisory centre for countering extremism, Hedayah is consolidating its position as a key player in the country’s major diplomatic strategies.
A comparative study on China's informational campaigns led in all G7 countries and published in late May, recommends the setting up of a task force to fight common weaknesses, and particularly at local level.
Sources on Japan’s Okinawa island, which hosts numerous US military bases, reported to the Japanese agency responsible for countering foreign interference that in late 2025, pseudo-academic activity in China related to “Ryukyu studies” increased, with the aim of promoting a pro-independence narrative.
GAMI and SAMI, the bodies set up by Mohammed bin Salman to equip Saudi Arabia’s defence forces, are under increasing internal pressure. Weakened by Iranian attacks, the Saudi national oil company Aramco is looking to set up its own anti-drone unit, having already developed in-house programmes in the naval and secure telecoms sectors.
The UK's anti-corruption agency's investigation into the strategic British signals intelligence firm Ultra Electronics has indirectly revealed highly influential business networks in Oman.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has capitalised on Washington’s ambiguous stance on Taiwan to implement a discreet strategic overhaul. Lawmakers, journalists, and media outlets from Japan and other non-US Western democracies that express solidarity with either Taiwan or the Lai Ching-te administration are being monitored and may be barred from entering China.
De-anonymising Starlink users, who are on the rise in most conflict zones, is fast becoming a lucrative business in the field of global cyber. A Cypriot-Israeli company, backed by a successful supplier of Israeli cyber tools to Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, has seized this new opportunity.
Through a little-known foundation, the Ukrainian State Special Transport Service has enlisted the services of a longtime US energy executive with business experience in Ukraine.
During his nomination hearing to head the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Michael Vance told the Senate Intelligence Committee that his unusually political essay criticising several European countries, was consistent with current US foreign policy.
From new appointments to job extensions, France's foreign intelligence service is making its final staff adjustments ahead of next year's presidential election.
In their reports submitted on the eve of Japan's intelligence reform, the country's ruling party and the House of Councillors' Research Office strongly emphasised the need to draw on foreign expertise given Japanese intelligence agencies' serious shortcomings. Alongside Five Eyes, France is regularly cited as a model.
Made up of the intelligence community's top analysts, the National Intelligence Council has recently added a new unit to reflect White House priorities.
In response to transnational repression campaigns by Chinese authorities in Europe, security services across the continent are increasingly coordinating their efforts and stepping up exchanges.
Soldiers from France's cyber defence regiment are carrying out rotations in Ukraine to study Russian services' methods. Working alongside CERT-UA and the SBU’s Cyber Security Situation Centre, they help France learn how to protect the army’s future tactical networks.
People linked to Global Security Services Group are recruiting Latin American First-Person View drone operators in Ukraine who have served on the front against Russia. An initial contingent of these pilots was recently flown to the Kivu region, in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Operating outside any legal framework, the 'Only' draws SBU agents, criminals and Western contractors wanting to mingle with locals in a cosy venue that happily ignores the curfew.
UAE diplomats and investment officials are making fewer visits to the UK, advisory sector sources say, after deciding the country is unfriendly to its sovereign wealth money and with a problematic stance on tackling political Islam.
Beijing's spies have shifted from recruiting agents among Taiwan's elite to targeting soldiers, police, and local officials in the self-ruled island through criminal gangs, underground banks and money lenders.
The British consultancy Connect Advisory, headed by former FBI and British Army officers, is set to secure a number of contracts with the Saudi defence ministry, posing a serious challenge to established players in the field.
The current US ambassador to Greece is working to secure a deal which would involve American, Greek and Bulgarian energy companies.
Thanks to unprecedented cooperation, EU member states' and Kyiv intelligence services have found that Turkey has become a hub for Russia's shadow fleet. A network of companies in Istanbul now provides Moscow’s preferred way to smuggle oil, an activity that remains legal under Turkish law.
Pro-Iranian groups on the social media platform are sharing satellite images of sensitive sites in the Middle East, curtailing Washington's attempts to limit exposure of its facilities. The images are thought to be coming from Chinese companies.
Nearly two years after the Burmese fiasco, French intelligence officers are still monitoring networks of former Foreign Legion soldiers working as private security contractors. Investigators recently travelled to Estonia.
The Chinese leader is preparing to welcome Donald Trump to Beijing. That visit goes beyond mere diplomatic concessions and is part of a delicate internal dynamic: the run-up to the 2027 Party congress, where Xi Jinping is focusing his efforts to consolidate his position.
As the National Intelligence Directorate changes hands, tensions are running high, with reprisals against Tulsi Gabbard’s allies and fears of massive purges.
The official scrapping of the landmark Franco-German fighter jet project has prompted Paris to speed up its search for new funding. Dassault has turned its focus towards the UAE, which is proving very receptive to these new developments.
A UK police investigation of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's conduct while in public office is looking at the former prince's contacts during foreign trips. Former officials say some meetings were part of a damage limitation strategy by the foreign office simply to keep the prince busy.
Across the globe, spies gather in inconspicuous places to meet contacts and hold discreet conversations. This week, Intelligence Online visits the Funky Monkey in Brussels, nestled between the offices of the EU’s diplomatic service and those of China's state news agency.
The Technology Innovation Institute, an institution focused on creating a sovereign R&D ecosystem to support the UAE’s defence sector, is undergoing serious upheaval. A power struggle within the institute’s senior leadership lies at the root of this turmoil.
The German domestic intelligence service has signed a contract with French firm Chapsvision to use their intelligence data fusion software. The deal marks the first step towards a potential consolidated European pushback against the dominance of the current market leader, US group Palantir.
Dual-use scientific missions are under scrutiny by Congress which - in a bid to counter espionage efforts by Beijing and Moscow - hopes to curb research vessels' access to US territorial waters.
While the Chinese president's visit to Pyongyang aims to cement his role as front-line mediator, Seoul has taken a risky gamble to avoid being sidelined from negotiations by abandoning its demands for North Korea's denuclearisation.
A newly created position of communications director in Germany's foreign intelligence service has riled personnel, who remain without pay raises amid wide-reaching reforms of the agency's administrative structure.
Having long kept its own counsel regarding events in Khartoum, the UAE has decided to take a more front-footed approach to explaining its geo-strategic positioning, and its fight against political Islam, sources told Intelligence Online.
To general surprise, Myanmar strongman Min Aung Hlaing - now “president” - has named his head of military intelligence, Ye Win Oo, commander-in-chief of the junta's armed forces. A steadfast aide, he has been rewarded for unwavering loyalty and his successes in the counter-revolutionary shadow war.
As the country stiffens penalties for espionage and foreign interference, its civilian and military intelligence services are also expanding their capabilities.
Qatar's decision to suspend its participation in a mega-contract to sell Typhoon jets to Turkey due to the Iran conflict has fuelled concerns at British defence giant BAE Systems. The move could have an impact on some of the multi-party agreement's provisions.
Iranian Shahed drones can be hard to spot in airspace crowded with civil, commercial and military traffic. Without the right tools for detection and coordination, operators sometimes have to launch “on sight” and end up overusing their interceptor drones.
The French AI startup is set to deploy a team in Kyiv, with the backing of the French Defence mission there, to work with the Ukrainian Centre for Innovation and Development of Defence Technologies. Mistral AI is seeking to gain access to the DELTA ecosystem and its combat data, a move which Palantir is watching closely.
A businessman who specialises in facilitating contacts between the Israeli defence ministry and US intelligence technology firms is suing sector leader Spire Global for allegedly unpaid commissions.
Xi Jinping wants to soften Europe’s critical stance and re-establish channels of influence as well as economic and political exchange. A new research-based initiative seeks to promote a narrative favouring Europe's independence from the US, whilst maintaining China's market access and reducing strategic tensions.
A unique higher education institution, the NIU is soon to be absorbed by the US Department of Defense. The move, which comes amid sweeping cuts in the intelligence community, will result in a fall in the number of courses on offer.
Cooperation and modernisation: this is the mission of the sultanate of Brunei's head of military intelligence. Faced with hybrid threats and high-stakes at sea, Colonel Haji Mohd Hasreen needs high-tech systems and strong regional partnerships.
While all eyes are on Iran and the strait of Hormuz, Washington is quietly reorienting its energy policy to Iraq's Kurdistan region. Playing a strategic role in this shift is Texas-based firm HKN Energy, which operates several oil fields in the region and is close to the Trump administration.
The Emirati armed forces left a large quantity of weapons behind after their hasty retreat from the country. Intelligence services have attempted to track them down, only to find that some of these arms have fallen in the hands of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
An island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has become the focus of intense competition between rival powers. Intelligence Online tracks the shifting balance of power between the actors vying for control of the rocky outcrop, whose strategic location could make it a chokepoint for sea traffic.
The US giant claims that its agreement with the DGSI is set to continue, even after French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s 16 June announcement that the contract in question has been awarded to Chapsvision. This PR war pitting Palantir against Paris ignores the complex practical realities. The PM and Palantir have since refined their statements.
The UAE is deepening its relations with many Turkish companies as it tries to build up its own defence industry. A low-profile player linked to Calidus is now coming to the fore.
While the next head of Israeli foreign intelligence is facing criticism from long-serving figures within the agency due to his close ties with Benjamin Netanyahu, the man tipped to serve as his deputy is also facing opposition.
The CIA director’s close relationship with the US president has helped the former Texas lawmaker become a key figure in the White House’s national security team. This has benefited his agency and issues close to his heart, like Ukraine.
Criticised on both sides of the aisle for her lack of cooperation with Congress, Tulsi Gabbard has been urged to share more information on terror threats and sensitive technologies with lawmakers.
Faced with a fuel shortage caused by the war in Iran, how long would Europe have held out before resuming talks with Moscow if a Washington-Tehran ceasefire had failed to materialise ? Intelligence Online can reveal that several European countries started planning a secret meeting with the Kremlin some days before the ceasefire was agreed.
Across the globe, spies gather in inconspicuous places to meet contacts and hold discreet conversations. This week, Intelligence Online looks at the Chinese Communist Party archives, document repositories where preservation, political control and the production of official narratives intertwine.
Xi Jinping is readying a slew of economic and diplomatic concessions for the US president’s visit: big gas and soya purchases, easing of travel restrictions and even a potential Boeing order. At the same time, the Chinese leader wants to keep strategic control of the North Korea and Taiwan issues.
An experienced Middle East hand, Metreweli has the right CV to deal with hybrid warfare attacks emerging from Iran. But historical flaws in the UK's strategy towards the country, highlighted in a recent parliamentary committee report, may be making her job harder.
The technologies deployed for the safe and secure industrial use of biological materials are emerging as a priority area for the US intelligence community, which is having to adapt to keep pace with Beijing’s rapid progress.
Ukraine's foreign intelligence station in the UAE is monitoring the relocation of networks supplying Russia's defence industry to Malaysia and Thailand. Sensitive stockpiles are meanwhile being held up in Sharjah’s free zones.
Saudi Arabia is tightening its grip on the country’s military and security apparatus. A discreet military adviser is pulling the strings to consolidate Riyadh's control over the region in the face of the UAE’s waning influence and the Houthi rebels.
German security chiefs are consulting widely across Europe on a number of intelligence-related initiatives, including restructuring the BND, creating a National Security Council, and changing intelligence coordination.
The Military Intelligence Directorate is merging its units responsible for electromagnetic emissions and cyberspace analysis, as it seeks to step up its electronic warfare capabilities.
China is expanding its coastal monitoring and scientific research centres. In addition to these programmes' stated environmental goals, they incorporate dual-use technologies and practices.
After its ownership of semi-conductor firm Nexperia was suspended by the Hague in September, Jiaxing-headquartered Wingtech Technology has retained Hong Kong legal counsel and sought asset tracers to identify the country's most exposed overseas holdings.
The recently announced sale of the Uzbek state-owned firm MobiUZ has gone to an American consortium that has little public profile and appears to have no experience in that particular industry. The group does however, have links with Bahrain and the Trump administration.
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