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DISINFORMATION – Дезинформация (DEZINFORMATSIYA)

staged discovery of four chests of Nazi intelligence documents which had been forged and made to appear as if they had been under water since World War II. These documents were designed to discredit Western politicians by revealing names of former Nazi informants who were still being used as spies in Eastern Europe. Ladislav Bittman, the Czechoslovak agent who defected to the West in 1968, originally placed the documents in Cerne Jezero, the Black Lake, and later led the divers, who were part of a documentary team, to make the discovery. Bittman, who ran the operation stated, “It was the Cold War and the goal was to re-awaken interest and discredit West German politicians. Another goal was to have the statute of limitations for war criminals, which would have expired in 1965, extended. Following the extensive media coverage, the countries that suffered during WWII demanded that the statute be prolonged. Germany eventually extended it and then agreed that there be no limited time in which their war criminals could be tried.”[5]

1970s: U.S.-EGYPTIAN RELATIONS

Another example of KGB active measures is the robust Soviet disinformation campaign against the U.S.—Egyptian relationship and the Camp David peace process in the late 1970’s. The campaign focused on derailing the Middle East peace process and exacerbating tensions, attempting to undermine U.S. standing and influence in the region. The KGB demonstrated aggressive use of forgeries during the campaign, including a forged document purportedly from the office of the U.S. Secretary of State for the U.S. President, using language offensive to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and other Arab leaders. This forgery was anonymously delivered to the Egyptian Embassy in Rome in 1977. Also in 1977, a series of forged letters purporting to be official U.S. Government documents were delivered

22 THE CYBER DEFENSE REVIEW