Well, don't stare at them. You know in advance that your contact will be walking down Merriweather Lane at 11:30am. If his shoes sport a single "X" near the bottom, that means the dead drop has the microfilm ready for pickup. If it doesn't have that "X", then try again next Tuesday.
If you see two X's in his lacing, the package is at the alternate drop site.
If he has 3 X patterns, you're burned! Make your way to the safehouse after losing any potential tails.
> Every Tuesday, shortly after 7:00, a British MI6 officer would take a morning stroll at the Kutuzovsky Prospekt in Moscow. He would pass outside a designated bakery at exactly 7:24 a.m. local time. If he saw Gordievsky standing outside the bakery holding a grocery bag, it meant that the double agent was requesting to be exfiltrated as a matter of urgency. Gordievsky would then have to wait outside the bakery until a second MI6 officer appeared, carrying a bag from the Harrods luxury department store in London. The man would also be carrying a Mars bar (a popular British candy bar) and would bite into it while passing right in front of Gordievsky. That would be a message to him that his request to be exfiltrated had been received.
>> someone’s shoes trying to identify slight variations?
If you have a military background it is completely normal. Beyond boot polishing, how one ties one's shoes can identify their nationality, background and even trade. They don't think twice about looking at someone's shoes.
There is an old method for spotting a US marine: Ask them to change their socks. The guy who takes one sock off at a time, changing one sock before even untying the second shoe, that's a probable marine. The guy who doesn't actually tie his laces, that does a strange wrap-around-then-tuck thing... US army. The guy who skips a few holes in the middle: air force.
You’ve clearly never been in the Eastern European countries. Eye contact is... iffy.
There is an old joke. How do you tell an extroverted Estonian from an introverted Estonian? He stares at your shoes, not his own.
There are (at least now) plenty of “extroverted” Estonians, but I’ve heard dozens and dozens of stories of the “don’t make eye contact, just keep walking” variety during the USSR.
Also, staring at either party’s shoes may mean their own smartphone these days...
They absolutely do. And they might release very good information along with a carefully planted piece of terrible advice. So you might see a tutorial about how to send drugs through the mail that is 99% good advice, and one piece of intentionally bad advice that police officers are currently watching extra carefully. You don't have to get very high up in government to see examples of people planting false information to lead people astray about how things really work.
If you scroll down to the "CIA Lacing Gallery" you can see that on men's dress shoes the different lacing techniques would be pretty obvious with a quick glance. The laces are either - or X
The system MI6 used to communicate with Oleg Gordievsky was that, had he decided to escape, he would stand near a bread shop in Moscow carrying a Safeway's bag and an MI6 handler (who had never seen him before keep in mind) would walk past eating either a mars bar or a kit kat.
these types of signals can be assigned different meanings, from day to day depending on briefings.
it is also possible to depict roman numerals with lace patterns, and using under/over eyelet lacing to further increase to combinations or provide a bit of stego in the mix. you can send a shill signal with X's and a real signal with laces through eyelets.
these sorts of things are used popularily and certain affiliations creedos or type of date your looking for in a fetish bar are often communicated by display of accessories.
so its not a big secret anymore its just a matter of getting the context of the signal. so how you lace your shoes has different meaning in a night club than in front of the embassy
Not sure why, but single knots always come undone for me pretty quickly - including the Ian Knot you linked. I used to do a double knot and now the secure Ian Knot.
>Not sure why, but single knots always come undone for me pretty quickly
Since you've read about knots I'm sure you know this, but it's worth mentioning for others in the same situation - if you find your laces come undone very easily with a simple traditional knot it may be that you're not balancing the starting knot and the finishing bow, leading to a "granny knot" - https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm
This. I've been tying my shoes this way for 15 or 20 years and they essentially never come untied unintended while still being able to be pulled open with just a single tug. The security of a double knot with the convenience of the standard knot.
Thanks for the tip. A while back I tried the Straight European Lacing on my hiking shoes and I swear it's the little things. I catch myself staring at those laces all the time and realized that it's kinda nice to have some pleasant new lacing style to look at while on a difficult hike.
I learned about that knot (and about how the directionality of the traditional shoelace knot we learn matters for how secure it is) a year or two ago from HN. Unfortunately, I probably haven't worn anything with laces in more than 9 months. I'm a flip-flip kinda guy most the time, and when you combine that with me getting some boat shoes a while back and shelter-in-place...
Do you also send "the drop isn't ready" on other days? If not the fact that you sent a message tells the attacker everything without knowing the content.
Also can anything be inferred by the length of the signal message? Do they pad they out or will all of the sudden sending a 2kb vs 3kb message give you away that something is different?
Personally if my life is on the line, I'd stick with the shoelaces.
I assume that 99% of the point of techniques like in the article is to make the communications graph unobservable. If two people have regular communication over Signal, and one is suspected to be a mole or spy, then the other one is suspicious too. But shoelace patterns in a busy city aren't traceable like that.
Especially handy if you don't know the number of the person you need to contact or know their device has been compromised. No need to rely on technology when a simple trick will do the... erm, trick.
Are they really that noticeable? Assume black laces--the yellow in the illustrations is a callout effect rather than actual lace color.
And if someone does notice, it seems a stretch that they would be suspicious. You could say you were feeling a creative streak. This is for message passing, not for wearing to GRU interviews...
Yes, they are that noticeable because literally nobody is using irregular patterns on their shoelaces. And it’s a well known fact that especially women often check men’s shoes at first sight.
How covert is staring at someone’s shoes trying to identify slight variations?
Well, don't stare at them. You know in advance that your contact will be walking down Merriweather Lane at 11:30am. If his shoes sport a single "X" near the bottom, that means the dead drop has the microfilm ready for pickup. If it doesn't have that "X", then try again next Tuesday.
If you see two X's in his lacing, the package is at the alternate drop site.
If he has 3 X patterns, you're burned! Make your way to the safehouse after losing any potential tails.
Glance quickly, agent, and keep moving.
This setup reminds me of operation PIMLICO:
> Every Tuesday, shortly after 7:00, a British MI6 officer would take a morning stroll at the Kutuzovsky Prospekt in Moscow. He would pass outside a designated bakery at exactly 7:24 a.m. local time. If he saw Gordievsky standing outside the bakery holding a grocery bag, it meant that the double agent was requesting to be exfiltrated as a matter of urgency. Gordievsky would then have to wait outside the bakery until a second MI6 officer appeared, carrying a bag from the Harrods luxury department store in London. The man would also be carrying a Mars bar (a popular British candy bar) and would bite into it while passing right in front of Gordievsky. That would be a message to him that his request to be exfiltrated had been received.
https://intelnews.org/tag/operation-pimlico/
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Thanks for explaining like this. It seems from the downvotes to my comment most people don’t see it as a valid question.
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Sit at a cafe reading a paper or the menu, but look past it at the ground?
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The X as a signal is a big deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JMHrrSshgc
Excellent description. Love it. I couldn't understand the website description of this technique.
>> someone’s shoes trying to identify slight variations?
If you have a military background it is completely normal. Beyond boot polishing, how one ties one's shoes can identify their nationality, background and even trade. They don't think twice about looking at someone's shoes.
There is an old method for spotting a US marine: Ask them to change their socks. The guy who takes one sock off at a time, changing one sock before even untying the second shoe, that's a probable marine. The guy who doesn't actually tie his laces, that does a strange wrap-around-then-tuck thing... US army. The guy who skips a few holes in the middle: air force.
Think I am exaggerating? search youtube for military shoe tying vids: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=military+shoe+l...
> The guy who doesn't actually tie his laces, that does a strange wrap-around-then-tuck thing... US army.
That’s this lacing technique: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/commando-lacing.htm
In fact, Ian's Shoelace website mentions several lacing and tying methods used and prescribed in the military of different countries.
Well that sounds like a very specific scene.
You’ve clearly never been in the Eastern European countries. Eye contact is... iffy.
There is an old joke. How do you tell an extroverted Estonian from an introverted Estonian? He stares at your shoes, not his own.
There are (at least now) plenty of “extroverted” Estonians, but I’ve heard dozens and dozens of stories of the “don’t make eye contact, just keep walking” variety during the USSR.
Also, staring at either party’s shoes may mean their own smartphone these days...
Well, there's the answer for whether Estonia is a Nordic country.
For the reference: https://images-cdn.9gag.com/photo/aj6MYgw_700b_v1.jpg
https://external-preview.redd.it/UMjBaFaE-dFYMu_VZ8nKO4_tj0E...
http://www.linkbcit.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Finland-bu...
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I sometimes wonder if FBI and other agencies release fake information so we all look out for them rather than their actual secret methods.
True story : I was devastated to learn that eating carrots for enhancing night vision was a WWII British hoax to confuse the Germans.
I spent the better part of my teenage years eating raw carrots to be a better Ninja!
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They absolutely do. And they might release very good information along with a carefully planted piece of terrible advice. So you might see a tutorial about how to send drugs through the mail that is 99% good advice, and one piece of intentionally bad advice that police officers are currently watching extra carefully. You don't have to get very high up in government to see examples of people planting false information to lead people astray about how things really work.
If you scroll down to the "CIA Lacing Gallery" you can see that on men's dress shoes the different lacing techniques would be pretty obvious with a quick glance. The laces are either - or X
Direct link to one of the photos: https://www.fieggen.com/Dont_Link/CIALacing1a.jpg
It depends where it happens : if it's a sitting meeting yes it would look strange. But in the street do you even look at passing people shoelaces ?
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Probably knew which variations to look for on top of looking for slight hints, while trying to show a lacking sign of confidence by looking down.
Take a picture, it will last longer
The system MI6 used to communicate with Oleg Gordievsky was that, had he decided to escape, he would stand near a bread shop in Moscow carrying a Safeway's bag and an MI6 handler (who had never seen him before keep in mind) would walk past eating either a mars bar or a kit kat.
these types of signals can be assigned different meanings, from day to day depending on briefings.
it is also possible to depict roman numerals with lace patterns, and using under/over eyelet lacing to further increase to combinations or provide a bit of stego in the mix. you can send a shill signal with X's and a real signal with laces through eyelets.
these sorts of things are used popularily and certain affiliations creedos or type of date your looking for in a fetish bar are often communicated by display of accessories.
so its not a big secret anymore its just a matter of getting the context of the signal. so how you lace your shoes has different meaning in a night club than in front of the embassy
> type of date your looking for in a fetish bar
Yeah this reminded me of the "hanky code". Either the asset is requesting immediate extraction, or signalling he's into watersports!
The CIA needs to be stricter about enforcing their trademark.
The Pentagon is good at that - just try marketing something with “US Navy Seals” or “US Marine Corps.” You’ll be hearing from their lawyers fast.
CIA in the other hand ... all sorts of weird internet ads use the CIA name.
It gives the CIA deniability and obscurity
Every third thing you hear about the CIA is made up on the spot, makes it hard to know what's true, that's just the way the CIA likes it.
Because of all the covert operations that involve secret agents wearing CIA branded gear?
What sort of lacing should someone wear if someone is not voting for Joe Biden? <g>
Barely related, but if you haven’t learned how to tie shoelaces instantly, you should:
https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm
I’ve been doing this for nearly 20 years.
I had to use the secure knot: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm
Not sure why, but single knots always come undone for me pretty quickly - including the Ian Knot you linked. I used to do a double knot and now the secure Ian Knot.
>Not sure why, but single knots always come undone for me pretty quickly
Since you've read about knots I'm sure you know this, but it's worth mentioning for others in the same situation - if you find your laces come undone very easily with a simple traditional knot it may be that you're not balancing the starting knot and the finishing bow, leading to a "granny knot" - https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm
This. I've been tying my shoes this way for 15 or 20 years and they essentially never come untied unintended while still being able to be pulled open with just a single tug. The security of a double knot with the convenience of the standard knot.
Thanks for the tip. A while back I tried the Straight European Lacing on my hiking shoes and I swear it's the little things. I catch myself staring at those laces all the time and realized that it's kinda nice to have some pleasant new lacing style to look at while on a difficult hike.
This led me down quite a rabbithole, because this is how I was taught to tie my shoes in preschool and had no idea anyone did it any other way.
I learned about that knot (and about how the directionality of the traditional shoelace knot we learn matters for how secure it is) a year or two ago from HN. Unfortunately, I probably haven't worn anything with laces in more than 9 months. I'm a flip-flip kinda guy most the time, and when you combine that with me getting some boat shoes a while back and shelter-in-place...
May I ask, why do you say "flip-flip"? I thought the name of that footwear is "flip-flop"?
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There is a TED video about this that changed my life. I've been doing it all wrong for a long time.
https://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_how_to_tie_your_shoes?...
not loading at the moment: https://web.archive.org/web/20200808231030/https://www.fiegg...
I believe today you just say "hey, the drop is ready" over Signal.
Do you also send "the drop isn't ready" on other days? If not the fact that you sent a message tells the attacker everything without knowing the content.
Also can anything be inferred by the length of the signal message? Do they pad they out or will all of the sudden sending a 2kb vs 3kb message give you away that something is different?
Personally if my life is on the line, I'd stick with the shoelaces.
Instead of using Signal you can just upload a specific meme to /r/wallstreetbets
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I assume that 99% of the point of techniques like in the article is to make the communications graph unobservable. If two people have regular communication over Signal, and one is suspected to be a mole or spy, then the other one is suspicious too. But shoelace patterns in a busy city aren't traceable like that.
Especially handy if you don't know the number of the person you need to contact or know their device has been compromised. No need to rely on technology when a simple trick will do the... erm, trick.
Nope you can actually do it through traceroute far better.
Do tell.
This is a joke, right? Shoes laced like this are immediately noticeable and suspicious.
Are they really that noticeable? Assume black laces--the yellow in the illustrations is a callout effect rather than actual lace color.
And if someone does notice, it seems a stretch that they would be suspicious. You could say you were feeling a creative streak. This is for message passing, not for wearing to GRU interviews...
Yes, they are that noticeable because literally nobody is using irregular patterns on their shoelaces. And it’s a well known fact that especially women often check men’s shoes at first sight.
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I am greatly enjoying the concept of "suspicious shoelaces"