Forty Years of Soviet Spying in NATO: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s security against Soviet espionage was devastating. Open sources reveal more than 60 spies unmasked, named, and accused of directly stealing NATO secrets on behalf of Soviet intelligence services, the State Committee for Security (KGB) and Main Intelligence Directorate, while NATO’s own secret report estimated 300 spies. These unmaskings attested to the efficacy of Western counterintelligence, but nevertheless evidenced deep and sustained infiltration by Soviet agents. This study, unfortunately, may only be considered preliminary because it is the first one to examine the totality of espionage within NATO during the Soviet years, even though the complete historical record remains inaccessible. Second, most of the information has been gleaned from journalistic sources. Third, the real damage of stolen classified materials remains elusive owing to laws that prevent disclosure. Absent a practical way to verify compromises, NATO officials had little recourse but to assume that Moscow possessed all classified information exposed to spies.