[ad_1]
Furthermore, it is noted that if reports continue to be presented without specific evidence, the opposite reaction can be expected when the public begins to question the information provided by the Department of Homeland Security (SSD).
Not everyone is a Kremlin agent
2010-2015 Gediminas Grina, who was the head of the SSD, stated that intelligence revealed what it could have revealed to the public, and there was no innovation in the report, and this year Russia is the biggest security threat to Lithuania. According to G. Grina, this will not change.
“At least at the regional level, Russia has been, is and will be a threat to us, it just is. Whoever runs it will be a threat to us from the Russian Federation. They are completely different interests and I highly doubt that they can coincide with ours. This is fundamental, ”said the former SSD commander.
In turn, communication specialist Mindaugas Lapinskas, when evaluating the latest SSD report from Lietuvos Rytas’ television program “Nauja diena”, said that it lacked specificity.
“On the other hand, I am glad that it is repeated and clearly recorded that the Kremlin is interfering in our information space and trying to sow mistrust, doubt, trying to demoralize. Perhaps the Kremlin is still very successful in finding sources of money, because the actors who play the bagpipes are always mentioned, but there are no concrete facts, ”said M. Lapinskas.
M. Lapinskas explained how the Kremlin’s disinformation mechanism could work, but according to him, if concrete evidence is not provided, people will start to question the stories of the SSD.
“The Kremlin is not attacking that the earth is flat or that Martians are walking among us. The Kremlin identifies doubts and certain disappointments. How does it work? Someone finds the main characters and says, “Look, put out 50 Facebook posts a month and shoot four stories, and we’ll pay you something for each one.”
“This type of mechanism is likely to work, all the more so since the Kremlin does not need to pursue any objective, it is enough to spread panic,” said the communications specialist.
At that time, the SSD, according to M. Lapinskas, should not be limited to the statement that “something is wrong and we suspect that it is good for the Kremlin.”
“So far, those connections have not been recorded, and I am a little afraid that if the SSD talks for a few more years that someone is blowing on the Kremlin bagpipes, but will not provide any evidence, facts, money, then they will.” . It will certainly be possible to start doubting. Maybe it’s not about buying idiots, maybe they’re just idiots; in that case, you shouldn’t dismiss every delusional person as a Kremlin agent, “he said.
Loses its meaning
At the time, the former head of the SSD, Mečys Laurinkus, pointed out that due to the fact that Lithuanian intelligence could not name more specific cases to the public, such a report was increasingly losing its meaning.
“Those threats are constant, they are constantly named, maybe some more specific things are mentioned as much as possible. However, as this is not very possible, those reports are losing more and more weight and meaning, ”said M. Laurinkus.
According to him, the most important thing is that the SSD fulfills its function in relation to the direct user of its information – that the President, the Head of Government and the Spokesperson of the Seimas know the real situation, what are the objectives of hostile States, what is doing and what results have been achieved. At that time, society has nothing to take away from you.
“There is a very narrow circle of people to whom secret information is provided, it is not made public and what is made public is not important, it is simply related to the work of the institution,” said M. Laurinkus.
“In most cases, no evidence is given and no one will give it; it is only given if there is a trial, if there are charges, only then. And no one will ever go into great detail anyway,” said the former SSD commander. .
Warned about recruiting
The latest SSD report mentions that the pandemic has reduced human intelligence as a result of reduced travel, while emphasizing that the Russian and Belarusian intelligence and security services are acting quite aggressively against Lithuanian citizens, albeit only in their own territory.
Therefore, Lithuanian citizens who actively travel to these countries and have personal or business connections are more likely to encounter the intelligence and security services of Russia and Belarus.
According to G. Grina, former head of the SSD, recruitment cases occur both in Lithuania and in other foreign countries, but there, due to counterintelligence capabilities, it is more difficult for hostile states to act.
“At that time, the Russian or Belarusian services can do what they want with our citizens: if you cross the border, no consul will protect you. This is the main threat, and if a person is a probable target, then the threat is multiplied by ten ”, said G. Grina. According to him, the possible targets are not only officials of state institutions, but also businessmen.
“The aim of recruitment is to obtain information that is difficult to access or influence decision-making through some people. You can hire a person in Lithuania, abroad, in Egypt, anywhere, if the person is suitable as target.
This requires gathering information, knowing who the person is, where they work, or if they have a permit to work with classified information; targets are selected accordingly, ”explained G. Grina.
“Of course, it is more difficult to recruit a person in Lithuania than in Russia, which raises the question that traveling to Russia and Belarus is dangerous in itself, because a person never knows when they may become a target,” he added.
Through border crossing procedures, intelligence and security officials can, for example, take a citizen to check his passport, but at the same time ask him to put down his mobile phone. According to G. Grina, it is 100%. Guarantee that in this case the person’s phone has been scanned, their data obtained.
“This is the great danger of crossing the border, especially for the so-called hostile states. By the way, this is still difficult to understand in society, sometimes ridiculed, but it is a serious problem,” said the former SSD commander.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security and the Second Department of Operational Services of the Ministry of National Defense released an updated assessment of threats to national security. The assessment states that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scale of human intelligence against Lithuania by Russian intelligence services has decreased, but the threat of cyber espionage is also increasing as the scale of telecommuting and telecommuting increases. electronic services.
