How spy agencies use tech to prevent the next 7 October

Intelligence and collection agencies around the world are usually associated with covert agents, satellite imagery and dramatic surveillance operations. In reality, the constant search and collection of classified information has become far more complex. Alongside traditional methods, security bodies have developed breakthrough technologies aimed at exposing everything that underground enemies do not want revealed to the world.

From advanced scientific systems that uncover hidden trails and minute physical signatures to physical cyber warfare on all fronts, global intelligence today operates in dimensions most of the public is entirely unaware of, with the goal of preventing sudden, unprecedented terror attacks on the scale of 9/11 in America or the 7 October assault in Israel.

Arrow missile test and military satellite in space (Defense Ministry Spokesperson and Public Relations Division, Shutterstock)

Signatures, radiation and advanced science

One of the most secretive branches is Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT), which aims to identify targets by unique physical characteristics. By measuring the return of radar and laser waves, intelligence agencies can determine the precise structure and composition of distant objects.

In addition, sensitive thermal sensors allow the detection of underground activity and troop movements through minuscule temperature changes, while chemical and nuclear detectors locate radioactive traces in the atmosphere that indicate covert weapons tests.

Security drills at sea and underground (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

Artificial intelligence and the ocean depths

The collection arena is not limited to laboratories. The broad field of intelligence research extends from social networks to the depths of the ocean. Using advanced Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) tools, artificial-intelligence algorithms scan millions of posts in real time to identify civil unrest or preparations for a coup, alongside cross-referencing public flight and shipping data to track oligarchs and arms dealers. At the same time, Acoustic Intelligence (ACINT) monitors the sonic "fingerprint" of submarines in the depths, with marine mammals such as trained dolphins sometimes recruited to carry sensors and detect hostile divers.

Someone is always walking with me (Shutterstock)

Silent sabotage inside the hardware

When the required target. one that could transform overnight from a dormant terror cell into a surprise attack. is disconnected from the network, intelligence agencies move to cyber-physical operations and supply-chain interference.

In the hardware-implant method, computing and communications equipment is physically intercepted on its way to the target country, and tiny chips are implanted in it before it reaches the customer. Alongside this, electromagnetic-radiation monitoring technologies (TEMPEST) make it possible to extract information from computers completely disconnected from the internet, by decoding the frequencies, radiation, heat and even the noise of the fans that a personal computer emits during operation.

These vital and sophisticated operations may not be made public, but they can save lives and prevent many from speaking of things far worse than the disaster scenarios seen only in films and it is better for everyone that they remain there.