Dead Drop: October 4 - 10

DEAD DROPS FOR DUMMIES: An Iranian handler reportedly went shopping for an asset in a Telegram group for temp workers and according to Israeli prosecutors, he found one. The Jerusalem Post reports that Haifa prosecutors indicted a 25-year-old security guard at a youth boarding school for allegedly making contact with a foreign agent. The contact reportedly referred to himself as “Thomas” and then later as “Martin,” and was supposedly offering courier work. But prosecutors say the accused retrieved a Samsung phone hidden that was under branches near a tree, picked up 300 shekels stashed inside a gas-station restroom light fixture and received a printed invitation to a secret meeting in Paris under a rock beside a marked jujube tree. In return, he allegedly provided information about the boarding school’s night shifts and camera locations. Prosecutors believe he was paid in cryptocurrency that was disguised as fees paid for editing and translation work. Here’s the AI twist: Prosecutors say the accused used the technology for some of his assignments and even consulted ChatGPT, although they didn’t disclose what prompts he used or questions he asked. Shin Bet arrested him about three weeks after first contact.

DRONE ON, BUREAUCRACY: The Pentagon has decided that taking too long to field anti-drone systems is itself a national-security problem. According to NewsNation, which obtained part of a new memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the department will now treat delays in deploying counter-drone systems as an “operational risk.” Hegseth says officials need to move faster because “we will not answer a fast-moving threat with a slow-moving bureaucracy.” Fair enough. There is just one awkward detail: The Army disbanded its Unmanned Assault Battalion in August. The unit, based in Italy, was created specifically to absorb lessons from Ukraine’s drone war. Its two biggest champions were former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and former U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander Gen. Chris Donahue, who were both removed by Hegseth. The Army says the battalion was refocused on its core mission as an airborne infantry unit. Looks like it may be time for an about face on that one.