{c}
{created=2023-06-10}
{scope}
{tag=Ciro Santilli's naughty projects}
{tag=Ciro Santilli's data projects}
{tag=Open-source intelligence}
{tag=Digital preservation}
{title2=Iran, China}
{updated=2025-05-30}

This article is about <cutout (espionage)>[covert agent communication channel] websites used by the <CIA> in many countries from the mid 2000s until the early 2010s, when they were uncovered by <counter intelligence> of some of the targeted countries, notably <Iran> and <China>, circa 2010-2013.

This article uses publicly available information to publicly disclose for the first time a few hundred of what we feel are extremely likely candidate sites of the network. The starting point for this research was the <Reuters article>[September 2022 Reuters article "America’s Throwaway Spies"] which for the first time gave <The Reuters websites>[nine example websites], and their https://citizenlab.ca/2022/09/statement-on-the-fatal-flaws-found-in-a-defunct-cia-covert-communications-system/[analyst from Citizenlabs claims to have found 885 websites] in total, but did not publicly disclose them. Starting from only the nine disclosed websites, we were then able to find a few hundred websites that share so many similarities with them, i.e. a common <fingerprint>, that we believe makes them beyond reasonable doubt part of the same network.

If you enjoy this article, consider dropping some <Monero> at: \b[4A1KK4uyLQX7EBgN7uFgUeGt6PPksi91e87xobNq7bT2j4V6LqZHKnkGJTUuCC7TjDNnKpxDd8b9DeNBpSxim8wpSczQvzf] so I can waste it on my <OurBigBook.com>[foolish attempts to improve higher education]. Other sponsorship methods: <sponsor>{full}.

\Image[https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cirosantilli/media/master/CIA_Star_Wars_website_promo.jpg]
{height=700}

\Video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFfuzZC5Qpc]
{title=How I found a <Star Wars> website made by the <CIA> by <Ciro Santilli>}
{description=Slightly edited VOD of the talk <Aratu Week 2024 Talk by Ciro Santilli>.}
{height=600}

The discovery of these websites by <Iranian> and <Chinese> counterintelligence led to the imprisonment and execution of several assets in those countries, and subsequent shutdown of the channel by the CIA when they noticed that things had gone wrong. This is likely a Wikipedia page that talks about the disastrous outcome of the websites being found out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%932012_killing_of_CIA_sources_in_China[2010–2012 killing of CIA sources in China], although it contained no mention of websites before <Ciro Santilli> edited it in.

Of particular interest is that based on their language and content, certain of the websites seem to have <USA spying on its own allies>[targeted other democracies such as Germany, France, Spain and Brazil].

If anyone can find others websites, or has better techniques feel free to contact <Ciro Santilli> at: <contact>{full}. Contributions will be clearly attributed if desired. Some of the techniques used so far have been very heuristic, and that added to the limited amount of data makes it almost certain that some websites have been missed. Broadly speaking, there are two types of contributions that would be possible:
* finding new IP ranges: harder and more exiting, and potentially requires more intelligence
* better <data sources>[IP to domain name databases] to <Find missing hits in IP ranges>[fill in known gaps in existing IP ranges]
The fact that https://citizenlab.ca/2022/09/statement-on-the-fatal-flaws-found-in-a-defunct-cia-covert-communications-system/[citizenlabs reported exactly 885 websites being found] makes it feel like they might have found find a better fingerprint which we have not managed to find yet. We have not yet had to pay for our data. If someone wants to donate to the research, some ideas include:
 * dump \$400 on <WhoisXMLAPI> to dump whois history of all known hits and search for other matches. <IP and DNS metadata>[Small discoveries were made like this in the past] and we'd expect a few more to be left. We don't expect huge breakthroughs from this, but at only \$400 it is not so bad
 * dump a lot more (\$15k+? needs confirmation as opaque pricing) on <DomainTools>. We are not certain that they have any superior data since there is no free trial of any kind, but it would be interesting to test the quality of the data they acquired from <Farsight DNSDB> if you are really loaded

Disclaimers:
* the network fell in 2013, followed by fully public disclosures in 2018 and 2022, so we believe that the benefit of giving the public this broader historic understanding outweighs the risks that agents could be found so many years later by sloppy secret services
* <Ciro Santilli>'s political bias is <Ciro Santilli's campaign for freedom of speech in China>[strongly pro-democracy and anti-dictatorship], but with a good pinch of skepticism about the morality US foreign policy in the last century

May this article serve as a tribute to those who spent their days making, using, and uncovering these websites under the shadows.

CIA 2010 covert communication websites

sumerjaseahora translation

sumerjaseahora = sumerjase ahora,means means submerging oneself, now 


sumerjaseahora.com domain translation 

Bitcoin 

Give some to me, Satoshi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


How many bitcoins do you own???

Test data set

And another

Ciro Santilli's Homepage

 Home

I'm your huge fan, Ciro

{c}

* you don't get any/sufficient recognition for your contributions. The closest they have to upvotes and reputation is the incredibly obscure "thank" feature which is only visible to the receiver itself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Notifications/Thanks
* <deletionism> is a tremendous problem on Wikipedia, for two main causes:
 * tutorial-like subjectivity
 * notability
 The stuff you wrote can be deleted anytime by some random admin/opposing editor, examples at: <deletionism on Wikipedia>{full}.

 This also possibly leads to <edit wars> in the case of sub-page content (full page deletion is more clearly arbitrated).
* Scope too limited, and politics defined. Everything has to sound encyclopedic and be notable enough. This basically excludes completely good tutorials.
* Insane impossible to use <markup language>-base talk pages instead of issue trackers?! Ridiculous!!! That change alone could make Wikipedia so much more amazing. Wikipedia could become a Stack Exchange killer by doing that alone + some basic reputation system. Some work on that is being done at: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DiscussionTools[], already in Beta as of 2022.
* <Edit wars>

Wikipedia

OurBigBook.com / Wikipedia

"You don't get any recognition for your contributions". A new wiki system, like Golden.com (https://golden.com/profile/hiro-mitsuki) is trying to fix this issue.



Golden

I can not join your movement because I really have more reasons than other ones. For privacy, I can't explain that. And, For me, I know that for the current situations in China, I can't do anything. For China, I think only solution is revolution not reform. The protesters will die with nobody know that without tech. People could try, but it is a Way of Sacrifice.

https://space.bilibili.com/355027238/dynamic
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/667881.html

According the report, this organization help programthink arrested. I research that for some days, and the evidences express its correctness.

净网志愿者协会, may one day you will be captured by them. But you are foreigner, they don't have a way to do that.

净网志愿者协会, it is a semi-official organization but with high-tech hacker technology. You know, in China, high-tech hackers will not be an offical. Because it is a semi-official organization with many young  little-pink engineer, the tracking for programthink, it could be done.

They are actually not wumao, but they may be more formidable opponent. But you live aboard, they can't do anything and officals will not always listen their views.

Why do I think its claim for programthink's arrest is credible? Because some inference.
The organization says programthink is 马勇康.
https://github.com/programthink/zhao/issues/418

one year passed, 2022/05, offical media(only media) say 马某某，煽动分裂国家、煽动颠覆国家政权
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1731886110528251526&wfr=spider&for=pc

the 马 first name only has 1% population in China. Coincidence? And according the report's keyword: 浙江温州, 科技有限公司，“洗脑”，“人生导师”，顽固

just like a copycat keyword for programthink blog and it conforms characteristics.

and the organization say 马勇康 is 山东人, the offical media say he is 浙江人

According the data in the website or anywhere:
https://www.23mofang.com/ancestry/library-surname/5f34ee9eff5a3344d6a8aabe

浙江(ZheJiang province) have less 马 than 山东.
And programthink family's post say programthink lastly has a business travel to a city in eastern China, you see 温州，浙江，上海，all keyword is about the eastern China. 温州 is a interesting keyword, if you search programthink's issues, it has a strange 温州 people, but no other Zhejiang province's county.

And other crime such as 政治纲领, as I know for CCP cop, they need some more outstanding achievement. 继续调查中，because the CCP cop needs more news by the mouth even it is not neutral. And, it is possible that programthink think he could take the all blames on his shoulder maybe. 

These inference may is only inference by brain ———— we never know what is a truth.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV14S4y1T7RT/?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0
净网志愿者协会 mentions programthink in the video.

I only know that they may be the not many real high-tech little-pink and hackers and really can do that. They are more terrible cop, even sometimes, gov will not listen them. I don't know in 2022 the organizations like it will do what.

Sometimes I think what is better? For my reasons I know I couldn't join yours. And I can't keep "doublethink"(ps: I'm not an official, official never doublethink). The only difference between China and 1984 may is the war is peace. China gov officials say China love peace, and in fact, CCP indeed take less war than other countries. But it is Chinese nature, may CCP also keep something.

CCP is not worse like Russia, so it is more difficult, for any reform. And reform may not work too fast or really work, only revolution.

About Programthink

You're a hero my friend

This is a section about Vector space!

Vector space is a very important subject about which there is a lot to say.

For example, this sentence. And then another one.


Vector space

I can't believe you got such a basic fact wrong!

1+1<svg width='400em' height='1.08em' viewBox='0 0 400000 1080' preserveAspectRatio='xMinYMin slice'><path d='M95,702
c-2.7,0,-7.17,-2.7,-13.5,-8c-5.8,-5.3,-9.5,-10,-9.5,-14
c0,-2,0.3,-3.3,1,-4c1.3,-2.7,23.83,-20.7,67.5,-54
c44.2,-33.3,65.8,-50.3,66.5,-51c1.3,-1.3,3,-2,5,-2c4.7,0,8.7,3.3,12,10
s173,378,173,378c0.7,0,35.3,-71,104,-213c68.7,-142,137.5,-285,206.5,-429
c69,-144,104.5,-217.7,106.5,-221
l0 -0
c5.3,-9.3,12,-14,20,-14
H400000v40H845.2724
s-225.272,467,-225.272,467s-235,486,-235,486c-2.7,4.7,-9,7,-19,7
c-6,0,-10,-1,-12,-3s-194,-422,-194,-422s-65,47,-65,47z
M834 80h400000v40h-400000z'/></svg>​=3, not 2 as mentioned

# id	 Title	 Comments	Created	Updated
cirosantilli/cia-2010-covert-communication-websites#1	sumerjaseahora.com domain translation	1	2023-10-15	2024-05-21
satoshi/bitcoin#1	How many bitcoins do you own???	0	2023-02-12	2024-05-21
cirosantilli/test-data-set#2	And another	2	2023-01-29	2025-03-11
cirosantilli/test-data-set#1	1	4	2023-01-29	2025-03-11
cirosantilli#1	I'm your huge fan, Ciro	2	2023-01-29	2024-05-21
cirosantilli/ourbigbook-com/wikipedia#1	Golden	3	2022-11-29	2024-05-21
anonymousajo1u12nglajgka/about-programthink#1	You're a hero my friend	0	2022-11-21	2024-05-21
donald-trump/vector-space#2	$1 + 1 = 3$ , not 2 as mentioned	4	2022-11-02	2024-05-21

Ciro Santilli @cirosantilli 40