Covert CIA websites could have been found by an ‘amateur’, research finds

A report found the CIA used websites for covert communications that could have been discovered by an ‘amateur sleuth’. Photograph: Larry Downing/Reuters

The CIA used hundreds of websites for covert communications that were severely flawed and could have been identified by even an “amateur sleuth”, according to security researchers.

The flaws reportedly led to the death of more than two dozen US sources in China in 2011 and 2012 and also reportedly led Iran to execute or imprison other CIA assets.