science

Operation Anarchist

Operation Anarchist is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Operation Anarchist rather than just read about it. In short: Operation Anarchist was a joint operation between the American National Security Agency and British Government Communications Headquarters to monitor advanced weapons systems in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Israel. Begun in 1998, it was publicly exposed in January 2016 as a result of documents released by Edward Snowden.

Key takeaways

Operation Anarchist belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Operation Anarchist to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Operation Anarchist from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Operation Anarchist was a joint operation between the American National Security Agency and British Government Communications Headquarters to monitor advanced weapons systems in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Israel. Begun in 1998, it was publicly exposed in January 2016 as a result of documents released by Edward Snowden. It has been called the worst intelligence breach in Israel's history.

The Operation The operation was run out of GCHQ headquarters in Cheltenham, with most of the surveillance taken from RAF Troodos, GCHQ used highly advanced and sophisticated communications and intelligence from the SIGNT installation in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus, with RAF Menwith Hill, a joint US-British satellite surveillance base in Britain, also participating. The Israeli Air Force's UAV, Air Force, navy, missile defence and satellite communications was its primary target. Encrypted video transmissions between drones and their bases were intercepted from Troodos and analyzed using powerful advanced computing systems, as well as the open-source software tools ImageMagick and AntiSky, which allow users to patiently sort through the pixels in order to decrypt them. This was the preferred method over using the massive computing power it would have taken to unscramble the encrypted signals in near real time. Some images were clearer than others, as the success of the decryption varied. The intercepted images were largely low-resolution analog feeds used to check the condition of the drones, allowing the NSA and GCHQ to see the payloads the drones were carrying, but not the actual surveillance data. Surveillance feeds were, however, sometimes captured from small Israeli drones. GCHQ and NSA also successfully breached the security of Israeli military and communication satellites which were encrypted. Capturing these videos became very difficult as Israel shifted to using digital video feeds mixed with other data, with a 2010 GCHQ report noting that it lacked the systems to properly monitor the new Israeli technological capabilities. In addition to footage from drone cameras, the operation also tracked the movements of Israeli drones, using the transmissions drones sent off to update their bases on their location. Satellite surveillance systems at Menwith Hill were used to intercept transmissions between Israeli drones and satellites, capturing 20 separate videos in all. Training missions, as well as operations over the Golan Heights were monitored, with Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran watched extremely closely. One leaked report noted that Israeli drones were also being monitored due to Israeli UAV exports to many other countries, and Yedioth Ahronoth noted that this, along with the great interest shown in precisely what radar was mounted on the drones, indicated a commercial interest in the drones in addition to a security interest. While drones were the primary target, on January 3, 2008, computer technicians from Menwith Hill managed to capture 14 seconds of cockpit footage from an Israeli F-16 fighter jet on a bombing mission over Gaza, showing a target on the ground being closely tracked. A sub-operation of Operation Anarchist, code-named Operation Runway, tracked the Israeli Black Sparrow air-launched missiles, which were used as targeting missiles during tests of the Arrow missile. In addition to Israel, advanced weapons systems used by Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah were also hacked into. In particular, the operation managed to obtain footage of Iranian-made drones operated by Hezbollah and Syrian Armed Forces.

Exposure On January 28, 2016, The Intercept, Der Spiegel, and Yedioth Ahronoth jointly broke the story, based on documents provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Israeli minister of energy Steinitz said that he was disappointed, but not surprised by the reports. An Israeli security official referred to Operation Anarchist as "an earthquake... the worst leak in the history of Israeli intelligence."

References

US, UK spied on Israel's drone and missile programs US and UK 'hacked into Israeli drones and planes' NSA, GCHQ used open source software to spy on Israeli, Syrian drones Hacked Images from Israel's Drone Fleet Israeli Drone Feeds Hacked by British and American Intelligence Israel 'disappointed, not surprised' by massive US, UK spying

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Operation Anarchist

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Operation Anarchist claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Operation Anarchist before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Operation Anarchist ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Operation Anarchist

In research: Operation Anarchist appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Operation Anarchist in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Operation Anarchist is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics GCHQ, National Security Agency, Secret government programs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Operation Anarchist outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Operation Anarchist in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Operation Anarchist means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Operation Anarchist out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Operation Anarchist in simple terms?

Why does Operation Anarchist matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Operation Anarchist?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Operation Anarchist.