Venona


The U.S. Army's Signal Intelligence Service, the precursor to the National Security Agency, began a secret program in February 1943 later codenamed VENONA

The mission of this small program was to examine and exploit Soviet diplomatic communications but after the program began, the message traffic included espionage efforts as well.

Although it took almost two years before American cryptologists were able to break the KGB encryption, the information gained through these transactions provided U.S. leadership insight into Soviet intentions and treasonous activities of government employees until the program was canceled in 1980.

The VENONA files are most famous for exposing Julius (code named LIBERAL) and Ethel Rosenberg and help give indisputable evidence of their involvement with the Soviet spy ring.

The first of six public releases of translated VENONA messages was made in July 1995 and included 49 messages about the Soviets' efforts to gain information on the U.S. atomic bomb research and the Manhattan Project. Over the course of five more releases, all of the approximately 3,000 VENONA translations were made public.

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 24JUN_REISSUE_AIRCRAFT.PDF3rd Reissue- Information from "FIN" concerning aircraft construction in the "ISLAND" (1943) (A more complete version of documents previously released in second venona release on 10 Oct 1995) 24 June 1943 (Release 6)
 9FEB_KHOCHEV_INTERVIEWED_POLICE.PDF3rd reissue of: "KhOChEV" interviewed by the police
 9OCT_REISSUE_DEANS_OFFICE.PDF3rd REISSUE OF: Criticism by Moscow of infringments or orders by some Dean's offices
 12SEP_PAYMENTS_WORKERS.PDF3rd reissue of: Payments to workers in DZhEN's set-up: PERRI, ELLEN, KANARI, etc; and Caution advised in purchase of houses 12 September (Release 5)
 26AUG_LONDON_AIRFIELDS.PDF3rd reissue of: Report on airfields around London; and Air raid damage in the London area
 18MAR_BARON_REISSUE3.PDF3rd Reissue- Report from BARON
 8APR_BRANDO_NORWEGIANS.PDF3rd Reissue: 1. BRANDO and the Norwegians; 2. Recruitment of Norwegians 8 April 1942 (Release 5)
 26OCT_BRAIDO.PDF3rd Reissue: BRAIDO, EDGAR, and LARS 26 October 1942 (Release 5)
 4FEB_REISSUE_GRADUS.PDF3rd Reissue: Details about ("GRADUS") and "METR'S" visit to him
 19APR_GRU_NETWORK.PDF3rd Reissue: Estimated cost of maintaining GRU network and of further development of GRU agents 19 April 1942 (Release 5)
 12MAR_LENA_PER2.PDF3rd reissue: Release of LENA and PER; LENA's departure for London and future employment 12 March 1943 (Release 5)
 17APR_ALFREDO_MICHELSEN.PDF3rd Reissue: Report on Alfredo MICHELSEN, Columbian Minister in Moscow 17 April (Release 5)
 17MAY_VENEZUELAN_EMBASSY.PDF3rd Reissue: Report on personnel of the Venezuelan Embassy in the USSR; Pierre COT and his wife 17 May (Release 5)
 24FEB_REISSUE_KLARA.PDF3rd Reissue: Reported interest shown by British Intelligence in "KLARA"
 19APR_GRU_NETWORK_COMPLETE.PDF3rd Reissue-Estimated Cost of Maintaining GRU Network (A more complete version of British Government-excised messages previously released in fifth venona release on 1 Oct 1996) 19 April 1942 (Release 6)
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