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.

ImageTitle
 16SEP_MONEY.PDFMoney sent to family members in Soviet Union 16 September 1943 (Release 4)
 16APR_MONEY_KNUDSEN.PDFMoney to be handed to KNUDSEN 16 April 1942 (Release 5)
 6MAY_MONEY.PDFMoney transfer
 8MAR_MONEY_TRANSFER.PDFMoney transfer 8 March (Release 5)
 31JAN_MONEY_TRANSFER.PDFMoney transfer to KLEShKANOV 31 January (Release 5)
 26JAN_MONEY_TRANSFER.PDFMoney transfer to KLEShKANOV, estimate agreed 26 January (Release 5)
 18FEB_MONEY_TRANSFERRED.PDFMoney transferred to the Embassy for GORShKOV 18 February (Release 5)
 15DEC_MONEY.PDFMoney transfers for the fourth quarter
 1FEB_MONTGOMERY_NEWS-REEL2.PDFMONTGOMERY news-reel handed to GATEHOUSE; and ChIKIN, GORShKOV, FEDENKO 1 February (Release 5)
 1FEB_MONTGOMERY_NEWS-REEL.PDFMONTGOMERY news-reel handed to GATEHOUSE; and ChIKIN, GORShKOV, FEDENKO 1 February (Release 5)
 9MAR_MONTHLY_PYMT.PDFMonthly payment to an agent 9 March (Release 3)
 11FEB_NIKS_WIFE.PDFMonthly payments to NIK's wife
 29JUL_MORALE_BRITISH_ARMY.PDFMorale of The British Army; Increase in Strength of Indian Army; Troops in Northern Ireland
 23APR_FISHER.PDFMore about Nicholas and Maria Fisher
 15JAN_TRANSIT_VISA_OP.PDFMore about the transit visa operation - KGB NY
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