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Britain’s foreign intelligence service, MI6, is opening a new digital front in espionage with a dark web portal called Silent Courier, designed to attract potential spies to share secrets, particularly from Russia.
The service will operate via the Tor browser, offering anonymous access to a secure MI6 messaging system. Instructions for using the platform will be posted on the agency’s YouTube channel at 2 a.m. ET (6 a.m. GMT) Friday.
The launch coincides with outgoing MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore’s farewell speech in Istanbul, where he will formally unveil the system. “Our virtual door is open to you,” Moore is expected to say. After nearly five years at the helm, Moore steps down Oct. 1, handing over to Blaise Metreweli, who will become the first woman to lead the service.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the portal will “bolster efforts with cutting-edge tech so MI6 can recruit new spies for the U.K., in Russia and around the world.” A Foreign Office advisory urged users to take precautions, recommending VPNs and devices not linked to their personal identities to mitigate risks.
The rollout will include a cinematic video evoking James Bond-style imagery, with agents navigating forests and deserts and a mock-up of Silent Courier showing a file upload with the phrase “transfer information” in Russian.
MI6 has previously urged informants to use Tor, VPNs and unlinked email accounts, reflecting how digital tools are reshaping spycraft. The initiative follows a similar CIA effort in 2023, when Washington released recruitment videos targeting potential Russian informants.
The CIA also suffered setbacks in its digital espionage operations after Beijing’s Ministry of State Security compromised dark web channels, leading to the loss of agents in China—a breach described by officials as one of the agency’s worst in recent years.
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