SLOPPY SPYWORK UNMASKS MORE THAN 300 AGENTS

Russia’s GRU spy agency has suffered further humiliation after a list of more than 300 names of suspected agents was discovered online. Four men caught attempting to hack into the Netherland’s OPCW chemical watchdog left a paper trail apparently exposing hundreds of comrades.

The names of the four hackers, announced by British and Dutch authorities at a press conference on Wednesday, were initially thought to be aliases.

However an analysis by Bellingcat, the investigative website, has suggested the spies did not take the trouble to travel on false passports. One of the men has a registered address at the Military Academy of the Ministry of Defence, more widely known as the GRU Conservatory.

In a further security lapse, Bellingcat discovered a Russian vehicle ownership database.

Vehicles registered to an address thought to be the headquarters of a hacking centre revealed the names of a further 305 individuals.