Dead drop facts for kids
A dead drop is a secret way for spies to share information or items without meeting face-to-face. Think of it like a hidden mailbox where one person leaves a message or item, and another person picks it up later. This helps them stay safe and keep their activities secret.
This method is different from a "live drop," where two people actually meet to exchange things.
Spies and their helpers use many tricks to hide items like money, secret documents, or instructions. They also use signals to let the other person know that something has been left. The signal might be near the hidden spot or somewhere else entirely. The spies might not even know each other or ever meet!
How Spies Use Dead Drops
The secret spot for a dead drop must allow spies to pick up hidden items without anyone noticing. This means they use everyday places and actions to avoid looking suspicious. Any hidden spot can work, but they often use clever hiding places. These could be a loose brick in a wall, a special library book, or a hole in a tree.
A dead drop spike is a special container used to hide things. It's been used since the 1960s to hide money, maps, documents, and tiny films (microfilm). This spike keeps things safe from water and mold. Spies can push it into the ground or place it in a shallow stream, and someone else can find it later.
Signals can be simple things like a chalk mark on a wall, a piece of chewing gum on a lamppost, or a newspaper left on a park bench. Sometimes, the signal can even come from inside a spy's home. For example, they might hang a certain colored towel from a balcony or put a potted plant on a window sill where it can be seen from the street.
Challenges of Dead Drops
While dead drops are great for keeping spies from being caught right away, they do have problems. If one spy is caught, they might tell where the secret drop location and signal are. Then, the other side can use that spot to trick the enemy with false information or to find other spies. There's also a chance that someone who isn't involved might accidentally find the hidden items.
Modern Dead Drop Methods
On January 23, 2006, Russia's security service (FSB) said that Britain was using wireless dead drops hidden inside hollow rocks. These "spy rocks" were used to collect secret information from agents in Russia. The agent would go near the rock and send data wirelessly into it from a small device. Later, the British handlers would pick up the stored data in a similar way.
SecureDrop is a computer program that lets people create a digital dead drop online. It's used by teams to get tips from whistleblowers (people who share secret information). The people sending and receiving the information never talk directly or know each other's names. This helps whistleblowers share information safely, even when there's a lot of online monitoring.
See also
In Spanish: Buzón muerto para niños
