More ambitious than targeted surveillance was the exploitation of the StreetPass network. The CIA and GCHQ operated "StreetPass collectors"—modified 3DS units or Raspberry Pi-based emitters placed in strategic chokepoints: the security lines of major airports, the lobbies of embassies, internet cafes in Istanbul, and metro stations in Moscow. These collectors would passively log the unique console IDs, timestamps, and Mii data of any passing 3DS. Over time, this created a behavioral signature. If a CIA asset needed to meet a handler in Prague, they would not use a coded newspaper message. They would simply carry a 3DS with a specific Mii (e.g., a red shirt, a cat-shaped hat) and walk past a certain bakery at 3:00 PM. The handler, monitoring the collector, would see the Mii appear—a silent, deniable, and automated signal that required no radio transmission, no encryption, and left no digital trail that conventional countersurveillance would recognize.
When working with CIA 3DS files, it's essential to take some safety precautions: cia 3ds
Here's a step-by-step guide to installing CIA files: Over time, this created a behavioral signature
: A PC utility used to decrypt CIA files so they can be used with emulators or modified by developers. The handler, monitoring the collector, would see the