US intelligence agencies are using "a wide range" of tools, ranging from gathering open source information to intercepting communications and "humint", to gather all the data on the spread of coronavirus.
At the end of last week, the most reliable information about the spread of the virus, known as COVID-19, came only from military news channels, according to Yahoo News National Security and Investigations journalist Jenna McLaughlin.
On Friday, McLaughlin cited "two sources aware of the matter," stating that the Office of the Director of National Secret Services and the Central Intelligence Agency's Global Issues Center were collecting and analyzing all real-time coronavirus data.
The spread of the disease has also been monitored by the National Center for Medical Intelligence, which assesses the impact of outbreaks on US and foreign military personnel, McLaughlin said. He added that information gathered by these agencies is routed to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services, which directly inform the White House Task Force, appointed for COVID-19.
A major concern of the U.S. intelligence community is that Chinese, Iranian and other governments around the world may not share complete data on the spread of the virus and its impact. "No data means espionage"A source who asked to remain anonymous said to McLaughlin.
One of the main questions that US intelligence agencies are trying to answer is whether governments like China or Iran have effective "business continuity" plans in place, that is, whether they can maintain the government's main functions during a serious national disaster.
According to a report drawn up by Hosenball, one of the leading US intelligence experts, developing countries around the world would not be able to maintain the vital functions of the country after an emergency such as that generated by COVID-19. One example is India, whose dense population and rudimentary public health infrastructure raise serious concerns about the government's ability to protect the population from a major pandemic. THEThe report adds that there is a "deep concern" that Iran is hiding the details of the spread of COVID-19.