Trimbelle Leaks
The Trimbelle Leaks were a series of documents that were published to internet forums and subsequently reported by international media revealing details about the Zamastanian Intelligence Service's clandestine operations, including specifically the identities of 27 undercover agents in live operations in hostile countries. On October 1st, 2024, hackers breached a sensitive firewall within the servers of the Z.I.S., and posted tens of thousands of classified documents on forums, social media sites like FriendSpot and Owler, and videos on AllVidz. Information of other countries' covert surveillance programs were also detailed in the leaks.
Several agents whose identities were leaked were captured by the governments or groups they were surveilling. Two agents were killed: Elias Holman was executed by the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg, and Awni Nadim was executed by the Irsani network. Samir Oudah was arrested by the Behinian military and sentenced to death.
Within hours of the hack, ZIS director Adrian Sardou ordered agents out of live operations in hostile countries, and said that several foreign governments had sensitive information revealed to them regarding Zamastanian intelligence operations and vulnerabilities. Former ZIS director Kirk Faulkman described it as a huge strategic setback that was harming Zamastan and its WEDA allies.
Disclosures
Named for the ZIS' clandestine live operations program called Trimbelle, the exact size of the total amount of information taken by hackers in the cyber-attack is unknown, but the Zamastanian government estimated more than 44,000 intelligence files have been disclosed. Defense Secretary Elijah Thatcher told an emergency session of Congressional Hall that "the vast majority of the documents that hackers ... exfiltrated from our highest levels of security ... had nothing to do with exposing government oversight of domestic activities. The vast majority of those were related to our military capabilities, operations, tactics, techniques, and procedures."
Agent identities
- Elias Holman: Cpt. Holman had been embedded with the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg since 2020, under the alias of Alexandru Vicol. Zamastanian intelligence and WEDA allies had garnered significant knowledge from Holman's espionage, as he gained close access to the organization's leadership and Naum Pavlavain. When his identity was leaked on October 1st, Pavlavain's lieutenants ordered his killing. Holman was bound and blindfolded, hauled in a truck to the outskirts of Kolkesburg, and shot at point-blank range. The video of his execution was published on AllVidz.
- Awni Nadim: Commander Nadim was embedded with the HPLF's armed wing, the Irsani branch, since 2019. He was instrumental in the ZIS' intelligence gathering during the Hisrea War, low-level insurgencies, and the ongoing civil war. When his identity was revealed as a Zamastanian asset, the Irsani leadership ordered his killing. Nadim's body was discovered along the border with Albarine, riddled with bullets and with signs of torture. Albarinean border security retrieved his remains and repatriated them to Zamastan.
- Samir Oudah: Oudah had been embedded within the Behinian military since 2012 and at the time of his discovery was a ranking official with significant security clearance in Behinia's intelligence agency. He was detained by the Behinian military police, paraded before state media, and placed in custody. He was sentenced to death in a military tribunal which lasted twenty minutes. Prime Minister Mohamed al-Albisi said "we will show justice in all regard." After Oudah's arrest, anti-Zamastan protests broke out across Behinia, with effigies of president Arthur Davidson and flags of Zamastan being burned in Sannar and Kosti.
Surveillance operations
Several global surveillance and clandestine operations of WEDA governments were made public by the leaks.
Aridstone: Unknown to the public until the Trimbelle leaks, most aspects of Aridstone remain classified and secret. Broadly, Aridstone is the code-name for a highly covert, clandestine assassination program within the ZIS.- Trimbelle: The most-impacted program of the October 1st leaks. A clandestine live operations program in which ZIS agents are embedded in high profile positions within hostile governments and organizations.
- Vertis 7: A computer system that is used by the ZIS to buffer most internet communications that are extracted from fibre-optic cables, so these can be processed and searched at a later time.
Daundas: A secret computer system used by the Caspiaan National Intelligence Agency for searching and analyzing global internet data, which it collects in real time.
Forest Fire: A highly secretive signals intelligence collection program involving the interception of international radio, telecommunications and internet traffic run by the Constantio intelligence services. It is operated out of the diplomatic missions in more than 70 countries on Bullhead servers.