How U.S. Spies Used A “Star Wars” Fan Page

Those browsing for movie scoops back in the early 2000s had various options. You could come here or other sites like this, you could go to major media outlet official sites, or you could go to a fan site dedicated to the franchise you love. It turns out, though, that some of those fan sites […] The post How U.S. Spies Used A “Star Wars” Fan Page appeared first on Dark Horizons.

May 28, 2025 - 08:30

How U.S. Spies Used A “Star Wars” Fan Page

Those browsing for movie scoops back in the early 2000s had various options. You could come here or other sites like this, you could go to major media outlet official sites, or you could go to a fan site dedicated to the franchise you love.

It turns out, though, that some of those fan sites were just a front for something a bit more unexpected – covert communications for intelligence agencies, more specifically the CIA.

Techspot and 404 Media reports that independent security researcher Ciro Santilli recently scoured the Internet to find sites the American spy agency built in that era – sites allowing them to communicate with informants in other countries.

Among the sites found were comedy pages, extreme sports sites, and even a Brazilian music fan page, along with a “Star Wars” fansite – StarWarsWeb.net. Within these sites was a covert login system that would unlock a secure line to CIA handlers.

Zach Edwards, an independent cybersecurity researcher, confirmed to The Daily Mail: “The simplest way to put it – yes, the CIA absolutely had a Star Wars fan website with a secretly embedded communication system. And while I can’t account for everything included in the research from Ciro, his findings seem very sound.”

Unfortunately, it has been reported that many of these sites were poorly coded and included easily traceable breadcrumbs, such as sequential IP addresses, which allowed counterintelligence teams from foreign powers to identify them. That had consequences, some severe as executions, in 2011 and 2012.

These days, some of these sites – including the “Star Wars” one – now redirect to the CIA’s official site.

The post How U.S. Spies Used A “Star Wars” Fan Page appeared first on Dark Horizons.