Categories: U.S. News

Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus used modern spy tricks to keep their affair secret

David Petraeus and his biographer-turned-mistress Paula Broadwell used some handy espionage tradecrafts to keep their liaisons a secret for nearly a year.

David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell would communicate using a dummy Gmail account that they set up as a modern version of the classic spy “dead drop” trick, where they would leave their messages in the account’s draft folder to save it for the other to see.

Rather than sending each other actual emails, which would create an electronic paper trail, they would write messages and save them as drafts.

The other would then log in to the same account, view the message, delete it and then leave a response that would also be saved rather than sent.

Dead drops, wherein spies leave messages for their sources or informants at a neutral location and then the individual would go and pick up the message before returning with their own response.

David Petraeus and his mistress Paula Broadwell used some handy espionage tradecrafts to keep their liaisons a secret for nearly a year

In the digital era, however, Gmail’s draft folder creates an easy space for teenagers, terrorists, and apparently philandering politicians to do the same.

David Petraeus was the one to set up the fake account in this case, and he used a pseudonym to do so.

The pair may never have been caught if Paula Broadwell didn’t go against the papertrail the save-but-don’t-send trick safeguarded the lovers from.

The scandal came under investigation only after Paula Broadwell used one of her email accounts to send anonymous emails to Florida housewife Jill Kelley.

Diane A. Wade

Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.

Recent Posts

White House 2024: Voter Fraud Claims Flood Social Media

Misleading allegations, rumours and outright lies about voting and fraud are flooding online spaces in…

1 day ago

Spain: At Least 158 Killed In The Country’s Worst Flooding Disaster

At least 158 people have died in Spain's worst flooding disaster in generations. On October…

4 days ago

Russia Fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, Surpassing Global GDP

Google has been fined two undecillion (a two followed by 36 zeroes) roubles by a…

4 days ago

Financing Your Home Remodel: 7 Tips for Success

Embarking on a home remodel is an exciting journey, promising enhanced comfort, increased property value,…

2 weeks ago

Donald Trump Serves Up McDonald’s Fries While Kamala Harris Celebrates 60th Birthday with Church Choir

The US presidential candidates continued to campaign across key swing states on October 20. Footage…

2 weeks ago

America PAC: Elon Musk Promises to Award $1M Each Day to Swing States Voters

Elon Musk has said he will give away $1 million a day to a registered…

2 weeks ago