Russian spies used Ronaldo videos for coded messages

Vladimir Putin’s spies used Cristiano Ronaldo's YouTube videos to send secret messages to Moscow. This was revealed after a couple in Germany, Andreas and Heidrun Anschlag, were caught spying for Russia. To their neighbors in Marburg, they seemed like a typical family. They had fake Austrian passports and claimed to have South American heritage. Andreas worked as a car engineer while Heidrun took care of their daughter, who was unaware of their real identities. Over 23 years, they received a salary of £80,000 per year to spy on the West, sharing important secrets from organizations like the EU and NATO. The couple used various methods to communicate with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, including a mole at the Dutch foreign ministry. However, as the internet grew, they created a YouTube account under the name @Alpenkuh1. The Russian government also created an account called @crsitanofootballer. They used the comments section on Ronaldo’s videos to send coded messages. For example, a comment saying “He runs and plays like the devil” was likely a way to communicate. This method allowed them to hide their messages in plain sight among thousands of other comments. The Anschlags were eventually caught in 2011 by German intelligence. Heidrun was reportedly receiving an encrypted message when authorities raided their home. They were sentenced to prison in 2013 but were deported to Russia by the end of 2015.