# CIA spy tech from Amazon

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "CIA spy tech from Amazon," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia-spy-tech-amazon/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's account that roughly 95% of the CIA's spy technology is purchased commercially from Amazon.com rather than custom-built, illustrated by a $10 leather briefcase he had rigged into a listening device in a Pakistani market.*

- **Share bought commercially (per Kiriakou):** Approximately 95%
- **Reason:** Cheaper and faster than custom-building equipment
- **Kiriakou's example:** A $10 leather briefcase rigged with a hidden microphone

**CIA spy tech from Amazon** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s account of the agency's mostly commercial, off-the-shelf approach to surveillance equipment. Asked about the coolest spy technology he ever used, Kiriakou said there is *"kind of a dirty little secret"* about it: roughly 95% of CIA spy tech is purchased from Amazon.com, because it is cheaper and quicker to buy something online than to invent it from scratch.[1] He identifies AWS — Amazon Web Services — as the specific unit of Amazon that does business with the CIA.[2]

## The Pakistani-market briefcase

Kiriakou's own favorite piece of tradecraft was a $10 leather briefcase bought in a Pakistani market. Over three days, a colleague rigged it with a listening-device wire and tiny batteries sewn into the lining. Kiriakou carried the briefcase — empty of anything visibly incriminating — into a meeting; his colleagues, positioned half a mile away, were able to listen to the entire conversation.[3]

## See also

- [CIA disguise program](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia-disguise-program)
- [Central Intelligence Agency](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia)

## Sources

1. We Asked a CIA Officer 24 Tough Questions (2025-12-03), at 03:05. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXtDH2IXKY8&t=185s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-12-03-honesty-box-24-tough-questions/
2. CIA Spy Breaks Silence on Epstein Cover-Up, Mossad & Trump (2025-07-14), at 2:02:16. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HStqERfZbPw&t=7336s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-07-14-danny-jones/
3. We Asked a CIA Officer 24 Tough Questions (2025-12-03), at 03:35. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXtDH2IXKY8&t=215s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-12-03-honesty-box-24-tough-questions/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia-spy-tech-amazon/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt