Echoes of espionage: Unpacking the mystery of Havana syndrome

Migraines, memory disorders, sleep problems, and physical injuries to the hearing organ. Symptoms of the "Havana syndrome" are elusive and difficult to classify, but they have appeared in employees of American diplomatic posts worldwide. They occurred when officers of the Russian unit 29155 embarked on foreign trips.

"Non-lethal acoustic weapons" is how the Russians described the research area of an officer of unit 29155 and rewarded him with a medal for his work. They had a solid reason for this accolade. According to international investigations, for almost a decade, Russian special services have been successfully targeting American diplomats and agency officers.

Victims of these Russian attacks experienced the so-called "Havana syndrome." This set of disorders was first documented among staff at the American diplomatic post in Havana between 2015-2017, including headaches, vibrating pain in the ears, loss of balance, sleep issues, and severe memory problems, necessitating the evacuation of 24 individuals from Cuba at that time.

Subsequently, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai employees began reporting similar symptoms. Similar cases were later identified in Georgia, Austria, and even the United States, notably in Washington D.C. This new "occupational disease" seemed to predominantly affect diplomats and government agency employees with roles related to Russia.

This situation, particularly given the emergence of unique neurological problems and physical injuries, such as "non-mechanical brain injuries" and damage to the cochlea and bones within the inner ear, could not be overlooked. These injuries are synonymous with those attributed to the "Havana syndrome."

But how can one be exposed to a loud noise without being aware? Very loud sounds can be painful. Sounds beyond our hearing range can also affect us—emitting them at frequencies either too high (ultrasonic) or too low (infrasonic) for human ears captures this effect, enveloping the target in what feels like overwhelming silence while subjecting them to extreme noise.

Following congressional decisions, victims were compensated under the so-called Havana Act. Meanwhile, American intelligence reassured the public, stating that the observed ailments were not due to hostile actions from foreign states against the USA.

However, these reassuring statements contradict earlier expert opinions, including those referenced by the American Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees 18 government intelligence agencies.

American intelligence's position has also been challenged by investigations from the Latvian portal "Insider," German magazine "Der Spiegel," and the "60 Minutes" program on CBS. These investigations pointed out that diplomatic staff reported similar symptoms before Havana, including in Frankfurt.

The arrival of symptoms coincided with verified foreign trips by officers of the Russian unit 29155, known for operating under the GRU and conducting assassinations and attacks on Putin's adversaries globally. This unit's operations include using radioactive weapons on NATO territory and the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter with polonium.

As usual, through its spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin denied these allegations, dismissing them as unfounded.

Nonetheless, "non-lethal acoustic weapons," which affect victims in unseen and hard-to-detect ways, are not a figment of journalistic imagination or futuristic speculation. They are very real.

Can sound act as a weapon? References to the military use of music reach back to the 7th-6th century BC and the Book of Joshua from the Old Testament, describing the unconfirmed archaeological battle of Jericho, where 3200 years ago, the trumpets of Jericho coupled with the screams of thousands of warriors were believed to have led to the collapse of the city's formidable walls.

During World War II, Germans explored sound for military applications, unsuccessfully attempting to use explosion-generated waves as anti-aircraft weapons.

In recent history, music as a weapon isn't unheard of either. In 1989, the Americans subjected the Vatican embassy, sheltering Panama's dictator Manuel Noriega, to a week-long bombardment of music from Guns N’ Roses and Led Zeppelin, leading to the dictator's bloodless surrender after he pleaded for the music to be stopped. Guantanamo detainees were similarly subjected to constant music, albeit with a different playlist.

Sound waves' painful nature was also utilized against Somali pirates or protesters globally through the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device), a non-lethal weapon that emits sound, causing physical discomfort. Polish police also possess LRAD equipment, but legal norms restrict their use of a mobile sound system within the country.

Unlike the "Havana syndrome," the cases described above are not shrouded in mystery—they are clear examples of noise's harmful effects. But what about the impacts of sounds we cannot hear?

You don't need to be an American diplomat or spy to be targeted by inaudible sound attacks. High-frequency sounds are employed in the Mosquito device, a sound emitter designed to repel teenagers, leveraging the fact that hearing declines with age, allowing younger people to hear sounds at higher frequencies that older individuals cannot.

Shop owners worldwide wishing to attract older clientele and authorities in places like Rotterdam, deploying "mosquitoes" to disperse youth and disrupt peace at night, have exploited this phenomenon.

This same mechanism provides an avenue for discreet communication among young people, using high-frequency ringtones or notification sounds on smartphones, which go unnoticed by adults, such as teachers.

Marketers also harness this phenomenon, employing inaudible sounds to facilitate communication between advertising sources—like televisions—and our smartphones. Among others, the company SilverPush was highlighted to the American Federal Trade Commission as a consumer privacy threat, with the aim here being not our health but our bank accounts and wallets.