MI6 has launched a “dark web portal” to let Russian and Chinese traitors get in touch.
The platform, known as Silent Courier, marks a major shift for British spooks, who say it is now safer to meet agents online than in person.
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In a video the agency said: “For over a hundred years the bedrock of MI6’s work had been face to face. Now we can make those connections even more securely.
“If you have access to sensitive information relating to global instability or hostile intelligence activities you can share this securely.”
The dark web is a lawless part of the internet often used by criminals trading drugs, weapons, people, pornography and precious personal data.
It is harder to access than regular websites and dark sites do not appear on search engines like Google.
It is also harder for authoritarian states to monitor.
In a deliberate jibe at Vladimir Putin, Britain’s new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the tech would help MI6 “recruit new spies for the UK, in Russia and around the world.”
She added: “As the world changes, and the threats we’re facing multiply, we must ensure the UK is always one step ahead.”
MI6 spy chief Sir Richard Moore will formally announce the dark web portal during a speech in Istanbul today.
Sir Richard, who cut his teeth spying on the Taliban 30 years ago, was the first chief of MI6 to use Twitter and he launched their Instagram account last week.
He is expected to tell potential spies: “Our virtual door is open to you.”
The online portal will let “anyone, anywhere in the world to securely contact the UK and offer their services,” the Foreign Office said.
The foreign office said MI6 was “harnessing the anonymity of the dark web for the first time”.
The spy service said it will publish details of how to access the dark sites on its YouTube channels.
