A MYSTERY device purchased by the US government could be linked to a debilitating condition – known as Havana Syndrome – impacting thousands of spies.
The perplexing illness refers to a strange collection of symptoms, including ringing ears and dizziness, crushing headaches and memory loss.
The Biden Administration quietly purchased the device in its final weeks in 2024.
The device has since been tested in relation to a series of ailments suffered by intelligence agents, diplomats and military personnel.
Multiple sources told CBS News more than 1,500 American officials had reported experiencing Havana Syndrome since 2016.
Bought for millions of dollars by the Department of Homeland Security’s Investigations division, the device is portable, backpack sized and contains components with Russian origins, according to the anonymous sources.
Despite containing Russian components, there has been no evidence revealing that the device was Russian made.
Officials have reportedly struggled to understand how a device that small could cause the level of damage reported by some victims.
Testing has revealed the device emits pulsed, radio-frequency energy, however the nature of the testing remains unknown.
Investigators reportedly believe the device could be inducing Havana Syndrome symptoms.
Independent journalist Sasha Ingber and CNN revealed the government’s acquisition of the device.
It is unclear how the Biden Administration became aware of the item.
The term was derived from cases first reported by US diplomats and intelligence officers stationed in Havana, Cuba in 2016.
US officials briefed some of their findings to a congressional oversight hearing in 2025.
Victims of the syndrome have reported feeling a spate of neurological symptoms, including severe headaches and head pressure, vertigo, nausea and ringing or popping sensations in their ears.
Many have also described hearing intense high-pitched and painful sounds, which appeared to alleviate when they moved to a different location.
Some victims had symptoms so severe they were forced to leave their jobs.
Cases have since been reported from every populated continent and have spanned dozens of countries.
Some victims have spent the last decade attempting to shed light on their cases, often blaming the government for not providing proper support or specialised medical care.
There is no official recognition of the syndrome, so diagnosis and treatment can turn into an expensive process.
An initial assessment of the syndrome was completed in 2023, which found it was “very unlikely” a foreign entity was responsible for the illnesses.
The Biden Administration formally dubbed the symptoms as “Anomalous Health Incidents,” or AHIs.
The conclusion was supported in January last year, when an updated review found the majority of the intelligence community thought foreign involvement was highly unlikely.
Since then, two agencies have revised their positions, saying there was a “roughly even chance” that a foreign adversary had developed a device capable of hurting American officials and their families.
Despite this revision, the agencies did not link the device directly to the reported AHIs.
Since the device entered testing, concerns have sparked over the results of continued development of such technology.
CBS reported that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) had conducted a review of the previous investigations and was close to completion, however, was not ready to brief lawmakers or the public on its findings.
A spokesperson from the ODNI said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard “remains committed to sharing findings from her investigation into Anomalous Health Incidents with the American people.”
“However, we are not going to rush to put out incomplete information,” the spokesperson said.
They noted a team had been continuing “relentless” work on completing the assessment.
Former senior CIA intelligence officer Marc Polymeropoulos has spoken publicly of the symptoms he suffered after being struck in Moscow in 2017.
He has criticized the agencies for what he called disingenuous prior inquiries.
“The CIA always claimed that none of this technology even existed, that a device didn’t exist, and they based their [assessments] on this,” he said.
“So their entire analytic assumptions are now blown up.
“A new, full analytic review is now warranted, and the DNI must call for one.”
In a statement to CNN, he said: “If the [US government] has indeed uncovered such devices, then the CIA owes all the victims a f**king major and public apology for how we have been treated as pariahs.”
