The Defense Department has been analyzing a device acquired through a covert operation for more than a year, with some investigators suspecting it may explain the enigmatic health issues known as Havana Syndrome that have afflicted U.S. diplomats, spies, and service members, according to four sources familiar with the matter, CNN reported.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a unit within the Department of Homeland Security, obtained the device in the final days of the Biden administration using Pentagon-provided funds. Two sources said the cost reached “eight figures,” without specifying further.
The device, which emits pulsed radio waves and includes Russian parts, though not fully Russian-made, remains under study amid internal debates and doubts about its connection to the dozens of unresolved anomalous health incidents.
One source noted the challenge of creating a portable unit potent enough to inflict the reported injuries, yet still able to be carried in a backpack.
The purchase has revived heated discussions in government circles about Havana Syndrome, officially termed anomalous health incidents.
Symptoms — including vertigo, severe headaches, insomnia, hearing problems and memory loss — first surfaced in late 2016 among U.S. personnel in Havana, Cuba. Cases have since appeared globally.
Intelligence and defense agencies have probed whether these stem from directed energy attacks by adversaries, but senior officials have cited insufficient evidence.
Victims contend the government has dismissed them and overlooked clues pointing to Russia.
Defense officials deemed the findings significant enough to inform the House and Senate intelligence committees late last year, mentioning the device and its evaluations.
A major concern for some is the potential spread of such technology, allowing multiple nations to deploy tools causing debilitating harm to American officials.
HSI, which probes customs-related crimes including technology proliferation, often partners with the military on global efforts. A former Homeland Security official described these as “the single biggest collaboration point between HSI and the US military,” such as tracing U.S. tech found in conflict zones like Afghanistan or Iraq.
The device’s origin and seller remain undisclosed, as does how authorities discovered it.
Medical experts face hurdles due to the lack of a precise definition of these incidents, with tests often conducted well after symptom onset.
In 2022, an intelligence review suggested some cases could plausibly result from pulsed electromagnetic energy from an outside source.
By 2023, the intelligence community concluded no ties to foreign foes, deeming a targeted campaign unlikely.
A January 2025 report echoed that it was very unlikely that an adversary caused the symptoms broadly, though one agency assessed a “roughly even chance” that a foreign actor used a novel weapon on a limited group, The Hill reported. Analysts couldn’t entirely exclude that in select instances.
Russia rejected any involvement in November 2021.
Victims view the device’s acquisition as possible validation.
“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,” said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA officer who publicly detailed injuries from a 2017 Moscow incident, per CNN.
National security attorney Mark Zaid, representing nearly three dozen victims, mainly from intelligence ranks, confirmed similar details.
“As attorney for nearly three dozen federal victims, mostly from w/i Intelligence Community, of #AnomalousHealthIncidents, I can confirm that I had the same information of USG possessing one or more such devices – and from different sources,” he posted on X. “Time for @CIA to reveal what it knows.”
