Victor Sheymov

Victor Ivanovich Sheymov (born 9 May 1946 in Moscow) is a Russian computer security expert, author and patent holder of computer security innovations. A former intelligence official with the rank of major in the Soviet KGB, Sheymov defected to the United States in May 1980, choosing to come out of hiding a decade later.

Since becoming a US citizen, Sheymov has been active in the computer security industry as the CEO of Invicta Networks, a Northern Virginia-based developer of advanced cyber-security technologies. He has also published a memoir, Tower of Secrets, about his experiences in the KGB and life in the United States.

Early life

Sheymov was born to a well-educated family, his father an engineer; his mother a doctor specialising in cardiology. He graduated from Moscow State Technical University in 1970 and joined the KGB the following year, serving in a variety of technical roles.

Career in intelligence

On joining the KGB he was assigned to the Eighth Chief Directorate, responsible for ciphers and communications intercepts. In 1974 he was posted to the headquarters of the First Chief Directorate in Yasenevo, just outside Moscow, which oversaw all KGB foreign intelligence operations. He served as a communications watch officer, monitoring all incoming KGB message traffic from around the world. Among his responsibilities was helping prepare the daily intelligence summary for members of the Politburo. 

In 1976 Sheymov was assigned to work on communications security, including such problems as code-breaking and counterespionage. At the time of his defection, Sheymov was responsible for the oversight of all KGB cipher communications.

Although he was successful in his career, Sheymov was increasingly unhappy with life in the Soviet Union as he rose through the ranks of the KGB. Disillusioned with the system, he eventually decided he would have to defect. According to Sheymov, his work with the KGB had allowed himself to see the gap between Communist rhetoric and reality; the nature of his job allowing him information available to only a select few.

Defection

In May 1980 Sheymov, his wife Olga, and his five-year-old daughter, Elena, were spirited out of Moscow by officials from the Central Intelligence Agency. Because he had been careful not to leave any evidence of preparation the KGB suspected he and his family had been murdered on a trip out of town. As a result, the KGB leadership was totally unaware of his presence in the United States. The timing was also fortunate – with counterintelligence efforts focused on the upcoming Olympic Games, Sheymov, dressed as an airline pilot, was easily able to avoid detection. His wife and daughter were hidden in a container placed on board an American plane. Although Sheymov and his family were exfiltrated without problems, the planning had been complicated due to his busy work schedule, which included trips to Yemen and possibly other locations. Meanwhile, the need for American intelligence officers to conduct face-to-face meetings with Sheymov to finalise all the details of the operation added to the difficulties.

Aftermath

Because the KGB believed that Sheymov had simply disappeared without trace they regarded all codes and cyphers as secure. Reality did not dawn on them until the summer of 1985, when Aldrich Ames, an American double agent, informed them that the Americans had been tapping the cables coming in and out of Yasenevo since 1980.

Sheymov was friends with Robert Hanssen, a notorious FBI agent turned Soviet spy. Shortly before his treachery was uncovered Hanssen had asked Sheymov for a job with his new company, Invicta Networks, though the latter was not willing to give him one. The two had known each other since the late 1980s when Sheymov was a consultant to the National Security Agency and Hanssen was his contact in the FBI.

Sheymov at some point earned an Executive MBA from Emory University.