Wired magazine presents a fascinating interview with Jonna Mendez, former CIA Chief of Disguise.

Being a spy has always been difficult. During the Cold War, being a spy in Moscow was an exceptional challenge. The Soviets worked very hard to catch and expose CIA spies.

Jonna Mendez is the author of the book The Moscow Rules. There were special rules that spies had to pay close attention to if they were to survive.

In this video, the former CIA Chief of Disguise discusses some of the tactics, gadgets, and disguises the operatives had to use in Moscow.

She discusses “the five second mask”, cyanide pens, dead-rat dead-drops, and more.

Former CIA operative, Glenn Whidden, shows off a dead rat that was used as a dead drop in Moscow.

The Five Second Mask allowed agents to change their appearance in a matter of moments.