In the wake of September 11th the threat of biological terrorism and sabotage has been thrust to the forefront of public consciousness. However, this is far from being a new phenomenon. From the Second World War onwards, the Cold War powers devoted considerable resources to developing what became known in the military as "bugs and gas". This ground-breaking new study lifts the lid on the top-secret Department Twelve of Directorate S (Special Operations) - the elite inner core of the Soviet KGB and its successor, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. During the 1980s and early 1990s the department was charged with the encouragement of biological espionage, the planning and preparation of acts of biological terrorism, sabotage and biological war, and supporting the Soviet biological weapons programme. Their work was carried out primarily through the activities of so-called 'illegals' - a network of Russian intelligence operatives, who were secretly deployed to the West and covertly operated there, masquerading as citizens of Western countries under assumed names and life-cover stories. One of its top operatives, Alexander Kouzminov, has decided to break his silence and reveal in depth for the first time the department's tasks, plans and tactics. More disturbingly, he explores what others in the West and the developing world are and could be capable of. In doing so he aims to identify the need for active international co-operation between nation states to manage the biological risks that have arisen as a result of international biological espionage activities.