Sources tell CBS News that the U.S. quietly purchased a device in late 2024 that may be connected to the mysterious condition known as "Havana Syndrome." CBS News reporter Olivia Gazis has more.

Washington

The United States government has quietly purchased and begun testing a portable device believed to be connected to Havana syndrome, a condition that has affected more than 1,500 American officials since 2016. The device, which emits pulsed radio frequency energy and contains Russian components, was acquired by a Department of Homeland Security unit using Pentagon funds, reportedly through black market channels in late 2024.

Testing of the device has been ongoing for at least a year, and congressional oversight committees have been briefed on the findings. While the device's existence suggests it could produce the neurological symptoms reported by victims, there is no conclusive evidence linking it to specific cases. U.S. intelligence agencies continue to investigate the origins of Havana syndrome, and a new review by the director of national intelligence is underway.

U.S. government obtains device tied to mysterious "Havana Syndrome"

Sources tell CBS News the US quietly purchased a device in late 2024 that may be connected to the mysterious condition known as Havana syndrome. We're told the U.S. government is now testing that portable backpack-sized device that emits pulsed radio frequency energy. More than 1,500 American officials have reported symptoms including severe headaches, nausea, and ringing in the ears since 2016. There have been multiple investigations into the origins of Havana syndrome, but nothing conclusive has been released so far. CBS News reporter Olivia Gazis joins us now. Olivia, what exactly is it that the U.S. obtained and how? Sure. Well, three sources who've been briefed on this highly secretive acquisition, Lindsay, tell CBS News that the device was purchased by a unit inside the Department of Homeland Security using Pentagon funding upwards of eight figures, which means multiple millions of dollars. It is relatively small, as you said, and according to what we know, it was a transaction that one person described as Russia connected. It's got Russian components inside of it and it's Russia connected. That doesn't mean that we bought it from the Kremlin. More likely, it means a black market, an arms dealer, not an official state to state transaction. The testing of this device, which, as you mentioned, was bought in 2024 in the final weeks of the Biden administration, has been going on for at least a year. And we're told that congressional oversight committees have been briefed on what these investigators have found. Why does this matter for victims? It's evidence that, one, a device exists and it may be capable of producing those kinds of really troubling neurological effects that they've been experiencing. That said, we do not know that it's been conclusively proven that this device causes these cases or is linked to any specific case. But there is a broader question about proliferation here. If the U.S. was able to acquire one of these devices, it raises the possibility that other potentially hostile countries may be able to get their hands on one, too, if they haven't already, which poses real risks to U.S. officials overseas. What has the intelligence community been trying to do to understand Havana syndrome? As you mentioned, U.S. intelligence agencies have spent years investigating what's behind this illness, which has affected diplomats, intelligence officers, military personnel all around the world, including some very high profile cases. If you'll recall reports of incidents here in Washington, D.C., involving senior U.S. officials, the CIA director's former chief of staff was targeted in India while traveling overseas. And for many of these victims, Russia has long been the prime and in their their view, obvious suspect. But the intelligence assessments released here, there was one a major one in 2023 and 2025 concluded it was very unlikely that a foreign adversary was responsible for these incidents. There was a subtle but notable shift in 2025 about how two intelligence agencies assess the possibility that a device could be involved. That hasn't stopped victims today from feeling incredibly incensed that the U.S. government had this device in late 2024 and yet upheld that judgment in 2025. We do know that right now, the director of national intelligence has a team taking another look at what the intelligence community concluded. But that review hasn't been given to Congress or released publicly yet. Olivia Gazis, thank you for your reporting and for joining The Daily Report.

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