[Emperor's Child]

You don't get it: This is a situation that can't be defended against due to the order in which the turns are processed. Assuming that the opponent launching plague attacks processes turns earlier than the opponent that is receiving the attacks, and that the plague launcher has enough intel to launch one plague per turn (in this case he/she does), then counter-intel will never work since the plagues are released before any counter intel eliminates them by the subsequent player's turn processing. There is simply no defense depending on the order of turn processing that is decided by the order of how players signed up for the game.
In the case of CB#8, the game went from one of space combat to "spy wars" in several turns once this tactic was adopted, and in my opinion will just throw successive players out of the game with no recourse. That game in particular is being won by intel alone in a manner that can't be defended against. Personally I don't think was the intent of the game was to have intel as the game winning tactic... That's not the type of game I believe "carrier battles was intended to become.
My personal opinion is that the game is being won by a taking advantage of a flaw in the intel system that has much larger than intended consequences, and it poisons the gameplay. That is why I'm withdrawing from that game: the game is being won by cheap tactics and the ones who are doing it in my book are cheating.