Balloon Incident Reveals More Than Spying

There is nothing new about superpowers spying on one another, even from balloons. But for pure gall, there was something different this time...

It may be months before American intelligence agencies can compare the audacious flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon across the country to other intrusions on America’s national security systems, to determine how it ranks.

After all, there is plenty of competition.

There was the theft of the designs of the F-35 about 15 years ago, enabling the Chinese air force to develop its own look-alike stealth fighter, with Chinese characteristics. There was the case of China’s premier hacking team lifting the security clearance files for 22 million Americans from the barely secured computers of the Office of Personnel Management in 2015. That, combined with stolen medical files from Anthem and travel records from Marriott hotels, has presumably helped the Chinese create a detailed blueprint of America’s national security infrastructure...

Not surprisingly, now it is coveted by military and intelligence officials who desperately want to reverse-engineer whatever remains the Coast Guard and the Navy can recover. more

Extra Credit: Spy vs Spy: A brief history of balloon spying & Thaddeus S. C. Lowe

How IBM Trolled East German Spies

In the late 1960's IBM knew its technology was being smuggled into Communist block countries. One designer decided to sent a message etched into one of the circuit boards of the IBM 360 computer. Written in Russian, the message loosely translates to, "When do you want to stop to swipe. Own design is better."

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Thanks to one of our readers... Hi Kevin,
Your latest post incorrectly states the name of the U.S. company whose semiconductor engineers put a hidden message in their computers for GDR's Stasi semiconductor spies to see. I said "DEC" in my email because that was the name of Digital Equipment Corporation--not IBM.

Also, the message wasn't "etched into one of the circuit boards of the IBM 360 computer", as you stated--it was microscopically etched onto the silicon die of a DEC memory chip that was used in DEC (not IBM) computers, and could only be seen after someone used acid to dissolve the chip packaging to expose the die for reverse-engineering. I thought all that would be clear to you from the video, so I didn't belabor it.

You might want to correct that info on your website.

Cheers,

The 2023 “Chinese Espionage Wall Calendar”

As the U.S. government increasingly focuses on combating Chinese spies, the threat of Chinese Communist Party espionage seems closer to home than ever. But with the turn of the new year, a new calendar aims to bring awareness of the threat even closer.

And the best part is, it’s free.

The 2023 “Chinese Espionage Wall Calendar” is freely available for download here. Each month’s page features a different person found to have been spying on behalf of the People’s Republic of China.

This month, it’s Kevin Malloy, a former CIA officer now in prison for selling classified information that identified U.S. intelligence sources to the Chinese. 

In February, the featured spy will be Fang Fang, a Chinese national who infiltrated several political teams, including the campaign for Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. more

Israel Sending Spy Cows in Palestine

The official daily news publication of the Palestinian Authority, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida claims that a Palestinian villager came upon Israeli cattle and made up a story about how Israel has been covertly teaching the cattle to spy on Palestinians.

According to Palestinian villager Rushd Morrar, who spoke to the daily, “These are hired and trained cattle. They hang a medallion with an eavesdropping and recording device, occasionally with cameras, on the neck of each cow to keep an eye on every little thing that happens in Khirbet Yanun.

Additionally, he allegedly asserted that “the settlers release herds of wild boars” to obliterate all Palestinian crops. more

Former U.S. Analyst Convicted of Spying for Cuba Released From Prison

Ana Montes, a former U.S. defense intelligence analyst who was convicted of spying for Cuba, has been released from federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas.

Montes, 65, was released on Friday after serving a majority of her 25-year sentence, according to a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, adding that her early release was based on good behavior.

Montes was an analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency for 16 years, starting in 1985. During her career, she was highly regarded for her expertise about Cuba. But under the radar, Montes used coded messages and water-soluble paper to disclose classified information. Among the secrets she gave to the Cuban government were the identities of four U.S. spies in Cuba. more

Canada Awarded RCMP Contract to Firm with Ties to China

Canada - The federal government awarded a contract to provide and maintain RCMP communications equipment to a company with ties to the Chinese government, Radio-Canada has learned.

The contract has security experts raising concerns about potential Chinese access to RCMP communications and data.

On October 6, 2021, the federal government awarded Sinclair Technologies a contract worth $549,637 for a radio frequency (RF) filtering system. One of the system's purposes is to protect the RCMP's land-based radio communications from eavesdropping...

Conor Healy, a Canadian now based in Washington, said, "the risks include eavesdropping, collection of communications data and jamming or shutting down the radio communications system." more

Five News Outlets Urge U.S. to Drop Espionage Charges Against Assange

The New York Times and four other major media outlets that first helped WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange publish sensitive U.S. government documents sent a letter on Monday to federal prosecutors urging them to stop prosecuting him.

The open letter, titled "Publishing is Not a Crime," was signed by the editors and publishers of The Times, The Guardian, the French outlet Le Monde, the German outlet Der Spiegel and the Spanish paper El Pais...

He faces extradition to the United States to stand trial for the hacking-related offenses and violating the 1917 Espionage Act. If Assange is convicted, he could serve up to 175 years in prison. more

Tiny State Buys $60 Million Surveillance System

(Kogi is a small state in Nigeria.)

Kogi governor acquires $60 million Chinese surveillance to eavesdrop on people. “We are putting the whole state on the map, real-time, virtual, audio and visual, so as you enter Kogi state from anywhere, we will see you. I won’t go into too much detail.”

Abdulkareem Siyaka, Kogi State Investment Promotion and Public Private Partnership Agency CEO, disclosed that the project would create 685,000 jobs and attract over N591 billion in investment yearly while encouraging migration to Kogi’s rural areas. more

The EU's Spyware Conundrum

MEPs are concerned that eavesdropping with Pegasus-type software is escalating, but the bloc is unlikely to impose rules as the final word rests with member states who dislike such oversight, experts said.

Pegasus and other software, such as Predator, have gained significant notoriety in recent years after it came to light they were being used by governments and politicians against political rivals, journalists, and activists, amongst others...

Jeroen Lenaеrs, chair of the PEGA European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware, said it was “pretty scary” how much information about personal life the Pegasus-type spyware can get...

“The Commission realises that something must be done,” said Lenaеrs... But he lamented the lack of political will from many capitals. more

Autonomous Vehicle Espionage Concerns in Congress

A member of the American House of Representatives has raised concerns about the dangers of AVs, warning that these vehicles represent a treasure trove of data that could be exploited against American citizens—or national interests...

According to an article by Wired, AVs effectively serve as moving cameras with access to emails, messages, phone calls.

...even though AVs can improve mobility for people with disabilities and make roads safer, they also enable larger, more sophisticated foreign espionage against industries, organizations and dissidents in the United States. For the original letter posted by Wired, click here.

Police Use New Tool to Track People Without a Warrant

Government agencies and private security companies in the U.S. have found a cost-effective way to engage in warrantless surveillance of individuals, groups and places: a pay-for-access web tool called Fog Reveal.

The tool enables law enforcement officers to see “patterns of life” – where and when people work and live, with whom they associate and what places they visit. The tool’s maker, Fog Data Science, claims to have billions of data points from over 250 million U.S. mobile devices. more

SPECIAL EDITION: U.S. Bugging Operation Against Soviets

by Zach Dorfman

Recently, I obtained a set of declassified 1980s intelligence files from Poland’s cold war-era archives. The files detailed a Soviet operation to identify and remove a cornucopia of bugs placed in Russian diplomatic facilities across the United States. 

The document — written in Russian and almost certainly produced by the KGB, unlike the other Polish-language files in the tranche of documents — provides a meticulous pictorial account of the ways in which the U.S. spy services sought to technically surveil the Russians on American soil. The file offers an unprecedented, stunning — if dated — look at these efforts to eavesdrop on Russian government activities within the U.S.

Click to enlarge.

The file details a number of bugs found at Soviet diplomatic facilities in Washington, D.C., New York, and San Francisco, as well as in a Russian government-owned vacation compound, apartments used by Russia personnel, and even Russian diplomats’ cars. 

And the bugs were everywhere: 

• encased in plaster in an apartment closet; 
• behind electrical and television outlets; 
• bored into concrete bricks and threaded into window frames; 
• inside wooden beams and baseboards;
• stashed within a building’s foundation itself; 
• surreptitiously attached to security cameras; 
• wired into ceiling panels and walls; 
• and secretly implanted into the backseat of cars and in their window panels, instrument panels, and dashboards. 

It’s an impressive — and impressively thorough — effort by U.S. counterspies... 

Click to enlarge.

“The number of bugs is useful as an indication that this is a sustained operation over years,” a former U.K. intelligence official with experience conducting technical operations told me. (The official requested anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence techniques.) The sheer variety in where U.S. counterspies placed the bugs shows a great deal of “creativity” on their part, the former U.K. official said. While the bugging of cars and power outlets is considered “fairly standard,” the former official added, U.S. spies cleverly inserted bugs in more unusual locations like window frames...

It's unknown why the Soviets declined to publicize all the bugs they found within their U.S.-based facilities. The Russians ripped them out from their hiding spots, ostensibly preventing them from feeding the U.S. disinformation through the listening devices and trackers they identified.

Click to enlarge.

The likelier explanation is that the KGB knew that U.S. diplomatic facilities in the Soviet Union were bugged to hell — including, at certain points, with listening devices activated by blasting American facilities with microwaves. The use of this technique by the Soviets, which some U.S. officials believed sickened those exposed to it, became a serious diplomatic issue in the 1970s between the two superpowers. more

(Kevin) A friend of mine, now deceased, was one of the CIA technical specialists during this time period who developed and planted these devices. He was prohibited from discussing the actual devices and placement operations even after he retired. However, he did write a "fictitious" story which details a typical bugging operation. Corporate security directors especially should read... The Attack on Axnan Headquarters: An Espionage Operation

Office Bugging Leak Inquiry—Given 7 Days to Submit Report

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the leaking of several audio files and a review of cybersecurity at the prime minister’s office (PMO). Formally starting today, the committee will probe the public release of audio clips that took place in the PM office. 

PM Office leak inquiry committee is chaired by Rana Sanaullah, Interior Minister, the main agenda behind it is to inquire how this bugging was done and how cyber security was compromised from such a sensitive office...

Debugging practices (TSCM) are done in government offices but authorities doubt that some advanced mobile phone applications were used. For this, the formal body is going to engage intel agencies and technical experts. more

Fears Grow of Russian Spies Turning to Industrial Espionage

Russia acknowledged this week that parts of its technology industry are dependent on foreign knowledge and lagging competitors by more than a decade, raising concerns that the country’s cyber spies will be used for industrial espionage.

Experts told The Record that Western companies should be on “full alert” for attacks from Moscow’s intelligence services. President Vladimir Putin has suggested in recent months that the country’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) should support technological development as the country deals with mounting sanctions.

The admission about the state of Russia’s microelectronics industry is contained in a new strategic policy document from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, reported Tuesday by Kommersant. It lists a number of acute problems facing Russia’s domestic technology industry, including its dependence on foreign intellectual property; its lack of production capacity; and Russia being unattractive to investors. more

Greece Wiretap and Spyware

It has been dubbed the Greek Watergate. What began as a surveillance of a little-known journalist in Greece has evolved into an array of revelations circling around the Greek government.

The story emerged last spring, when Thanasis Koukakis found out his phone had been infected with spyware that can extract data from a device. He also discovered he had been tracked by Greece's EYP National Intelligence Service via more traditional phone-tapping.

It then emerged that an MEP had also had his phone tapped before he became leader of Greece's third-biggest party. more

U.S. Government Gets More Aggressive to Curb Espionage at Universities

The U.S. Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) thinks the FBI and other agencies are not doing enough to address the espionage threat on U.S. university campuses. 

It issued a report, “Enforcement Agencies Should Better Leverage Information to Target Efforts Involving U.S. Universities” on June 14, 2022, urging the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Commerce to step up their outreach efforts to address the threat. 

Commerce, DHS, and FBI have all concurred with GAO’s recommendations. As a result, U.S. colleges and universities to face yet another organizational risk: an increase in campuses visits by export control and law enforcement agents. more

Top Spy News of the Week

A huge data leak of 1 billion records exposes China’s vast surveillance state
One billion resident records were allegedly siphoned from a police database... A massive store of data containing information on about one billion Chinese residents could be one of the biggest breaches of personal information in history. more

How the FBI Wiretapped the World
We finally understand the code behind the Anom phones... For years criminal organizations around the world were buying a special phone called Anom. The pitch was that it was completely anonymous and secure, a way for criminals to do business without authorities watching over their shoulder. It turned out that the whole thing was an elaborate honeypot and that the FBI and law enforcement agencies around the world were listening in. They’d help develop the phones themselves. more

France Spied on Nearly 23,000 People in 2021 Using Technical Tools
France’s National Commission for the Control of Intelligence Techniques has claimed that nearly 23,000 people were spied on by French authorities last year using ‘technical tools’ like geolocation and recording conversations. more

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”

Finland shuts down Confucius Institute amid espionage accusations... A cooperation contract between Helsinki University and the Confucius Institute will be terminated following accusations of spreading Chinese soft power, conducting espionage, and an attempt to block discussions on Tibet.

Belgium closed its Confucius Institute in 2019, Sweden and Denmark in 2020, and Norway in 2021. There are currently around 190 institutes in the EU. As of April, the number of institutes in the US had fallen to 18. more

The Strange Spy Case of Dr. Doublelives

An internationally recognized Mexican scientist who pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered agent for the Russian government and spying on an FBI informant in the Miami area, was sentenced Tuesday to four years in a U.S. prison...

Cabrera led a double life — as a cardiac scientist and a foreign agent — while also being married to a woman in Russia and another in Mexico, according to the few public court records. Much of the case was treated as a deep secret on national-security grounds under the Classified Information Procedures Act, or CIPA. more

U.S. Spy Chief Reiterates ‘Overclassification’ Concerns

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told senators Tuesday that the overclassification of data is a national security concern—a sentiment the nation’s top spy previously voiced in a January memo.

“Overclassification is a national security problem,” said Haines, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee alongside Defense Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier.

“This is a challenge as you ideate from a democratic perspective but also a challenge from the national security perspective,” Haines continued in an exchange with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “It’s a very challenging issue.” more