Spy Chip Detector to Thwart Spy Chip Semiconductors

Toshiba and Japan's Waseda University have teamed up to develop a system that can detect so-called spy chips, tiny intruders in servers that are barely visible to the naked eye or are even incorporated in circuitry.

Spy chips made headlines about two years ago when China allegedly planted the devices into servers, which reportedly reached 30 American companies. The tool, called HTfinder, determines if a semiconductor contains spy chips based on the makeup of the circuits...

Spy chips can be hidden in semiconductors and circuit boards by resembling part of the circuit. The chips can receive signals so that third parties can take control or cause a device to malfunction at any given time. more

Convicted Spy Granted Citizenship

A former Navy intelligence analyst who spent 30 years behind bars for selling U.S. military secrets to Israel, arrived in Israel on Wednesday where he and his wife were granted citizenship by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Jonathan Pollard, 66, triumphantly kissed the ground as he disembarked from the aircraft after it landed in Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv. more

Russian Spy Crank Yanked into Confessing

Poisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny duped a Russian spy into confessing to the botched assassination attempt — revealing that nerve agent had been smeared on his underpants, according to a report.

The 44-year-old opposition leader posed as a senior official from Russia’s National Security Council demanding an urgent debriefing about why the poisoning in August failed, according to a recording shared with CNN.

In a sting where he used a number disguised to look like it was from the headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSS), Navalny tricked Konstantin Kudryavtsev into revealing key details about how he had been poisoned with Novichok in August, CNN said. more

Exercise Like Your Walter Mitty Secret Agent Life Depended On It

via Justin Harper, Business reporter, BBC News, Singapore

I was the hero in my very own spy story, speeding from one checkpoint to another to foil the bad guys.

The plot came from a running app called Running Stories, which casts you as a secret agent in a story playing out with a heart-thumping soundtrack.

It is one of the latest apps designed to make exercise more entertaining, using real-time data that integrates the plot with your surroundings.

Key events in the storyline are triggered when a runner passes specific GPS markers and landmarks.

From being shot at by snipers to racing to catch a speedboat along the river, the plot kept me engaged and burned plenty of calories. more

John le Carré - RIP

John le Carré, whose exquisitely nuanced, intricately plotted Cold War thrillers elevated the spy novel to high art by presenting both Western and Soviet spies as morally compromised cogs in a rotten system full of treachery, betrayal and personal tragedy, died on Saturday in Cornwall, England. He was 89. (Born David John Moore Cornwell in Poole, Dorset, on Oct. 19, 1931.) more

Diplomats Reportedly Zapped with Microwaves

Mysterious neurological symptoms experienced by U.S. diplomats in China and Cuba appear to be caused by directed microwave energy, according to a new report by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) obtained by The Hill...

A source familiar with the symptoms told NBC News, which was the first to report on the findings from NAS, that the CIA had determined Russian operatives who had worked on microwave weapons were in the same cities as CIA agents at the time they began experiencing the neurological symptoms.

U.S. diplomats in Cuba began experiencing the symptoms in late 2016, reporting they were hearing strange sounds and experiencing odd physical sensations before becoming sick. Some of those symptoms disappeared, while others lingered.

Cuba has denied any knowledge of the illnesses. more

New York’s KGB Espionage Museum Will Soon Go Up for Auction

It’s a sad fact that as the coronavirus crisis stretches on, many museums and galleries won’t be able to survive the economic crunch, and will likely be forced to sell off their collections. 

However, this also means that vast and unusual troves of items will be redistributed to the public, which is the case with an upcoming Julien’s Auctions sale of the entirety of the items within the KGB Espionage Museum in New York City. 

Set to take place on February 13, 2021 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills and online simultaneously, the auction will include the world’s largest collection of authentic KGB spy equipment dating back to the Cold War...

“The KGB Espionage Museum’s collection of Cold War era items is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world,” Martin Nolan, the Executive Director of Julien’s Auctions, told Observer on Thursday. “We anticipate the auction will attract a wide range of collectors from museum curators to historians to James Bond fans, particularly in this election year." more

Missing Wirecard Executive Could be Austrian Spy

German authorities say a missing Wirecard manager, who vanished just as the digital payments company collapsed, may be an informer for Austria’s intelligence agency.

Austrian-born Jan Marsalek, Wirecard’s former chief operating officer, disappeared without trace in June just as it emerged the company had inflated its balance sheet by at least €3 billion.

While the worldwide hunt continues for the fugitive 40 year-old executive, German prosecutors have told Bundestag MPs there is evidence that Mr Marsalek, who was in charge of all Wirecard operational business, was a source for Austria’s BVT intelligence agency. more

New Spy Movie: My Grandfather The Spy

EXCLUSIVE: Dave Evans’ feature doc My Grandfather The Spy, which chronicles the director’s exploration of his own family’s long-buried secrets, has been boarded by SMP Distribution for international sales... It follows how director Evans uncovers that his grandfather Eric, seemingly a quiet unassuming shopkeeper, actually had a connection to Cold War espionage... Shooting took place in Bulgaria, England and Wales. SMP is now looking into festival screenings. more

‘My Spy’: Film Review

The long line of Hollywood tough guys appearing alongside cute kids continues with “My Spy,” a passable PG-13 action-comedy in which big ’n’ brawny Dave Bautista plays a CIA man whose nose-diving career and damaged emotions are rehabilitated by a clever nine-year-old girl with an aptitude for espionage and a matchmaking plan for her widowed mom. more

My Spy will premiere on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service on June 26, 2020.
Trailer.

In other spy film news... The closely watched arrival of Christopher Nolan's big-budget sci-fi espionage film “Tenet” will finally happen on July 31, Warner Bros. announced Friday.

U.S. Security Director Sentenced to 16 Years Hard Labor in Russia

Ex-US marine Paul Whelan has been sentenced to 16 years of hard labour on spying charges in Russia.

He was arrested in a hotel room in Moscow 18 months ago with a USB flash drive which security officers say contained state secrets.

The Moscow City Court found him guilty of receiving classified information.

Whelan - who is also a citizen of the UK, Canada and Ireland - denounced the closed trial as a "sham" ahead of the verdict.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for Whelan's immediate release. more

Foreign Spies are Exploiting the Instability

Intelligence officials among US allies are deeply concerned that the political instability triggered by more than a week of occasionally violent clashes between police and protesters across the United States has opened a new front for hostile foreign intelligence collection.
..The situation will make it that much easier to determine potential targets for recruitment as much of these conflicts are playing out in the open. Social media is an excellent source for finding people who are disgruntled, disillusioned, or potentially ideologically suitable to recruit. more

Spy Pigeon Arrested... again

A pigeon suspected of being trained to “spy” by Pakistan has been captured in India along the Kashmir border. Indian officials say the bird was carrying a “coded message” which they are trying to decipher. In 2016, police in India found a bird with a note attached to it inscribed with an alleged threat to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. more

UPDATE 6/8/2020 — Indian police have released a pigeon belonging to a Pakistani fisherman after a probe found that the bird, which had flown across the contentious border between the nuclear-armed nations, was not a spy, two officials said on Friday. more

Yet Another Spy Movie List

The 58 Best Spy Movies of All Time

Were this a year like any other, we’d already have seen the year’s two most-anticipated spy movies: the 25th James Bond film No Time to Die and Marvel’s Black Widow solo film.

Both were scheduled for spring releases and will now open in theaters in November…if theaters are, in fact, open.

Fortunately, there’s no shortage of great spy movies to keep us occupied while we wait... The List

Pew Comments on Relationship Health - It Stinks

Most Americans think snooping on a partner’s phone is a bad thing to do, but that hasn’t stopped more than a third of people in committed relationships from doing it anyway, according to Pew research published Friday.

Of those surveyed, 34 percent of people in committed relationships admitted to snooping on their partner’s phone without their knowledge. Interestingly, the survey also found that 42 percent of women (who are in relationships) say they’ve snooped through their current partners’ phones without them knowing, while just 25 percent of men say they have.

As many of us find ourselves cooped up with our partners and our phones for the foreseeable future, the researchers suggest that using this technology is not necessarily great for the health of our long-term relationships. more

Spy vs. Spy - The Movie

The Spy vs. Spy comic strip has been a regular fixture in Mad magazine for almost sixty years. In that time, the two identical birdlike espionage agents — Black Spy and White Spy — have also featured in video games and cartoons, but a live-action big-screen adaptation has continually eluded the warring duo. However, that could all finally change, if new developments go according to plan.

According to Collider, Rawson Marshall Thurber is in talks to direct the movie for Warner Bros. and Imagine Entertainment. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are on board as producers, which makes sense as they’ve been attached to the project since its inception. It remains to be seen if Dwayne Johnson will star, but that wouldn’t be surprising as he’s Thurber’s go-to guy...

The movie, as silly as it will undoubtedly be, might also be very smart and biting. The original comics are rife with political satire, often taking aim at America’s involvement in wars. Given that there’s still plenty of real-life drama to comment on, don’t be surprised if the movie pokes fun at current affairs...

If the film lives up to its potential, Spy vs. Spy will be one entertaining, wacky ride. more

'Zoom-bombed' | Salary Cuts Call Eavesdropped on by Rival Company

Staff at national news outlet The Independent were on a ‘confidential and sensitive video’ Zoom call to learn about salary cuts and furloughs when it was ‘zoom-bombed’ by an employee from a rival media organisation. more

Mark Di Stefano, a reporter with the Financial Times, allegedly entered meetings held over the video conferencing app by the Independent and the Evening Standard.

Stefano, according to the Independent, brazenly joined the meeting by using his work email address. This caused Stefano’s name to appear on the call, although his camera remained disabled.

The journalist reportedly joined for 16 seconds before logging out but returned soon after by logging in with his phone number.

Not long after the call, Stefano sent out a series of tweets describing topics that the Independent says were discussed during the staff meeting.

Stefano described information on everything from pay cuts to the outlet’s issues with falling ad revenue. more

Related News...
DHS Reportedly Concerned Zoom May be Vulnerable to Foreign Spies 
The feds are concerned that Zoom’s security flaws could make the popular videoconferencing platform vulnerable to foreign spies, a new report says.

An intelligence analysis from the Department of Homeland Security found that Zoom’s explosive growth and its well-known security problems make it a “target-rich environment” for government spy services and other hackers, ABC News reported Tuesday.

“Any organization currently using — or considering using — Zoom should evaluate the risk of its use,” the department warned in the analysis, which was reportedly distributed to law enforcement agencies around the US. more
...and much more.

This Week's News About Spies

 Busy, as always...

• California Man Charged With Spying for the Chinese Government 
• Russia Pulls Diplomat Suspected of Spying in Bulgaria
• Poland detains man suspected of spying for Russia
• Youth football coach denies spying allegations after team disqualified from playoffs
• Ex-CIA Spy Flees Italy Over Fear for Her Safety
• How The Relationship Between Trump And His Spy Chiefs Soured
• FTC Banned Retina-X Spying Apps Until Proven For Legitimate Use
• The Air Force’s secretive spy spaceplane is back on Earth after a record two-year stay in space 
• Decision-making tips from a former spy

Why Do CIA Spies Stop at Every Yellow Light?

After spending years in the CIA fighting to prevent nuclear terrorism and other catastrophes, some old habits just will not go away for the ex-spy Amaryllis Fox...

...a former CIA clandestine-service officer and author of the new book "Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA"...

...CIA spies learn to master skills regular people do not, and they stick with you...

...But there is one old habit, she said, that drives her husband a little bit crazy — stopping at every yellow light when she drives. more

Killed for Spying: The Story of the First Factory

Piedmont, in north-west Italy, is celebrated for its fine wine. But when a young Englishman, John Lombe, traveled there in the early 18th Century, he was not going to savoir a glass of Barolo. His purpose was industrial espionage. 

Lombe wished to figure out how the Piedmontese spun strong yarn from silkworm silk. Divulging such secrets was illegal, so Lombe snuck into a workshop after dark, sketching the spinning machines by candlelight. In 1717, he took those sketches to Derby in the heart of England.

Local legend has it that the Italians took a terrible revenge on Lombe, sending a woman to assassinate him. 

Whatever the truth of that, he died suddenly at the age of 29, just a few years after his Piedmont adventure. more