Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West (book)

Coming, June 6th, 2023

SPIES, by  Calder Walton  (pre-order)

Spies is the history of the secret war that Russia and the West have been waging for a century. Espionage, sabotage, and subversion were the Kremlin’s means to equalize the imbalance of resources between the East and West before, during, and after the Cold War. There was nothing “unprecedented” about Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. It was simply business as usual, new means used for old ends.

The Cold War started long before 1945. But the West fought back after World War II, mounting its own shadow war, using disinformation, vast intelligence networks, and new technologies against the Soviet Union. Spies is an inspiring, engrossing story of the best and worst of mankind: bravery and honor, treachery and betrayal. The narrative shifts across continents and decades, from the freezing streets of St. Petersburg in 1917 to the bloody beaches of Normandy; from coups in faraway lands to present-day Moscow were troll farms, synthetic bots, and weaponized cyber-attacks being launched on the woefully unprepared West. It is about the rise and fall of eastern superpowers: Russia’s past and present and the global ascendance of China.

Mining hitherto secret archives in multiple languages, Calder Walton shows that the Cold War started earlier than commonly assumed, that it continued even after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, and that Britain and America’s clandestine struggle with the Soviet government provides key lessons for countering China today. This fresh reading of history, combined with practical takeaways for our current great power struggles, make Spies a unique and essential addition to the history of the Cold War and the unrolling conflict between the United States and China that will dominate the 21st century. more

Australian Spy Camera Ads from the 1880's

Not very covert by today's standards, but interesting.

The Dog Cam... Send the dog into an area by himself, blow the dog whistle, dog wags tail connected to the shutter. Fingers crossed, you got the shot.

The Pot Shot... or, The Detective Camera. Lens peeks through a buttonhole. The bull taking a shot at the photographer, taking a shot of the kangaroo is a bit of a non sequitur. 

Spy News: Qatar Deep Six'es Sub Company & Some Employees

Qatar Shuts Down Submarine Company Dahra After Alleged Espionage

The submarine was shut down by Qatar due to many of its employees being accused of spying for Israel in August 2022. Reports say that 75 employees have been impacted, most of which were former Indian Navy officials, were asked to go home. more

But not all...

Qatar Is Sentencing Eight Officials Of This Submarine Company To Death
The investigation into Dahra Global commenced last August when Qatari intelligence agencies detained eight ex-Indian Navy personnel holding senior positions within the company...Qatari authorities claim to possess electronic evidence supporting their allegations of wrongdoing. more

The White House Plumbers, or The Buttcrack Buggers

This five-part limited series imagines the behind-the-scenes story of how Nixon’s political saboteurs, E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux), accidentally toppled the presidency they were zealously trying to protect… and their families along with it. 

Chronicling actions on the ground, this satirical drama begins in 1971 when the White House hires Hunt and Liddy, former CIA and FBI, respectively, to investigate the Pentagon Papers leak. After failing upward, the unlikely pair lands on the Committee to Re-Elect the President, plotting several unbelievable covert ops – including bugging the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex. Proving that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction, White House Plumbers sheds light on the lesser-known series of events that led to one of the greatest political scandals in American history.

From the producers of Succession and Veep...White House Plumbers comes to HBO Max on May 1, 2023. more

China’s ‘Men in Black’ v. Foreign Corporate Sleuths

In China, foreign consultants are learning to expect a knock on the door. 

First, police raided the Beijing office of US due diligence group Mintz in March. Weeks later, there was a similar visit to the Shanghai premises of Bain, the blue-chip US consultancy. Police have also visited one of the China offices of expert network Capvision, according to at least four people familiar with the matter, as part of an emerging number of raids on international consultancies operating in the world’s second-largest economy...

While Bain is known for its management consulting work, the incidents at Mintz and Capvision — a network whose members are available for chats with clients about an industry they have worked in — have thrown the spotlight on the world of corporate investigations in China, which also includes companies such as Control Risks, Kroll, FTI and Blackpeak... Even in ordinary times, due diligence is inherently risky in China. more

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One person prevented from leaving China this year is a Singaporean executive at the US due-diligence firm Mintz Group, after a raid in March that led to its Beijing office being shut down, according to three people familiar with the matter. The company, the executive and China’s Public Security Bureau did not respond to requests for comment. more

The First Digital Security Rule of Traveling

(We know our clients already know this, but reminders help.)

The first digital security rule of traveling is to leave your usual personal devices at home. Go on your trip with “burner” travel devices instead.

Aside from the potential for compromise or seizure by authorities, you also run the gamut of risks ranging from having your devices lost or stolen during your trip. It’s typically way less dangerous to just leave your usual devices behind, and to bring along devices you only use when traveling. This doesn’t need to be cost prohibitive: You can buy cheap laptops and either inexpensive new phones or refurbished versions of pricier models. (And also get privacy screens for your new phones and laptops, to reduce the information that’s visible to any onlookers.)

Your travel devices should not have anything sensitive on them. If you’re ever coerced to provide passwords or at risk of otherwise having the devices be taken away from you, you can readily hand over the credentials without compromising anything important. more

FutureWatch - Brain Eavesdropping

On Monday, scientists from the University of Texas, Austin, made another step in that direction. In a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the researchers described an A.I. that could translate the private thoughts of human subjects by analyzing fMRI scans, which measure the flow of blood to different regions in the brain...

In the study, it was able to turn a person’s imagined speech into actual speech and, when subjects were shown silent films, it could generate relatively accurate descriptions of what was happening onscreen. more

Companies Doing Business in China Need to be Aware of New Espionage Laws

China's updated law on espionage could be the latest point of concern for foreign companies. The amended anti-espionage law broadens the definition of national security. But it falls short of defining what exactly constitutes "National security". 

China's expansive anti-spying law to take effect July 1

Wider scope of national security puts foreigners at greater risk, analysts say. more

China has widened its already sweeping counter-espionage law. Experts say foreign businesses should be worried. more

China widens ‘already breathtaking’ scope to arrest foreigners for espionage
Authorities can swoop over anything they deem relevant to national security in toughening of law already used against expatriates or Chinese contacts. more

Hugh Grant Accuses The Sun Used 'Bugging' to Obtain Private Information

The Sun newspaper used "burglaries to order" and "breaking and entering" to obtain private information through "bugging, landline tapping and phone hacking", Hugh Grant has claimed in court.

The 62-year-old actor made the allegations in a witness statement read out as part of his lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN) - the publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World.

The British star attended the final day of a hearing at London's High Court where NGN is bringing a bid to have claims by him and Prince Harry thrown out. more

The Chatbot-Centric Wiretapping Lawsuit Against Old Navy

Court Refuses to Toss Out Chatbot-Centric Wiretapping Lawsuit Against Old Navy

Old Navy cannot escape a lawsuit accusing it of running afoul of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) by way of its use of a sophisticated chatbot feature on its e-commerce site. Despite Old Navy’s bid to get the case that Miguel Licea lodged against it in August 2022 dismissed in its entirety, Judge Sunshine Sykes of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California sided with the plaintiff, in part, finding that his CIPA Section 632.7 claim against Old Navy for eavesdropping can move ahead. more

ChatGPT Corporate Secrets: Not Made for Each Other

‘ChatGPT Corporate Secrets’ — doesn’t seem to be a healthy combination at all, as the clouds of data breach threats continue to loom large over the brave new world of AI chatbots...

For the uninitiated, this is not the first time that ChatGPT has created a controversy... But this time, the concern is quite grave for businesses, as ChatGPT might expose customer information and trade secrets. There have already been a few cases, enough to raise the alarm bell and send shockwaves across the tech world.

Let’s delve deeper with the story and figure out the important aspects about the Chatbot corporate espionage...

Team8, which happens to be an Israel-based venture firm, has recently published a shell-shocking report which argues that over-exposure to generative AI tools like ChatGPT can cause major problems to businesses by revealing corporate secrets and user data. more

Kim Jong Un Says North Korea’s 1st Spy Satellite is Ready for Launch

Many experts question whether Pyongyang has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past launches.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has built its first-ever military spy satellite and that he planned to launch it on an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday.

Previous missile and rocket tests have demonstrated that North Korea can send satellites into space, but many experts question whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past launches. more

Peyton Manning Reveals His Counter-Measures to Avoid Getting Bugged

The New England Patriots had to face a couple of damning scandals during their golden era. While Deflategate is the more popular one, Spygate isn’t far behind. The thought of the Patriots eavesdropping on their opponents may seem like an exaggeration. However, it was enough to convince Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and prompt him to take some rather weird measures.

Allegedly, the Patriots had a very bad habit of recording opposition coaches from non-designated zones. Something for which the team and their coach, Bill Belichick, received heavy fines. However, there were a few, including Manning, who believed the Patriots had installed hot mics in the locker room, which gave rise to some pretty hilarious paranoid outcomes.

During live coverage of the Packers vs Giants game in 2021, Peyton revealed to his brother that he was paranoid about letting his plans get leaked while visiting the Gillett Stadium. “Every time I played against New England, I used to talk to my receivers in the showers,” he said. “Don’t talk about a play next to my locker because I know it’s bugged. Very strange to see seven guys hanging out in the shower.” more

Spies That Don't Come in From the Cold

China Rivals US Foothold In Antarctica, Builds Base With Potential To Eavesdrop On Neighbors

China is looking to expand its presence in Antarctica by resuming construction on the country’s fifth station in the region.

“While the station can provide tracking and communications for China’s growing array of scientific polar observation satellites, its equipment can concurrently be used for intercepting other nations’ satellite communications,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a new report. more

Top Harvard Scientist: Alien mothership might be spying on us from orbit...

Prof Avi Loeb claims we shouldn't dismiss the possibility that we have already been visited by extraterrestrial life.

It’s a conspiracy theory so prevalent it has entered the mainstream. Everyone, it seems, has heard of the idea that the US government is sitting on proof that extraterrestrials exist and have been visiting Earth for decades.

It’s easy to dismiss such stories, but seriously, could there be even a small amount of truth in it? Could extraterrestrial probes really be functioning near Earth? We don’t know. But Harvard astronomer Prof Avi Loeb’s Galileo Project aims to investigate... more