Marine took files as part of spy ring

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Gary Maziarz said patriotism motivated him to join a spy ring, smuggle secret files from Camp Pendleton and give them to law enforcement officers for anti-terrorism work in Southern California. He knew his group was violating national security laws. But he said bureaucratic walls erected by the military and civilian agencies were hampering intelligence sharing and coordination, making the nation more vulnerable to terrorists… Details of Maziarz's case emerged after he pleaded guilty to mishandling more than 100 classified documents from 2004 to last year. The overall breach could be far larger: Investigators believe that as far back as the early 1990s, the intelligence-filching ring began taking hundreds of secret files from Camp Pendleton and the U.S. Northern Command, which tracks terrorist activity in the United States. The people whom Maziarz described as his accomplices include:  

Larry Richards, a Marine reserve colonel and detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He co-founded the Los Angeles Terrorism Early Warning Group in 1996. On the military side, he has received a Bronze Star for developing psychological-warfare strategies during the Iraq war.

David Litaker, an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department and, until recently, a Marine reserve colonel.

Mark Lowe, another Marine reserve officer and a pilot for Delta Air Lines.

Lauren Martin, a Navy reservist who worked as a civilian intelligence analyst at U.S. Northern Command headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

Richards, Litaker, Lowe and Maziarz came to know one another through their military ties. Maziarz testified that Richards recruited him in 2004 as his successor for taking classified documents from Camp Pendleton. Maziarz said he routinely passed such information to Richards, plus to and from Martin.....(Union Tribune, 6 Oct 07)

Nature Conservancy Says Spyware Compromised Employee Data

A human resources employee at the Nature Conservancy in Arlington used his laptop last month to visit a sports Web site. A short time later, computer technicians at the world's largest environmental organization noticed a torrent of data flowing out of its computer network. The bad news arrived in the in-boxes of Conservancy staff members a week later: The employee had inadvertently downloaded a spyware program from the Web site, which allowed the software to seize personal and financial information about thousands of Conservancy employees from his hard drive. The rogue program moved the information through a sophisticated network of servers in a number of countries, cloaking the final destination…..(Washington Post, 5 Oct 07)

UTSA hosts Cybersecurity Awareness Month

The UTSA Office of Information Technology (OIT) will celebrate National Cybersecurity Awareness Month with lectures presented Oct 9, 11, 12 and 16 in the University Center Retama Auditorium (2.02.02), 1604 Campus. The series is free and open to the public. Additionally, information security and help desk staff members will be available to answer cybersecurity questions, distribute brochures and provide information on the lecture series….(UTSA, 5 Oct 07)

FCC won't probe disclosure of phone records

The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission declined to investigate reports that phone companies turned over customer records to the National Security Agency, citing national security concerns…FCC Chairman Kevin Martin turned down a congressional request for an investigation as a top intelligence official concluded it would "pose an unnecessary risk of damage to the national security,"….(Reuters, 5 Oct 07)

Joint Chiefs and 3Com

U.S. defense and intelligence officials said both the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not informed by intelligence officials about the impending merger deal involving 3Com and the Chinese company Huawei Technology that was announced last week. Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, who became the top military officer on Monday, and his predecessor Marine Gen. Peter Pace, along with Vice Chairman Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright were not provided with intelligence on the deal before its announcement on Friday, an official said. "There was an effort made to exclude the chairman and vice chairman by saying this is not a military matter," said one official. "They were not told about this deal."….(Washington Times, 5 Oct 07)

U.S. Hopes for Democracy in Russia Fade

The secretaries of state and defense and a squadron of other U.S. officials head to Moscow next week for a series of top-level meetings…Not on the official agenda -- the future of Russian democracy. In watching Russia's slide toward authoritarianism, the Bush administration once considered the ultimate test to be whether President Vladimir Putin voluntarily gave up power in 2008 as promised. But this week Putin shrugged off U.S. warnings and signaled that he plans to keep power by becoming prime minister……Washington Post, 5 Oct 07)

Senate Panel Approves Press Shield Bill

The House will vote by year's end on legislation that would shield reporters from being forced to reveal their sources in some cases in federal court… A similar bill is headed to the full Senate after winning approval from a committee… Proponents of a federal shield law got momentum from Fitzgerald's decision to subpoena reporters to testify against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, once a White House aide, in a case that grew out of Fitzgerald's leak investigation. Libby was convicted of obstruction, perjury and lying to the FBI; his sentence was commuted by President Bush…..(AP, 5 Oct 07)

Congress Seeks Secret Memos On Interrogation

Democratic lawmakers assailed the Justice Department yesterday for issuing secret memos that authorized harsh CIA interrogation techniques, demanding that the Bush administration turn over the documents. But officials refused and said the tactics did not violate anti-torture laws. One opinion issued by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in May 2005 authorized a combination of painful physical and psychological interrogation tactics, including head slapping, frigid temperatures and simulated drowning, according to current and former officials familiar with the issue. A second document issued by the same Justice Department office in the summer of 2005 asserted that the interrogation practices approved for the CIA did not violate pending legislation to prohibit "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment, current and former officials said. The existence of the two classified memos was reported yesterday by the New York Times……(Washington Post, 5 Oct 07)

Security Alliances Led By Russia, China Pool Resources

A Russian-led defense alliance of former Soviet states and a regional security body headed by China have agreed to broaden cooperation. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) signed the deal today on the sidelines of a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe. The head of the CIS's Collective Security Treaty Organization, Nikolai Bordyuzha, insisted that the agreement did not challenge NATO…"We don't see NATO as a rival, and certainly not as an enemy," Bordyuzha said. "As you know, we have offered our cooperation to NATO in many areas, including [combating] illegal drug trafficking. So I think it is a mistake to say that the document we signed today on systematic cooperation between the CSTO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an attempt to rival or counteract NATO." Topping the summit's agenda is a draft proposal on broad guidelines for CIS development as well as a declaration on a coordinated migration policy…..(RFE/RL, 5 Oct 07)

Paulson hands off China-firm review

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson will recuse himself from a government review of the merger between 3Com and a Chinese company because of his past relationship with an investment firm involved in the deal… The committee's review of the 3Com merger with Huawei Technology is set to begin soon, Bush administration officials say. Mr. Paulson is a former chairman and chief executive officer of the investment firm Goldman Sachs, which is advising 3Com on the $2.2 billion merger with Bain Capital Partners and Huawei. The Treasury secretary is chairman of the 12-agency committee, but the conflict-of-interest concerns have prompted his duties for 3Com-Huawei to be shifted to Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert M. Kimmitt……(Washington Times, 5 Oct 07)

Wall Street, Beware: Hong Kong, China Exchanges May Link Up

As Chinese companies displaced U.S. firms in fund- raising activities, stock-market regulators in China have confronted a unique problem: how to restructure financial markets to take advantage of the astonishing changes underway. In response, Beijing appears to be dusting off the one-China principle, weighing plans to super-size markets in the mainland and Hong Kong into a single trading platform. Recent signs of closer links suggest the idea might not be so farfetched, though there's no official word that any plans are in the works, either. Merging the stock markets of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai makes sense from a number of economic and strategic perspectives, market professionals say, and it may one day usher in a system that would rival the trading power of exchanges in London and New York……(CNN, 5 Oct 07)

Russia proposes appointing its intelligence official CIS executive secretary

Russia has proposed Sergei Lebedev be appointed to the post of CIS executive secretary, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has announced…. He hoped that in the capacity of the CIS executive secretary Lebedev would work "for the benefit of the further fruitful cooperation of Commonwealth countries."  Presently Lebedev is the director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service…..(Interfax, 5 Oct 07)

‘Exact meaning of secret has not been given in OSA... In RAW, even circulars for tea parties are secret’

…On September 21 a dozen men from the CBI barged into my home and began searching for ‘incriminating’ material connected with my book India’s External Intelligence: Secrets of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) which is supposed to have revealed ‘secrets’ that can harm national security. After rummaging around for three hours, they took away my computer, passport, personal diaries and some notebooks. They also confiscated two files, both containing photocopies of certain documents…Apart from the sense of outrage at this wanton attack on my privacy and reputation, I was filled with shame and helplessness. In the 40 years that I had worn the colors of my country, not once had I been so disgraced. And what was my crime?...It is strange that the exact meanings of the words ‘secret’ and ‘spy’ have not been given in the Official Secrets Act. As a result, almost anything can be graded secret. Intelligence agencies are particularly prone to this malaise......(Indian Express, 5 Oct 07)

Good intelligence prevents major calamities

…A book that seems to have touched raw nerves is “India’s External Intelligence: Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)’’ by Major General (Retd) V. K. Singh. It discusses “several lacunae in the functioning of the country’s top intelligence agency” and calls for “an increase in accountability of our top intelligence agencies” since “the Indian taxpayer has a right to know how his money is spent”. And, now, the book’s publisher and the author have come under the lens of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). How does the “right to know” work with regard to intelligence? “Most countries have a 30-year period after which all documents are automatically declassified…..(Hindu Business Line, Interview,  5 Oct 07)

Pat M. Holt, 87; Latin American Affairs Expert

Pat M. Holt, 87, a top Latin American affairs expert with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who expressed misgivings shortly before the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, died Sept. 24… Mr. Holt served on the committee from 1950 to 1977, the last three years as chief of staff. He was a generalist before he was named as resident authority on Latin America….(Washington Post, 5 Oct 07)

Blundering into battle with China

Some old men keep in a half-forgotten file their medal, inscribed with bureaucratic precision: “For service in defense of the principles of the charter of the United Nations”. That was always humbug. The Korean war was an American venture intended to contain the newly victorious Chinese government of Mao Zedong, believed, quite wrongly, to be Moscow's puppet….(Economist, 5 Oct 07)

Debate Erupts on Techniques Used by C.I.A.

The disclosure of secret Justice Department legal opinions on interrogation on Thursday set off a bitter round of debate over the treatment of terrorism suspects in American custody and whether Congress has been adequately informed of legal policies… Administration officials confirmed the existence of the classified opinions but said they did not condone torture. The White House press secretary, Dana Perino, said she could not discuss C.I.A. methods but added, “What I can tell you is that any procedures that they use are tough, safe, necessary and lawful.”….(New York Times, 5 Oct 07)

Court refuses US spies bail

Ted Federal Government on Wednesday arraigned a Nigerian-American, Judith Asuni, before a Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged espionage and felony against Nigeria. She was refused oral application for bail by Justice Binta Murtala Nyako and ordered remanded in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS). The judge fixed Friday for the plea-taking of the accused and asked her to come with a formal bail application. The accused persons, Asuni, and three others; Alexander Orpitx, Andy Lehmann (Germans) and Danjuma Saidu (a Nigerian), were docked on a seven-count charge of conspiracy to commit felony to wit; agreed to enter the vicinity of protected place and took photographs of things situated therein and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8[1]of the Official Secrets Acts, Cap 335, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 1990 punishable under Section 7 of the law……(Tribune, 4 Oct 07)

CIA detention program remains active: U.S. official

…The New York Times reported on Thursday that the CIA was again holding prisoners at "black sites" overseas, and that the Justice Department under then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had issued a secret opinion in 2005 that endorsed the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the CIA. "The ongoing existence of the CIA program is extremely troubling," especially in light of the reported Justice Department opinion, said Elisa Massimino, Washington director of the advocacy group Human Rights First…..(Reuters, 4 Oct 07)

‘The Chinese Octopus'

China has a unique, rich and long history, but very little is known about the history of its secret services or their activities at home and abroad. The Party's Special Services : Their history began with the formation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), in 1921. One of the founders of CPC special services was Zhou Enlai. The services greatly expanded their scope of operations in 1937, when full scale war broke out with Japan. In October 1937, the CPC intelligence and counterintelligence services were known as the Political Protection Directorate, which was then reorganized as the Social Research Depart­ment, which existed until 1983. At the same time, so-called United Front sections were created at CPC local committees, which exist to date. They have engaged in a variety of activities to establish and promote contacts with public and political forces, as well as with influential people, regarded by the CPC at various times as allies or partners. The CPC also created a system of territorial special agencies to ensure control of rural areas and at transport nodes: they were, essentially, public security agencies. Today, they have diversified into a network covering the whole of China, their functions roughly corresponding to those of local police stations in other countries of the world.  State Security Agencies : China has a diversified structure of special (security) agencies, which can be conveniently divided in two large groups - civilian (that is, answering to the CPC Central Committee and partially to the State Council) and military. The military services are controlled by the Central Military Council; historically, this unit has been the most powerful and politically influential part of China's special services……(Moscow News Weekly, 4 Oct 07)

The Storm Worm

The Storm worm first appeared at the beginning of the year, hiding in e-mail attachments with the subject line: "230 dead as storm batters Europe." Those who opened the attachment became infected, their computers joining an ever-growing botnet. Although it's most commonly called a worm, Storm is really more: a worm, a Trojan horse and a bot all rolled into one. It's also the most successful example we have of a new breed of worm, and I've seen estimates that between 1 million and 50 million computers have been infected worldwide… Worms like Storm are written by hackers looking for profit, and they're different. These worms spread more subtly, without making noise. Symptoms don't appear immediately, and an infected computer can sit dormant for a long time. If it were a disease, it would be more like syphilis, whose symptoms may be mild or disappear altogether, but which will eventually come back years later and eat your brain…..(Schneir Blog, 4 Oct 07)

What Evil Lurks in Web 2.0

The online software and collaboration tools collectively referred to as Web 2.0 have improved the quality and efficiency of work. But they bring with them a new set of threats that employees and information-technology departments alike aren’t prepared to deal with. The typical worker isn’t aware of these threats — viruses and so-called malware that hackers plant on a computer in order to steal information or use the computer to send spam. And apparently IT departments aren’t aware of the vulnerabilities their companies face. Nearly 97% of companies consider themselves prepared for the threats, yet 79% reported that they were attacked more than infrequently, according to a new study by Forrester Research…..(WSJ Blog, 4 Oct 07)

Report: McAfee/NCSA Online Safety Study. pdf

Espionage - FG Charges 3 Foreigners, Nigerian to Court

…The suspects, Judith Asuni (American) Florian Alexander Orpitx, Andy Lehmann (Germans) and Danjuma Saidu (Nigerian), were formally arraigned before the court on a seven-count charge of conspiring to commit felony by agreeing to enter the vicinity of protected place and took photographs of things situated therein…Justice Nyako, in adjourning the matter to Friday for the accused to take their plea and move bail applications, ordered that they be given unfettered access to the family, lawyers and medication. The seven-count charge against the accused read as follows….(This Day, 4 Oct 07)

Nigeria charges foreign detainees

The German journalists are accused of endangering national security by taking photos and video footage of oil facilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta. The US-born aid worker and a Nigerian man are accused of helping them to make false declarations to obtain visas. None of the accused entered a plea to the charges. If convicted, the Germans could face up to 14 years in jail. Germans Florian Alexander Opitz and Andy Lehmann had been released by the Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) on Tuesday after being held for two weeks on suspicion of espionage…..(BBC, 4 Oct 07)

Cuban espionage regaining pre-Iraq war strength

In May 2003, the United States expelled 14 Cuban diplomats for espionage. That action was the largest expulsion of Cuban intelligence officers and the third-largest expulsion in U.S. history. Although the expulsions occurred less than eight weeks after the Iraq war started, Washington did not acknowledge that the expulsions retaliated for Cuba's intelligence trafficking with Baghdad during the buildup for the Iraq invasion. Seven of the spy-diplomats were assigned to the Cuban Mission to the United Nations (CMUN) in New York City, while the remainder served at Havana's Interests Section in Washington. Previous expulsions of Cuban diplomats had been limited, consisting of only one to four intelligence officers. The FBI stated that the Bush administration and the State Department led the expulsion, rather than as a direct result of U.S. counterintelligence activities. Intended to send a strong message to Havana, President Bush may have personally approved the expulsion. Not previously known was that the FBI and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) counterintelligence participated in the State-led interagency effort. The State Department's unprecedented inclusion of DIA resulted from the exceptionally close relations between the organization's Cuba-watchers, the strong case DIA made detailing Cuban targeting of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and its insistence that Havana pay a price for risking the lives of U.S. military personnel. At the time, DIA had the Pentagon's premier counterintelligence researchers on Cuba, and these experts led a large interagency effort against the Cuban intelligence services. Regrettably, the program withered when the agency lost its key talent…..(Miami Herald, 4 Oct 07)

A Nobel Laureate’s Plea: Justice for the Cuban Five

In the responsibility for human justice, which, I believe, must be upheld and expressed by all citizens of our world, I condemn the continued prosecution and incarceration of the Cuban Five by the United States of America. This travesty of justice, perpetrated by what claims to be the world’s example of democratic standards, has now been pursued for almost a decade. The five Cubans have been and continue to be subject to harsh physical and mental suffering while a succession of arraignments for conspiracy to commit espionage and murder have not been proved against them…..(New York Times, Nadine Gordimer, 4 Oct 07)

Getting back to basics on security

Every October is Security Awareness Month in the Army, said Flo Boswell, operations officer of the Security and Intelligence Directorate. During this month, its mandatory per our regulations that every employee of the Army goes through security training. The theme for this years training is Security 101. Its about getting back to basics. We hope this training will teach and remind employees of the simple, everyday security practices they need to follow……(Redstone Rocket, 4 Oct 07)

International Spy Museum opens Operation Spy attraction

…The International Spy Museum last week opened the capital's latest intrigue, a new interactive experience that incorporates exhibits, movies, computer games, theatrical shows and rides into one exhilarating adventure. It also packs plenty of intrigue and derring-do. Unlike traditional museums, where guests read and gawk at displays, here, they can become a spy -- at least for an hour. In Operation Spy, open to museum-goers 12 and older, guests are assigned the roles of U.S. intelligence officers on a dangerous mission in the mythical country of Khandar. Based on actual cases drawn from intelligence files, the scenario involves a missing nuclear-triggering device sought by underhanded arms dealers. Operation Spy to the rescue…..(LA Times, 4 Oct 07)

Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations

When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations. But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency…..(New York Times, 4 Oct 07)

Azerbaijan: Is Iran the Reason for the CIA Director’s Recent Visit to Baku?

Gen. Hayden’s one-day visit on September 28, which included a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Minister of National Security Eldar Makhmudov, was not publicized in advance, and few details have since been provided. According to informed sources, the CIA director arrived in Baku late on the night of September 27. The Turan news agency has cited "unofficial sources" as saying Hayden stayed in a private downtown hotel at which special security measures were taken. He left Baku in the early evening on September 28. US Embassy spokesperson Jonathan Henick told EurasiaNet that Hayden’s visit was part of a trip to several countries in the region……(Eurasia Net, 4 Oct 07)

Military Intelligence That Really Is

School's open at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista. It's a new school which will train the PhD's of military intelligence.  It opened this week and is called "The Joint Center of Excellence". It's a school which welcomes all branches of the military Navy, Marines, and Air Force to the Army Post. Twelve-hundred students will be trained in human intelligence gathering. But there are no rookies in this school. "We don't train basic training or an initial specialty. We build on specialties already taught and most of our students are veterans of one theater or another," says Sgt. Major Scott Marshall….(KOLD,  4 Oct 07)

KOLD Video: Military Intelligence That Really Is

The Legacy of Sputnik

…Sputnik brought home that the Russians weren’t quite the backward oafs Americans had thought. They had a satellite that could look down on our homeland and — far more scary — a powerful rocket that could presumably carry a nuclear warhead over our borders… Sputnik spurred the development of spy satellites that helped calm unrealistic fears of a missile or bomber gap. And by stimulating a rapid expansion of space activities, it deserves some credit for speeding the development of communications, navigation and weather satellites……(New York Times, 4 Oct 07)

Intelligence apparatus must improve: PM

Underlining the need to shore up the country's internal security machinery, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday called for superior intelligence capabilities that could prove as timely alerts to impending threats…"The internal security situation in our country continues to remain a cause for concern for both the central and state governments. I have often said that most of the challenges we face are at home. Among them, the internal security challenge is one of the key ones,"….(Indian Muslims, 4 Oct 07)

Wide range of new security threats coming in 2008

A report released by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC), one of the leading independent security research institutes, warns that 2008 is likely to see a wide range of new threats to information security. The report, which was presented as part of the GTISC annual summit held in the US yesterday, suggests that hackers will likely turn their attention to advanced Web 2.0 websites, mobile phones, Voice over IP networks and even RFID tags to make attacks…..(Arabian Business, 4 Oct 07)

HC asks govt to furnish intelligence info on Siddhivinayak threat

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Maharashtra government to produce “inputs” given by intelligence agencies regarding threat perception to the famous Siddhivinayak temple here. Hearing a PIL on security wall around the temple, the direction of the division bench of justices JN Patel and Amjed Sayed followed a statement by state advocate general Ravi Kadam that the police had received specific information from intelligence agencies that terrorists could target Siddhivinayak temple…..(Economic Times, 4 Oct 07)

A world under surveillance

From surveillance cameras to data pirating, every bit of life is scanned and stored to meet economic and political agendas. Until awareness is heightened and proper legislation put in place, our right to privacy will continue to be violated, said privacy activists at the Privacy Rights in a World under Surveillance conference held last weekend at Montreal’s Sheraton Centre. An explosion of new technologies that enable the tracking and monitoring of individuals such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), biometric devices and Smart Cards, has moved faster than any legal system can adapt, and raises questions about whether legal privacy regimes are outmoded…..(Suburban, 4 Oct 07)

Spy chiefs played key role in summit Heads of both countries' intel agencies negotiated details of meeting behind the sc

The first inter-Korean summit meeting in more than seven years would never have materialized without behind-the-scenes efforts by the two countries' intelligence chiefs, despite the fierce, long-running antagonism of their respective agencies….(Yomiuri, 4 Oct 07)

Spy agency spooked by media moles

It’s supposed to be one of the most secretive intelligence agencies in the country. So how come the controversy over its internal reorganization is all over the newspapers? According to insiders, a “crackdown” of sorts has begun in the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) after disgruntled personnel leaked to the media documents detailing the agency’s recent revamp……(Inquirer, 4 Oct 07)

Military spy planes monitor terror suspects

The intelligence agencies are using military aircraft equipped with sophisticated surveillance equipment to eavesdrop on and monitor the movements of suspected terrorists, the Guardian has learned. The Britten-Norman Islander is already being used by the police to combat dangerous driving, trace missing persons, and find escaped prisoners or stolen vehicles. It was used by the army in Northern Ireland, and is now being deployed in counter-terrorist operations when, it is understood, it is flown by an RAF crew…..(Guardian, 4 Oct 07)

Intelligence agencies unfit to fight terror: Patil
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Wednesday said intelligence agencies of states were not strong and adequate enough to meet the challenges of terrorism.  Inaugurating a two-day conference of directors-general and inspectors-general of police here, Patil said special branches in states should be strengthened where men and officers are retained for sufficient periods with enough incentives to keep them motivated…..(Times of India, 4 Oct 07)

Revealed: CIA offered $2m to Lockerbie witness and brother

…Recently discovered papers show Scottish police officers investigating the 1988 bombing were aware the US intelligence service had discussed financial terms and witness protection schemes with Tony Gauci and his brother, Paul. They documented the talks and it would have been standard practice for such information to have been relayed to the prosecution team before the trial of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the Libyan serving 27 years for the bombing. However, his defense team was never told of the CIA offer, in what critics say is another example of non-disclosure that undermines the credibility of Mr Gauci and, in turn, the Crown's case against Megrahi…..(Herald, 3 Oct 07)

Bain Capital Agrees to Security Review

Bain Capital Partners on Wednesday said it will submit for a national security review its proposed $2.2 billion buyout of networking equipment maker 3Com Corp. Government scrutiny was anticipated ever since the acquisition was announced Sept. 28 because of a minority stake in the deal held by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies, which has close ties to China's government… The pending transaction, which Wall Street is betting will close in the first quarter, requires both shareholder and regulatory approval…..(AP, 3 Oct 07)

Chinas rising power focus of free lectures

…“China Rising and the World” is the subject of a free, weekly lecture put on by SF State’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSS) that aims to give students and instructors a chance to catch up on how the nation’s rise affects the United States and other industrialized nations. “We have more faculty studying China on this campus than any other school in the country,” said BSS Dean Joel Kassiola, moderator of the semester-long series that can be attended by anyone without registration. Lecturers are drawn from a number of campus departments, ranging from international relations and business to anthropology….(Golden Gate X Press, 3 Oct 07)

Chavez Accuses US of Military Rebellion

President Hugo Chavez accused the U.S. on Wednesday of trying to spur a military rebellion, saying the CIA is behind the distribution of leaflets inside army barracks calling for his ouster. Speaking to dozens of army officers at Venezuela's largest military base, Chavez urged soldiers to resist calls for a coup from "oligarchs and their imperialist masters," a reference to the United States. "They will always try to divide us and confuse us to weaken us, and thereby dominate us,"…..(AP, 3 Oct 07)

Global approach needed on cybercrime: experts

Telecoms and computer executives, legal officials and UN agencies on Friday warned that the world needed to take a global approach to tackling cybercrime and security issues on the Internet. International Telecommunications Union chief Hamadoun Toure said individual national or regional approaches to tackle spam, hackers, remote attacks on computer systems and use of the Internet for crime would inevitably be flawed….(AFP, 3 Oct 07)

BSA extends US$1 million reward to catch software pirates

The Business Software Alliance is extending its US$1 million reward program for people reporting software piracy. The Rewards Program, which initially kicked off in the fall of 2005, is set up to encourage people to confidentially submit "detailed information" about software piracy. Last July, the organisation increased the original reward of US$200,000 to US$1 million. The program was set to expire at the end of September, but the alliance has now extended it through the end of the year…..(IT News, 3 Oct 07)

Litvinenko Suspect sues Russian Newspaper

The man Britain wants to charge for the murder of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko sued a Russian newspaper on Wednesday accusing it of damaging his reputation in an article that linked him to the killing. Former KGB officer Andrei Lugovoy demanded 20 million roubles ($803,200) in damages from Kommersant, one of Russia's most respected newspapers, for a July 9 article which he said had damaged his reputation. Britain wants to extradite Lugovoy from Russia to face trial in London for the murder of Litvinenko, who was poisoned with radioactive polonium last year. Lugovoy has repeatedly said he is innocent and is running for parliament in December elections on a nationalist ticket. Russia has refused to hand him over…..(Reuters, 3 Oct 07)

Fusion Center enables CIA to spy for, not on, Ohioans

Ohioans should feel safer, for the 57-year old ban preventing the CIA from conducting domestic surveillance has ended. Retired CIA spymaster Charles "Charlie" Allen has reappeared as chief intelligence officer within the Department of Homeland Security and is deploying intelligence officers to newly created Fusion Centers (FCs) throughout the U.S. By the end of 2008, they will be operating in all 50 states. Allen, who spent 47 years collecting and analyzing foreign intelligence at the CIA, is using FCs to strengthen America's defense by meticulously sculpting our gravely inadequate homeland intelligence-gathering and sharing capacity into a well thought-out operation. FCs will enable Ohio and local authorities to detect and respond to terrorist stirs by leveraging national intelligence with teams of clandestine federal intelligence officers embedded locally…..(Bucyrus Telegraph, 3 Oct 07)

Russia warns of arms war in space: reports

Russia's military space commander vowed to retaliate with an arms race if any country started putting weapon systems into orbit, he said in remarks published on Wednesday. "We need to have strong rules about space, to avoid its militarization and if any country will place a weapon in space, then our response will be the same,"…Popovkin said no country had the right to declare itself the master of space, so strike forces shouldn't be deployed there……(Reuters, 3 Oct 07)

Musharraf Names Ex-Spy Chief to Lead Army

…Musharraf, who has long been reluctant to shed a uniform he considers his "second skin," announced Tuesday that a close confidant, Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, would take over the critical job of army chief when Musharraf retires from active duty after the election. Kiyani, who most recently served as head of the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, is considered moderate and pro-Western. He has been at the forefront of Pakistani efforts to battle Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents and is expected to come up with a new strategy for turning around a war that has been going badly…..(Washington Post, 3 Oct 07)

The rise of Pakistan's 'quiet man'

The rise of Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiani through the ranks of the Pakistani military has been rapid if not extraordinary. The man nominated by Gen Musharraf to be his replacement as army chief is noted for his patience, diligence, intelligence and sheer determination. Another contributing factor has been his ability to keep a low profile when necessary while also being able to take decisive action when it's needed…..(BBC, 3 Oct 07)

Defense Contractor's Trial Opens

…Wilkes, 53, has pleaded not guilty to bribery, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering. The government dropped charges of unlawful monetary transactions Wednesday. If convicted, Wilkes faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison…Wilkes is also charged in a separate federal case against his boyhood friend, former top CIA official Kyle ''Dusty'' Foggo, which grew from the probe into Wilkes' affairs with Cunningham. Prosecutors claim Wilkes treated Foggo to luxurious golf vacations and offered him a job in return for help winning more than $100 million in proposed contracts for the spy agency…..(New York Times, 3 Oct 07)

Senate Passes Intelligence Policy Bill

The Senate on Wednesday passed its first intelligence authorization bill in three years, after dropping contentious provisions that had held up action earlier. The multifaceted legislation seeks to tighten management of the nation’s disparate intelligence agencies and require more financial accountability. Passage of the measure ended a three-year Senate struggle to advance an authorization bill and gave Congress its best hope in a long time of putting its imprint on programs across the intelligence community.….(Congress Quarterly, 3 Oct 07)

Senate Approves Intelligence Bill

The Senate has scrapped its bid to obtain the archive of daily intelligence briefings given to the president on Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion. That request was among several controversial provisions dropped from an intelligence bill, leading to the measure's unanimous Senate passage Wednesday…..(AP, 3 Oct 07)

ACLU asks court to review domestic spying case

…The journalists, scholars, attorneys and national advocacy organizations who filed the lawsuit maintained that the government's illegal surveillance had compromised their ability to do their jobs and disrupted their ability to communicate with sources and clients. The appeals court dismissed the case because the plaintiffs could not state with certainty that they had been wiretapped by the government's National Security Agency. The ruling did not decide whether the program was lawful. The appeal asked the Supreme Court to determine whether the plaintiffs have the right to bring the lawsuit and whether Bush has the power to engage in intelligence surveillance activities in the United States that Congress has prohibited…..(Reuters, 3 Oct 07)

Merger opens U.S. defense to China

A Chinese company with ties to Beijing's military and past links to Saddam Hussein's army in Iraq and the Taliban will gain access to U.S. defense-network technology under a proposed merger, Pentagon officials say. Huawei Technologies will merge with the Massachusetts-based 3Com network-equipment manufacturer in a deal announced last week. Huawei has been linked to the U.N. oil-for-food scandal, which involved millions of dollars in payoffs to Saddam's regime during a time of U.N. sanctions. The announced merger follows a July computer attack on the Pentagon that U.S. intelligence officials say involved Chinese military hackers…"Huawei is up to its eyeballs with the Chinese military," said a defense official concerned about the deal. Huawei was founded in 1988 by a Chinese military officer and got its start building military communications networks…..(Washington Times, 3 Oct 07)

Spy technology caught in military turf battle

A Marine in Iraq scans a screen with images of the streets he'll soon patrol. Spotting suspicious movement, he replays the digital video, just like a TV viewer who's missed a play from a football game. The cutting-edge surveillance system, called Angel Fire, uses aircraft armed with cameras to monitor the battlefield. It gives troops what U.S. commanders in Iraq have sought for years: a persistent, bird's-eye view to search roads and neighborhoods for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the insurgents who plant them……(USA Today, 3 Oct 07)

White House Secrecy On Wiretaps Described

No more than four Justice Department officials had access to details of the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program when the department deemed portions of it illegal, following a pattern of poor consultation that helped create a "legal mess," a former Justice official told Congress yesterday. Jack L. Goldsmith, former head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the White House so tightly restricted access to the National Security Agency's program that even the attorney general and the NSA's general counsel were partly in the dark…..(Washington Post, 3 Oct 07)

Telecoms Pressed on Surveillance

Key Democratic lawmakers are pressing telephone companies to disclose how they shared Americans' calling and Internet data with the government, part of an inquiry into domestic surveillance efforts such as the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the telecom industry, yesterday sent letters to three major carriers, AT&T, Qwest and Verizon, posing questions aimed at understanding what consumer information is being shared with the government…..(Washington Post, 3 Oct 07)

Domestic Spy Satellite Program Put On Hold

… Domestic satellite programs are nothing new. U.S. defense agencies use satellite imagery to monitor natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. But the DHS said it would like to expand the use of satellites to help national security and law enforcement officials combat crime… The office was scheduled to launch Monday, but members of the House held hearings and sent letters (PDF) questioning privacy protections and demanding oversight. Members also threatened to block funding of the office if their questions weren't answered. The letters stated that NAO's plans to share domestic spy images with state, local, and tribal law enforcement represented a "dramatic expansion" of the use of domestic satellite images that "raises very significant constitutional, legal, and organizational issues."….(Information Week, 3 Oct 07)

E-Mail Attackers Target Corporate Execs

During a two-hour period on June 24, something unusual and a bit worrying turned up in e-mail security firm MessageLabs Inc.'s filters: 514 messages tailored to senior executives of corporate clients that contained malicious programs designed to steal sensitive company data…The attachments were Microsoft Word documents _ a common file type erroneously believed to be safe by most computer users _ that if not intercepted would have deposited Trojan horses, or malicious programs disguised as benign ones, onto targeted computers…..(AP, 3 Oct 07)

Investigator convicted in connection with Hewlett-Packard's spy scandal to be sentenced today

The only person to be convicted of a crime in connection with Hewlett-Packard's boardroom spying scandal is due to be sentenced today. Private investigator Bryan Wagner is scheduled to be in federal court this morning (9:00) where he'll be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel……(AP, 3 Oct 07)

Foreign spooks after our trade secrets: Spy chasers

Canada has become a prime target for foreign spies infiltrating the country to steal trade secrets or advance political or military agendas, according to the federal spy agency. Canadian Security Intelligence Agency documents obtained by Sun Media under Access to Information warn that national security and economic interests are increasingly vulnerable to cyber-based attacks that are "clandestine and deceptive.”……(Toronto Sun, 2 Oct 07)

Court orders SAS Norway to pay fine for industrial espionage

A Norwegian appeals court ruled Tuesday that SAS Norway should pay a 4 million-kroner-fine (740,000 dollars) for industrial espionage, citing the carrier accessed confidential information on a rival via a joint booking system. The case has been ongoing for several years between SAS Norway, previously known as SAS Braathens and rival carrier Norwegian Air…..(DPA, 2 Oct 07)

New Details in Attack on American Spy Ship

Bryce Lockwood, Marine staff sergeant, Russian-language expert, recipient of the Silver Star for heroism, ordained Baptist minister, is shouting into the phone. "I'm angry! I'm seething with anger! Forty years, and I'm seething with anger!" Lockwood was aboard the USS Liberty, a super-secret spy ship on station in the eastern Mediterranean, when four Israeli fighter jets flew out of the afternoon sun to strafe and bomb the virtually defenseless vessel on June 8, 1967, the fourth day of what would become known as the Six-Day War…..(Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct 07)

Military Intelligence Agent Sentenced for Losing US Top Secrets

A highly placed official at the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) has lost very secret information from the US National Security Agency (NSA). He has been sentenced behind closed doors for this, according to newspaper De Telegraaf. As one of the leaders of the MIVD department of Interceptions, the 48 year old man from Utrecht had access to the very secret data coming from the NSA… The matter apparently concerned losing a memory stick containing information about investigations by the NSA given the stamp of top secret. The newspaper bases its report on "intelligence sources." The defense ministry refuses all comment on the affair, which is extremely sensitive in relations with the US…..(NIS News, 2 Oct 07)

Australia, U.S. agree on military satellite deal

Australia said on Wednesday it would join an advanced U.S. military communications satellite network and pay part of the bill for expanding it to further cement the close alliance between the two countries. Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said Australia would fund one satellite plus ground-based infrastructure at a cost of A$927 ($820 million), with the U.S. to pay for the remaining five. The deal, he said, would give Australia's military access to the latest generation Wideband Global Satellite Communications (WGS) system……(Reuters, 2 Oct 07)

Today in History - Oct. 2

1780: British spy John Andre was hanged in Tappan, N.Y.

1984: Richard Miller became the first FBI agent to be charged with espionage. He was convicted two years later of passing government secrets to the Soviet Union through his Russian lover.

50 Years Ago, Launch of a New World

News flash, Oct. 4, 1957: The Russians have launched a tiny moon. It is an artificial satellite, 184 pounds, a pumpkin-size sphere polished to a shine. The Russians call it Sputnik. As it passes over the United States it transmits a signal -- surely the most ominous beep-beep-beep that any American has ever heard. "The communists were going to rule," recalled Homer Hickam, who was 14 when he saw Sputnik in the sky above his home town…..(Washington Post, 2 Oct 07)

Declassifying 'fact of' satellite reconnaissance

The National Security Archive has published a collection of documents concerning U.S. policy with regard to acknowledging the “fact of” U.S. satellite reconnaissance operations – particularly satellite photoreconnaissance. It was 29 years ago Monday that President Jimmy Carter, in a speech at the Kennedy Space Center, acknowledged that the U.S. was operating photoreconnaissance satellites. As the documents illustrate, the perceived need to persuade segments of the public that the U.S. would be able to effectively monitor Soviet compliance with the strategic arms limitation agreements with the Soviet Union served as the catalyst for the acknowledgment…..(National Security Archive, 2 Oct 07)

Ex-DOJ lawyer doubts legal basis of domestic surveillance program at Senate hearing

Jack Landman Goldsmith, former head of the US Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel and now a Harvard Law School professor, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday that he "could not find the legal support for" portions of the Bush Administration's controversial domestic surveillance during his tenure with DOJ…..(Jurist, 2 Oct 07)

An Iranian University Invites Bush to Speak

After the controversial appearance of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia University last week, an Iranian university yesterday invited President Bush to travel to Iran and speak on campus about a range of issues, including the Holocaust, terrorism, human rights and U.S. foreign policy….(Washington Post, 2 Oct 07)

Proving That Seeing Shouldn’t Always Be Believing

…Dr. Farid, a 41-year-old engineer, is a founder of a subdiscipline within computer science: digital forensics. Most days, he spends his time transforming ordinary images into ones with drastic new meanings…Intelligence agencies, news organizations and scientific journals employ Dr. Farid’s consulting services when they need to authenticate the validity of images. Dr. Farid sells a software package, “Q,” to clients so they, too, can become digital detectives……(New York Times, 2 Oct 07)

American Woman Milks Billions From Govs, Oil Coys - SSS

…The woman, Mrs. Judith Asuni, who was arrested alongside two German journalists…"The most damning revelation is how she attempted to penetrate the nation's security system. Classified and sensitive information was found in her possession. It was discovered that she was running an espionage network for some countries. She is also believed to be the source of information to some American and western election observers that made them to conclude the 2007 elections were flawed."….(All Africa, 2 Oct 07)

Espionage - SSS Implicates American Lady

The American lady, Dr. Judith Burdin Asuni, arrested with two Germans on suspicion of spying in the Niger Delta, may have been found culpable. The two Germans said to be journalists have been cleared of any involvement in the espionage case being investigated by the State Security Services (SSS) and have been released…It was also learnt that SSS investigation confirmed an unbelievable level of penetration of top government functionaries, oil companies and embassies by the lady. Tactics allegedly employed by Asuni included dropping names of prominent persons; intimidation and collection of sensitive information on the activities of government. She was also said to have brazenly exploited the crisis in the Niger Delta and was believed to have coerced some Niger Delta governors into sponsoring her activities.…..(This Day, 2 Oct 07)

Lawmaker says Taiwanese espionage operations faltering in mainland China

An opposition lawmaker said Taiwan's espionage operations have faltered in mainland China, with the island having difficulty recruiting new Chinese spies while losing many former agents. Lin Yu-fang of the Nationalist Party said in a statement issued Monday night that one of the reasons fewer spies are working for Taiwan on the Chinese mainland was Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's failure to keep some of the intelligence gathered by the spies confidential…..(AP, 2 Oct 07)

National Security Bureau to take action against October 10 disturbances

National Security Bureau (NSB) Director Shi Hwei-yow said yesterday that the bureau will take action against anyone attempting to disturb the Oct. 10 National Day celebrations. Shi made the remarks amid reports that anti-President Chen Shui-bian protesters are preparing to disrupt the Double Ten celebrations as they did last year…..(China Post, 2 Oct 07)

Putin Says He Will Run for Parliament

President Vladimir V. Putin, who is barred from seeking another term, suggested Monday that he might become prime minister next year, seeming to confirm what many analysts had assumed: that he plans to hold on to the power he has accrued over eight years. Mr. Putin, who spoke at the congress of the United Russia party, the country’s dominant political force, said he would lead that party’s candidate list in the December parliamentary elections…..(New York Timex 2 Oct 07)

Russian experts fail to find polonium source in Litvinenko case

Russian experts have so far failed to trace the original source of the polonium believed to have been used in the fatal poisoning of ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, a top investigator said Tuesday. Moscow undertook its own inquiry into the November 2006 murder of the defector and Kremlin critic, dismissing British investigators' evidence against their chief suspect, Russian national Andrei Lugovoi, as ungrounded and refusing his extradition…..(RIA Novosti, 2 Oct 07)

Online Video Emerges As PC Security Hole

Online videos aren't just for bloopers and rants _ some might also be conduits for malicious code that can infect your computer. As anti-spam technology improves, hackers are finding new vehicles to deliver their malicious code. And some could be embedded in online video players, according to a report on Internet threats released Tuesday by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center as it holds its annual summit…..(AP, 2 Oct 07)

Report Finds FBI Still Vulnerable To Espionage

The FBI remains vulnerable to espionage because it has failed to fully implement recommended security measures after the February 2001 arrest of longtime spy Robert Hanssen, the Justice Department's inspector general said yesterday. In a 2003 examination, Fine's office found that Hanssen was a "mediocre agent" who was able to provide U.S. secrets to the Soviets and Russians for more than 20 years because of poor oversight and lax security at the FBI. Hanssen began spying in 1979 and is blamed for giving the Soviets information leading to the deaths of three people who spied for the United States in exchange for $600,000 and promises for about $800,000 more. He pleaded guilty to espionage charges and was sentenced to life in prison in May 2002…..(Washington Post, 2 Oct 07)

American detained by Nigerian security service 'is a spy'

Nigeria's State Security Service (SSS) officials have said the American citizen recently arrested and detained by SSS operatives on espionage charges is indeed a spy.  "She is actually engaged in espionage, using the NGO (Academic Associates Peace Works) as a cover," SSS spokesman Ado Muazu said of Judith Burdin Asuni…..(Africaqu Enligne, 2 Oct 07)

FBI called vulnerable to spying

…Since the 2001 arrest of double agent Robert Hanssen, the agency has taken a number of steps to improve internal security. But its ability to track turncoats may work better in theory than in practice, according to the report that gives mixed grades to the agency and its handling of threats from within. As an example, the department's Office of Inspector General singled out the case of former FBI intelligence analyst Leandro Aragoncillo, who was convicted on espionage-related charges last year for sending dozens of classified documents to opposition leaders in the Philippines…..(LA Times, 2 Oct 07)

FBI Response to OIG Follow-Up Report Concerning Hanssen Security Reforms

…“The Inspector General has concluded that the FBI has made significant progress in implementing the recommendations made by the 2003 report. The OIG determined that although we are still making efforts to implement some of the recommendations in the report, we have fully satisfied or made credible progress toward applying many of the recommendations. “While the OIG found that some of the recommendations had not yet been implemented, we continue to concur with all the recommendations made by the original report. We will continue to work with the OIG to make additional progress toward implementing these recommendations and in our efforts regarding espionage activities on the whole….(FBI Press Release, 1 Oct 07)

Taipei Arrests 2 Alleged Chinese Spies

…Lin Yu-nung, 54, an agent assigned to the Economic Crime Prevention and Control Center at the Taiwanese Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB), and Chen Chih-kao, 55, a retired MJIB agent who left the bureau in 1997 to work in Shanghai, were taken into custody on Sept. 23. Both were charged in Taipei District Court with corruption and violations of the National Security Law and the National Intelligence Services Act. According to reports, MJIB officers arrested both men at the Brother Hotel, where confidential files and a $3,000 check signed over to Lin were discovered. Sources say Chen was recruited by Chinese intelligence after his business dealings began to fail… Lin Chong-Pin, president of the Taipei-based Foundation on International and Cross-Strait Studies and a former Taiwan deputy minister of defense, said China’s spies are taking advantage of Taiwan’s political quarrels. “The incentives Beijing uses these days are not just money, sex, but the political disaffection among some of the population,” he said. Lin said there may be more than 5,000 Chinese spies in Taiwan……(Defense News, 1 Oct 07)