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Iran Blames West for Stuxnet; Arrests Spies
In the aftermath of the discovery of the complicated and effective Stuxnet worm, Iran’s intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi blamed western intelligence agencies for developing and unleashing the virus on thousands of Iranian computers. He has now announced on Iranian TV that his own intelligence team has captured “several spies” implicated in the plot to derail Iran’s…
Was Stuxnet an Israeli Attack on Iran?
Referred to as a ‘worm,’ Stuxnet is malware, or a computer virus, that was discovered in June 2010 by a Belarus security firm, though it was likely unleashed the previous June. Its purpose is to disrupt industrial processes and infrastructure, and the worm’s…
CIA to Improve Intelligence Gathering Techniques
Just about everything about the CIA is classified – including its budget – but occasionally we get a little insight into how it’s spending its money: This week, the agency announced plans to pour millions of dollars over the next five years into improving intelligence gathering techniques, technologies and communications.
Number 1 on the agenda is upping…
In China, Telco/Internet Companies Forced to Spy
While in other countries, government places limitations on businesses to help protect citizens’ privacy, China seems hell-bent on doing exactly the opposite…that is legally enforcing telco and internet companies to spy on users and disclose private information to the government.
Indeed, China is on the verge of passing a law that would require telecommunications and internet companies…
China poised to win cyber war?
Google shocked the Chinese government – not to mention all us gmail users – by announcing on January 12 that the company had suffered a serious cyber security breach, likely perpetrated by China. Encouraged by Google’s bold step, other companies are now coming forward, and so we see…
U.S. spy chief reveals spy strategy
Tuesday night, U.S. Intelligence Director Dennis Blair shared with the public his new official spy strategy for U.S. intelligence, which includes more collaboration between the 16 different spy agencies, increased…
Hacker hunter turns bad
Albert Gonzalez once used his wily computer skills to help the U.S. government track down hackers. Now it seems he’s crossed over to the other side, where instead of spying to protect U.S. citizens, he’s been spying to steal millions…
Australian domestic spy chief speaks of threats to ...
David Irvine, who for many years headed Australia’s ultra secretive foreign intelligence agency (ASIS), recently shifted into a domestic intelligence role, and now – 4 months in – he’s started to talk about where the country’s at. As head of ASIO, Australia’s internal spy agency, Irvine is expected to…
U.S. spy chief in favor of less secrecy
Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair addressed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this Wednesday, July 22 and it seems he’s looking to involve the private sector in intelligence operations. This is an indication of a few things: 1. the recognition of the need to bring in…
Germany gears up for Chinese spy scare
While China’s busy denying its hand in the decades-long economic espionage case that recently came to light in the U.S., Germany is ramping up to deal with a spy onslaught from the Chinese. According to the widely read German weekly Der Spiegel, a German intelligence agency has created the “China Task Force,” whose purpose is to…
Rush of cyber attacks in South Korea abates
The websites in South Korea that have recently been crashing under a series of Denial of Service (DoS) cyber attacks seem to be operating regularly again, since last Thursday’s assault. As a result, South Korea’s National Intelligence…
Pentagon taps into young hackers
In today’s world of espionage, cyber spying and cyber attacks are not to be taken lightly, and the Pentagon has decided it’s high time they build an army of geeks ready not only to defend the country’s networks but also to…
Swede Charged for Hacking into Cisco and NASA
Five years after hacking into Cisco and NASA computers, a 21-year-old Swede has been issued a 5-count indictment with…
Cybersecurity also a focus in Australia
As cyber espionage and computer crime are being deemed one of the most dangerous threats to national security in the United States, similar concerns are being expressed down under in Australia.
While in the U.S. the Senate has seen legislation…
Cyber Spies Strike Greenpeace
Spies have infiltrated Greenpeace. Espionage comes in many forms – and government or insurgent intelligence operatives need not always play a role, although corporate spies sometimes come from a government background, as in the recent spy flick Duplicity.
This time, Greenpeace has allegedly been targeted by EDF, the huge French nuclear energy company whose initials stand for…
National Cybersecurity Advisor for Obama
On Wednesday, legislation with the purpose of creating a new federal advisory position – with a direct reporting line to the President – was presented by two U.S. senators. We know what you’re thinking…doesn’t the President have enough advisors already? And how is this at all relevant to the world of espionage?
This is how: The legislation,…
China: “Computer Spy Allegations are Lies”
A report released this weekend by Canadian researchers about the uncovering of a MEGA global cyber espionage operation clearly implicated the Chinese (though not necessarily the Chinese government). China responded to the allegations today with distinct indignation.
Ministry spokesman Qin Gang spoke to journalists: “Some people outside China are bent on fabricating lies of so-called Chinese computer spies….…
Massive Cyber Espionage Operation Uncovered
Canadian investigators reported this weekend that the computers of government and private offices in over 100 countries around the world have been infiltrated by a huge cyber espionage operation.
Private documents were stolen by the spy system, which is allegedly controlled by computers based primarily in China. The Canadian researchers who put the report together caution against jumping…
Bail Denied for Alleged Al Qaeda Sleeper Spy
Tagged as an ‘enemy combatant’ under the Bush Administration, alleged Al Qaeda sleeper agent Ali al-Marri was held in solitary confinement for over five years before finally getting the chance to go to trial this month. As an enemy combatant, he was being held indefinitely, without trial or sentence.
Al-Marri will stand trial for providing material support…
NSA Joins Facebook for Spies
Baltimore Sun’s David Wood reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) has finally, several months after launch, decided to join a whopping 16 other US intelligence agencies in signing up for A-Space, the secure Facebook for intelligence analysts. You guessed it (or even if you didn’t), the ‘A’ stands for ‘analyst.’
You know that social networking has…
NATO Constant Victim of Cyber Espionage
Computer Science specialists are almost a dime a dozen these days – the halls of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo pulsate with the creative energy of these modern-day architects, many of whom are self-taught. But being a computer wiz has other, less than legal and decidedly more sinister, applications.
Computer crime is on the rise and agencies who…