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Want to Help the FBI? Test Out Your Cryptology Skil ...
In 1999, the FBI found two notes written in encrypted code on the body of a murdered man. The victim, Ricky McCormick, was found in a field with the two notes in his pants pockets. In the following 12 years, McCormick’s killer was never found. Neither was the solution to the coded notes, despite extensive work…
Iranian Scientist Shahram Amiri Answers Some Questi ...
By Haggai Carmon
I don’t purport to suggest that Shahram Amiri or the Iranian intelligence services read my July 13 Op Ed (in which I posed ten questions following Amiri’s public surfacing in the U.S.) and then rushed to respond. That said, Amiri’s July 15 appearance on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting’s public television offered some answers,…
A Russian-U.S. Spy Swap: What’s the Rush?
By Haggai Carmon
At this very moment, there are growing rumors about plans for a prisoner swap that would return ten suspected Russian spies to Russia, in exchange for an imprisoned Russian military researcher Igor Sutyagin, who was convicted of espionage in 2004. The rumors also suggest that the U.S. has compiled a list of 11 Russian…
The Russian Sleeper Spy Ring in the U.S. — Pr ...
By Haggai Carmon
This week the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York filed criminal complaints against ten alleged Russian sleeper agents in the U.S. Although the cases concern U.S. national security, the sleepers were not indicted for espionage but rather for lesser charges of money laundering related felonies and for failure to register as foreign agents, under…
British intel helps thwart terror attack on NY subw ...
9/11 may seem a distant memory, but as the recent arrest of Najibullah Zazi – an airport shuttle bus driver with plans to detonate homemade bombs on the New York subway – shows, Al Qaeda still has its eye on the Big Apple. It turns out…
FBI exposes U.S. spy for Israel
It seems that the FBI has caught former NASA scientist Stewart Nozette red-handed. As a result of an undercover sting operation, during which Nozette accepted $11,000 in exchange for classified U.S. information, he…
Dems fight to lessen US gov domestic spying
The Patriot Act, drawn up and passed within weeks of 9/11, is under review. Three major Patriot Act provisions will expire at the end of the year, and it seems…
Guinea pig spy flick flops
G-Force reviews are out and the consensus is: cool idea, great visual execution, star-studded cast, but the movie falls short of real innovation and interest. Just in case you’re not familiar with the concept: A team of three guinea pigs plus one mole are trained as federal spies. They are given…
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…
Debate on FBI use of informants in mosques
Recently, several news stories have made it more than clear that the FBI is planting informants in mosques around the U.S. to spy on fellow worshipers. There’s the case of the mosque informant who claims the FBI failed to pay him for spying on mosques in Southern California and also that of the homegrown terrorist plot in…
ROTC for spies?
Every year, the U.S. military gets loads of college grads joining its ranks who’ve already been through a fair amount of army training. This is thanks to the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program, which pays college tuition for…
Cuban spies shock unsuspecting neighbors
On Thursday, June 4, a retired State Department analyst with top secret security clearance and his wife were arrested by FBI agents on charges of fraud, conspiracy and acting as…
Mosque informant says FBI didn’t pay him
A man claiming to have worked as an FBI informant is seeking damages of $10 million for not being paid as he should have been, not to mention having had to spend eight months in prison for a charge he…
First U.S. economic espionage trial under way
In 1996, the U.S. Economic Espionage Act was passed, making the theft or misappropriation of a trade secret a federal crime. No one suspected of economic espionage has gone to trial (six settlements) – until Tuesday, when a…
NY: Little sympathy for unrepentant would-be terror ...
Four men with plans to bomb two NYC synagogues and shoot down U.S. military planes appeared in court yesterday after being arrested on Wednesday night. A federal prosecutor on the case said that the men – far from being repentant – were disappointed they’d missed out on the…
Informant helps FBI stop NY terrorists
Thanks to an invaluable informant and a carefully orchestrated FBI operation, the plans of four amateur NY-based terrorists have been thwarted. The undercover investigation lasted…
The Hip Face of the FBI
Facebook and Twitter have been mainstream for quite some time, but it’s still surprising – and refreshing – to see the stuffy FBI embrace next generation…
FBI Failing at Freedom of Information
If you’re just an average person, doing a little investigating, trying to get a document you think a federal agency might have, how easy is it to get your hands on it? If it’s the FBI you’re asking – apparently not very!
Under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), federal agencies receive all sorts of requests…
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…
Sexspionage: Talking about Wonder Women Spies
Former spies and spy lovers alike will converge in Raleigh, North Carolina from March 25 to 27, 2009 for the sixth annual International Spy Conference. This year’s intriguing conference theme “Sexspionage: Famous Women Spies and the Ancient Art of Seduction” will explore the careers of some of the most successful female spies in the world.
Speakers will include…
Convicted CIA Spy Continues Espionage from Federal ...
Spies may be the stuff of movies and thrilling page turners, but they’re not just a throwback to the Cold War, forever to be reincarnated in pop culture. This is the real thing, folks.
Last month, Harold Nicholson – one of the highest-ranking CIA officials ever to be convicted of espionage – and his son Nathaniel were…