British agency spies on foreign diplomats’ hotel reservations
November 18, 2013 Leave a comment
By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org
Britain’s signals intelligence agency operates a system that monitors the hotel bookings of international diplomats and foreign government officials around the world, according to information published on Sunday. German newsmagazine Der Spiegel said the revelation came from the personal archive of American intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has been offered political asylum in Russia. In an article published last weekend, the magazine said the classified program is codenamed ROYAL CONCIERGE, and it is operated by the United Kingdom’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). The classified documents allegedly show that ROYAL CONCIERGE was launched on an experimental basis in 2010; the program was apparently “so successful” that it was approved for “further development” by GCHQ’s intelligence planners. Since that time, the British signals intelligence agency has been able to compromise the booking systems of at least 350 high-end hotels around the world, which are frequented by international diplomats and foreign government officials. As soon as a room booking is confirmed by an email to an account in a governmental Internet domain, GCHQ receives an alert, allowing it to know the name and arrival details of the guest(s). This information, says Der Spiegel, enables the British “technical operations community” to target the hotel guests according to the intelligence requirements set out by the British government. In some cases, the hotel room’s telephone and fax machine are monitored, while unsuspecting hotel guests have their computers and personal cellphones targeted by GCHQ. Read more of this post




















Announcement: Intelligence educators invite papers for conference
November 19, 2013 by Ian Allen Leave a comment
Intelligence educators from around the world are invited to participate in the 10th anniversary conference of the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) this coming July. The Association was formed in June 2004, as a result of a gathering of more than 60 intelligence studies trainers and educators at the Sixth Annual International Colloquium on Intelligence at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania. This group, from various intelligence disciplines including national security, law enforcement, competitive intelligence, and others, recognized the need for a professional association on intelligence, a new and diverse field of academic study that forms the basis of what has since become known as ‘intelligence studies’. Today, IAFIE is internationally recognized as one of the foremost groups working to advance research, knowledge and professional development in intelligence education. Mercyhurst University will be the hosting institution of IAFIE’s conference, which will take place from July 14 to 16. The theme for the conference is “Theory and Practice in Intelligence Education and Training”. The organizers invite ideas for papers with a focus on traditional intelligence studies or for panel discussions on various subjects including the history of intelligence analysis, the role of intelligence education in developing the profession, as well as international perspectives on the discipline and the profession. Other subjects of interest to the conference center on theoretical or practical pedagogical approaches to intelligence education, relevant research initiatives, future trends in the field of intelligence analysis, and explorations of the intersection between intelligence education and intelligence training. IAFIE’s Board of Directors specifies that papers and copies of any audiovisual materials in support of conference submissions are due no later than April 15, 2014. For more information, please refer to the IAFIE website.
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