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Intelligence sources say US electric grid hacked by foreign spies

April 9, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
In yesterday’s edition, The Wall Street Journal quoted senior US intelligence sources, including former Homeland Security Department officials, who said that foreign spies have penetrated the electronic infrastructure of America’s electrical supply grid. The officials said the hackers, who have reportedly been traced to Russia and China, among other countries, do not currently appear intent on disrupting the system. Instead, they seem to be “on a mission to navigate [and map] the US electrical system and its controls”, allegedly so that they can sabotage it “during a crisis or war”. Interestingly, the discovery was reportedly made not by utility company technicians, but by US intelligence agents engaged in monitoring cyber-intrusions into the nation’s electronic infrastructure. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with China, computer hacking, cyberespionage, cybersecurity, energy networks, News, Russia, sabotage, United States, Yevgeniy Khorishko

French energy giant spying on Greenpeace?

April 4, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

ÉDF's Paris HQ

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Two senior security officials at France’s state-owned electricity service provider are among several people charged by French authorities with spying on Greenpeace. News emerged last Tuesday that the heads of security at Électricité de France (ÉDF), Pierre Durieux and Pierre Francois, have had their offices raided and computers confiscated by French police, who are searching for the culprits of an extensive spying operation against the environmental organization. Three other people have been charged with membership in the spy ring, including Thierry Lorho, director of private investigations firm Kargus Consultant, as well as two unnamed individuals, one of whom is reportedly a “computer expert”. It appears that the five collaborated in efforts to remotely hack into computer servers and networks operated by Greenpeace France. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Électricité de France, computer hacking, cybersecurity, energy resources, France, Greenpeace, Kargus Consultant, News, Pierre Durieux, Pierre Francois, Thierry Lorho

Researchers discover gigantic cyberespionage operation

March 31, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

Ronald Deibert

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
A team of Canadian researchers claims to have discovered a large cyberespionage ring located mainly in China. The researchers say the ring has managed to infiltrate nearly 1,300 mainly government and corporate computers in at least 103 countries around the world. The report, entitled Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network, was compiled after a ten-month collaboration between Ottawa’s SecDev group and the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Although the report concludes that the cyberespionage ring is located mainly in China, it specifically rejects claims that GhostNet is inevitably a Chinese government operation, saying that there is no evidence that Beijing is behind the operation. University of Toronto associate professor Ronald Deibert suggested that the operation could potentially be the work of non-state pro-Chinese actors, or could be conducted by a profit-oriented group that sells the acquired information to whoever offers it the highest monetary compensation. “It’s a murky realm that we’re lifting the lid on”, said Dr. Deibert: “This could well be the CIA or the Russians”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, China, computer hacking, cyberespionage, Cyprus, Germany, GhostNet, India, Indonesia, Iran, Latvia, Munk Centre for International Studies, News, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Ronald J. Deibert, SecDev Group, Tibet, Tibetan government in exile, University of Toronto

Comment: EU wants to intercept encrypted VOIP communications

February 25, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

By IAN ALLEN| intelNews.org |
Italian authorities are taking the initiative in a European Union (EU)-wide effort to terminate the tacit immunity of voice-over-Internet-protocol (VOIP) communications from authorized interception. Italy’s delegation to Eurojust, an EU coordination body tasked with combating transnational organized crime, issued a statement last weekend, promising to spearhead a project to “overcome the technical and judicial obstacles to the interception of internet telephony systems”. The statement contains several references to Skype, a Luxembourg-based VOIP provider that has so far reportedly refused to share its communications encryption system with government authorities. Because of this, the latter have accused Skype of providing organized crime syndicates with the ability to communicate without fear of their messages being intercepted.

Comment: Israel Intensifies Information War

January 14, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
John Minto is well known in New Zealand’s political circles. In 2005, a documentary on the country’s most influential public figures positioned him firmly within the top 100. Earlier today, Minto accused Israeli military and security agencies of orchestrating cyber-attacks on New Zealand websites, including his own, that are critical of Israel’s ongoing incursion in Gaza. He also said that websites in Britain and elsewhere have had “similar experiences”, which he blamed on “a dedicated unit within the Israeli military which monitors and does its best to close down sites which are effective in organizing opposition to Israeli policies”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Al-Aqsa Television, Ashiyaneh, computer hacking, cyberwar, Eli Cara, Hamas, Ian Allen, IDF, John Minto, Mossad, New Zealand, NZSIS (New Zealand), Uriel Zoshe Kelman

British authorities admit to hacking computers

January 7, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The British Home Office has joined an EU-wide agreement that prompts European law enforcement agencies to resort to computer hacking (termed “remote searching” in the official document) in order to combat cyber crime. Commenting on the move, a spokesman for the UK Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) admitted that British law enforcement and intelligence agencies already conduct “a small number” of such operations every year. Specifically, the spokesman said that “remote searching”, which allows the authorities to covertly examine the contents and activity of targeted computers, was employed during “194 clandestine searches […] of people’s homes, offices and hotel bedrooms”. Read more of this post