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News you may have missed #0207

December 6, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Congo court upholds death sentences for Norwegian ‘spies’. A Congolese court has upheld death sentences for Tjostolv Moland and Joshua French, two Norwegians arrested last May in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on spying charges.
Judge unseals records of man claiming to be FBI spy. A Superior Court judge on Thursday lifted a seal on court records and transcripts that Craig Monteilh says will prove he was an informant for the FBI, tasked with spying on area mosques.
Is this a classified CIA drone? A new photo of what appears to be a classified US drone aircraft has been published on a blog belonging to the French newspaper Libération. But some say that the photo might be a deliberate disinformation effort aimed to confuse black ops spotters.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with American Muslims, CIA, Craig Monteilh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, espionage, FBI, informants, Joshua French, lawsuits, News, news you may have missed, Norway, Predator drones, Tjostolv Moland, United States

News you may have missed #0205

December 3, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Iran plans to charge five British yachtsmen as spies. Iran’s espionage trials against Westerners are becoming as predictable as the stupidity of said Westerners who keep entering Iranian territory without the necessary travel documentation.
CIA recruiting in Guam (of all places). The Agency tells University of Guam students that they should attend its recruitment information session if they are “interested in foreign affairs, […] enjoy foreign travel and have an aptitude to learn foreign languages”.

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Israeli listening bugs found in UN meeting room: Swiss paper

December 2, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

The UN in Geneva

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Switzerland’s most esteemed newspaper has revealed that a number of listening devices, most likely of Israeli origin, were discovered in a room designated for sensitive meetings on disarmament issues, at the United Nations building in Geneva. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), quoted “a senior official” of the Service for Analysis and Prevention (Dienst für Analyse und Prävention), Switzerland’s domestic intelligence agency, who said the bugs were among several discovered throughout the building during regular maintenance work in 2006. The anonymous official said counterintelligence experts drew on “technical and geopolitical criteria” to create a shortlist of the possible culprits. Israel topped the list, which also included North Korea, Britain, China, Russia, France and the United States. Read more of this post

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Analysis: The role of spies in Latin America

December 1, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Latin America

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
These days it’s a full-time job keeping up with intelligence news coming out of Latin America. In recent weeks alone, there were major spy scandals involving the busting of an alleged Colombian espionage ring in Venezuela, the acknowledgment by Bogotá that it spied on Ecuador, and the ongoing high-level intelligence scandal that some say may cause recalls of diplomats between Chile and Peru. So what is going on in Latin America? How widespread is espionage in the continent and is it on the rise? The BBC’s Juan Paullier has consulted several regional and international experts for his well-written analysis on the subject. Read more of this post

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London ex-official admits falling for Chinese honey trap

December 1, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

Ian Clement

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
London’s former deputy mayor, Ian Clement, has admitted he was lured by a female Chinese secret agent, who drugged him and ransacked his Beijing hotel room after having sex with him. Clement said he fell for “the oldest trick in the book”, euphemistically known as ‘honey trap’ in intelligence circles, while accompanying UK Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell to Beijing to “build contacts with potential investors” for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He said he became acquainted with an attractive Chinese woman at the exclusive official party on the opening night of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and had a few drinks with her. He then invited her to his hotel room, where he eventually became unconscious. Upon waking up, several hours later, he found that “the woman had rifled through confidential documents and downloaded details about how the capital is run from his BlackBerry Smartphone”. Read more of this post

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News you may have missed #0199

November 30, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Author insists Sir Hollis was Soviet agent. Last month, Professor Christopher Andrew, author of the recently published In Defense of the Realm, an authorized history of MI5, dismissed allegations that Sir Roger Hollis, former head of MI5, had been a KGB agent. But intelligence author Chapman Pincher insists that “Hollis ha[d] been so deeply suspected of being a Soviet spy […] that he had been recalled from retirement for interrogation” in London.
ACLU supports lawsuit against FBI by alleged informant. The American Civil Liberties Union has joined Craig Monteilh, who says he was an undercover FBI informant, in a lawsuit demanding sealed court records identifying him as a spy be made public.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with ACLU, book news and reviews, Chapman Pincher, Christopher Andrew, Cold War, Craig Monteilh, espionage, FBI, history, informants, KGB, lawsuits, MI5, News, news you may have missed, Sir Roger Hollis, UK, United States, USSR

News you may have missed #0194

November 24, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Ex-Monaco spymaster renews lawsuit on principality. Robert Eringer, who until recently was spymaster to prince Albert II of Monaco, and is now suing him for €360,000 ($542,000) in alleged unpaid income, has filed a new lawsuit against the principality itself, to prevent Albert II from invoking head-of-state immunity.
WWII spy photos declassified after 60 years. A collection of astonishing World War II air surveillance photos from Britain’s Aerial Reconnaissance Archives can now be seen by the public for the first time.
US couple accused of spying for Cuba pleads guilty. As expected, Walter and Gwendolyn Myers, who were arrested by the FBI last summer on charges of spying for Cuba for over 30 years, have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with investigators.

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News you may have missed #0192

November 23, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Ex-agent reveals botched CIA operation in Siberia. Former CIA operative Mike Ramsdell has described a botched post-Cold War CIA operation in Siberia, which almost cost him his life. Another, apparently unrelated, botched CIA operation in Siberia was revealed last August.
How secret Operation WEDGE ended Czechoslovak communism. “There are dozens of conspiracy theories about the Eastern European revolutions of 1989: that it was all the work of the CIA, the KGB, or a cabal of Western banks with mafia connections. Most are hokum. But in Czechoslovakia there really was a conspiracy behind the theory”.
Secret US-Japanese nuclear deal comes to light. IntelNews has previously discussed this secret arrangement, which reportedly allows US military vessels and aircraft carrying nuclear weapons to enter Japanese territorial waters, as long as Japan is protected by the US nuclear umbrella.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with CIA, Cold War, Czechoslovakia, espionage, history, Japan, KGB, Mike Ramsdell, News, news you may have missed, nuclear proliferation, Operation WEDGE, Russia, Siberia, United States

News you may have missed #0191

November 19, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Peru-Chile spy dispute deepens. Not only was senior Peruvian Air Force officer Victor Ariza Mendoza, who was arrested in Lima last Saturday, a spy for Chile, but there were six other individuals involved in the ring, according to Peruvian authorities. Peru has even asked Interpol to get involved in the affair.
UN-Iran in secret nuclear negotiations, says paper. The London Times has alleged that the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency is secretly negotiating a deal to persuade world powers to lift sanctions against Iran and allow Tehran to retain the bulk of its nuclear energy program, in return for co-operation with UN inspectors.
Analysis: The real spy war between CIA and DNI. For months, the CIA and the office of the Director of National Intelligence fought an intense and acrimonious turf battle over covert action oversight and access to White House officials. Now new details are emerging about deeper and more sensitive conflicts between the two agencies, including which agency is responsible for oversight of the CIA’s controversial and classified Predator drone program.

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News you may have missed #0190

November 19, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Indicted Liberian leader continues to allege CIA complicity. Former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, who is being tried at The Hague for war crimes, said his rebel group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, exchanged information with the CIA, and continued to do so into his presidency. Talylor has made similar allegations before, but the US media is ignoring it.
Debate on who should protect US computer networks continues. Cyber experts and intelligence officials continue to debate about whether the National Security Agency is the best-suited US agency for protecting the country’s critical computer networks from cyberattacks.
Case of Pakistani ‘spy’ arrested in India gets thicker. A Pakistani man arrested in India just as he was set to board a flight to Saudi Arabia, using a fake passport, “was a leader of some bigger ring spread across central and western Uttar Pradesh”, according to Indian officials. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has arrested two more individuals in connection with the case.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Aamir Ali, Africa, Charles Taylor, CIA, cybersecurity, cyberwar, Delhi Police, espionage, First Liberian Civil War, India, Liberia, News, news you may have missed, NPFL (Liberia), NSA, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, travel documentation, Uttar Pradesh (India)

A terrible week for German spy agencies

November 18, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

BND logo

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Germany’s largest intelligence agencies are in for a challenging few days, as two spy scandals are making headlines in the country’s media. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s foremost domestic intelligence organization, is firmly in the hot seat after it emerged that a woman it employed as an undercover informer was among seven extremists indicted for helping operate a hardcore neo-Nazi online radio station. The woman, who has been identified only as “Sandra F.”, had been hired by the spy agency to monitor the German People’s Union (DVU), a national socialist political grouping with substantial following in Brandenburg and Saxony. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Albania, Anton K., Anton Robert K., BND, DVU (Germany), espionage, European Brotherhood Station, Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Germany), German People's Union, Germany, homosexuality, informants, Internet, Kosovo, lawsuits, Macedonia, Murat A., national socialism, neo-Nazis, News, Sandra F.

News you may have missed #0188

November 17, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

India arrests Pakistani ‘spy’ carrying documents at airport. The Delhi Police says it arrested a Pakistani spy just as he was set to board a flight to Saudi Arabia, carrying with him a set of vital documents on Indian defense installations. The man was reportedly using a fake passport bearing the name “Aamir Ali”.
Hezbollah claims infiltration of Israel. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says it has infiltrated the security services of Israel and obtained vital documents regarding military activity, by “taking pictures and copying sensitive documents”.
Spy arrest causes major Peru-Chile diplomatic row. A senior Peruvian Air Force officer was arrested in Lima on Saturday, on charges of spying for Chile. The spying affair caused the Peruvian delegation to pull out of an Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore on Sunday.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Aamir Ali, Chile, Delhi Police, espionage, Hezbollah, India, Israel, Lebanon, Lima (Peru), News, news you may have missed, Pakistan, Peru, Peruvian Air Force, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, travel documentation, Victor Ariza Mendoza, Victor Ariza Mendoza spy ring

News you may have missed #0187

November 17, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Cambodia arrests Thai for spying on exile leader. Cambodian authorities said the man, Siwarak Chothipong, who works for the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, spied on the flight itinerary of visiting former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been living in exile since a 2006 military coup in Thailand. The Thai government has rejected the charge.
CIA’s Panetta to visit India, Pakistan. CIA director Leon Panetta will visit Pakistan and India for three days, starting on November 20. IntelNews will be keeping an eye on his visit.
Former Monaco spymaster says prince invokes immunity. More on the saga of former FBI counterintelligence agent Robert Eringer, who until recently was spymaster to prince Albert II of Monaco, and is now suing him for €360,000 ($542,000) in alleged unpaid income. Eringer’s lawyers have accused Albert of invoking head-of-state immunity, “an absolute defense used by dictators around the world to avoid accountability in US courts”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Cambodia, Cambodia Air Traffic Service, CIA, espionage, head-of-state immunity, India, lawsuits, Leon Panetta, Monaco, Monaco Intelligence Service, News, news you may have missed, Pakistan, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Robert Eringer, Siwarak Chothipong, Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, United States

News you may have missed #0182

November 13, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

China to keep Rio Tinto boss in prison. The Chinese government has extended (again) by two months a probe into Stern Hu, the jailed boss of Anglo-Australian mining corporation Rio Tinto. Hu was arrested by the Chinese last July on espionage charges.
Czech spy agency objects to outing Cold War agents. Recently a Czech research center published an extensive list of names of agents of StB, the country’s main intelligence agency in the communist era. But StB’s post-communist successor, the ÚZSI, condemned the airing of the names, calling it “a massive violation of protection of sources that is part of intelligence work, which also may have a negative impact on the Czech Republic’s [current] interests”.
Iran reportedly creates new domestic spy agency. A radical dissident Iranian group in Paris, with known ties to Washington, claims the Iranian regime has undertaken “the largest overhaul of the [country’s] intelligence structure since 1989”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Australia, China, Cold War, Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia, declassification, Eastern Europe, energy resources, espionage, history, informants, intelligence reform, Iran, News, news you may have missed, People's Mujahedeen Organization, Rio Tinto, StB (Czechoslovakia), Stern Hu, UK, UZSI (Czech Republic)

News you may have missed #0181

November 13, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Overt clues and tactical challenges in the Hasan case. The White House has authorized an investigation into US intelligence agencies’ handling of information relating to Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. But the fact is that, by their very nature, individual actors and small cells are very difficult for the intelligence agencies to detect.
US government-authorized wiretapping not reliable, research finds. Telephone users who suspect their calls are wiretapped by a US law enforcement agency could disable the taps by overwhelming the telephone system’s thin bandwidth, according to a new research paper on the subject.
Israeli spying in Lebanon violates UN resolutions, says UN official. The bizarre, self-exploding wiretapping devices discovered by Lebanese security forces last month along the Lebanese-Israeli border violate UN Security Council Resolution 1701, says the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams.