MI5 | intelNews.org

News you may have missed #382 (Russian spy ring edition III)

July 1, 2010 by intelNews 4 Comments

What about the children of the accused Russian spies? The suspected spies have seven children among them, most of whom are thought to be younger than 18. But while plenty of details have emerged about the spying activities of their parents, very little is known about the children.
MI5 investigates Russian spy’s time in Britain. Russian alleged spy Anna Chapman lived in Britain for almost five years, working in a string of top London companies. Now MI5, which carries out Britain’s counterespionage work, is understood to be helping the Americans in their investigation.
Canadian identity was useful for Russian spies. The FBI affidavit charges that four of the 11 Russian spies arrested in the US last weekend, four claim Canadian birth or citizenship, including one who allegedly took the identity of a Montreal infant who died in 1963. The Canadian identity card has become a preferred commodity in the shadowy world of international espionage.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Canadian identity was useful for Russian spies, 0 MI5 investigates Russian spy's time in Britain, 0 What about the children of the accused Russian spies, Anna Chapman, Canada, espionage, false identity, forgery, MI5, Montreal (Canada), News, news you may have missed, Russia, Russian illegals program spy ring, travel documentation, UK, United States

News you may have missed #344

May 6, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

CIA base in Afghanistan hit again. A suicide car bomber killed one civilian and wounded two security guards at the entrance to the CIA’s Forward Operating Base Chapman, in Afghanistan’s Khost province. It is the same base where Jordanian suicide bomber Humam Khalil al-Balawi killed seven CIA officers in December of 2009.
Fiji to set up new spy agency. The government of Fiji plans to re-establish its intelligence agency, ten years after it was disbanded by Labour Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry. The new organization will be called the National Intelligence Agency of Fiji.
MI5 and MI6 must release Guantánamo records, says judge. MI5 and MI6 have been told by a British judge that they cannot use secret evidence to defend themselves from civil damages claims brought by six former detainees in the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, including Binyam Mohamed.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 CIA base in Afghanistan hit again, 0 Fiji to set up new spy agency, 0 MI5 and MI6 must release Guantánamo records says judge, Afghanistan, Binyam Mohamed, CIA, Fiji, Fiji National Intelligence Agency, Forward Operating Base Chapman, Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp, Khost, lawsuits, Mahendra Chaudhry, MI5, MI6, News, news you may have missed, suicide bombings, UK, United States

News you may have missed #333

April 20, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Ex-MI6 officer allegedly betrayed spies. Daniel Houghton was arrested last month while trying to sell classified documents to MI5 spooks posing as foreign agents. But now the former MI6 employee is accused by British authorities of trying to trade lists of British intelligence personnel. It is unclear which nation’s spy service Houghton believed he was selling to at the time of his arrest, though it is believed that Dutch intelligence tipped off MI5.
NSA director under friendly fire in US Senate. US National Security Agency director, Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, spoke last Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. He addressed the synergies among the NSA, the newly created Cyber Command, and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the concept of cyberwar: “In general terms, I do think a cyberwar could exist”, he said, but only “as part of a larger military campaign”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Ex-MI6 officer allegedly betrayed spies, 0 NSA director under friendly fire in US Senate, cyberwar, Daniel Houghton, espionage, Keith Alexander, lawsuits, MI5, MI6, Netherlands, News, news you may have missed, NSA, UK, United States, US DoD Cyber Command, US Senate Armed Services Committee

News you may have missed #328 (breaking)

April 12, 2010 by intelNews 1 Comment

Breaking: Real IRA admits NI MI5 base bomb. The Real IRA has admitted it was behind a car bomb which exploded shortly after midnight local hour, outside the Palace Barracks army base, in Holywood, County Down, which houses MI5’s Northern Ireland headquarters. Police said no warning was given.
Venezuela releases 4 of 8 alleged spies. Four of the eight Colombians arrested by Venezuela on espionage charges last week have been released, after a judge found there was not enough evidence to take them to trial. Meanwhile Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has said that the alleged spy ring used “secret or semi-secret codes”.
Analysis: Security services will determine fate of Kyrgyz uprising. Unlike the 2005 so-called Tulip Revolution, this time the anti-government protesters in Kyrgyzstan are armed. But the real question may be whether they have the support of (and control over) the Internal Security Services and the military.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Real IRA admits NI MI5 base bomb, 0 Security services will determine fate of Kyrgyz uprising, 0 Venezuela releases 4 of 8 alleged spies, Analysis, Central Asia, Colombia, Committee for National Security (Kyrgyzstan), County Down, espionage, Hugo Chávez, Kyrgyzstan, MI5, News, news you may have missed, Northern Ireland, Palace Barracks (UK), Real IRA, revolutions, UK, Venezuela

News you may have missed #317

March 29, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Captured MI6 spy denied bail. Daniel Houghton, a former MI6 officer who allegedly attempted to sell British classified top-secret computer files to what he thought was a foreign intelligence agency (but were in fact MI5 counterintelligence agents) has had his bail application rejected.
Alleged Israeli spy arrested in Algeria. The Algerian security services have arrested an unidentified Israeli, who allegedly entered Algeria using a forged Spanish passport. No further information available at this time.
MI6’s top ranking female spy dies at 88. Daphne Park, the Baroness of Monmouth, who died Wednesday, aged 88, had a long career in the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), which culminated in her appointment as Controller Western Hemisphere in 1975, the highest post ever occupied by a woman at MI6.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Alleged Israeli spy arrested in Algeria, 0 Captured MI6 spy denied bail, 0 MI6's top ranking female spy dies at 88, Alberto Vagilo, Algeria, counterintelligence, Daniel Houghton, Daphne Park, espionage, forgery, Israel, lawsuits, MI5, MI6, News, obituaries, Spain, travel documentation, UK

MI5’s tech skills lacking, admits director-general

March 29, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Jonathan Evans

By IAN ALLEN| intelNews.org |
The director-general of MI5, Britain’s foremost domestic intelligence agency, has revealed his concern that the organization he heads lacks officers with even basic skills in information technology. Speaking before the British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, Jonathan Evans said he thought “some [MI5] staff perhaps aren’t quite the ones that we will want for the future”. He continued by saying that that the lack of even basic computer skills among MI5’s aging officer ranks have sparked the introduction of a program of “both voluntary and compulsory redundancies”. Ironically, the expected layoffs are taking place during MI5’s most rapid expansion in recent memory. The agency’s budget has nearly doubled in less than a decade, and so has its workforce: from just over 2,000 employees in 2001, MI5’s workforce has now reached 3,500, and is expected to surpass 4,000 by 2011. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with ASIO, Intelligence and Security Committee (UK), intelligence recruitment, Jonathan Evans, Kevin O'Brien, MI5, News, UK

News you may have missed #309

March 15, 2010 by intelNews 3 Comments

Iran claims arrest of US cyberspies. Iranian security forces have arrested 30 people accused of waging cyberwar against the country, with the backing of the United States. The Iranian government accuses them of running a network of websites funded by US intelligence, which aims to “collect information about Iran’s nuclear program”.
Nazis planned to infiltrate Vatican with spies. Nazi Germany hatched a plan during World War II to infiltrate the Vatican with spies disguised as monks, according to secret MI5 intelligence reports. The codename for the plan was Operation GEORGIAN CONVENT.
US misled even us on detainees, says ex-MI5 chief. Eliza Manningham-Buller, the former head of the Britain’s foremost domestic spy agency, MI5, has said that United States intelligence agencies misled even MI5 about the mistreatment of suspected terrorists.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Iran claims arrest of US cyberspies, 0 Nazis planned to infiltrate Vatican with spies, 0 US misled even us on detainees says ex-MI5 chief, cyberespionage, cyberwar, declassification, Eliza Manningham-Buller, Germany, history, intelligence cooperation, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, MI5, News, news you may have missed, Operation GEORGIAN CONVENT, torture, UK, United States, Vatican, World War II

Declassified MI5 files offer wealth of new information

March 11, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Sophie Kukralova

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Britain’s National Archives have authorized the release of nearly 200 files from the vaults of MI5, the country’s domestic intelligence service. The release of the documents, which range from 1937 to 1955, has given rise to numerous interesting historical revelations, including an apparent effort by German Hitler Youth groups to establish personal and institutional links with Lord Baden-Powell, founder and leader of the Boy Scouts. The relevant MI5 file notes that Baden-Powell, who was “wined and dined by senior Hitler Youth figures”, responded enthusiastically to the Nazi charm offensive. Other revelations include the Soviet sympathies of Sidney Bernstein, later Baron Bernstein, who founded Britain’s Granada Theatres (later Granada Television) in 1926. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Australia, Bernard Montgomery Monty, Boy Scouts, Cairo (Egypt), declassification, Egypt, espionage, Germany, history, Hitler Youth, honey traps, impersonators, informants, Lord Baden-Powell, MI5, national socialism, News, Sidney Bernstein, Sophie Kukralova, terrorism, UK, UK National Archives, USSR, World War II

MI6 employee arrested for trying to sell documents

March 6, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Daniel Houghton

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
British authorities have detained a former MI6 employee after he was caught trying to sell classified documents to MI5 spooks posing as foreign agents. Daniel Houghton, 25, who was arrested on Monday at a central London hotel, worked for MI6 between September 2007 and May 2009. During the course of his employment, he apparently stole MI5 (and not MI6, as has been suggested) electronic documents, classified secret and top-secret, by copying them to CDs and DVDs. He then attempted to sell the material, which is said to relate to “techniques for intelligence collection”, for £2 million ($2.9 million), to MI5 agents posing as intelligence handlers of an unspecified foreign intelligence service. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with classified Secret, classified Top Secret, counterintelligence, Daniel Houghton, espionage, intelligence collection, lawsuits, London, MI5, MI6, Netherlands, News, UK

News you may have missed #0289

February 18, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

UK spies worry about human rights lawsuits. Intelligence officers at Britain’s MI5 and MI6 are allegedly being diverted from counter-terrorism work to sift through thousands of documents relating to former terrorism detainees, who are suing the security services for breaching their human rights. The article makes it look like it is the torture victims’ fault for pursuing their rights. But in reality, MI5 and MI6 should have known better than to allow and participate in extralegal torture.
Bangladesh arrests alleged Burmese spies. Bangladesh coast guards have arrested eight citizens of Myanmar on suspicion of spying. Photographs of Bangladesh Navy warships and security installations were found in their possession, according to the country’s police chief.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Bangladesh, Burma, espionage, human rights, lawsuits, maritime intelligence, MI5, MI6, News, news you may have missed, torture, UK

News you may have missed #0284

February 12, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Real IRA faction killed MI5 informant, says Irish police. The Gardai have concluded that a Real IRA faction executed Denis Donaldson, a former Sinn Fein official who turned informer for MI5 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Last year, the Real IRA took responsibility for the 2007 killing.
NATO spy station up for sale. A Canadian NATO spy station in Nova Scotia that operated between 1983 and 2006 is for sale for US$1.4 million. It appears that the site’s current owner, who doesn’t want to be identified, bought it from the Canadian Defense Department after the base was closed down.
Analysis on the Binyam Mohamed disclosures and UK-US spy cooperation. This analysis, by Michael Clarke, director of Britain’s Royal United Services Institute, is probably the best synopsis of the meaning of the recent court order to disclose Binyam Mohamed’s torture records, which has complicated US-UK spy relations.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, Binyam Mohamed, Canada, Canadian Defense Department, Denis Donaldson, extraordinary rendition, Garda Síochána, informants, Ireland, MI5, Michael Clarke, NATO, News, news you may have missed, Northern Ireland, Nova Scotia (Canada), Police Service of Northern Ireland, Real IRA, Royal United Services Institute, SIGINT, Sinn Féin, torture, UK, United States

US, UK spy agencies on alert after unprecedented court decision

February 11, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Binyam Mohamed

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
British and American intelligence agencies have been placed on alert following an unprecedented ruling by a British court, which forces the British government to disclose CIA documents in its possession. The documents relate to the case of Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian resident of Britain, who says he was severely tortured with the collaboration of the CIA and British domestic intelligence agency MI5, after he was renditioned to Morocco. Last February, two British judges overseeing Mr. Mohamed’s case revealed that the British government kept “powerful evidence” secret after being threatened by the US that it would “stop sharing intelligence about terrorism with the UK”. In July, it emerged that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton personally threatened the British government that Washington would stop collaborating with London on intelligence matters if evidence in Mr. Mohamed’s case was publicly released. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Binyam Mohamed, CIA, David Miliband, Ethiopia, extraordinary rendition, government secrecy, Hillary Clinton, intelligence sharing, lawsuits, MI5, MI6, Morocco, News, torture, UK, United States

News you may have missed #0281

February 9, 2010 by intelNews 5 Comments

US intel director confirms CIA can kill US citizens abroad. It’s official; speaking before the House Intelligence Committee, US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair acknowledged that President Obama is continuing a Bush-era policy authorizing the killing of US citizens if they are considered “a terrorist threat to the United States”.
Funny sign at CIA gift shop. Actual notice displayed at a CIA gift store inside the Agency’s Langley, VA, headquarters: “Don’t forget! If you are undercover, you cannot charge! It will blow your cover”. Good point.
Gordon Thomas’ Secret Wars out in paperback. IntelNews has received the new paperback edition of Gordon Thomas’ Secret Wars: 100 Years of British Intelligence. Joseph Fitsanakis reviewed the hardback edition last May.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, book news and reviews, Bush Administration, CIA, Dennis Cutler Blair, DNI, Gordon Thomas, history, Langley (Virginia), MI5, MI6, News, news you may have missed, Obama Administration, UK, US House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Leaked MI5 report sees China as ‘most significant’ spy threat

February 2, 2010 by intelNews 2 Comments

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
A restricted MI5 report describes China as Britain’s most serious espionage threat, and says British business executives are increasingly targeted by Chinese intelligence operatives. The 14-page document was authored by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, a unit of MI5, Britain’s primary counterintelligence and security agency. In it, the intelligence agencies of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, as well as the Ministry of State Security, are identified as leaders in a massive targeting of British corporate executives who regularly make business trips to China. The report warns that most of the hotel rooms where they stay are “likely to be bugged”, that they are regularly “searched while the occupants are out of the[ir] room[s]”, and that hotels are frequented by Chinese female intelligence agents, looking “to exploit vulnerabilities such as sexual relationships and illegal activities”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with bribing, China, Chinese Ministry of State Security, Chinese People's Liberation Army, computer hacking, corporate espionage, espionage, honey traps, MI5, News, UK

News you may have missed #0268

January 25, 2010 by intelNews 2 Comments

Lithuanian foreign minister resigns over CIA black sites. After Lithuania’s intelligence director, Povilas Malakauskas, who resigned last month following the revelation that two CIA black sites operated in Vilnius between 2004 and 2005, the country’s foreign minister, Vygaudas Usackas, has said he will step down in connection with the case.
UK prime minister urges co-operation between spy agencies. It is not just US intelligence agencies that seem to have trouble cooperating with each other. Britain’s leader Gordon Brown says MI5, MI6 and GCHQ need “to be able seamlessly to track and disrupt terrorist activity and movements, whether within the UK or beyond”.