Kremlin spy participated in secret meeting to fund Italian separatist party

June 29, 2021 by 1 Comment

Kremlin, Russia

AN ALLEGED EMPLOYEE OF Russian intelligence was present during a secret meeting in Moscow, in which politicians and investors discussed a plan to fund a northern Italian separatist political party. The party, Lega Nord (Northern League, or LN) was established in 1991 as an amalgamation of northern Italian separatist groups whose members seek greater autonomy and are opposed to Italy’s membership in the European Union. Under its current leader, Matteo Salvini, the LN has adopted an hard-line anti-immigration stance and has associated itself with United Russia, the political home of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In July of 2019, the investigative news website BuzzFeed released audio recordings of a secret meeting that allegedly took place in Moscow’s Hotel Metropol, between members of the LN and Russian emissaries of the Kremlin. The discussion reportedly concerned a plan to sell Russian oil to an Italian firm connected to the LN at a markedly discounted price, which would allow it to compete with Italy’s state-owned energy supplier and at the same time enrich the LN’s election campaign coffers by nearly $70 million.

According to an investigation by Italian authorities, participants at that meeting were Salvini’s former spokesperson, Gianluca Savoini, as well as two other Italians, who managed investment banks and were also supporters of the LN. There were also three Russian participants, including a Kremlin lawyer who works for the Russian Ministry of Energy, and a Russian former banker and tycoon with clsoe ties to President Putin. But the third Russian had not been identified. Until now.

The Italian newspaper L’Espresso, which has led the investigative reporting into the alleged scandal, reports that the Milan Prosecutor’s Office has identified the third Russian participant as Andrey Yuryevich Kharchenko, an alleged employee of Russian intelligence. The paper said that Kharchenko’s identity was supplied to the Italian government by “another Western state” that has been targeted by Russian intelligence in recent years. The investigation into the alleged scandal continues.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 29 June 2021 | Permalink

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Sensitive UK defense documents found in bus stop by member of the public

June 28, 2021 by 1 Comment

UK Ministry of DefenceSensitive documents belonging to the British Ministry of Defense were found by a member of the public behind a bus stop last week, in what the BBC described as “a major embarrassment” for the British government. The documents number 50 pages; most are marked “official sensitive”, which is a low level of classification, but it means they are still subject to security requirements.

The BBC said it was contacted by “a member of the public, who wishes to remain anonymous”, after he or she found the documents dumped behind a bus stop in the southeastern county of Kent, which borders greater London,. The papers were reportedly in a deteriorated state, as they had been exposed to the elements -including rain- for several days.

According to the BBC, the sensitive documents most likely originated in the office of a senior Ministry of Defense official. They include printouts of email exchanges, as well as a number of PowerPoint slides concerning several timely topics. Among them is a presentation about HMS Defender, a Type 45 Destroyer belonging to the Royal Navy. It is followed by a presentation on the tense maritime incident that took place between Britain and Russia off the coast of Crimea last week.

Another document concerns the defense priorities of the administration of United States President Joe Biden, especially as they relate to the Indo-Pacific region and China. Several emails concern the future of the British military presence in Afghanistan, following the pending withdrawal of US forces from there in September. Yet another set of documents addresses British defense contracts that may irk some of the former European Union member state’s European allies.

The British Defense Ministry said last week it was investigating the details of “an incident” in which sensitive papers were “recovered by a member of the public”. It added that one of its employees, who had been entrusted with the documents, had reported them missing in the days prior to their recovery.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 28 June 2021 | Permalink

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US court rejects challenge of pre-publication review by ex-intelligence employees

June 24, 2021 by 1 Comment

4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia

A COURT OF APPEALS in the United States state of Virginia has rejected a lawsuit by former intelligence employees who claimed that the system of pre-publication review violated their freedom of speech. The case centered on the requirement for current and former employees of American intelligence agencies to submit for review any material they intend to publish in the unclassified domain, in case it contains government secrets.

The lawsuit originated in 2019, when it was brought before a court by five former employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Department of Defense. All five plaintiffs intended to publish books on topics including the history of the CIA, government surveillance, as well as the prevalence of sexual violence and racism in the US armed forces.

The plaintiffs claimed that the pre-publication review system is unclear and confusing, that its scope is too broad, and that the process takes too long. They also claimed that many of the edits made on their manuscripts aimed to protect government agencies from embarrassment and criticism, rather than protect national security. Furthermore, they claimed that many of the alleged secrets that were edited out of manuscripts referred to information that was already available in the open domain. All five plaintiffs were represented by lawyers from the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the American Civil Liberties Union. The government was represented by the US Department of Justice.

Last year, a US District Court in the US state of Maryland dismissed the claim on the grounds that the government was justified in wanting to protect its secrets, and that the pre-publication system was intricate but unambiguous. On Wednesday, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, upheld the District Court’s ruling. In a unanimous vote, the court’s three judges concluded that, by voluntarily agreeing to submit to the pre-publication review system, the plaintiffs had waived their right to challenge the system’s legality under the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 24 June 2021 | Permalink

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Afghans who spied for CIA say they fear retaliation once US forces withdraw

June 23, 2021 by Leave a comment

Antony Blinken

AFGHAN CIVILIANS WHO WERE recruited by the United States Central Intelligence Agency as local assets say they fear retaliation by a resurgent Taliban once American forces withdraw from Afghanistan in September. Last April, US President Joe Biden announced that American troops would leave Afghanistan by September 11. The date will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which caused Washington to send troops to Afghanistan in response.

The CIA has been a major component of America’s presence in Afghanistan over the past two decades. When operating in the Central Asian country, CIA officers have routinely relied on local people to collect intelligence, provide translation services, and guard its facilities and personnel. These local assets were typically paid in cash for their services, which were secret in nature and often life-threatening.

Now many of these local assets —possibly thousands— are apprehensive of the pending withdrawal of their American protectors from Afghanistan, and fear retaliation from a resurgent Taliban. According to The Wall Street Journal, these local CIA assets say that “their lives are now at risk”. A large number of them have submitted applications for a US Special Immigrant Visa. This is a State Department program that aims to offer protection to local people who have carried out “sensitive and trusted activities” on behalf of American government personnel abroad.

But the Special Immigrant Visa process is complicated and expensive, and is currently plagued by major delays. The Wall Street Journal reports that, even though the law stipulates Special Immigrant Visa requests must be processed within nine months, applications are currently taking between three to five years to be adjudicated. The Department of State says it is currently working through a backlog of 18,000 applications from around the world. The situation is particularly dire for Afghan CIA assets, says the paper, because many find it difficult to prove they ever worked for the CIA. The spy agency’s record-keeping was minimal throughout its time in Afghanistan, especially in the opening years of the conflict, according to the report. Furthermore, some local assets may not even be named in CIA documentation, so as to protect their identity.

In response to calls for faster processing of Special Immigrant Visa requests, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (pictured) said earlier this month: “We’re determined to make good on our obligation to those who helped us, who put their lives on the line, put their families’ lives on the line working with our military, working with our diplomats”.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 23 June 2021 | Permalink

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Germany arrests Russian PhD student on suspicion of spying for Moscow

June 22, 2021 by 3 Comments

University of Augsburg

A RUSSIAN DOCTORAL STUDENT in mechanical engineering, who is studying in a Bavarian university, has been arrested by German police on suspicion of spying for Moscow, according to official statements and reports in the German media. According to a press statement issued by the Federal Public Prosecutor General’s office in the city of Karlsruhe, the PhD student was arrested on Friday, June 18.

The student was subsequently identified by the German authorities only as “Ilnur N.”, in accordance with German privacy laws. On Monday, however, local media identified the suspected spy as Ilnur Nagaev, a doctoral candidate at the University of Augsburg, which is located 50 miles northwest of Munich. Nagaev reportedly works as a research assistant there, while pursuing his doctoral studies in mechanical engineering.

German authorities maintain that the suspect began working “for a Russian secret service” in early October of 2020, and possibly earlier. He is also accused of having met with an unidentified “member of a Russian foreign secret service” at least three times between October 2020 and June of this year. According to German federal prosecutors, Nagaev shared unspecified information with his alleged Russian handler, and received cash in return at the end of each meeting.

German police reportedly searched Nagaev’s home and work office looking for further clues about the case. In the meantime, a judge at the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice) in the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, which is Germany’s highest court on matters of ordinary jurisdiction, ordered that Nagaev be kept in pre-trial detention, pending a possible indictment. Neither the Russian nor the German federal governments have commented on this case.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 22 June 2021 | Permalink

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No prison for Australian former spy who disclosed controversial espionage operation

June 21, 2021 by Leave a comment

Bernard Collaery

A FORMER AUSTRALIAN SPY, who prompted international outcry by revealing a controversial espionage operation by Canberra against the impoverished nation of East Timor, has been given a suspended prison sentence. The case against the former spy, known only as “Witness K.”, first emerged in 2013. It is believed that Witness K. served as director of technical operations in the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), Australia’s foreign-intelligence agency.

In 2013, Witness K. revealed an espionage operation that targeted the impoverished Pacific island nation of Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor. He alleged that ASIS officers, disguised as a renovation crew, bugged an East Timorese government complex. The information gathered from the spy operation allegedly allowed the Australian government to gain the upper hand in a series of complex negotiations that led to the 2004 Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS) treaty. The treaty awards Australia a share from profits from oil exploration in the Greater Sunrise oil and gas field, which is claimed by both Australia and East Timor.

In 2013, the East Timorese government took Australia to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, claiming that the Australian government was in possession of intelligence acquired through illegal bugging. The claim was supported by Witness K., who argued that ASIS’ espionage operation was both “immoral and wrong” because it was designed to benefit the interests of large energy conglomerates and had nothing to do with Australian national security. It is worth noting that Witness K. said he decided to reveal the ASIS bugging operation after he learned that Australia’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, had been hired as an adviser to Woodside Petroleum, an energy company that was directly benefiting from the CMATS treaty.

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Russian actors had access to Dutch police computer network during MH17 probe

June 17, 2021 by Leave a comment

Flight MH17

Russian hackers compromised the computer systems of the Dutch national police while the latter were conducting a criminal probe into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), according to a new report. MH17 was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 283 passengers and 15 crew on board, 196 of them Dutch citizens, were killed.

Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, which revealed this new information last week, said the compromise of the Dutch national police’s computer systems was not detected by Dutch police themselves, but by the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD). The paper said that neither the police nor the AIVD were willing to confirm the breach, but added that it had confirmed the breach took place through multiple anonymous sources.

On July 5, 2017, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Belgium, Australia and Malaysia announced the establishment of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) into the downing of flight MH-17. The multinational group stipulated that possible suspects of the downing of flight MH17 would be tried in the Netherlands. In September 2017, the AIVD said it possessed information about Russian targets in the Netherlands, which included an IP address of a police academy system. That system turned out to have been compromised, which allowed the attackers to access police systems. According to four anonymous sources, evidence of the attack was detected in several different places.

The police academy is part of the Dutch national police, and non-academy police personnel can access the network using their log-in credentials. Some sources suggest that the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) carried out the attack through a Russian hacker group known as APT29, or Cozy Bear. However, a growing number of sources claim the attack was perpetrated by the Main Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, known commonly as GRU, through a hacker group known as APT28, or Fancy Bear. SVR attackers are often involved in prolonged espionage operations and are careful to stay below the radar, whereas the GRU is believed to be more heavy-handed and faster. The SVR is believed to be partly responsible for the compromise of United States government agencies and companies through the supply chain attack known as the SolarWinds cyber attack, which came to light in late 2020.

Russia has tried to sabotage and undermine investigation activities into the MH17 disaster through various means: influence campaigns on social media, hacking of the Dutch Safety Board, theft of data from Dutch investigators, manipulation of other countries involved in the investigation, and the use of military spies. The Dutch police and public prosecution service were repeatedly targeted by phishing emails, police computer systems were subjected to direct attacks, and a Russian hacker drove a car with hacking equipment near the public prosecution office in Rotterdam.

The above efforts are not believed to have been successful. But the attack that came to light in September 2017 may have been. The infected police academy system ran “exotic” (meaning uncommon) software, according to a well-informed source. The Russians reportedly exploited a zero day vulnerability in that software. After the incident, the national police made improvements in their logging and monitoring capabilities, and in their Security Operations Center (SOC). It is not currently known how long the attackers had access to the national police system, nor what information they were able to obtain.

► Author: Matthijs Koot | Date: 17 June 2021 | Permalink

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FBI warns some QAnon online supporters plan to transition to ‘real-world violence’

June 15, 2021 by Leave a comment

QAnon - IA

A NEW INTELLIGENCE REPORT warns that some supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, who in the past have limited their activities to the online domain, may now be transitioning to “real-world violence”. The unclassified report (pdf) was co-produced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security. It was released on Monday by Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), who called for coordinated action to protect national security from QAnon militants.

Adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory view former President Donald Trump as a central figure in a behind-the-scenes battle against a sinister cabal of enemies, known as the “deep state”. According to the QAnon theory, Trump’s first term in office would culminate in a victory against this “deep state”. The latter is believed by QAnon conspiracy theorists to consist of Satan-worshiping cannibals who traffic children for sex. These cannibals would be routed during “The Storm”, a final reckoning between Trump and the “deep state”, which would result in the arrest and execution of all “deep state” officials.

When Trump failed to get re-elected last year, some QAnon adherents attempted to bring about “The Storm” by joining the mob who attached the US Capitol Complex —an unprecedented violent action that resulted in the death of five people. According to the Associated Press, at least 20 QAnon adherents have so far been charged with federal crimes relating to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

The new intelligence report by the FBI and the DHS warns that, frustrated by Trump’s departure from the office of the presidency, some QAnon adherents, including leading figures in the movement, are now promoting a new conspiracy theory. According to this new theory, Trump is now operating as a “shadow president” who is continuing his secret battle against the Satan-worshiping cannibals. The latter purportedly include President Joe Biden and most senior Democrats in office, who will eventually be unseated by Trump and his movement.

Not all QAnon adherents believe in this new theory, according to the report. Indeed, some supporters of QAnon are feeling disillusioned and are now “pulling back”, after realizing that they can no longer “trust the plan” spelled out by Q —the mysterious figure that supposedly is at the center of the QAnon theory. This is not necessarily good news, however, according to the report. This is because some disillusioned QAnon supporters are now deciding that, rather than waiting for Q’s promised actions to occur, they should act to make them happen.

These QAnon supporters believe that they must no longer limit their role in the movement to simply being “digital soldiers” in support of Q. Instead, they are now “pivoting” toward “engaging in real-world violence”, the report suggests. This newfound role includes planning actions that aim to physically harm “perceived members of the ‘cabal’ such as Democrats and other political opposition”, the report warns.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 15 June 2021 | Permalink

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FBI thanks French police for high-profile arrest of Luxembourg’s former top spy

June 14, 2021 by Leave a comment

Luxembourg City

AGENTS OF THE UNITED States Federal Bureau of Investigation visited the northeastern French city of Nancy last week, reportedly to thank its local police force for arresting a former senior officer in Luxembourg’s spy agency. The case is said to be connected to a notorious cyptocurrency-based fraud scheme, which some claim may be the largest in history.

Frank Schneider headed the operations directorate of the Service de Renseignement de l’État Luxembourgeois (SREL), Luxembourg’s intelligence agency. Although he left the service in 2008, his name came up frequently in the context of a spy scandal that eventually brought down Luxembourg’s prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker. The former spy was eventually acquitted of illegal conduct in that case —but he now appears to be in legal trouble of a different kind.

According to reports, US authorities have been looking for a man referred to in French media as “Frank S.” in connection to a massive Ponzi scheme that allegedly involves OneCoin, a Bulgarian-based cyptocurrency firm. British newspaper The Times has described the scheme as “one of the biggest scams in history”. It is believed that the OneCoin scheme defrauded victims around the world of over $4 billion.

Schneider was reportedly arrested on April 29 in Audun-le-Tiche, a small town on the French-Luxembourg border and not far from the Belgian and German borders. His arrest took place pursuant to an international warrant, which was later confirmed to have been issued by authorities in New York. It was reported at the time that Schneider’s arrest involved the deployment of members of Brigade de recherche et d’intervention —France’s equivalent of the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) teams in the US.

The former spy is currently being held in detention at the Nancy-Maxéville prison, and is highly likely to be extradited to the US. American authorities have until June 28 to submit a formal extradition request to the Nancy office of the prosecutor.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 14 June 2021 | Permalink

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France suspends aid to Central African Republic over espionage charges

June 10, 2021 by Leave a comment

Juan Remy Quignolot

THE GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE has suspended all civilian and military aid to the Central African Republic (CAR), after authorities there charged a French national with espionage and conspiracy to overthrow the state. The charges were announced approximately a month after the arrest of Juan Remy Quignolot, 55 (pictured), who was arrested in CAR capital Bangui on May 10 of this year. Following Quignolot’s arrest, CAR police said they found more than a dozen cell phones, machine guns, ammunition and foreign banknotes in his hotel room.

Speaking to reporters in Bangui on Wednesday, the CAR’s attorney general, Eric Didier Tambo, said that Quignolot had been charged with espionage, illegal weapons possession, as well as conspiracy against the security of the state. According to CAR authorities, Quignolot has been providing training and material support to anti-government rebel groups for nearly a decade. However, CAR authorities have not specified for which country or group Quignolot performed his alleged activities.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French embassy in Bagnui have not commented on Quignolot’s charges. When the French national was arrested in May, French Foreign Affairs Ministry officials said the move was part of “an anti-French campaign” orchestrated by Russia. Paris has been competing with Moscow for influence in this former French colony —a diamond- and gold-producing country of nearly 5 million people— which remains highly volatile following a bloody civil war that ended in 2016.

Earlier this week, France said it would immediately suspend its $12 million-a-year civilian and military aid to the CAR. The reason is that the African nation’s government had allegedly failed to take measures against “massive disinformation campaigns”, purportedly originating from Russia, which have “targeted French officials” in the CAR and the broader central African region. Despite suspending financial aid, France continues to maintain approximately 300 soldiers in the CAR. In recent years, however, France’s military presence in its former colony has been dwarfed by contingents of Russian military instructors, who are now training government forces.

Quignolot’s trial is expected to take place by December. Speaking about the Frenchman’s possible sentence, attorney general Tambo said on Wednesday that, “in cases of harming domestic security, you’re talking about lifetime forced labor”.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 10 June 2021 | Permalink

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US Senate report details missed intelligence prior to January 6 attack on US Capitol

June 9, 2021 by Leave a comment

US Capitol - IA

A BIPARTISAN REPORT BY two committees of the United States Senate has highlighted crucial intelligence that was missed or disregarded by government agencies prior to the insurrection of January 6, 2021. Five people died during a concerted attempt by thousands of supporters of the then-President Donald Trump to storm the US Capitol Complex and invalidate the election victory of Joe Biden. Over 450 participants in the insurrection are now facing charges for storming the Capitol.

The report (.pdf) was produced jointly by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. It took the two committees five months to issue their findings, which are based on thousands of internal documents and closed-door interviews with senior government officials. Officials interviewed include the then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and General Mark Milley, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The report details failures in the areas of intelligence collection and exploitation, security preparations and emergency response measures both prior to and during the insurrection. It states that the US Capitol Police was in possession of intelligence from a pro-Trump website, in which militants were urging participants in the president’s “March to Save America” rally to “bring guns”. Armed demonstrators were also urged to surround every exit from the US Capitol Complex, in order to trap members of Congress and their staff inside the building.

However, the intelligence gathered from websites and social media platforms was not utilized, not communicated to officers, or simply dismissed by the US Capitol Police, according to the Senate report. Additionally, once the insurrection was underway, the Department of Defense did not authorize the deployment of the Washington DC National Guard until a full three hours after it was requested to do so by the police.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the US Capitol Police said it welcomed the joint Senate report on the January 6 insurrection. It added, however, that “at no point prior to the 6th [of January did its analysts] receive actionable intelligence about a large-scale attack” on the US Capitol Complex. This is likely to be the last Congressional investigation into the attack on the US Capitol Complex, as Republican Senators have blocked the creation of an independent 9/11-type commission to investigate it.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 09 June 2021 | Permalink

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FBI built fake phone company in global wiretapping operation of historic proportions

June 8, 2021 by 3 Comments

Trojan Shield

THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL Bureau of Investigation built a fake telephone service provider for a secret worldwide operation that officials described on Monday as “a watershed moment” in law enforcement history. The operation, known as TROJAN SHIELD, began in 2018 and involved over 9,000 law enforcement officers in 18 countries around the world. When the existence of TROJAN SHIELD was announced in a series of official news conferences yesterday, officials said the operation had “given law enforcement a window into a level of criminality [that has never been] seen before on this scale”.

The operation centered on the creation of an entirely fake telephone service provider, known as ANØM. The fake firm advertised cell phones that were specially engineered to provide peer-to-peer encryption, thus supposedly making it impossible for government authorities to decipher intercepted messages or telephone calls between users. The FBI and law enforcement agencies in Australia and New Zealand used undercover officers to spread news about ANØM in the criminal underworld. The fake company’s modus operandi was to let in new users only after they had been vetted by existing users of the service. Within two years, there were nearly 10,000 users of ANØM around the world, with Australia having the largest number —approximately 1,500.

On Tuesday morning hundreds of raids were conducted in over a dozen countries, beginning with New Zealand and Australia, where over 500 raids were carried out, resulting in the arrests of 224 people. News reports suggest that over $45 million in cash has been seized in the past 24 hours in Australia alone, where law enforcement authorities dubbed the operation IRONSIDE. More raids have been taking place around the world, including in the United States. However, as raids were continuing into the evening, the FBI said it would not discuss the results of Operation TROJAN SHIELD until later today, Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the undercover operation as “a watershed moment in Australian law enforcement history”, which would “echo around the world”. An early report on the operation, which was published by the San Diego Union Tribune in the United States, said the purpose of TROJAN SHIELD was two-fold: to dismantle organized criminal syndicates through evidence acquired from wiretaps, and to spread confusion and mistrust of encryption devices in the worldwide criminal underworld.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 08 June 2021 | Permalink

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Russian spy activity has reached Cold War levels, say Germany’s intelligence chiefs

June 7, 2021 by 1 Comment

Thomas Haldenwang Bruno Kahl

RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITY in Germany has reached levels not seen since the days of the Cold War, while espionage methods by foreign adversaries are now more brutal and ruthless, according to the country’s spy chiefs. These claims were made by Thomas Haldenwang, who leads Germany’s Agency for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), and Bruno Kahl, head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), which operates externally.

The two men spoke to the Sunday edition of Die Welt, one of Germany’s leading newspapers. Their joint interview was published on June 6. Haldenwang told Die Welt am Sonntag that the presence of Russian spies on German soil reflects Moscow’s “very complex intelligence interest in Germany”. Accordingly, Russia has “increased its [espionage] activities in Germany dramatically” in recent years, said Haldenwang.

The counterintelligence chief added that Russia has a “large number of agents” that are currently active in German soil. Their goal is to try to “establish contacts in the realm of political decision-making”. One of many topics that the Kremlin is intensely interested at the moment is the future of Russia’s energy relationship with Germany, according to Haldenwang.

At the same time, Russia’s espionage methods are becoming “coarser” and the means that it uses to steal secrets “more brutal”, said the spy chief. Kahl, his external-intelligence colleague, agreed and added that Germany’s adversaries are “employing all possible methods […] to stir up dissonance between Western states”. Their ultimate goal is to “secure their own interests”, concluded Kahl.

However, despite Russia’s increased intelligence activity in Germany, the most serious threat to the security and stability of the German state is not Moscow, but domestic rightwing extremism, said Haldenwang. Notably, the German spy chief discussed the unparalleled rise of rightwing rhetoric on social media and websites. Such propaganda is being spread by people that he termed “intellectual arsonists”. Their “hate-filled messages” are essentially anti-democratic, said Haldenwang.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 07 June 2021 | Permalink

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US government takes control of Internet domains used by SolarWinds hackers

June 3, 2021 by Leave a comment

Computer hacking

THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT has taken control of two Internet domains used last month in a large-scale phishing campaign by the same Russian-linked hacker group that was behind SolarWinds. The Department of Justice said on Tuesday it seized the two domains, theyardservice[.]com and worldhomeoutlet[.]com, on May 28, following a decision by a US court that authorized the action.

The large-scale attack was detected on May 25, and was delivered in over 3,000 emails sent from a compromised account belonging to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The compromised account was paired with the services of a legitimate email marketing company called Constant Contact. It was subsequently used to deliver phishing emails to the employees of over 150 organizations worldwide, most of them American.

The phishing emails featured an official USAID logo, beneath which was an embedded link to a purported “USAID Special Alert” titled “Donald Trump has published new documents on election fraud”. The link sent users to one of the two illicit subdomains, which infected victim machines with malware. The latter created a back door into infected computers, which allowed the hackers to maintain a constant presence in the compromised systems.

According to Microsoft Corporation, the hackers behind the phishing attack originated from the same group that orchestrated the infamous SolarWinds hack in 2020. The term refers to a large-scale breach of computer systems belonging to the United States federal government and to organizations such as the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The threat actor behind the attack is referred to by cybersecurity experts as APT29 or Nobelium, among other names.

Speaking on behalf of the US Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers said on Tuesday that the seizure of the two Internet domains demonstrated the Department’s “commitment to proactively disrupt hacking activity prior to the conclusion of a criminal investigation”.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 03 June 2021 | Permalink

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Turkish spies reportedly kidnapped nephew of dissident cleric Fethullah Gülen in Kenya

June 2, 2021 by Leave a comment

Nairobi KenyaTURKISH SPIES ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPED a nephew of dissident cleric Fethullah Gülen in Kenya and forcibly transported him to Turkey, according to reports in Turkish media. Citing “government sources”, Turkey’s state-owned news agency, Anadolu, said this week that Selahaddin Gülen had been “forcibly repatriated” to Turkey from abroad by officers of the National Intelligence Organization, known as MİT. But it did not specify when or where the alleged operation took place.

Subsequent reports suggested that Selahaddin Gülen’s wife, Serriye Gülen, posted a video on social media, in which she said the couple lived in Nairobi, Kenya, and that her husband, who worked as a school teacher, had disappeared on May 3. It was also reported that Gülen’s alleged kidnapping was soon afterwards confirmed by media outlets connected to the Gülen movement.

The Gülen movement consists of supporters of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who runs a global network of schools, charities and businesses from his home in the United States. The government of Turkey has designated Gülen’s group a terrorist organization and claims it was behind the failed 2016 coup against Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Ever since the failed coup, Erdoğan’s government has fired or imprisoned over 200,000 government employees, which it accuses of being “Gülenists”. The cleric, who lives in the US state of Pennsylvania, denies Erdoğan’s accusations.

It is not clear whether Gülen’s nephew was kidnapped in a cover operation, or whether he was delivered to the MİT by the Kenyan authorities. Since the failed 2016 coup, the Turkish government has pressured numerous countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa to arrest and extradite alleged Gülenists. Kenya has so far refused to take action against individuals and institutions that Ankara claims are connected to the Gülen movement.

It is worth noting that in 1999 the MİT carried out a controversial covert operation in Kenya, which resulted in the kidnapping of Kurdish separatist militant Abdullah Öcalan. Öcalan, 74, is the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey and several other countries have designated a terrorist organization. He remains imprisoned to this day.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 02 June 2021 | Permalink

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