Italian spy chief’s sudden resignation described as ‘seismic development’

January 13, 2025 by 1 Comment

Elisabetta BelloniTHE SUDDEN RESIGNATION OF Italy’s spy chief last week was described by some news outlets as a “seismic development” in the domestic political scene of the Group of Seven (G7) member state. In May 2021, the  then-Prime Minister Mario Draghi appointed Elisabetta Belloni to lead the Department of Information for Security (DIS). The widely respected career diplomat thus became the first woman to lead an Italian intelligence agency.

Previously Belloni held positions in the Directorate-General for Political Affairs and Security of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy. She also served in several Italian embassies in Europe, notably Bratislava and Vienna. Belloni is commonly viewed as a career civil servant who has successfully served under various political administrations, without expressing any political preferences. Throughout her career, Belloni has refused to espouse partisan political views, which has only increased the respect with which she is viewed.

There is no known history of friction between Belloni and Giorgia Meloni, a rightwing populist who emerged as Italy’s first woman prime minister in October 2022. On the contrary, Belloni was viewed as an administrator who had gained Meloni’s trust. However, a report last week by the center-left La Repubblica newspaper claimed that Belloni detested Meloni’s constant interference in security affairs and found it difficult to truly gain the prime minister’s trust. The newspaper claimed that the spy chief tended her resignation on a phone call with the prime minister, telling close associates that she “couldn’t take it any more”.

In a subsequent interview published in the Corriere della Sera newspaper, Belloni said that “last few months of her mandate [had] been a real war of attrition”. Given the key position that Belloni held in the Italian cabinet, her sudden resignation has reignited the discussion about the phenomenon of executive overreach in Italian politics, as non-political career officials are resigning or being pushed out and are replaced by political appointees.

Meanwhile the prime minister announced last Thursday that she would appoint Vittorio Rizzi as Belloni’s successor in the DIS. A law enforcement official with a background in cybersecurity, Rizzi is currently serving as deputy director of the Internal Intelligence and Security Agency (AISI), the domestic security agency of Italy. He was appointed to that role by Meloni in September 2024.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 13 January 2025 | Permalink

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Germany charges three dual German-Russian nationals with espionage

January 6, 2025 by 2 Comments

Grafenwoehr Training Area GermanyTHE OFFICE OF THE Federal Prosecutor in Germany has charged three dual German-Russian citizens with acts of espionage on behalf of Russia, with the intent of harming the national security of the German state. In compliance with German privacy laws, the three espionage suspects have been publicly identified only by their first names and last name initials. They are: Dieter S.,  Alex D., and Alexander J.

Dieter S. appears to be the central suspect in this case. Following his arrest by the German Federal Criminal Police Office, he was found to have participated in military operations of the secessionist Donetsk People’s Republic in Ukraine. By that time, German authorities had already charged him with being in contact with an individual known to be a member of Russian intelligence, who operated as his handler.

According to the indictment, throughout his interactions with his Russian handler, Dieter S. repeatedly made it known that he was willing and able to carry out acts of sabotage against security-related installations in Germany, on behalf of the Russian Federation. He also offered to carry out arson attacks and use explosives against transportation facilities and infrastructure, such as railway lines, which were used by the German state to transport military supplies to Ukraine.

Subsequently, Dieter S. was instructed by his Russian handler to collect intelligence about potential targets in southeastern Germany. He thus engaged in systematic surveillance activities targeting the Grafenwoehr Training Area, a United States Army military training base located near Grafenwöhr, in eastern Bavaria. Grafenwöhr is the largest training facility maintained by the United States in Europe. Since 2022, it has been used to instruct Ukrainian troops on how to operate American-built tanks.

Dieter S. is also believed to have conducted surveillance at several loading stations used by the German and American militaries, as well as the facilities of private-sector contractors to the German military. In his surveillance operations, Dieter S. was assisted by Alex D. and Alexander J. All three men took photographs and videos of the targeted facilities. The collected material was eventually passed on to Dieter S.’s Russian handler.

Official charges against the three suspects were filed before the State Security Senate of the Munich Higher Regional Court on December 9. They were publicized by the office of the Federal Public Prosecutor General on December 30. A trial date is now pending.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 06 January 2025 | Permalink

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Report claims India behind ‘methodical’ assassination campaign deep inside Pakistan

January 2, 2025 by 1 Comment

Research and Analysis Wing RAW IndiaA NEW REPORT IN The Washington Post newspaper claims that the Indian government is behind a “methodical assassination program” that has been targeting individuals deep inside India’s nuclear arch-rival Pakistan. According to the report, which was published on Tuesday, the covert assassination program is the work of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s primary external intelligence agency. It was allegedly authorized by India’s popular and controversial Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has also been overseeing its implementation since he was re-elected to office in 2021.

Since 2023, intelNews has covered/ the high-level dispute between India and Canada, after Ottawa uncovered an extensive Indian assassination program targeting Sikh separatist leaders on Canadian soil. Last month, intelNews guest editor Dr. Stephan Blancke analyzed the mounting concern across the European Union about Indian covert activities that target members of the Indian expatriate community on European soil. But The Washington Post report touches on a potentially new dimension of India’s assassination program, which focuses on Pakistan.

According to the report, Prime Minister Modi has been fully supporting RAW’s targeted killings program since at least 2021. In the ensuing years there have been six assassinations inside Pakistan that bear the hallmarks of RAW operations. These operations have been carried out through a “sophisticated network” of intermediaries in the Middle East —particularly in Dubai— who command compartmented teams of surveillance operatives, hitmen, as well as logisticians. Payments are allegedly facilitated through informal hawala networks managed by Middle Easterners, Afghans, and others.

Many of those killed have been current and former members of militant Pakistani-aided groups like Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, who have been designated terrorist organizations by most Western nations. For this reason, the West, including the United States, have been hesitant to accuse India of breaking international law. The Washington Post report claims that the Pakistanis have expressed their frustration to the United States, through Nadeem Anjum, director general of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate, Pakistan’s primary intelligence agency. In 2022, Anjum reportedly informed William Burns, director of the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency, about the Indian assassination program. However, no notable action was taken by the United States in response to Anjum’s revelations, the article claims.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 02 January 2025 | Permalink

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Analysis: Assad’s collapse in Syria was a strategic surprise to Israel

December 20, 2024 by 7 Comments

Syria IsraelTHE COLLAPSE OF THE regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on December 8 caught the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel’s intelligence community —mainly Israel Military Intelligence (IMI) and the Mossad— by surprise. Assad’s collapse occurred much faster than Israel had estimated. Israel did not expect that the Syrian Arab Army would disintegrate so resoundingly, within 48 hours of the attack by the Syrian rebels.

Israeli intelligence assessed that, despite the shocks it had suffered in recent months, the so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel —mainly Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran— was stable. A scenario of rapid collapse of the government in Syria had not been assessed as a possibility, or even given a low probability tag. That was primarily because the Assad family had governed Syria for almost 60 years.

Following the Assad regime’s collapse, the focus of Israel’s intelligence is on analyzing the intentions of the major rebel organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and understanding how —if at all— it will lead the new administration in Syria. Israel is also examining developments in southern Syria, as well as what is happening at the Syrian and Russian military bases in Latakia and Tartus. Moreover, the IDF is monitoring the activities of Iranian elements in Syria, including on the border with Lebanon, to prevent the possibility of military equipment being transferred from Syria to Hezbollah.

It is clear to Israel that Turkey stands behind the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization and that Ankara armed and supported the group for a significant period. What is less clear is whether and how Turkey’s involvement in Syria could threaten Israel’s interests, given that Israel’s relations with Turkey have deteriorated dramatically in recent years.

Assad was a key member of the pro-Iranian Axis of Resistance. Following his fall from power, Iran and Hezbollah could lose their main logistical hub for producing, transferring, and storing weapons, as well as training their forces and militias. Additionally, Syria under Assad constantly posed the threat of turning into yet another battlefront against Israel. Without Assad, Russia could lose its grip on Syria —the only country in the Middle East where Russian influence dominates that of the United States. The Russians could also lose access to their military bases in Syria, which offered the Russian Navy access to the waters of the Mediterranean.

Despite the fall of the bitter enemy that was Assad’s Syria, and the deep shock suffered by the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance camp that has been dominant in the Middle East in recent decades, Israeli intelligence is not optimistic about the emerging situation in post-Assad Syria. Syria is a collection of minorities —Druze, Kurds, Alawites, and Christians— that have been artificially joined together despite carrying bitter, bloody scores. The latter may erupt sharply, especially against the Alawites. Concepts such as liberal politics, civil society, or a cohesive nation-state, have never existed inside Syria.

It follows that Israel is very concerned about the emerging uncertainty in Syria. Immediately after the fall of Assad, the IDF strengthened its defenses on the Golan Heights border to ensure that the chaos in Syria did not spill over into Israel. Meanwhile, Israel is in contact —both directly and through intermediaries— with several Syrian rebel groups, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The Israeli message at this stage is a demand that the rebels not approach the border, along with a warning that, if they violate the separation of forces agreement, Israel will respond with force.

And a final note: assessments in relation to the Syrian regime’s collapse continue to emerge in the IDF and the Israeli intelligence community. These assessments concern the extent to which the lessons of October 7 have been sufficiently analyzed and assimilated within Israel. Specifically, there are questions about whether this new intelligence surprise in Syria may stem from the fact that an in-depth investigation into the lessons of October 7 has yet to be carried out during the 14 months of the war with Hamas.

► Author: Avner Barnea* | Date: 20 December 2024 | Permalink

Dr. Avner Barnea is research fellow at the National Security Studies Center of the University of Haifa in Israel. He served as a senior officer in the Israel Security Agency (ISA). He is the author of We Never Expected That: A Comparative Study of Failures in National and Business Intelligence (Lexington Books, 2021).

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Israel reportedly trying to recover spy’s remains from Syria

December 16, 2024 by 2 Comments

Eli CohenISRAELI OFFICIALS ARE REPORTEDLY trying to recover the remains of Eli Cohen, an Israeli spy who was hanged in Syria in 1965, after his espionage activities were discovered. Born in Alexandria in 1924, Cohen was an Egyptian Jew, whose family immigrated to Israel after 1949. After joining the Mossad, Israel’s primary external intelligence agency, Cohen became a katsa, or case officer.

The spy agency utilized Cohen’s fluency in Arabic and Spanish and sent him to Argentina, where he built his intelligence cover under the name Kamel Amin Thaabet. He pretended to be a Syrian businessman whose family had immigrated to Argentina in the 1920s. While in Argentina, Cohen became an active member of the Arab and Syrian diasporas and joined the Syrian Ba’ath Party.

In 1962, shortly before Ba’athist officers seized power in Syria, the Mossad instructed Cohen to relocate to Damascus. While there, Cohen became a well-known socialite with close connections to the administration of Syrian President Amin al-Hafiz. However, in 1965, Cohen’s espionage was uncovered by Syrian counterintelligence, who utilized technical countermeasures provided by Soviet intelligence. Cohen was convicted of espionage and publicly executed by hanging in Damascus on May 18, 1965.

Since Cohen’s execution, the Syrian state has rejected requests to reveal the location of his tomb and the whereabouts of his remains. On at least two instances, Israel, which views Cohen as a national hero, has offered to exchange Syrian and other Arab prisoners of war in return for the spy’s remains, but Damascus has rebuffed these offers. There are rumors that Syrian authorities regularly relocate Cohen’s remains so as to prevent Israel from covertly retrieving them.

According to reports from Middle Eastern media, since the fall of the administration of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Israeli officials have been in negotiations to gain access to Cohen’s remains. The negotiations are allegedly taking place between Israeli government representatives and former members of the Assad regime, who have knowledge of the whereabouts of the late spy’s remains. In a television interview last week, Eli Cohen’s widow, Nadia, implied that Mossad Director David Barnea is personally involved in the ongoing negotiations.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date:16 December 2024 | Permalink

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White House holds emergency meeting with telecoms over ‘massive’ Chinese breach

November 25, 2024 by 1 Comment

VerizonTHE WHITE HOUSE HELD an emergency meeting on Friday with senior telecommunications industry officials to discuss the fallout from a Chinese cyber espionage operation described as “massive” by experts. The existence of the operation was revealed last month by Microsoft engineers, who claimed that it was orchestrated by Salt Typhoon, a Chinese government-linked hacker group.

On Thursday, following a briefing provided by intelligence officials, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), who chairs the United States Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, referred to the Chinese breach as “far and away the most serious telecom hack in [American] history”. Warner added that the volume of data the Chinese hackers were able to collect on “important American officials” was alarming, but that the extent of the intrusion was significantly broader than initially thought and compromised the privacy of telephone users across the United States.

According to reports, the breach affected a host of American telecommunications service providers (TSPs), including the three largest —T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T. The initial breach compromised the system employed by the TSPs to facilitate communications interception requests by government agencies following the issuance of court warrants. Eventually, however, the hackers were eventually able to exploit antiquated software and hardware in the United States’ national telecommunications network in order to target a wide array of users.

The extent of the damage caused by the breach remains unknown, as very little about it has been shared by the White House or the telecommunications industry. Nevertheless, it appears that the hackers selected telephone service users with senior current or former posts in government, including President-Elect Donald Trump. The hackers were reportedly able to access the metadata, and even content, of all unencrypted telephone calls and text messages to and from these users.

Friday’s meeting at the White House was reportedly convened by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and co-led by Anne Neuberger, who is serving as Deputy National Security Adviser for Cyber and Emerging Technology. The names of telecommunications industry executives that attended the closed-door meeting were not provided to the media.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 25 November 2024 | Permalink

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Russia using nontraditional means to gather intelligence, Finland warns

November 18, 2024 by 3 Comments

SUPO FinlandRUSSIA’S NEED TO GATHER intelligence from Scandinavian targets has increased considerably since Finland and Sweden joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), prompting Moscow to seek nontraditional means of collecting intelligence, according to Finland’s spy agency. A new report by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle) relays a warning by the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO) that Russian spies are increasingly operating in Scandinavia without relying on diplomatic protection.

Human intelligence (HUMINT) operations are typically carried out of diplomatic facilities by intelligence officers who enjoy various degrees of diplomatic immunity. Such protections are seen as crucial for the safety of intelligence personnel, who tend to engage in illegal activities while stationed abroad. However, the number of Russian intelligence officers who are based in diplomatic facilities in Finland and elsewhere in Scandinavia has “significantly decreased” in recent years, according to the Yle report.

The reason for the decline in numbers rests with the numerous expulsions of Russian diplomatic personnel —which include intelligence officers— that took place throughout Europe in the months following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Finland is one of dozens of European countries that have repeatedly denied Russia’s requests for the issuance of diplomatic visas. As a result, Russian embassies and consulates in Finland remain understaffed and mostly devoid of intelligence personnel.

In response to this new reality, the Kremlin has been experimenting with using nontraditional HUMINT collectors. The latter are not based in diplomatic facilities and are not protected by diplomatic immunity. Such nontraditional intelligence collectors operate as “journalists or researchers”, according to SUPO. At the same time, Russian intelligence agencies increasingly target for recruitment Finns who life in Russia, or try to recruit them while they are traveling elsewhere in Europe.

Lastly, Russian intelligence agencies are systematically hiring criminals to carry out specific tasks on behalf of the Kremlin, in return for money. Such criminals include computer hackers, who are attracted by the Russian state. Indeed, the Russian government is systematically “providing favorable conditions” for computer hackers to operate out of Russian territory. They receive money and protection in return for letting the Russian state use them as a cover for cyber espionage, sabotage, and influence operations.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 18 November 2024 | Permalink

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Israeli couple who spied for Iran made ample use of digital applications

November 11, 2024 by 3 Comments

Israel and IranTHE ISRAEL SECURITY AGENCY (ISA) recently announced the arrests of an Israeli couple of Azeri origin on suspicion of spying for Iran. The couple, both 32 years old, were allegedly recruited by an Iranian handler of Azeri origin named Elshan Agheev. As part of their activities, and for about two years, the couple gathered intelligence on critical infrastructure and security sites in Israel, and even conducted surveillance on an academic working for the Institute for National Security Studies, allegedly in order to kill her.

The case demonstrates how software that is easily accessible on the Internet makes it possible to encrypt information communicated between a handler and an agent, as well as how money is transferred to the agent. The official indictment reveals details about the couple’s modus operandi, including the identity of the particular software the spies used to communicate with their Iranian handler.

One of the applications the couple used is Zangi, which facilitates the exchange of encrypted instant messages. According to the company’s website, Zangi offers voice and video calling, text messaging, and file transfer services “without registration and without data collection”. In fact, according to Zangi, the data is saved on the user’s device only. In addition to using the Zangi application, the couple also appear to have used the Zolotaya Korona money-transfer platform. The couple allegedly used the platform in order to receive payments by their Iranian handlers, and to transfer funds to other parties involved in Iranian-led espionage activities inside Israel.

Another application allegedly used by the couple is Ecos Dos, a digital wallet for storing and transferring digital currencies. Ecos Dos is a software wallet that can be installed on a computer or mobile phone. It supports a wide variety of crypto-currencies and is used to store and transfer cryptocurrencies. It is known for its simplicity of use and friendly interface. It is popular among users who wish to maintain anonymity when transacting in digital currencies. It does not require identifying a user’s details when operating, so anyone can create an account and receive funds anonymously.

The suspects are also believed to have used a software called Encryptor in order to encrypt information. This software allows files and folders to be encrypted so that only those who have the encryption key can open them. The couple allegedly used Encryptor to encrypt the information they collected before passing it on to their Iranian handlers, thus making it difficult for Israeli authorities to decipher the information.

The use of these applications attests to the sophistication of the Iranian spy network that was recently busted in Israel, and its efforts to hide its activities inside the Jewish state. The recent indictment against the couple details a collection of serious security offenses, including aiding the enemy in war and providing information to the enemy to harm the security of the state. Iran is clearly stepping up its efforts to recruit Israeli citizens for espionage and terrorist activities.

► Author: Avner Barnea | Date: 11 November 2024 | Permalink

Dr. Avner Barnea is research fellow at the National Security Studies Center of the University of Haifa in Israel. He served as a senior officer in the Israel Security Agency (ISA). He is the author of We Never Expected That: A Comparative Study of Failures in National and Business Intelligence (Lexington Books, 2021).

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Possible Russian role probed in incendiary devices found in Britain and Germany

October 21, 2024 by 2 Comments

DHLAUTHORITIES IN BRITAIN AND Germany are reportedly investigating the possibility that the Russian intelligence services may be behind two fires that occurred in shipping warehouses last summer. The fires occurred in late July in facilities belonging to DHL, a German logistics firm headquartered in Bonn.

On September 1, the German government issued a warning about unknown suspects allegedly shipping “unconventional incendiary devices” throughout Europe. The warning referenced a fire that occurred at a DHL logistics center in the east German city of Leipzig. Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) warned at the time that “further incendiary incidents” were anticipated, but provided no further details.

Late last week, British newspaper The Guardian reported that an incident like the one that occurred in Leipzig had taken place in a DHL warehouse in Minworth, a suburb of the city of Birmingham, located in the British Midlands region. In subsequent reporting, the paper alleged that British and German authorities have been investigating a link between the two incidents. Moreover, authorities are reportedly probing the possibility that the incidents may be part of a wider campaign by Russian military intelligence to sabotage Western European transportation and shipping networks.

Meanwhile, Lithuanian media revealed on Friday that a suspect had been arrested in Lithuania in connection with the two fires in Britain and Germany. The reports suggested that the two incendiary devices had been shipped from Lithuania by the same individual. However, there have been no updates about who may be behind the apparent sabotage campaign.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 21 October 2024 | Permalink

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US-based Afghan man who planned election-day attack ‘worked as CIA guard’

October 14, 2024 by 1 Comment

CIAAN AFGHAN NATIONAL BASED in the United States, who was allegedly planning to carry out a terrorist attack during the upcoming Election Day, previously worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a guard, reports claim. According to the US Department of Justice, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on October 7, alongside a number of co-conspirators who have so far not been named.

Tawhedi’s arrest occurred shortly after he purchased two AK-47 assault rifles, 10 magazines, and several rounds of ammunition from an FBI employee posing as a seller of the merchandise. The suspect allegedly told at least two FBI informants working on the case that he intended to use the weaponry to target “large gatherings of people” on Election Day. Tawhedi is also reported to have boasted that he expected to die in the attack. His indictment suggests that he planned to carry out the attack on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

Tawhedi has lived in the US for a little over three years, having arrived on US soil soon after Washington began withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan, following a two decades-long military campaign. Like thousands of other Afghans, Tawhedi was able to enter the US through an emergency entry privilege known as a “humanitarian parole”. He then applied for a Special Immigrant Visa, which is customarily offered by the US government as a form of protection to foreign nationals who have provided services to its military and security agencies. According to reports, Tawhedi’s Special Immigrant Visa application had been approved and was in the last stages of being officially issued.

Last week, the American television network NBC reported that Tawhedi had been employed as a guard by the CIA in Afghanistan. The network cited “two sources with knowledge of the matter”. Later on the same day, another American television network, CBS News, said it had been able to independently verify the earlier report by NBC. It is notable that, according to both NBC and CBS, Tawhedi worked as a guard for a CIA facility, rather than an informant or an asset for the intelligence agency.

The recent media reports about Tawhedi have yet to answer the question of whether he had been communicating with identifiable ISIS handlers, or whether he was independently radicalized through his online activity. It is also not known whether Tawhedi was a supporter or an affiliate of ISIS during his stint with the CIA, or whether he became radicalized after arriving in the US in September 2021.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 14 October 2024 | Permalink

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Leaked documents reveal plans for extensive Russian influence campaign in Israel

September 30, 2024 by 4 Comments

2023 Israeli judicial reform protestsLEAKED INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY leading German media outlets has revealed Russia’s plans for an influence campaign targeting Israel. The information was leaked earlier this month by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and German television stations Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), as well as by Israeli news outlets. It allegedly came from Social Design Agency (SDA), a Moscow-based firm hired by the Kremlin, which operates in Israel and several countries in the West.

Founded in 2017, the SDA is reportedly one of a host of firms and organizations that are collaborating with Russian intelligence in its efforts to influence public opinion worldwide. Earlier this year, the United States imposed sanctions on SDA, “for providing services to the government of Russia in connection with a foreign malign influence campaign”. The SDA’s founder is Ilya Gambashidze, who is said to be in direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin officials.

Israel has been a central target of SDA’s Russian influence campaign. The country’s internal situation, with mass demonstrations against the legal reform is “perfect for launching a campaign to influence public opinion”, an SDA document from 2023 reads. The document accurately describes the political and social situation in Israel and names a number of influential Russian expatriates whose activities should be monitored.

According to the leaked documents, the purpose of the planned campaign was to raise support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, and strengthen the proportion of Israelis who espouse anti-Ukrainian sentiments. Another central goal was to ensure that no party in the Knesset —the IsraeliQ Quote parliament— would support a possible transfer of military aid to Ukraine.

From the documents, it appears that the conclusions formulated by the SDA were infused into around 50 cartoons distributed every month on social networks, around 20 fictitious articles appearing on websites pretending to be legitimate, and many reactions on various social networks. Among other things, the company distributed through paid ads on Facebook cartoons showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky burning the Israeli flag, as well as cartoons accusing Israeli leftists of supporting Hamas.

One of the main revelations of the recent leaks is that the Arab community in Israel constitutes a target of the Russian influence campaign. For example, a fake Arabic-language article that was circulated online claimed that Israel did not have in its possession enough precision weapons, because it had given them to Ukraine. The article went on to claim that the lack of such weapons would lead to failures on the battlefield. “The good news should be heard by all believers living under occupation”, the article states. “The policy of the occupation government will soon lead to its defeat. We will wait for a spark to ignite our war of liberation, in which the entire Muslim world will support us”. The purpose of the article appears to be to prompt the Israeli-Arab population to turn against the Israeli government based on Israel’s alleged weakness, and to support Israel’s enemies. Read more of this post

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US government wants to ban Chinese-made smart cars over espionage, sabotage fears

September 23, 2024 by 3 Comments

Chinese car industryTHE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT of Commerce is proposing new regulations that seek to ban the sale of Chinese-made cars in the United States, over concerns that they could be used for espionage or sabotage. Several reports on the proposal noted that it was hurriedly introduced last week as a “national security action,” rather than a trade-related dispute between the US and China.

American government officials said that the new proposals come out of lengthy investigations into the software and technical specifications of Chinese cars. The investigations raised concern about “[c]ertain technologies originating from the [People’s Republic of China] or Russia” that are often found in Chinese-made cars. Such technologies include vehicle cameras, microphones, tracking devices, and several software packages that connect the cars to the world wide web.

Washington is concerned that these devices, and the software that runs them, could be used to collect the personal data of users, or to facilitate espionage activities on a large scale. Concerns have also been raised by US officials that Chinese-made smart cars could be remotely manipulated and used for sabotage during wartime. According to the US Department of Commerce, a central source could potentially “take control of all [the Chinese-made] vehicles operating in the US all at the same time, causing crashes, block[ed] roads, etc.”

When asked by reporters to justify the proposed regulations, Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser, replied that the US had “already seen ample evidence of the [People’s Republic of China] pre-positioning malware on our critical infrastructure for the purpose of disruption and sabotage. And with potentially millions of vehicles on the road, each with 10- to 15-year lifespans, the risk of disruption and sabotage increases dramatically”.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 23 September 2024 | Permalink

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Spain and US reject claims they planned to assassinate Venezuelan officials

September 16, 2024 by 1 Comment

Nicolás MaduroTHE GOVERNMENTS OF SPAIN and the United States have strongly rejected allegations they were involved in an operation that aimed to kill leading Venezuelan officials, including the country’s President Nicolás Maduro. The allegations were made by a senior Venezuelan cabinet minister, following the arrests on Sunday of three Americans, as well as two Spanish and one Czech citizens. The six men have been charged with plotting to destabilize the Venezuelan government by killing Maduro and other top officials.

The allegations against the six foreign men were aired on live television by the Venezuelan Minister of the Interior Diosdado Cabello, who is a close ally of Maduro. Cabello accused the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of “leading this operation” with the participation of special forces troops. The Venezuelan official went on to claim that at least one of the American citizens who were arrested over the weekend is a member of the US Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs.

Cabello referred to the six men as “mercenaries” with prior service in Colombia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He added that they had been in contact with “French mercenaries in Eastern Europe” who had supplied them with “hundreds of weapons”. Cabello told reporters that Venezuelan authorities had seized over 400 rifles when they arrested the six men. The Venezuelan cabinet minister also claimed that the two Spanish citizens were employees of National Intelligence Center, Spain’s primary intelligence organization.

Late yesterday, however, Spanish officials issued strong denials of Cabello’s allegations. One Spanish government spokesperson told the Agence France Presse news agency that Madrid “denied and categorically rejected” Venezuela’s claims. Meanwhile, a statement issued by the US Department of State rejected as “categorically false […] any claims of US involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro”. The French and Czech governments had yet to issue any official statements as of late last night.

Meanwhile, the BBC reported yesterday that the Spanish government has requested that Venezuelan authorities provide details of the detainees and that the Spanish embassy in Caracas is seeing to gain access to the two Spanish detainees.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 16 September 2024 | Permalink

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Dutch prime minister bans wireless devices from meetings to ward off espionage

September 2, 2024 by 2 Comments

Dick SchoofTHE NETHERLANDS’ NEW PRIME minister has officially banned the use of all wireless devices from cabinet meetings, reportedly to defend against espionage operations from foreign actors. The move comes following warnings by Dutch intelligence services that the country is being targeted by Russian and Chinese spies with more intensity than at any time since the Cold War.

The current Dutch government, led by the far-right Freedom Party (PVV), was formed following the general election of November 2023. Although the PVV, headed by populist Geert Wilders, emerged as the leading political force in the Netherlands with 23% of the vote, it found it difficult to form a governing coalition. In June of this year, following lengthy negotiations, a rightwing coalition was formed between the PVV, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), and the New Social Contract (NSC).

A key feature of the agreement was that none of the individual parties’ leaders, including Wilders, could serve as prime minister. Instead, the three parties settled on Dick Schoof as a form of compromise. The 67-year-old Schoof led the Netherlands’ Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1999 until he was appointed to head the Ministry of Security and Justice in 2010. From 2013 to 2018, he became the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism —the Netherlands’ main counter-terrorism unit, which operates as part of the Ministry of Security and Justice.

In 2018, Schoof was appointed director-general of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), the nation’s primary intelligence agency. The AIVD is tasked with foreign and domestic duties, as well as signals intelligence. Prior to his prime ministerial post, the culmination in Schoof’s career as a public servant came with his appointment as secretary-general of the Ministry of Justice and Security, in 2020. In 2021, after 30 years of being a member, Schoof officially left the Labor Party (PvdA), the Netherlands’ mainstream social-democratic, left-of-center political party. In subsequent public comments he appeared to endorse the PVV, but never officially joined it.

Speaking to reporters last week, Schoof said he was “taking a different approach” to security at cabinet meetings, which was “based on his former job in the intelligence community”. He added, “maybe I have a bit more experience with that sort of thing” and stressed that banning wireless devices from cabinet meetings was “a completely natural measure” for him. Members of the Dutch cabinet “agreed immediately” with the new measure, said the new prime minister.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 02 September 2024 | Permalink

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Is Israel preparing to carry out intelligence operations on US soil?

August 26, 2024 by 2 Comments

Amichai ChikliSEVERAL WEEKS AGO, ISRAEL’S Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Amichai Chikli, reportedly met with the chief executive officer (CEO) of Israeli private intelligence company Black Cube. According to Israeli newspaper The Marker, the purpose of the alleged meeting was to propose an intelligence operation to be carried out on American soil by Black Cube, on behalf of the Israeli government. The intelligence operation would allegedly target a United States-based organization that stands at the forefront of demonstrations against Israel on university campuses in the United States —demonstrations that the state of Israel views as anti-Semitic.

According to The Marker report, the alleged meeting between Minister Chikli and the CEO of Black Cube, Dan Zorla, took place in a private residence in Herzliya near Tel Aviv. Minister Chikli was personally involved in the discussions with Black Cube, with the understanding that intelligence operations carried out by the firm on American soil would not be officially attributed to the State of Israel. However, it is unclear whether such intelligence operations were indeed authorized to proceed.

The organization against which Chikli reportedly asked Black Cube to target is “Students for Justice in Palestine”. The group has staged numerous demonstrations on university campuses across the United States since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last October.

The alleged use of a private intelligence company against an American-based organization, whose leaders are primarily American citizens, may be perceived as a violation of American sovereignty. Such an activity could further-damage the relationship between Israel and the American government and stigmatize Israel’s image among the American public.

Following the publication of The Marker report, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs claimed the proposal for the intelligence operation had been initiated by Black Cube and that Ministry officials ultimately rejected it. Still, at least three different sources appear to confirm the exact opposite —namely, that the spying initiative was prompted by the Ministry. Black Cube reportedly rejected it based on concerns that such a high-risk operation could damage the company’s standing with the United States government and harm its ability to do business on American soil in the future.

An official statement issued by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said: “Since the beginning of the war, the ministry has held meetings with dozens of organizations seeking to assist the efforts of the State of Israel in various fields. At the company’s [Black Cube’s] request, a meeting was held with the ministry’s professional echelon, and at the end of it, it was decided not to proceed with any engagement”. Read more of this post

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