OpenAI engineer accused of planting recording device remains in pre-trial detention

October 22, 2026 by 4 Comments

OpenAIA COURT IN THE United States has granted a request by government prosecutors to prolong the pre-trial detention of Abdulrahman Alfozan, an OpenAI employee, who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on 9 October 2026. The 35-year-old Saudi national has been charged with attempting to use a recording device to intercept oral communications at the headquarters of OpenAI, where he worked. According to the FBI, Alfozan was attempting to “secretly capture sensitive communications about [OpenAI’s] super intelligence technology”.

Concerns about the engineer’s behavior reportedly started when OpenAI staff discovered a listening device wrapped in toilet paper on 30 September. This prompted an internal investigation, in which OpenAI analyzed the device using its own artificial intelligence (AI) models. The investigation concluded that the device had been installed on or around 28 September. It also determined that the device was highly sophisticated and included advanced encryption, audio monitoring capabilities, as well as a means of transferring intercepted data whilst evading monitoring. Following this discovery, the company referred the case to the FBI.

The affidavit states that Alfozan appears on footage captured on October 5 by a hidden close-circuit surveillance camera at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. The footage shows Alfozan entering a conference room, which he had no authority to access. He then appears to check a device plugged into a television inside the room. The affidavit adds that OpenAI executives frequently use the room for internal leadership meetings, often involving “highly confidential, technical, commercial and strategic information, including proprietary research, product plans, and business development opportunities”.

The complaint also alleges that, prior to installing the device’s, Alfozan used an AI productivity tool to inquire about OpenAI’s buildings, meeting rooms, calendars, and executive locations. It also alleges that a chatbot associated with Alfozan’s spouse—who has not been charged in connection with this case—submitted prompts about building and encrypting an audio recording device.

Alfozan had worked as an engineer at OpenAI for 15 months prior to his termination. According to Al Jazeera, Alfozan’s LinkedIn profile lists earlier roles at Meta and Microsoft. Court filings allege Alfozan had booked one-way flight tickets to Saudi Arabia for himself, his wife, and another relative, scheduled for 12 October. The Saudi national’s connections to the Gulf State’s ruling family are not explicitly known; however, he is allegedly listed as a partner at Raed Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Riyadh. Prince Khalid bin Bader al Saud, a member of the Saudi Royal family, is also a Raed Ventures partner. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , ,

US prosecutors drop case against ex-CIA analyst charged with spying for South Korea

October 19, 2026 by 5 Comments

NIS South Korea - MJUNITED STATES FEDERAL PROSECUTORS have agreed to defer the prosecution of Sue Mi Terry a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst and White House National Security Council (NSC) official, who is accused of secretly acting as an unregistered agent of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS). The deal could terminate the case against Terry in 12 months.

The deferred prosecution agreement was /filed on 13 October. Prior to the deferment, Terry was set to stand trial in a Manhattan federal court on two felony charges of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and failure to register under FARA.

Born in Seoul and raised in the US state of Virginia, Terry served as a senior CIA analyst during 2001-2008, and as the Director for Korean, Japan, and Oceanic Affairs at the NSC during 2008-2009 under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. At the time of the indictment, Terry worked as a senior fellow for Korea Studies at the Washington, DC-based Council on Foreign Relations.

The espionage case against Terry dates to July 2024, when she was indicted on charges of acting as an unregistered agent working on behalf of South Korean intelligence. Prosectors alleged that over roughly a decade, Terry received luxury handbags and clothing, upscale meals, and tens of thousands of dollars in research funding from South Korea’s NIS.

In a September 28, 2026, filing opposing Terry’s motion to suppress evidence, prosectors alleged that the money came from the “highest levels” of NIS. They added that while Terry was aware of the support, “she sought to conceal the source of the NIS funds from the Woodrow Wilson Center, where she was then employed”. The prosecutors also publicly named three NIS case officers who purportedly had contact with Terry.

The two-page deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) allows for the prosecution to be suspended for 12 months, after which all charges will be dropped, provided that Terry complies to all terms set out in the DPA. In the DPA, Terry concedes to various charges, including accepting a Bottega Veneta handbag, a Louis Vuitton handbag, and a Dolce & Gabbana coat from South Korean officials, reportedly totaling $9,245. She also acknowledges raising approximately $37,000 for her research work, funded by checks that were issued directly from the South Korean embassy in Washington, DC. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , ,

FBI arrests woman accused of spying on Taiwanese president’s son

October 15, 2026 by 1 Comment

Wanying ZhangTHE UNITED STATES FEDERAL Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a California woman for operating as an unregistered agent of a foreign state. The woman is accused of covertly surveilling the son of Taiwan’s president on behalf of Chinese government.

Wanying “Heather” Zhang, a 34-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, was apprehended by FBI officers at Los Angeles International Airport on 4 October, shortly prior to boarding a flight to Shanghai. According to First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli, Zhang, a real estate agent, “used tradecraft to avoid detection” prior to her apprehension by federal agents.

Although the federal criminal complaint does not mention the alleged target’s name, the FBI’s rapid response account on the social platform X stated Zhang surveilled the residences of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s son. Zhang allegedly travelled to Seattle in September 2025, filmed the home and vehicles of Lai’s son and family, and forwarded recorded footage and license-plate details to Chinese officials.

According to the FBI affidavit, Zhang attended the University of International Relations in Beijing, which is said to have a close affiliation to China’s Ministry of State Security—China’s primary intelligence organization. In January 2025, Zhang allegedly travelled to China to meet with an official, who is a graduate of the same university. According to records obtained by a search warrant pertaining to Zhang’s iCloud account, two months after the meeting, the pair exchanged WeChat messages containing the address of a Taiwanese official who had criticized Beijing. It is understood that Zhang visited China again in June 2025 and met with another Chinese official, who allegedly instructed her to surveil the Taiwanese president’s son.

According to an investigation by CBS television, after her move to the US, Zhang studied at the University of Southern California before obtaining her real estate license in 2016. She reportedly became involved with advocacy groups for Chinese Americans; in 2022, she attended an “entrepreneurship competition” for Chinese students, alongside officials from the Chinese consulate. She was also reportedly involved in the All American Chinese Association—photographs from 2023 show Zhang marching through San Francisco during President Xi’s visit. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Men with Russian links charged with conspiracy to infiltrate US Secret Service

September 28, 2026 by 2 Comments

US Secret ServiceTWO MEN HAVE BEEN charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud after allegedly concealing a software company’s Russian ownership from the United States government and trying to work as contractors for the Secret Service. Founded in 1865 and currently operating under the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency with a dual mission of protecting America’s national leaders and investigating financial crimes.

On September 20, American and British authorities arrested Lee Reiber, a 55-year-old American who served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Oxygen Forensics, and Oleg Davydov, a 52-year-old Russian national, who co-founded the company and served as its chief technology officer. Reiber was arrested in the US state of Idaho and Davydov was apprehended at London Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom prior to boarding a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. The US is expected to seek his extradition in the coming days. Shortly prior to the arrests of the two men, US authorities reportedly seized 57 internet domains, cyber infrastructure, and corporate bank accounts owned by the firm.

Based in Alexandria, Virginia, Oxygen Forensics develops software to recover, preserve and analyze electronic data from digital devices. Davydov originally founded a Russian-based predecessor company, Oxygen Software LLC (renamed to MKO Systems LLC in September 2022), in 2000. That company sold the same software directly to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), and Ministry of Internal Affairs. Davydov established Oxygen Forensics in 2013, with Reiber joining in 2015. In March 2022, one month after the invasion of Ukraine and the US-imposed sanctions on Russia, Reiber was named its CEO, president, and chairman of the board.

According to court filings, the firm’s Russian owners were removed from the company’s public corporate filings following Reiber’s appointment that same month. Prosecutors allege Davydov and four other Russian nationals continued to secretly own and control the company through a Cyprus-based holding company. According to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, affected entities include the US Department of Defense and three components of the US Department of Homeland Security. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , , ,

US indicts members of Russian spy cell for plotting assassinations on US, European soil

September 21, 2026 by 3 Comments

IndictmentTHE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT of Justice unsealed last week charges against members of an alleged Russian intelligence network that planned a series of targeted assassinations in the United States and Europe. According to the indictment, the accused are part of a broad effort by the Russian state that amounts to a “global assassination network”—termed “intelligence services of the Russian Federation”, or “RIS”, network.

Three of the accused are believed to be senior members of the RIS network. They are: Yuri Khrameev, 63; his biological son, Kirill Khrameev, 27; and Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35. The elder Khrameev is a retired intelligence officer who claims to have reached the rank of colonel and has stated at least once that he worked alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past. The younger Khrameev is believed to hold a mid-level rank in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The indictment describes Durruthy as a well-known member of the Cuban expatriate community in Russia, who has operated internationally as a member of the RIS network.

The fourth suspect is named as Yaidel Delgado Suarez (known as “the Viking”), who, like Durruthy, is a Cuban expatriate living in Russia. The remaining suspect is named as Angel Eduardo Castro, a 22-year-old Venezuelan. Notably all five suspects remain at large and are believed to reside in Russia. The Khrameevs and Durruthy are Russian citizens. Durruthy is also a Cuban national, as is Suarez—the latter’s status described in the indictment as that of “a Cuban national living in Russia”. Castro is referred to as a “Venezuelan national living in Russia”. It is therefore not known whether Suarez and Castro also hold Russian citizenship—though they most likely do.

According to the indictment, in the summer of 2026 Suarez and Castro recruited a Venezuelan citizen who was living in the New York area. The unnamed Venezuelan, who is referred to in the indictment as “Resident 1”, agreed to engage in reconnaissance activity in the vicinity of a house where the RIS network believed an exiled Russian dissident resided. In exchange for his services, “Resident 1” was promised between $1,000 and $1,500. The recruit was also offered $40,000 in exchange for assassinating the RIS network’s target, but appears to have declined the offer. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Iranian attacks on CIA facilities in Gulf prompts probe into Russian assistance

July 23, 2026 by 4 Comments

Iran UAV droneINTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS IN THE United States are looking into the possibility that Russia may have given Iranian targeters information about the location of secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) facilities in the Gulf. According to the Reuters news agency, Iran has managed to strike “several” CIA facilities in at least three countries in the Middle East in the past few months. Some of the strikes appear to have been surgically targeted at specific buildings, and even parts of buildings.

The CIA maintains official stations inside American embassy facilities throughout the Gulf. But the agency also manages an extensive network of offices, logistics hubs, safe houses, and surveillance or other operational facilities throughout the region. The location of these facilities is highly classified and compartmentalized even within the CIA itself. According to intelligence sources cited by Reuters, few nations other than Russia possess the necessary resources to map the precise locations of CIA facilities and the desire to share them with Tehran.

Citing “four people familiar with US intelligence”, Reuters said that Iran has managed to successfully target “more than one and fewer than a dozen” CIA facilities in the Gulf since March. Among them is a secret facility in Iraq, as well as the CIA station in Saudi Arabia, which is located inside the US embassy complex in Riyadh. According to reports, Tehran deployed an advanced version of its Shahed and Mohajer drones to demolish the exterior wall of the CIA station before another set of kamikaze drones burst into the interior of the facility. Some analysts believe that the kinetic capabilities of the drones used in the attack had been enhanced using Russian technical expertise.

The Reuters report added that Moscow has a longstanding intelligence-sharing relationship with Iran and has been known to provide Tehran with targeting information and other forms of support. This relationship only strengthened since the onset of the current war between the US, Israel, and Iran. However, the report states that intelligence officials have yet to draw firm conclusions about Russia’s precise role in the Iranian attacks on CIA facilities.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 23 July 2026 | Research credit: M.J. | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , , ,

US spy agencies resisting White House plan to create master list of espionage threats

July 1, 2026 by 11 Comments

ODNI DNIAMERICAN INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES are reportedly refusing to abide by a White House directive that requires them to turn over the names of all individuals who are believed to be spying on the United States. The directive aims to build a master list of all known foreign intelligence actors with the goal of streamlining American counterintelligence efforts against them. However, according to a New York Times report, senior counterintelligence officials are concerned that such a centralized master list could leak and result in a catastrophic compromise of national security information.

Citing “people familiar with the matter”, the Times said on Monday that the effort to create a master list of foreign spies and Americans who are spying on behalf of foreign intelligence services is being led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The agency has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI to provide the names of all individuals who have been found to engage in espionage and are being watched by the Bureau. Likewise, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been asked to provide names of foreign espionage operatives that populate its lists of potential assets—foreign spies who may in time be turned by the CIA.

The master list of spies would potentially allow the entirety of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) to monitor the global activities of these espionage operatives and share information about them in real time. Additionally, the existence of such a list would in theory prevent operational duplication and help deconfliction within the IC when it comes to counterintelligence efforts. The central idea behind the master list dates to National Security Presidential Memorandum – 7, a directive issued by President Donald Trump in October 2017, during his first term in office.

However, senior counterintelligence officials are reportedly concerned that giving the ODNI full access to such a comprehensive master list of espionage threat actors could potentially compromise the integrity of counterintelligence operations. Information about espionage operatives and assets—both current and prospective—is usually protected behind several layers of classification and compartmentalization that shield it even within individual intelligence agencies. Additionally, some of the information relating to these individuals is acquired through counterintelligence activities authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and is thus subject to tight restrictions.

At a deeper level, the resistance of senior counterintelligence officials to surrender sensitive information about espionage to the ODNI reflects years of mutual suspicion and turf wars within the IC. According to the Times, these officials have yet to agree about how such a master list would be constructed, what information it would contain, who should have access to it, and how it should be maintained and updated.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 1 July 2026 | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , ,

Iran has mostly replenished its missile stockpiles: Western intelligence

June 15, 2026 by 5 Comments

Iran War 2026IRAN USED THE EIGHT-week ceasefire with the United States and Israel to replenish its military arsenal to at least three-quarters of its pre-war levels, according to Western intelligence estimates. Tehran has been able to incorporate substantial supplies of Russian-built weapons to its firepower and could easily reach 100 percent of its pre-war arsenal capacity soon, according to reports.

The latest estimates directly contradict earlier assessments by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which claims Iran’s military firepower has been obliterated in the past three months. In March, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Iran’s offensive capability had been reduced by as much as 90 percent. Earlier this month, President Trump claimed that Iran’s missile arsenal stood at 60 percent of its pre-war level.

However, Western intelligence estimates now suggest that the Iranian regime’s ability to replenish its military arsenal has been far more advanced than presumed by its adversaries. In a related development, the Reuters news agency reported last week that the United Arab Emirates directly approached Tehran and offered to pay it in return for not being attacked again.

According to Reuters, the UAE agreed to give Iran between $10 and $20 billion in return for halting its attacks on the Gulf state. The news agency claimed that $3 billion of the earmarked funds had already been delivered to Tehran. In a subsequent statement, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the Reuters report as “entirely false and unfounded” and stated that no funds had been “released, transferred or facilitated through the UAE”.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 15 June 2026 | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , ,

CIA officer found with over $42 million in gold and cash had created ‘fake’ program

June 8, 2026 by 4 Comments

CIAA CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY officer allegedly created a fake government program in order to embezzle over $42 million in government funds, according to reports. The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested David J. Rush on May 19, after he has found in possession of 303 bars of gold worth over $40 million. He was also found in possession of over $2 million in cash and over 30 luxury watches.

Late last week, The Washington Post reported that Rush had built an unacknowledged special access program (SAP). Dating to World War II, SAPs are government-authorized support operations or ‘black’ projects with information-sharing restrictions that exceed those of regular classified projects. Select government personnel are typically ‘read in’ to such projects after signing specialized nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) that exceed the scope of their top-secret clearances.

According to The Post, Rush created a CIA unacknowledged SAP relating to “continuity of government operations”. The term refers to state-wide plans to enable the United States government to continue to perform essential operations in the event of a catastrophic disaster, such as a highly destructive earthquake, a pandemic, or a nuclear war.

Using the ‘read-in’ provisions of SAPs, Rush allegedly read two of his CIA colleagues into the program he created. In doing so, Rush used carefully crafted NDAs that prevented his colleagues from disclosing the program’s existence to others. He then allegedly convinced his colleagues to transfer bars of gold and cash into the program, claiming that the resources were to be used to keep the United States government operating as part of continuity planning.

The accused reportedly remains in detention in Alexandria, Virginia, after a federal judge ruled last week that there was significant likelihood he would abscond or fail to appear for future proceedings.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 08 June 2026 | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , ,

US, Mexican authorities deny claims CIA is assassinating cartel members in Mexico

May 18, 2026 by 4 Comments

Sinaloa cartelAUTHORITIES IN MEXICO AND the United States have rejected as “fictions” reports in American and Mexican media that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) personnel are directly involved in assassination operations against the cartels. Notably The New York Times and CNN reported last week that the CIA participated in the killing of mid-level Sinaloa cartel member Francisco “El Playin” Beltran and his driver. The two men were killed by a car bomb on March 28 in a suburb of Mexico City.

According to the reports, Beltran’s killing was part of a rapidly expanding CIA campaign in Mexico, which aims to eliminate selected mid-tier members of the cartels. Some of the operations allegedly involve the participation of the CIA’s so-called “Ground Branch”, which is the paramilitary and covert action wing of the CIA’s Special Activities Center (SAC). Some Ground Branch members have directly participated in assassination operations in Mexico, either in collaboration with the Mexican authorities or as teams operating independently, according to the reports.

But Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum issued an outright denial of the claims last Wednesday during her weekly media conference in Mexico City, describing them as “fictions the size of the universe”. Sheinbaum’s claims came a day after Omar Harfuch, Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, dismissed the reports as “false and salacious reporting”, adding that they serve as “nothing more than a [public relations] campaign for the cartels and [put] American lives at risk”.

American officials insist that the role of American military and intelligence agencies in anti-cartel operations in Mexico is limited to training and intelligence-sharing, and stress that American government personnel have no direct involvement in these activities. However, there is intense speculation about the death of two American embassy officials in a car crash in April, following their alleged participation in a counter-cartel operation in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. According to The New York Times, the two embassy officials were CIA officers.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 18 May 2026 | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

CIA working with Kurdish separatists to foment armed rebellion in northwestern Iran

March 5, 2026 by 1 Comment

Iran KurdistanTHE UNITED STATES CENTRAL Intelligence Agency (CIA) is arming and training ethnic separatists in northwestern Iran with the goal of fomenting an armed rebellion against Tehran in the coming weeks, according to reports. Several news outlets, including CNN, report that Iranian Kurdish opposition forces are preparing to launch a ground operation in northwestern Iran “in the coming days”.

The nearly 10 million Kurds in Iran are one of the largest ethnic minorities in the country, concentrated in the mountainous western provinces bordering Iraq and Turkey. They are predominantly Sunni Muslims in a country governed by a Shia clerical state, creating both religious and ethnic tension. The central government has generally responded to calls for autonomy by various Kurdish factions with security crackdowns and suppression of dissent. Kurdish regions have been subject to heavy surveillance and military deployment, particularly during periods of regional instability.

British news outlet ITV reports that American and Israeli air strikes have consistently targeted Iranian military installations in western Iran in recent days, in an effort to degrade Tehran’s security assets in the region and provide Kurdish rebel forces with the ability to launch a successful armed campaign. According to ITV, Kurdish rebels have asked Israeli and American forces to provide air cover for an eventual ground campaign—though whether this request has been approved remains unknown.

According to Axios, US President Donald Trump spoke directly with Iraqi Kurdish leaders last weekend, seeking access to Iran’s Kurdish provinces through the Kurdish-controlled autonomous region of northern Iraq. Such access would allow the CIA and US Special Operations Forces to create a supply route for the provision of weapons and other war materiel to Iranian Kurdish rebels. The US president also spoke with at least one Iranian Kurdish leader on Tuesday, according to reports.

CNN said it reached out to the CIA about this story but the agency refused to comment on it.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 05 March 2026 | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , ,

Colombian spy chief claims intelligence-sharing with CIA continues despite dispute

December 1, 2025 by 3 Comments

Gustavo PetroIN A RARE MEDIA interview, the chief of Colombia’s National Intelligence Directorate (DNI) has said that his agency’s collaboration with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other American spy organizations continues unabated. This statement appears to contradict a prior statement by the president of Colombia, who said his country had stopped all intelligence-sharing with the United States in protest against the lethal targeting of civilian vessels in the Caribbean.

The political dispute between the two countries made headlines on November 11, when Colombian President Gustavo Petro (pictured) ordered his government’s intelligence agencies to “suspend intelligence sharing with US intelligence agencies”. The leftist leader made the announcement in response to the targeting of Colombian boats that Washington accuses of involvement in narcotics smuggling in the Caribbean. Two weeks earlier, the White House had personally accused Petro of participating in illicit drug trade activities and imposed sanctions on him and his immediate family.

Two days after the dramatic breakdown in intelligence cooperation between Colombia and the United States, Colombian officials claimed that Bogota would continue to share intelligence with international spy agencies, including those of the United States. Petro’s Minister of the Interior, Armando Benedetti, said that reports about the alleged breakdown in intelligence cooperation between the two countries were due to “a misunderstanding”. He added that Colombia would “continue working […] against drug trafficking and crime with the United States”.

Now the director of the DNI, Jorge Lemus, has told Agence France Presse that his agency’s relationship with the CIA had not been disrupted, despite the high-level political dispute between Colombia and the United States. The CIA “are collaborating a lot, and so are we”, said Lemus. The spy chief added that Colombian counternarcotics forces had destroyed “over 10,000” illicit cocaine labs in 2025 and were continuing operations against drug cartels “together with them [the CIA], hand-in-hand with them. We continue exactly as before […] not only with the CIA, but with all agencies”.

Lemus’ comments are reportedly the first high-level confirmation of Benedetti’s November 13 statement that intelligence cooperation between Colombia and the United States continued unabated despite the political falling-out between the two countries’ leaders.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 01 December 2025 | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , , ,

British spy and his Chinese handler used private jet to escape to China, report claims

November 10, 2025 by 2 Comments

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport SerbiaA BRITISH MAN WANTED by American authorities for spying for China, who disappeared along with his Chinese handler while under house arrest, may have managed to escape to China using a private jet, a report claims. John Miller, 63, from Tunbridge Wells in the United Kingdom, was arrested alongside his alleged Chinese handler, Cui Guanghai, in April of this year.

At the time of their arrest, the two men were staying at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Serbian capital Belgrade. Serbian authorities reportedly arrested the men just hours before they were about to board a flight to China. American authorities accuse Mille, who lives permanently in the United States, of attempting to smuggle “sensitive […] military technology” to China, such as drones, air defense systems, and ground-to-air missiles.

The two suspects were jailed while awaiting extradition to the United States, where each faced up to 40 years in prison for violating the United States Arms Export Control Act. A month later, the two suspects were moved out of jail and placed into house arrest in two separate apartments in Belgrade. Both were required to wear electronic ankle bracelets at all time.

However, on August 4, the two men damaged and forcibly removed their surveillance devices. Records show that the devices stopped transmitting their location coordinates between 12:43 and 12:54 a.m. local time. Alarms were automatically triggered, alerting officials at Serbia’s Criminal Sanctions Enforcement Directorate, whose surveillance systems were monitoring the two men.

In less than an hour, however, the two men had arrived at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport. According to a new report, published last week by the Serbia-based Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), the suspects boarded a private Gulfstream G550 jet that was waiting for them at the airport. The report claims that the jet is owned by a Beijing-headquartered firm called Deer Jet. Shortly afterwards, the jet took off for a nine-hour direct flight to the Chinese capital.

Miller and Cui have not been seen since. BIRN said officials from the Serbian government did not respond to calls for comment. British newspaper The Mail on Sunday said it contacted Deer Jet but received no responses. The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States refused to comment as well.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 10 November 2025 | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , ,

Dutch spy services have restricted intelligence-sharing with the United States: report

October 20, 2025 by 15 Comments

Mark Rutte NATO TrumpINTELLIGENCE SERVICES IN THE Netherlands have restricted intelligence-sharing with their United States counterparts due to political developments in Washington, according to two leading Dutch intelligence officials. This development—which may typify Europe’s current approach to transatlantic intelligence-sharing—was confirmed last week by the heads of the Netherlands’ two largest intelligence agencies in a joint interview with De Volkskrant newspaper.

The joint interview was given to De Volkskrant by Erik Akerboom, director of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), and Peter Reesink , director of the General Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD)—AIVD’s civilian military counterpart.

Both men stressed that inter-agency relations between Dutch and American intelligence organizations remain “excellent”. However, they added that the Netherlands has grown more selective about what it chooses to share with American intelligence agencies—particularly the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. “That we sometimes don’t share things anymore, that’s true,” Reesink said, referring to sharing information with American intelligence agencies. Akerboom added: “sometimes you have to think case by case.” He went on to say: “We can’t say what we will or won’t share. But we can say that we are more critical.”

According to the two senior officials, Dutch spies have been intensifying intelligence cooperation and sharing with their European counterparts. This is particularly applicable to a collection of central and northern European intelligence services from countries like Scandinavia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Poland, according to De Volkskrant.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 20 October 2025 | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , ,

Hackers breach website used by US intelligence community to solicit vendor contracts

July 28, 2025 by 1 Comment

NRO - IAHACKERS HAVE COMPROMISED A website used by the United States Intelligence Community (IC) to solicit sensitive contracts from the private sector, according to a new report. The target of the attack, and the methods used by the hackers, appear to point with a high degree of certainty to a state actor.

The website in question belongs to the Acquisition Research Center (ARC), an initiative of the US government’s Acquisition Center of Excellence. Even though the ARC solicits contracts on behalf of the entire US IC, its public-facing website is maintained by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which last week notified several companies affected by the breach.

The ARC online interface is designed for companies in the private sector who want to register as government vendors in the national security space. Once they register through the ARC system, these companies can pitch a variety of intelligence agencies with a particular technology or idea. Recent projects solicited through the ARC system have involved communications interception systems, artificial intelligence-powered data collection or analysis tools, predictive technologies, signature-reduction systems, or various tools used in physical surveillance.

It is believed that the hackers targeted the unclassified portion of the ARC website, seeking personal information about vendors, as well as proprietary intellectual property. An NRO spokesperson told The Washington Times that the breach was being looked at by federal law enforcement but declined to provide further information about what he described as an “ongoing investigation”.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 28 July 2025 | Permalink

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with , , , , , ,

← Older posts