Counterespionage

2018 ERII Annual Counterespionage Conference – Espionage Research Institute International (ERII)

comsecllc — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 16:21:42 +0000

https://erii.org/2018-erii-conference/

The 2018 ERII Annual Counterespionage Conference Will Convene TSCM, Counterintelligence and Counterespionage Professionals to Discuss Key Issues, View Equipment Demonstrations and Network with Colleagues on September 20-22, 2018 in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

Virginia Beach, VA, August 22, 2018 –(PR.com)– ERII today announced registration for the 2018 Annual ERII Counterespionage Conference, a gathering of worldwide technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM), counterintelligence and counterespionage professionals, is now open to ERII members and non-members. The conference will be held September 20-22, 2018, at the Embassy Suites Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. Three-day, two-day and single-day conference tickets are available to ERII members and non-members. Special government ticket pricing is also available.

2014 Espionage Research Institute International Counterespionage Conference

comsecllc — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 15:20:55 +0000

2014 Espionage Research Institute International Counterespionage Conference

The Annual ERII Counterespionage Conference was held on September 12, 13 & 14 in Washington, DC.

TSCM professionals from across the globe met to discuss counter espionage news and events, see demonstrations of new TSCM equipment and network with colleagues.

The ERII Conference experience included presentations by top experts in the fields of Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) Counterintelligence/Counterespionage, Cyber Countermeasures, Equipment vendors and more.

This year, our Keynote Speaker was Sandra Grimes, Author of “Circle of Treason”, A CIA Account of Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed

Microsoft discovers an on-campus peeping tom

comsecllc — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 20:10:40 +0000

On July 24, 2013, a Microsoft vendor employee working at the company’s RedWest campus in Redmond had a piece of good fortune—he found a Muvi USB video camera just lying in the footpath between buildings. He picked up the camera, only later taking a look at the footage on the device, which revealed that his good fortune was actually evidence of a crime. The Muvi camera contained “upskirt” video footage of women climbing stairs or escalators—or sometimes just standing in checkout lines—and some of it had been shot on Microsoft’s campus.

The vendor employee reported the incident to Microsoft Global Security, who took possession of the camera on July 26. To find the camera’s owner, two Global Security investigators pulled up Microsoft’s internal security camera footage covering the RedWest footpath. They began by locating the moment when the vendor employee walked into the frame, paused, and bent down to retrieve the camera off the ground. Investigators then rewound the footage to see who had dropped it.

At the 11:24am mark, they saw a man in a collared shirt and reddish pants walk out of a RedWest building and walk along the footpath. Then, at 11:25am, the vendor employee appeared and picked up the camera. At 11:26am, the man in the reddish pants suddenly returned to the picture. According to a later report from the Redmond Police Department, he was “rushing” back to the RedWest building he had just left and appeared “nervous, frantically looking around.” He eventually used a keycard to re-enter the RedWest building.

5 Americans who used NSA facilities to spy on lovers

comsecllc — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 21:55:32 +0000

Last month, we reported on LOVEINT, the facetious term used to describe NSA analysts who misuse their surveillance powers to spy on romantic interests instead of terrorists. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) asked the NSA to get more specific about the misconduct the NSA had uncovered. So the NSA sent Grassley a letter with details of the 12 LOVEINT incidents it has uncovered since 2003.

The incidents have a number of things in common. Almost all of them involved spying on foreigners outside of the United States (one man targeted his American girlfriend, and a few others spied on communications involving both Americans and foreigners). In seven of the 12 cases, the misbehaving employee resigned while the disciplinary process was ongoing. The rest received letters of reprimand, got demoted, lost pay, were denied security clearances or faced other punishments. None of the individuals were prosecuted for their actions.

Here are five of the most egregious cases of misconduct:

More here.

GOP leader McConnell’s campaign alleges ‘Watergate-style bugging’ at headquarters; asks FBI to probe

comsecllc — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:35:00 +0000

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The FBI has been asked to look into whether Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign headquarters was bugged after a recording of a private campaign meeting surfaced in a liberal-leaning magazine.

McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton said his staff is working with the FBI because of what he called “Watergate-style tactics” to bug the office.

Mother Jones magazine published the recording of the February meeting in which McConnell aides were discussing research into potential Democratic challengers, including actress Ashley Judd, who later decided not to run. Aides talked on the recording about Judd’s political positions, religious beliefs and mental health.

Benton said a recording device had been placed in McConnell’s office without consent. Neither the FBI in Louisville nor the magazine immediately returned telephone calls seeking comment.

New Bitcoin Skype Malware Spreading At 2,000 Clicks Per Hour

comsecllc — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:07:00 +0000

A new piece of malware is rocking the Internet society now as it has been found that it is spreading through Skype which basically uses the infected computers to mine for Bitcoins and then make the owner of the malware money.

It was discovered by by security firm Kaspersky, the malware is named “Trojan.Win32.Jorik.IRCbot.xkt,” and is spreading at an alarming rate. The malware is thought to have started in Europe, with the worst hit places including Italy, Russia, Poland, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, and Ukraine. The average clicking rates have hit around 2,000 clicks per hour,meanwhile The initial piece of malware is thought to have been developed in India, but also relies on servers in Germany (the IP of the server is: 213.165.68.138:9000). Once the user clicks the malware link, the trojan releases other pieces of malware which, using Hotfile, download additional information while the software awaits further instructions. The network of infected computers can be used to mine Bitcoins, as the more CPU power you have, the more Bitcoins you get. The people behind the malware then sell the Bitcoins at a profit, while the host computer is slow or unstable due to the load.

More here: http://storyfic.com/new-bitcoin-skype-malware-spreading-at-2000-clicks-per-hour/

Washington and Beijing Draw Lines in the Sand over Cyber Spying

comsecllc — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 20:10:00 +0000

(Beijing) – The United States and China have long debated industrial spying and intellectual property rights issues. However, recent reports accusing China of widespread hacking activities have intensified the exchanges.

On February 20, the White House released a strategy paper outlining an approach for protecting the trade secrets of U.S. companies. “Emerging trends indicate that the pace of economic espionage and trade secret theft against U.S. corporations is accelerating,” the report said.

It noted that “cyber intrusion activity” targeting trade secrets in particular posed a threat to American businesses.

The strategy paper said the United States would put in place five measures to protect its trade secrets. It would focus diplomatic efforts on protecting trade secrets overseas and applying diplomatic pressure; help private industry protect trade secrets by supporting and promoting best practices; enhance domestic law enforcement operations; improve domestic legislation; and promote public awareness.

Although the White House has denied the strategy paper was aimed at China, its content and the timing of its release indicated it had a lot to do with China.

In the 141-page paper, China appears on 31 pages, sometimes as many as 14 times per page. An appendix from the Department of Justice described 20 economic espionage and trade secret criminal cases between January 2009 and January 2013, and 17 involved China.

More here: http://english.caixin.com/2013-03-20/100503985.html

Google, beyond the CIA: Insurgency and espionage factory

comsecllc — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 20:07:00 +0000

Intercepted emails expose Google as an intelligence contractor openly involved in aiding terror organizations throughout Africa, Asia and the world, working well outside any official oversight and authority, far beyond even the CIA’s wildest abuses.

STRATFOR, in an email exchange says this of Google:

“GOOGLE is getting White House and State Department support & air cover. In reality, they are doing things the CIA cannot do. But, I agree with you. He’s going to get himself kidnapped or killed. Might be the best thing to happen to expose Google’s covert role in foaming up-risings, to be blunt. The US Gov. can then disavow knowledge and GOOGLE is left holding the (expletive deleted) bag.”

Among the STRATFOR emails Wikileaks received were some exposing Google as, not just an intelligence contractor for the CIA and Department of Defense but foreign governments as well.
Text within the highly sensitive cables outlines criminal and even terrorist activities on the part of Google including the planning of insurgency operations. Sources have confirmed Google has helped plan military operations against Syria and has been directly involved, working with Arab states, Turkey and Azerbaijan to plan destabilization of Iran.

Emails expose meetings between Google executives and insurgency groups in Azerbaijan operating against Iran.

More here: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/06/296865/google-beyond-the-cia-and-espionage-factory/

Mom’s Phone Bugged

comsecllc — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 20:04:00 +0000

Police have arrested a 59-year-old Lincoln man, saying they suspect him of bugging his 90-year-old mother’s phone.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the man was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications.

Police spokeswoman, Officer Katie Flood, says the man’s sister called police on March 28 to report that she had found a recording device connected to her mother’s phone line and recognized her brother’s voice recorded on the device.

Police say a letter written by the man to his sister demands documentation of his mother’s savings and threatens the sister with legal repercussions if she stands between him and his mother.

More here: http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/Moms-Phone-Bugged-201771471.html

FBI agent speaks out on Medical College espionage case

comsecllc — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:19:00 +0000

WAUWATOSA (WITI) — The FBI on Wednesday, April 3rd spoke with FOX6 News following the arrest of a Medical College researcher — accused of stealing vials of a compound intended for cancer research — and shipping them to China.

A federal criminal complaint says there is evidence 42-year-old Hua Jun Zhao, a Medical College researcher sent vials of a compound called C-25 to China. Investigators also found his ticket for China on Tuesday, April 2nd — and did not make that flight.

Zhao is being held in the Milwaukee County Jail for the FBI.

Zhao is accused of stealing cancer research and shipping it to China, where he allegedly intended to take the compound to a Chinese university to develop further.

A complaint says Zhao was working under Dr. Marshall Anderson at the Medical College — researching an organic compound called C-25. The compound had promise of helping drugs destroy cancer cells, while not harming healthy cells.

An FBI agent says Dr. Anderson left three bottles of C-25 on his desk, and left the room for a moment. The three bottles were gone when he returned. Surveillance video shows Zhao entering the office during that time in late February.

Examining Zhao’s personal computer, officials discovered hundreds of items related to Dr. Anderson’s research on C-25. There was also a grant application written by Zhao in Mandarin Chinese, asking for Chinese funding to continue his research.

More here: http://fox6now.com/2013/04/03/fbi-agent-speaks-out-on-medical-college-espionage-case/