espionage
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UK High Court rules that Julian Assange can be extradited to the US
A UK appeals court has reversed a previous ruling that Wikileaks founder shouldn't be extradited to the US due to mental health concerns.
Tesla takes to Chinese social media to ease local spying fears
Tesla is using its Chinese social media page to assuage local spying fears after its cars were banned from the country's military facilities and select state-owned companies.
China reportedly bans Tesla cars from military facilities over spying fears
China's military has reportedly banned Tesla cars from its facilities over fears the cameras could be used for spying.
A Chinese hacking group is reportedly targeting governments across Asia
A Chinese hacking group has been conducting “ongoing” espionage operations on foreign governments across Asia, according to security firm Check Point. Called Naikon, it has reportedly attacked governments in Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei, targeting foreign affairs, science and technology ministries.
Hitting the Books: A brief history of industrial espionage and corn
Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories.
Recommended Reading: The CIA-owned company that helped it spy on the world
The intelligence coup of the century Greg Miller, The Washington Post This in-depth report tells the story of Crypto AG, a Switzerland-based company that achieved success for its code-making machines during World War II. The company eventually became a popular manufacturer of encryption machines for countries around the world in the decades that followed. Governments trusted that communications between diplomats, military and spies were being kept secret. What those nations didn't know was that Crypto AG as actually owned by the CIA -- originally in partnership with West German intelligence. What's more, the access allowed the two countries to to rig the tech so they could easily crack any code.
US may permanently ground civilian drone program over China fears
The US Interior Department's decision to halt a civilian drone program might not be so temporary. Financial Times sources claim the department plans to permanently end use of nearly 1,000 drones after determining there was too high a risk of the Chinese government using them for spying purposes. While there reportedly isn't a final policy, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt would once more limit uses to emergency situations like firefighting.
Hackers targeted BMW, Hyundai in hunt for trade secrets
Two of the world's larger car makers were the victims of a sophisticated (but still not very successful) hacking campaign. Bayerricscher Rundfunk has learned that intruders from the hacking group OceanLotus slipped into the networks of BMW and Hyundai in an attempt to find trade secrets. BMW, at least, found the hackers quickly -- instead, it let them operate for "months" to gather data before blocking them at the start of December. No sensitive data would have leaked out of BMW, according to an anonymous security expert, and the attackers wouldn't have breached the central data center in Munich.
US Senators ask the FCC to review licenses with China-owned telecoms
Two US Senators want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to review whether two Chinese state-owned telecoms should be permitted to operate in the US. In a letter to the FCC, Democratic leader Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) ask the Commission to review licenses that give China Telecom and China Unicom the right to use networks in the US. According to The New York Times, the Senators are concerned that the companies may use that access to carry out espionage.
Super Micro will move chip production out of China to avoid spying claims
Server maker Super Micro is moving production out of China in a bid to allay US customer's concerns about spying, even though independent tests have shown no evidence of cyber espionage. The company has also announced its plans to expand its own in-house manufacturing facilities to help mitigate any perceived risks. A spokesperson for the company said Super Micro wants to be more self-reliant "without depending only on those outsourcing partners whose production previously has mostly been in China."
CIA claims Huawei is funded by Chinese state security
The US has rattled its saber more than once trying to deter countries from using Huawei technology, but it hasn't publicly disclosed much of what it's worried about. You might have a better insight after today, though. A source speaking to The Times claims that the CIA has told UK intelligence officials that Huawei has received funding from Chinese state security, including the People's Liberation Army, the National Security Commission and a "third branch" of China's state intelligence network. The CIA told the UK and the other Five Eyes nations (Australia, Canada and New Zealand) about its beliefs earlier in 2019, according to the source.
Trump reportedly reverses Obama-era rules for US cyber operations
The Trump administration has reportedly reversed an Obama-era framework for how and when the US can use cyber attacks against foes. President Trump undid Presidential Policy Directive 20 yesterday according to the Wall Street Journal's sources, and with it reversed a classified framework detailing a multi-agency process that must be followed before carrying out an attack.
'Defector' on the Oculus is basically VR spy training
While I may be a rather incompetent assassin, it turns out that I'm not a half-bad secret agent man. At E3 on Thursday, I was afforded the opportunity to don an Oculus headset and play through a level of Twisted Pixel's upcoming espionage simulator, Defector. I only blew my own cover twice!
Kaspersky to move to Switzerland following latest government ban
Things are going from bad to worse for Kaspersky Labs, the Russian anti-virus software developer. The Dutch government says it's planning to phase out the use of the software "as a precautionary measure", and is proactively suggesting other companies do the same.
Sophisticated malware attacks through routers
Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab have discovered what's likely to be another state-sponsored malware strain, and this one is more advanced than most. Nicknamed Slingshot, the code spies on PCs through a multi-layer attack that targets MikroTik routers. It first replaces a library file with a malicious version that downloads other malicious components, and then launches a clever two-pronged attack on the computers themselves. One, Canhadr, runs low-level kernel code that effectively gives the intruder free rein, including deep access to storage and memory; the other, GollumApp, focuses on the user level and includes code to coordinate efforts, manage the file system and keep the malware alive.
US intelligence agencies warn buyers to avoid Huawei smartphones
After being rebuffed by carriers AT&T and Verizon, Huawei's push to sell phones in the US isn't getting any easier. Six top US intelligence chiefs, including the heads of the FBI, CIA and NSA, told Americans they wouldn't recommend buying products or services from the Chinese manufacturer, CNBC reports. "We're deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments ... to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks," FBI Director Chris Wray testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
NSA sent coded messages through Twitter
Spy agencies have a long history of using public outlets to deliver secret messages, such as numbers stations or cryptic classified ads. Now, however, they've adapted to the internet era. Both the New York Times and the Intercept have learned that the National Security Agency used Twitter to send "nearly a dozen" coded messages to a Russian contact claiming to have agency data stolen by the Shadow Brokers. Reportedly, the NSA would tell the Russian to expect public tweets in advance, either to signal an intent to make contact or to prove that it was involved and was open to further chats.
Huawei's AT&T deal may have failed due to political pressure
Just yesterday, a deal between Huawei and AT&T to sell the Chinese company's flagship phones through the carrier's US stores was reported to have fallen through. According to The Information, the plan was scrapped over political pressure from US lawmakers who saw Huawei as a security threat.
Draft defense bill would ban Kaspersky's security software
American officials are worried that Russian software could be used to compromise national security, and they aren't taking any chances. A draft version of the Senate's National Defense Authorization Act, which greenlights military funding, explicitly bans the Department of Defense from using Kaspersky Lab's security software over concerns that it could be "vulnerable to Russian government influence." Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who added the clause, believes Kaspersky "cannot be trusted" to protect the US' critical infrastructure. The links between the company and the Russian government are "very alarming," she says.
Wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning walks free from prison
Chelsea Manning took her first steps as a free woman moments ago. Charged with espionage and the capital offense of aiding the enemy, she faced a 35 year sentence for 20 charges, stemming from classified information the then-Bradley Manning submitted to Wikileaks. The soldier's sentence was commuted by President Obama in January. She will be on unpaid active duty in the military while her military court conviction goes through the appeal process, BBC notes. Should the appeal not be approved, Manning could be dishonorably discharged.
