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Global articles on espionage, spying, bugs, and other interesting topics.

Keep abreast of the espionage threats facing your organisation.

Uzbekistan Jails Former Gold Mine Employee on Spying Charges

A court in Uzbekistan has sentenced a former employee of British mining company Oxus Gold to 12 years in prison on charges of industrial espionage.

The company said in a statement Thursday that a military court convicted Said Ashurov, who worked as chief metallurgist at a joint venture, which is at a center of dispute between the British company and Uzbekistan authorities.

The Amantaytau Goldfields joint venture is developing some of the world’s most promising gold fields in the central Asian country.

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Rep. Rogers: Cyber espionage major threat

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) — The head of the House Intelligence Committee says cyber espionage is one of the greatest challenges facing U.S. intelligence agencies today.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., told retired U.S. intelligence officers in a speech Friday in Washington that Russia and China appear to be the major players in state-sponsored espionage, the Los Angeles Times reported. He said cyber spying is the biggest threat aside from al-Qaida and said intelligence agencies need the resources to combat it.

Rogers warned against making large cuts in the funding for U.S. intelligence agencies.

“Nation states are investing huge amounts of time, personnel and money to steal our data,” Rogers said. “We are not as prepared as we need to be.”

Rogers said reports on cyber espionage suggest Russian and Chinese military and intelligence agencies are involved.

While U.S. government agencies are generally quiet about cyber espionage, attacks have been reported by private security companies, Google and academic researchers.


NEWS FOCUS: Cyber-espionage attacks threaten corporate data in new unrelenting ways

Stealthy, sometime long-term cyber-espionage attacks to steal sensitive proprietary information – what some now call “advanced persistent threats” (APT) – have become a top worry for businesses.

Last week the Security for Business Innovation Council, a group of 16 security leaders from companies that include eBay, Coca-Cola Company, SAP, FedEx Corp., Johnson Johnson and Northrop Grumman, summed up their thoughts on APT in a report, saying this type of attack is forcing IT to rethink network security. “Tackling advanced persistent threats means giving up the idea it’s possible to protect everything. This is no longer realistic.”

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Ballpark espionage? Blue Jays deny charges of sign stealing

Ballpark espionage? Blue Jays deny charges of sign stealingEver since reinventing himself as one of the top sluggers in baseball last season, Jose Bautista(notes) has faced questions over whether his power surge received any special help.

Now, he and his fellow Toronto Blue Jays hitters are being confronted with new accusations regarding their collective success at Rogers Centre.

An ESPN The Magazine and Outside the Lines report talked to several players from an opposing team who believe that Blue Jays batters have benefited from someone — a mysterious “man in white” — who relayed signs to them from center field, signaling what opposing pitchers are about to throw.

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Report on ‘Operation Shady RAT’ identifies widespread cyber-spying

Other targets included the networks of the International Olympic Committee, the United Nations secretariat, a U.S. Energy Department lab, and a dozen U.S. defense firms, according to a report released Wednesday by McAfee, a security firm that monitors network intrusions around the world.

McAfee said hundreds of other servers have been used by the same adversary, which the company did not identify.

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