Law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, citing lapses in compliance with surveillance orders, are pushing to overhaul a federal law that requires phone and broadband carriers to ensure that their networks can be wiretapped, federal officials say.
The officials say tougher legislation is needed because some telecommunications companies in recent years have begun new services and made system upgrades that create technical obstacles to surveillance. They want to
increase legal incentives and penalties aimed at pushing carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast
to ensure that any network changes will not disrupt their ability to conduct wiretaps. (
more) (
sing-a-long)
via The New York Times…
Huang Kexue, federal authorities say, is a new kind of spy.
For five years, Mr. Huang was a scientist at a Dow Chemical lab in Indiana, studying ways to improve insecticides. But before he was fired in 2008, Mr. Huang began sharing Dow’s secrets with Chinese researchers, authorities say, then obtained grants from a state-run foundation in China with the goal of starting a rival business there…
Law enforcement officials say the kind of spying Mr. Huang is accused of represents a new front in the battle for a global economic edge. As China and other countries broaden their efforts to obtain Western technology, American industries beyond the traditional military and high-tech targets risk having valuable secrets exposed by their own employees, court records show.
Rather than relying on dead drops and secret directions from government handlers, the new trade in business secrets seems much more opportunistic, federal prosecutors say, and occurs in loose, underground markets throughout the world.
Prosecutors say it is difficult to prove links to a foreign government, but intelligence officials say China, Russia and Iran are among the countries pushing hardest to obtain the latest technologies.
“In the new global economy, our businesses are increasingly targets for theft,” said Lanny A. Breuer, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s criminal division. “In order to stay a leader in innovation, we’ve got to protect these trade secrets.” (more)
If you still don’t have a counterespionage strategy, or your current one isn’t working, call me. ~ Kevin
The down side of social not-working…
Many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information—in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
The issue affects tens of millions of Facebook app users, including people who set their profiles to Facebook’s strictest privacy settings. (more)
More than 70,000 telephones in Turkey are currently officially under electronic surveillance, daily Radikal reported Sunday.
Radikal said it was the first media institution to have visited the Telecommunications Directorate, or TÄ°B, in Ankara, the institution responsible for installing and maintaining telephone surveillance by court order.
Exactly 71,538 telephones have been tapped by TÄ°B through court orders, among which 65 percent have ostensibly been tapped to gather intelligence on terrorism and organized crime, Radikal reported.
Wiretaps for the purpose of gathering intelligence can be requested by intelligence institutions to prevent crimes from being committed.
The remaining 35 percent of surveillance is being carried out because of
strong suspicions that a crime has been committed and no other way to obtain evidence. (
more)
A spies-in-action comedy (based on a graphic novel), populated by terrific actors and blessed with a consistently funny and occasionally hilarious script, however implausible. The acronym RED stands for “Retired, Extremely Dangerous” and refers to Frank Moses (Bruce Willis).
A retired CIA “black ops” agent, Frank is so bored in his suburban home that he keeps calling a Social Security clerk, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) in Kansas City, pretending his check didn’t come, just to chat. When masked Ninja-like assassins break into his home, Frank demolishes them, then heads to Kansas City to protect Sarah, knowing their calls have been tapped. (more) (trailer)
