BEIRUT: An Egyptian man living in Lebanon has confessed to spying for Israel after he and his Lebanese wife were arrested over the weekend.
The couple, who have lived in Hasbaya, southeast Lebanon for 20 years according to As-Safir newspaper, had been under surveillance for some time, a statement from the Internal Security Forces said Monday.
The man, identified by As-Safir as Ibrahim S., confessed to working with Israeli intelligence since 1999, according to the ISF statement, and said he had entered Israel three times.
He also confessed that his wife knew he had been working with Israeli intelligence.
Authorities discovered what they said were spying and communication devices, including a cellphone with an Israeli SIM card inside Ibrahim’s house.
As-Safir reported Monday that Ibrahim has worked at several laundries in Hasbaya, Beirut and border towns.
They said Ibrahim crossed into Israel during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and worked there over a substantial period of time.
Investigations are ongoing.
According to Lebanese sources, the suspect, identified as Ibrahim S., has confessed to spying for Tel Aviv and that sophisticated espionage equipments, including a satellite device and an Israeli SIM card, were found in his apartment.
Ibrahim’s wife, a Lebanese national, was also arrested on suspicion of involvement in his espionage activities against Beirut.
Ibrahim, 55, has lived in Hasbaya, southeast Lebanon, for the past 20 years. He was apprehended on Saturday and is currently under interrogation.
Security sources said Ibrahim crossed into Israel during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and worked there for years.
In April 2009, Lebanon, which has technically been in a state of war with Israel, launched a nationwide crackdown on Israeli spy cells arresting nearly 100 people, including members of the country’s security forces and telecommunications personnel, on suspicion of espionage for Mossad.
A number of the suspects have admitted to their role in helping Israel identify targets inside Lebanon, mostly belonging to Hezbollah, which Tel Aviv heavily bombed during its 2006 war against the country.
The most high-profile arrest came in August after Fayez Karam, a former army general and Christian Party politician, was charged with spying for Israel.
Karam, who was in charge of the Lebanese army’s anti-terrorism and counter-espionage unit in the 1980s, has been accused of meeting Mossad agents outside Lebanon and giving them information in exchange for money and weapons.
If convicted, the spies will face life sentences with hard labor. Should they be found guilty of contributing to the loss of Lebanese lives, the agents will face the capital punishment.
HM/HGH/HJL
Security experts also warn about Russia, Israel and even France, which in the 1990s reportedly bugged first-class airplane cabins to capture business travelers’ conversations. Many other countries, including the United States, spy on one another for national security purposes.
But China’s brazen use of Âcyber-espionage stands out because the focus is often corporate, part of a broader government strategy to help develop the country’s economy, according to experts who advise American businesses and government agencies.
“I’ve been told that if you use an iPhone or BlackBerry, everything on it — contacts, calendar, e-mails — can be downloaded in a second. All it takes is someone sitting near you on a subway waiting for you to turn it on, and they’ve got it,” said Kenneth Lieberthal, a former senior White House official for Asia who is at the Brookings Institution.
Chinese government officials say cyber-spying is a problem in much of the world. “It’s advisable for all international travelers to take due precautions with their computers and cellphones,” embassy spokesman Wang Baodong said. “China is not less insecure than other countries.”
Some industrial cyber-espionage takes place in the U.S corporate world, experts say, but not nearly to the extent found in China. Also, the U.S. government reportedly does not conduct economic espionage on behalf of U.S. industry.
Travelers there often tote disposable cellphones and loaner laptops stripped of sensitive data. Some U.S. officials take no electronic gear. And a few corporate executives detour to Australia rather than risk talking business in a bugged Chinese hotel room.
Other travelers hide files on thumb drives, which they carry at all times and use only on off-line computers. One security expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid drawing scrutiny from the Chinese government, buys a new iPad for each visit, then never uses it again.
“It’s real easy for them [the Chinese] to read everything that goes in and out of the country because the government owns all the networks,” said Jody Westby, chief executive of Global Cyber Risk, a consulting firm.
“The real problem here is economic espionage,” she said. “There are countries where the search for economic information and high-value data is so aggressive that companies or people are very hesitant about taking their laptops to those countries.”
Business travelers began adopting such safety measures for China several years ago, experts say. On the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Joel Brenner, then the U.S. national counterintelligence executive, first issued government safety guidance to overseas travelers, with such tips as: “If you can do without the device, don’t take it.”
By MONA NAIR
6 News Reporter
WHITE PINE (WATE) – A man accused of taking pictures of women in a gas station restroom has been caught.
Police say David Ray Light, 60, has admitted to hiding in the stalls and taking photos of women at the Pilot Travel Center in White Pine in Jefferson County.
He told officers he’s also taken photos of women at gas station restrooms in Virginia and North Carolina.
Police aren’t sure exactly how many women were targeted in all.
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20 September 2011
Last updated at 11:04 ET
A report into the DigiNotar hack found a “severe breach” of the firm’s network
Dutch security firm DigiNotar has filed for voluntary bankruptcy following a series of attacks by a hacker.
The attackers penetrated DigiNotar’s internal systems and then issued fake security certificates so they could impersonate web firms.
The certificates are believed to have been used to eavesdrop on the Google email accounts of about 300,000 people.
The hacker behind the attacks claims to have penetrated four other firms that issue security certificates.
No tears
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