Tag Archives: espionage

The Guardian reports: Julian Assange’s long stay in the Ecuadorian embassy in London is having a “dangerous” impact on his physical and mental health, according to clinicians who carried out the most recent assessments of him. The pair renewed calls for the WikiLeaks publisher to be granted safe passage to a London hospital. Sondra Crosby, a doctor and associate professor …

The Wall Street Journal reports: U.S. counterintelligence officials in early 2017 warned Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, that Wendi Deng Murdoch, a prominent Chinese-American businesswoman, could be using her close friendship with Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to further the interests of the Chinese government, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. officials …

Politico reports: The suspected Russian hackers accused of breaching the Democratic National Committee and meddling in France’s presidential election are now targeting the U.S. Senate, according to new research. Since last June, the hacking group known as “Fancy Bear” has been setting up fake websites mimicking the Senate’s login server, hoping to trick Senate staffers into entering their credentials there, …

NBC News reports: In the weeks after he became the Republican nominee on July 19, 2016, Donald Trump was warned that foreign adversaries, including Russia, would probably try to spy on and infiltrate his campaign, according to multiple government officials familiar with the matter. The warning came in the form of a high-level counterintelligence briefing by senior FBI officials, the …

The Associated Press reports: While facing several felony charges, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been working on an op-ed essay with a longtime colleague “assessed to have ties” to a Russian intelligence service, according to court papers filed Monday by prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller. In the court filing, prosecutors say Manafort and the colleague …

Reuters reports: Russian intelligence agents attempted to spy on President Emmanuel Macron’s election campaign earlier this year by creating phony Facebook personas, according to a U.S. congressman and two other people briefed on the effort. About two dozen Facebook accounts were created to conduct surveillance on Macron campaign officials and others close to the centrist former financier as he sought …

The New York Times reports: Since May, hackers have been penetrating the computer networks of companies that operate nuclear power stations and other energy facilities, as well as manufacturing plants in the United States and other countries. Among the companies targeted was the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, which runs a nuclear power plant near Burlington, Kan., according to security …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration is moving toward handing back to Russia two diplomatic compounds, near New York City and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, that its officials were ejected from in late December as punishment for Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. President Barack Obama said Dec. 29 that the compounds were being “used by Russian personnel …

Foreign Policy reports: Donald Trump disclosure of top secret Israeli intelligence to top Russian officials during a meeting in the Oval Office is not without repercussions. On Wednesday, Israeli Defense chief Avigdor Lieberman said his country tweaked its intelligence-sharing protocols with the United States after Trump’s off-script remarks. “I can confirm that we did a spot repair and that there’s …

The Hill reports: Former Trump advisor Carter Page defended himself during a CNN appearance on Saturday, amidst mounting reports about his alleged contacts with Russian officials during the presidential campaign. “I was never, nothing I was ever asked to do or no information I was ever asked for, was anything beyond what you could see on CNN,” Page told CNN’s …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is registering as a foreign agent. Paul Manafort’s spokesman says he was in talks with the government about registering before the 2016 election and is now “taking appropriate steps” in response to “formal guidance” from the government. The spokesman says Manafort’s lobbying work was not conducted on behalf of the …

The Associated Press reports: CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem cited unnamed sources and the fact that Michael Flynn has not been called upon to testify under oath before the House Intelligence Committee as evidence that the former Trump adviser may have “cut a deal with the FBI.” “It’s not that interesting to me because I don’t think they’ll be under …

“In a fevered effort to try and force this outlandish claim into something remotely resembling––passably, perhaps, maybe––the truth, the White House appears willing to actually repeat another wild accusation that potentially could alienate our nation’s most important ally. Does smearing British intelligence make your family more safe? No? So why is the White House doing it? What is the White …

USA Today reports: Britain’s intelligence agency called allegations that it wiretapped President Trump during the U.S. election campaign, “utterly ridiculous” claims “that should be ignored.” The statement by the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which hardly ever responds to allegations about its spying activities, came after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer repeated a claim first made on Fox News in …

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department announced Wednesday the indictments of two Russian spies and two criminal hackers in connection with the heist of 500 million Yahoo user accounts in 2014, marking the first U.S. criminal cyber charges ever against Russian government officials. The indictments target two members of the Russian intelligence agency FSB, and two hackers hired by …

The New York Times reports: WikiLeaks on Tuesday released thousands of documents that it said described sophisticated software tools used by the Central Intelligence Agency to break into smartphones, computers and even Internet-connected televisions. If the documents are authentic, as appeared likely at first review, the release would be the latest coup for the anti-secrecy organization and a serious blow …

The Independent reports: Christopher Steele, the former MI6 spy who prepared the explosive Trump report, has been approached about testifying before the US Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into the new President’s alleged links with Russia, The Independent can reveal. Mr Steele’s friends say it is currently unlikely he would be willing to travel to the US. But it is understood …

The Washington Post reports: The former British spy who authored a controversial dossier on behalf of Donald Trump’s political opponents alleging ties between Trump and Russia reached an agreement with the FBI a few weeks before the election for the bureau to pay him to continue his work, according to several people familiar with the arrangement. The agreement to compensate …

The Observer reports: Out of worries about the White House’s ability to keep secrets, some of our spy agencies have begun withholding intelligence from the Oval Office. Why risk your most sensitive information if the president may ignore it anyway? A senior National Security Agency official explained that NSA was systematically holding back some of the “good stuff” from the …

Politico reports: The Trump administration on Thursday relaxed the sanctions that the Obama administration placed on a Russian spy agency in retaliation for its alleged cyberattacks. The “general license” issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control appears to authorize U.S. companies to continue requesting licenses from Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, to sell American technology products …