Counterintelligence News for the week of: Feburary 4-10, 2007

Counterintelligence News for the week of:

February 4-10, 2007

A tall, elusive Russian and a cup of poison tea

Yuri Felshtinsky well remembers when he spent the better part of five hours pleading for the life of his friend Alexander Litvinenko. It was May 22, 2000. Litvinenko, a colonel in the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, had just spent four months in prison, having gone public with allegations that senior secret police officers were involved in killings and kidnappings for financial gain….(LA Times, 10 Jan 07)

Inquiry on Intelligence Gaps May Reach to White House

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Friday that he would ask current and former White House aides to testify about a report by the Pentagon’s inspector general that criticizes the Pentagon for compiling “alternative intelligence” that made the case for invading Iraq….(New York Times, 10 Feb 07)

Ex-Coca-Cola worker is jailed as flight risk

Joya Williams, who was convicted of conspiring to steal trade secrets from Coca-Cola Co., was sent to jail because of concerns that she could be a flight risk….(AP, 10 Feb 07)

Intelligence Official: Chinese Snoop on German Companies

The Internet's increasingly being used as a tool for industry espionage. Germany's domestic intelligence service has warned the country's companies that China is increasingly using electronic espionage to get trade secrets. "We have noticed increased activities by Chinese hackers of late," Elmar Remberg, the vice president of Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution told the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper....(Deutsche Welle, 9 Feb 07)

Mole in VSNL owns up to spying

...In what is now emerging as a case of alleged corporate espionage involving two of India’s largest conglomerates, the personal assistant to the Managing Director of Tata-owned telecom giant VSNL has told police that he received Rs 40,000 from a vice president of rival Reliance Communications to pass on “confidential information through e-mail and hard copy”….(Hindustan Times, 9 Feb 07)

Air Force activates intelligence pipeline

The Air Force has moved one step closer to intelligence integration by activating the first parts of the Distributed Common Ground Systems’ (DCGS) Integrated Backbone, known as the DIB. The DIB will provide a pipeline on DOD’s Secret IP Router Network to enable military officials worldwide to locate, share and analyze imagery from manned and unmanned systems, in real time….(FCW, 9 Feb 07)

Mumbai police ask for help from MSN, Yahoo

The Mumbai police will shortly be asking net-based e-mail service providers MSN and Yahoo to track down the mailing history of VSNL employee Prashant Indulkar, who has been accused of leaking crucial information to a rival company…..(Business Standard, 9 Feb 07)

Accused in VSNL espionage case remanded

In the latest development on the VSNL espionage case, accused Prashant Indulkar - Secretary to VSNL's MD, was presented before the magistrate's court and his bail application has been rejected….(Money Control, 9 Feb 07)

Corporate spy claim

A former employee of VSNL, now run by the Tatas, has claimed that he has received money from “contacts” allegedly linked to Reliance Communications for passing on confidential corporate information. Prashant Indulkar, a former secretary to the VSNL managing director….(Telegraph India, 9 Feb 07)

Feds want Coke secrets thief jailed now

…The prosecutors believe Joya Williams is a flight risk because she is in debt, has allegedly threatened witnesses and was home when a fire broke out in her apartment about an hour after her Feb. 2 conviction. Williams, who faces a maximum 10 years in prison for trying to sell Coca-Cola secrets to Pepsi for $1.5 million, showed up at the courthouse Friday morning for her 10 a.m. hearing…..(Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9 Feb 07)

Tech experts plot to catch identity thieves

The topic of data protection stole the show at the RSA Conference on computer security here this week. Identity theft and corporate espionage were dominant themes among the 15,000 attendees. And with good reason. Data are the new currency of the Internet age for legitimate — and illegitimate — businesses….(USA Today, 9 Feb 07)

Russia Says Britain Delays Response on Litvinenko Poisoning Probe

…Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said the prosecutor general’s office sent a request Jan. 8 asking permission to send investigators to London, where Russian prosecutors have said they want to visit several sites and question about 100 people, including outspoken Putin foe Boris Berezovsky….(MosNews, 9 Feb 07)

Kremlin seeks deal for return of Putin critics

The Kremlin has linked its co-operation in solving the murder of Alexander Litvinenko to British help in extraditing exiled critics of President Putin. Russian officials demanded that Boris Berezovsky, a billionaire businessman, and the Chechen separatist envoy Akhmed Zakayev should be sent back….(Times, 9 Feb 07)

Spain to hand judge documents on secret CIA flights

…The documents, which include details of flights that stopped off on the islands of Mallorca and Tenerife, will be handed to High Court Judge Ismael Moreno who is investigating whether suspects flown via Spain were held illegally or were tortured…..(Reuters, 9 Feb 07)

U.S. won't react yet to German CIA warrants

…"We were told that they (the Americans) would not be processing the request for the moment due to a civil complaint filed against the responsible people at the CIA," chief prosecutor in the Bavarian state capital Munich, August Stern, told Reuters in an interview…..(Reuters, 9 Feb 07)

Iran ‘uncovers’ CIA, Israeli spy network

Iran’s intelligence minister said on Thursday the government had detected a network of US and Israeli spies, and detained a second of people who planned to go abroad for espionage training, state television reported. But the minister, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, did not say any members of the US-Israeli network had been arrested..…(Daily Times, 9 Feb 07)

Ex-Agent Ties Firing to CIA Pressure on WMD

A federal judge has ruled that a CIA agent identified only as "Doe," allegedly fired after he gathered prewar intelligence showing that Iraq was not developing weapons of mass destruction, can proceed with his lawsuit against the CIA....(US News, 9 Feb 07)

2007 Intelligence Authorization Bill Advances in Senate

The 2007 intelligence authorization bill was approved without amendment on February 8 by the Senate Armed Services Committee with a recommendation that it be passed into law…..(Secrecy News, 9 Feb 07)

Official's Key Report On Iraq Is Faulted

Intelligence provided by former undersecretary of defense Douglas J. Feith to buttress the White House case for invading Iraq included "reporting of dubious quality or reliability" that supported the political views of senior administration officials rather than the conclusions of the intelligence community, according to a report by the Pentagon's inspector general. Feith's office "was predisposed to finding a significant relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda," according to portions of the report…..(Washington Post, 9 Feb 07)

Summary: Inspector General’s Review of Pre-Iraqi War Activities by DOD Personnel

Spyware, data privacy bills reappear in House

…House leaders on Thursday introduced a bill that would once again try to impose 31 pages of regulations on the software industry in an effort to define what types of activities are permissible and which ones aren't….(CNet, 9 Feb 07)

Judge To Decide Whether NSA Spy Suit Continues

…At issue is whether the U.S. government was within the law to monitor domestic phone calls and other communication originating from parties outside the United States in an effort to quash terrorist activities. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has since said the Bush administration will reverse its stance on domestic spying….(Information Week, 9 Feb 07)

An ‘Intolerable Prospect' Is Being Studied by Spies

…The study, contracted out last fall by the National Intelligence Council, the panel that brokers national intelligence estimates, will examine the implications of Iran developing nuclear weapons and whether a nuclear Iran would prompt Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Arab allies of America to pursue their own nuclear programs….(New York Times, 9 Feb 07)

Pentagon Group Criticized for Prewar Intelligence Analysis

A Pentagon investigation into the handling of prewar intelligence has criticized civilian Pentagon officials for conducting their own intelligence analysis to find links between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, but said the officials did not violate any laws or mislead Congress….(New York Times, 9 Feb 07)

Siemens launches anti-spy phones

…The Gigaset SL965 DECT handset includes a digital signal processor with 3072-bit Public Key encryption, leading to 'interception proof conversations', according to the company. 'The public keys are newly created with each call and shredded after each call,' explained Nicholas Ord, vice president of innovation at Siemens….(IT Pro, 9 Feb 07)

Prosecution Rests Case In Libby's Perjury Trial

…Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald concluded the prosecution's portion of the trial after 11 days in which he laid out for jurors a chronological narrative -- of a volatile period inside in the White House in 2003 -- that was sometimes dry but provided tantalizing glimpses into the worlds of President Bush's closest advisers and an elite tier of Washington journalists…..(Washington Post, 9 Feb 07)

Audio: Libby's March 5, 2004 Grand Jury Testimony

Russert hurts Libby's defense

…"Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert struck at the heart of former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's defense against perjury charges Wednesday when he testified that he never gave Libby information about the wife of an Iraq war critic….(LA Times, 8 Feb 07)

Iran may launch its own spy satellite

Is Iran about to put a spy in the sky? The Israeli Debka.com Web site, which maintains a wide circle of sources within Israeli intelligence, has claimed that Tehran may soon launch its own surveillance satellite….(UPI, 8 Feb 07)

Italy Asks U.S. for Judicial Cooperation

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the United States to cooperate on judicial matters after a court indicted a U.S. soldier for the fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence agent at a checkpoint in Baghdad….(AP, 8 Feb 07)

Italy says diplomatic spat with U.S. closed

Italy said on Thursday a diplomatic row with Washington, caused by what Rome said was an attempt by the United States to interfere in its foreign policy, was over…The U.S. envoy last week signed an open letter in an Italian newspaper calling for greater support for the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Ambassadors of five other nations also signed it….(Reuters, 8 Feb 07)

Russert Says He Didn't Tell Libby About CIA Officer
…Testifying as the final, and perhaps most critical, prosecution witness in the perjury trial of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Russert recounted their conversation that July and how a "very agitated" Libby called to complain about MSNBC's "Hardball."…(Washington Post, 8 Feb 07)

At Libby Trial, Russert of NBC Gives and Gets

….(New York Times, 8 Feb 07)

FSB agents 'offered to kill' ex-spy Litvinenko

Alexander Litvinenko was a traitor who would have deserved execution in Soviet times, his former chief in Russia’s security service said last night. Alexander Gusak accused Litvinenko of helping British secret services unmask Russian spies after he fled to London from Moscow. He claimed that furious agents considered assassinating him in revenge. “I consider him a direct traitor because he betrayed what is most sacred for any operative — his operational sources….(Times, 8 Feb 07)

Egypt questions alleged spy's Canadian citizenship

Egypt's ambassador to Canada says his government wants proof an Egyptian being held in a Cairo prison on charges of spying for Israel is a Canadian citizen…"Our information is that he came to Canada in 2003," El Saeed said in a telephone interview. "Is this normal that someone, in the span of three years, will become a citizen?...He also said Israel's fresh denials about the alleged spying plot ring false. "With all due respect we are used to these denials from Israel," he said. "Better than calling it nonsense, and accusing Egypt of spreading false and spectacular sorts of accusations, is to rein in the activities of Mossad,"...(CanWest, 8 Feb 07)

China Snooping On German Companies: Report

China is using electronic espionage to snoop on Germany companies, the deputy head of Germany's domestic intelligence service said. "We have noticed increased activities by Chinese hackers of late,"…(DPA, 8 Feb 07)

15 people test positive for poison

…The radioactive substance, which caused the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, has been linked to members of the public who frequented the same areas as him on November 1, the day he fell ill….(Guardian, 8 Feb 07)

Ex-spy branded traitor

…Alexander Gusak said Litvinenko helped British secret services unmask Russian spies after he fled to London from Moscow and would have deserved execution under Soviet rule, the Times of London said. Gusak said further there was talk of assassinating him in revenge….(UPI, 8 Feb 07)

RCOM man quizzed on VSNL data leak

The Mumbai police on Wednesday interrogated a Reliance Communications (RCOM) official in connection with alleged espionage at the Tata Group-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL), a police officer told ET….(Economic Times, 8 Feb 07)

To Shred or Not to Shred

…But Dumpster diving is a favorite technique, and it's often legal, which creates the need to shred wisely. Here are a few best practices you can share with colleagues. Trash is not inherently private. In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans do not have a right to privacy regarding trash. The Economic Espionage Act of 1996, which made it a federal offense to steal trade information, doesn't protect firms that fail to take reasonable steps to protect data…..(PC World, 8 Feb 07)

More poisoned in Russian spy case

Two more people have tested positive for polonium 210, the radioactive substance which caused the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. Public health officials today announced that the total number of people testing positive and now facing health risks stands at 15….(Telegraph, 8 Feb 07)

Iran says CIA, Mossad spy ring detected

Iran's intelligence minister said Thursday the government had detected a network of US and Israeli spies, and detained a second group of people who planned to go abroad for espionage training, state television reported....(AP/ Jerusalem Post, 8 Feb 07)

CIA employee remembered as go-getter

…Ms. Yost's promising career at the CIA was cut short by a traffic accident in Virginia, when she stepped off a curb Jan. 17 and was struck by a car. Ms. Yost, 25, died of her injuries Jan. 26….(MLive, 8 Feb 07)

100 U.S., Israeli spies on Iranian border, says Iran

…"One hundred people who were directly working for the US and Israeli intelligence, who were intending to collect political and military information were identified and are now in our intelligence net," Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency….(Malaysia Sun, 8 Feb 07)

Gunmen kill Pakistani intelligence official
Suspected militants on a motorbike shot and killed a Pakistani intelligence official in a semi-autonomous tribal region in the country's northwest….(Reuters, 8 Feb 07)

Senate panel backs Negroponte

A U.S. Senate panel on Thursday approved the nomination of John Negroponte, the outgoing director of national intelligence, to become deputy secretary of state, sending the nomination to the full Senate….(Reuters, 8 Feb 07)

Deconstructing Alger Hiss

The reasonably certain authenticity of the Venona telegrams has provided historians with the opportunity to move beyond the tired old debates about Woodstock typewriters in the Hiss case and simply ask: Why did Hiss steal American secrets and pass them on to Stalin's intelligence service?....(Front Page, 8 Feb 07)

Lost Computer Tapes Had Details on 135,000 Workers, Patients

Personal data on about 135,000 Johns Hopkins employees and patients were lost last month, the university announced yesterday, when a contractor did not return backup computer tapes from the hospital and the university payroll….(Washington Post, 8 Feb 07)

Accused spy spent 2 years with CIBC

The Egyptian-Canadian accused of working as an Israeli spy toiled until recently as a low-level employee at a CIBC branch in downtown Toronto, Canadian sources knowledgeable about the case have told The Globe and Mail. Before he was arrested in Cairo this year, Mohamed Essam Ghoneim el-Attar, 31, worked for about two years at the bank, sources said, without revealing the specific branch….(Globe & Mail, 7 Feb 07)

Story of Israeli spy in Toronto 'nonsense,' Israel says

…Both the Israeli public security minister and Israeli's ambassador to Canada said Tuesday that the allegations against Mohamed Essam Ghoneim el-Attar are not true. El-Attar, who is a dual citizen of Egypt and Canada, was arrested in January in Cairo and charged with spying….(CBC, 7 Feb 07)

The spying game: The latest gadgets for spooks

…The biggest growth area in hi-tech spying involves what the professionals call "data mining", usually carried out by technically minded agents at places like GCHQ in Cheltenham….(Belfast Telegraph, 7 Feb 07)

McConnell approved as spy chief

…The nomination was approved without dissent, one day after the 15-member Senate Select Committee on Intelligence unanimously endorsed McConnell's candidacy to be the second U.S. director of national intelligence…..(Reuters, 7 Feb 07)

Pentagon Inspector General to release investigation into secretive pre-war Iraq intelligence group

…According to sources close to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the classified version of the Pentagon IG's report will be released to committee members Friday. Two to three declassified pages may also be concurrently released to the public….(Op Ed, 7 Feb 07)

Incoming Intelligence Chief Plans To Ease Hiring of Arab Americans

The incoming director of national intelligence, retired Navy Vice Adm. John M. McConnell, plans to change security rules to make it easier for intelligence agencies to hire first-generation Arab Americans for highly sensitive jobs. These rules, dating from World War II, limit intelligence agencies' ability to employ first-generation Americans "who might have native language capabilities from serving in some of these very sensitive positions in the intelligence community" and hinder efforts to deal with radical Islam…(Washington Post, 7 Feb 07)

Czechs, Slovaks agree to divide counter-intelligence archives

The Slovak and Czech defense ministers yesterday signed an agreement dividing the archives of the former federal military counter-intelligence. The move comes more than 14 years after the breakup of Czechoslovakia….(Prague Monitor, 7 Feb 07)

New twist in Japanese `espionage' case

A former engineering officer of the Defense Ministry's Technical Research and Development Institute has told police he met with an unidentified Chinese man in Beijing together with a Japanese acquaintance in December 2001, about 21 months after he allegedly illegally removed from the then Defense Agency a copy of his treatise on steel used in Maritime Self-Defense Force submarines…(Yomiuri Shimbun, 7 Feb 07)

Italy to Try U.S. Soldier for Agent's Death

…A Rome judge ordered on Wednesday a U.S. soldier to stand trial on homicide charges for shooting dead an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq in 2005 as he was escorting a newly freed hostage to safety…Mario Lozano of the U.S. Army's 69th Infantry Regiment was charged with voluntary homicide for shooting Nicola Calipari at a checkpoint near Baghdad airport….(Reuters, 7 Feb 07)

Police see espionage in VSNL staff arrest
The Mumbai police are investigating a case of corporate espionage after they arrested an employee of Tata-owned VSNL, suspecting him of leaking crucial information to a rival telecom company…..(Business Standard, 7 Feb 07)

Libby on tape speaks of plans to leak intelligence

…As Libby sat silently in the courtroom, jurors heard his voice describe how he was instructed to leak intelligence secrets to select reporters, even as other White House officials were expressing concern over the leaks and debating whether the administration should formally declassify intelligence reports on Iraq to combat criticism of the case for war….(Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb 07)

Libby Speaks on Tape, but May Not in Court

…Theodore V. Wells Jr., Mr. Libby’s chief lawyer, filed a motion with the court on Monday evening asking about the consequences of keeping his client off the stand…Judge Reggie B. Walton had asserted earlier in the trial that Mr. Libby’s “faulty memory” defense would require that he take the stand to testify about his distractions…(New York Times, 7 Feb 07)

Released Romanian workers returned from Iraq
Two Romanian workers who were retained for suspected espionage activities in Iraq and later released returned home on Tuesday. The two were retained for taking pictures in a US military base near Baghdad but were freed last week after the news broke in the Romanian media, leading to the resignation of Foreign minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu….(Hot News, 7 Feb 07)

Gunmen kill intelligence agent, wound driver in northwestern Pakistan

Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a car carrying an intelligence agent in a restive tribal area of northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing the agent and wounding his driver before fleeing…(AP, 7 Feb 07)

Head of Istanbul police intelligence department dismissed

… Ahmet Ilhan Guler, the head of Istanbul police intelligence department, was removed from his position late Monday after being questioned for two days by investigators over claims his office had received information that Dink was to be killed…..(MSNBC, 7 Feb 07)

Court Hears Libby Describe Cheney as 'Upset' at Critic
Vice President Cheney and other senior White House officials regarded a former ambassador's accusations that President Bush misled the nation in going to war in Iraq as an unparalleled political assault and, early in the summer of 2003, held daily discussions about how to debunk them, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby told a federal grand jury…..(Washington Post, 7 Feb 07)

Toronto spy confessed, Egypt says

…Mohamed Essam Ghoneim el-Attar, a 31-year-old Egyptian native who reportedly has Canadian citizenship, was arrested Jan. 1 in Cairo. Human rights activists called for an independent review of the allegations, in light of Egypt's record on using torture to obtain confessions. "Any time there is an indication that someone has so readily confessed to something while in detention in Egypt, there is a need for real caution," said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada….(The Star, 6 Feb 07)

Pakistani Taliban Kill Two Accused "U.S. Spies"

Suspected pro-Taliban militants killed two men they accused of being U.S. spies in a Pakistani region near the Afghan border, residents said on Tuesday. It was the second such incident in the North Waziristan region since late last week….(Reuters, 6 Feb 07)

Chinese suspected of hacking into MoD networks

…The MoD yesterday confirmed its systems have been hacked into at least nine times since 2002. Five of the successful "attacks" took place last year...The ministry was unable to say where the attacks originated, but Western security officials are increasingly concerned that China is using hackers to target sensitive information.…(Scotsman, 6 Feb 07)

'Floodgates of Fraud' at Spy Satellite Agency

The "floodgates of fraud reporting" have opened at the National Reconnaissance Office, the nation's top-secret builder and operator of spy satellites…Whether they're eavesdropping on al Qaeda communications or photographing Iranian nuclear facilities, these are the crown jewels of the U.S. intelligence community. But the current generation of spy satellites is burning out–and replacements are years away….(US News, 6 Feb 07)

ORNL scores hit with National Geospatial Intelligence Agency

…A pilot test of the system, which uses radio frequency technology to tag and identify people and equipment, was so successful at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency's Washington Navy Yard that ORNL was asked to install a system at the agency's facility in St. Louis….(Innovations, 6 Feb 07)

Water Deal Illuminates Secret Contracts

CIA officers operating in northern Iraq bought drinking water from a bottling plant there for years prior to the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. That changed soon afterward. A CIA officer handling logistics for the Middle East and other regions recommended that an American company provide water and other supplies…(AP, 6 Feb 07)

Russian exile to meet with investigators from Moscow in Litvinenko case

…In what he said was his first newspaper interview since the British police handed a dossier on the case to the Crown Prosecution Service last week, Berezovsky said, however, that he would only talk to Russian investigators if they met various conditions, including being searched for weapons and poisons….(AP, 6 Feb 07)

Exiled Tycoon Says Poisoned Agent Litvinenko Named Lugovoi as Suspect

…(Boris) Berezovsky, a leading Kremlin critic who lives in exile in Britain, said in a BBC interview he was willing to speak to Russian and British authorities about the death of Litvinenko, whom he described as a friend who once saved his life….(MosNews, 6 Feb 07)

Russia: Berezovsky Breaks Silence On Litvinenko

…Natalya Golitsyna, the London correspondent for RFE/RL's Russian Service, spoke on February 6 to Berezovsky about his claims that Litvinenko himself implicated a fellow former security officer, Andrei Lugovoi, in his poisoning….(RFE/RL, 6 Feb 07)

Moscow Diary: The Litvinenko saga

In the first installment of a fortnightly Moscow Diary the BBC's James Rodgers examines the impact of Alexander Litvinenko's mysterious death in London and its echoes of the Cold War. The Moscow murder squad may soon be on its way to London….(BBC, 6 Feb 07)

Berezovsky Wants to Speak to U.K. Police About Litvinenko Death

U.K.-based Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky said he wants to speak to U.K. police about the death of a friend, the Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko….(Bloomberg, 6 Feb 07)

Marina Litvinenko Writes Putin

The widow of former security services agent Alexander Litvinenko has written a letter to President Vladimir Putin with a plea to solve the killing. In the letter, Marina Litvinenko warns that if Putin does not help British authorities find the killers, she will assume he must "have something to hide."….(Moscow Times, 6 Feb 06)

Litvinenko friend breaks silence

…Mr Berezovsky said Mr Litvinenko, whose body contained radioactive polonium-210, had told him: "I think Lugovoi is involved in my poison." UK police sources have told the BBC Mr Lugovoi was the "most likely poisoner", but he has denied any involvement. On Sunday, Russian detectives investigating Mr Litvinenko's death asked the Home Office for permission to come to the UK to question Russian exiles in London including Mr Berezovsky….(BBC, 6 Feb 07)

Russian: Spy Accused Contact of Poisoning

A former Russian security agent who was fatally poisoned by a rare radioactive isotope accused a contact he met hours before falling ill of being involved in the poisoning, according to Russian billionaire and fierce Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky…..(AP, 6 Feb 07)

Rights Group Gives Award To Eight Vietnamese Dissidents

…Among the recipients of the prize are Nguyen Vu Binh, 38, who is serving an eight-year sentence for espionage over his contacts with overseas pro-democracy groups, and Nguyen Van Dai, 38, a human-rights lawyer who was arrested and questioned by police over the weekend before being released….(DPA, 6 Feb 07)

"Data Protectionists Can't Relax Yet"

The German Federal Court of Justice has ruled that computers cannot be searched without their owners knowledge. DW-WORLD.DE spoke to security expert Jürgen Schmidt…(Deutsche Welle, 6 Feb 07)

Prodi, Berlusconi won't testify over CIA "kidnap"

Prime Minister Romano Prodi and his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi will not be called to testify on behalf of Italy's former spy chief, who is accused of helping the CIA kidnap a terrorism suspect…Prosecutors want to try 26 Americans, most believed to be CIA agents, for grabbing Muslim cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr off a Milan street in 2003 and flying him to Egypt…(Reuters, 6 Feb 07)

Jurors Listen to Libby's Grand Jury Tapes
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby told a grand jury in 2004 that Vice President Cheney did not encourage him to provide information about an undercover CIA officer to the media, but Libby also said he did not believe that the information was secret and had to be safeguarded, according to audiotapes of Libby's testimony played in court yesterday….(Washington Post, 6 Feb 07)

Who watches the watchers in surveillance society?

…the advent of "intelligent video" -- software that raises the alarm if something on camera appears amiss -- means Big Brother will soon be able to keep a more constant watch, a prospect that is sure to heighten privacy concerns. Combining motion detection technology with the learning capabilities of video game software, these new systems can detect people loitering, walking in circles or leaving a package….(Reuters, 6 Feb 07)

Senate seeks intelligence hub to shield satellites

Congress is calling for the creation of a new National Space Intelligence Center to better spy on space-based and other threats to U.S. military, intelligence and commercial satellites. A provision of the Senate intelligence authorization bill for fiscal 2007 would require the Bush administration to set up the new center within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The plan was disclosed in a little-noticed section of committee's report on the bill made public Jan. 24. The report stated that threats to U.S. satellites are increasing, a fact highlighted by China's recent test of an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile interceptor that destroyed a Chinese weather satellite….(Washington Times, 6 Feb 07)

Senate committee recommends McConnell as spy chief

A U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday endorsed the nomination of retired Navy Adm. Mike McConnell as President George W. Bush's top intelligence adviser….(Reuters, 6 Feb 07)

Government Wants Coca-Cola Spy Jailed

The government said in court papers Tuesday it believes a former Coca-Cola secretary convicted of conspiring to steal trade secrets from the beverage giant should be jailed immediately because she poses a flight risk….(AP, 6 Feb 07)

The Poor Fellows in Iraq Diversion

…the real reason of the President’s angriness, the fact that the politicians said that the Electrician and the Carpenter, the two Romanians detained in Iraq, were members of the Romanian Secret Services….(Jurnalul, 6 Feb 07)

U.S. Mulls Russia Spy Manager

Retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Michael McConnell told his Senate confirmation hearing that he would focus more attention on Russia and on the risks of foreign-oil dependence as U.S. director of national intelligence….(Moscow Times, 5 Feb 07)

VA Hard Drive With Personal Data Missing

A portable hard drive that may contain the personal information of up to 48,000 veterans may have been stolen, the Department of Veterans Affairs and a lawmaker said Friday….(AP, 5 Feb 07)

Egypt Asks Interpol to Arrest 3 Israelis

…Egypt's state security prosecutor on Saturday charged a 26-year-old Egyptian and three Israelis with spying for Israel and harming national interests. Authorities arrested the Egyptian, Mohammed al-Attar, on Jan. 1 after he returned to Cairo from abroad. The three Israelis remain at large, and Egypt's prosecutor general has instructed the Interior Ministry to request Interpol to arrest them…(AP, 5 Feb 07)

Canada questions Egypt over spy allegations

…"We are in contact with our embassy in Cairo and we are investigating," said Foreign Affairs spokesman Bernard Nguyen. Nguyen said there was no confirmation that any of the men identified in news reports are dual citizens, which would entitle them to Canadian consular assistance, or whether any of them are at large in Canada, as indicated in some news reports….(CanWest, 5 Feb 07)

German court bans police use of spy software for suspects

Police use of spy software was banned Monday in a landmark decision by Germany's High Court, which said legislation would be needed to enable covert examination of suspects' computers….(DPA, 5 Feb 07)

Portugal Probes Alleged CIA Flights

Portugal's attorney general is opening a criminal investigation into claims that CIA flights, some of them allegedly carrying terror suspects, made stopovers in the country, the state-owned news agency reported on Monday….(AP, 5 Feb 07)

In Another CIA Abduction, Germany Has an Uneasy Role

The decision by Munich prosecutors to press charges against CIA counterterrorism operatives for kidnapping a German citizen, Khaled el-Masri, won widespread applause last week from German politicians and the public… But there has been an awkward silence and no prosecutions in the parallel case of another German citizen, Mohammed Haydar Zammar, who was also covertly abducted in a CIA-sponsored mission after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001…(Washington Post, 5 Feb 07)

Judge to Hear Arguments on Libby Tapes

…A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Monday morning on whether to release Libby's tapes after they are played in court. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald successfully fought to enter the tapes into evidence and plans to play about eight hours of Libby's closed-door testimony regarding the leak of a CIA operative's name….(AP, 5 Feb 07)

Spies File A Dissent On Qaeda

In a division reminiscent of the intelligence debates before the Iraq war, America's war fighters and satellite imagery experts have issued a formal dissent on one of the National Intelligence Estimate's most important judgments….(New York Sun, 5 Feb 07)

Canada investigates espionage arrest in Egypt

Diplomats are trying to find out more, while security officials are staying mum about a man with a Canadian connection arrested in Egypt and charged with spying for Israel. Mohamed Essam Ghoneim el-Attar was detained in Cairo last month, but the charges against him -- and three alleged Israeli cohorts -- were not made public until the weekend…Egyptian authorities say el-Attar, a one-time student at Al-Azhar University, left his homeland in 2001 for Turkey, where he was allegedly recruited by Israeli agents….(Canadian Press, 4 Feb 07)

Vice President's Shadow Hangs Over Trial

...On Libby's return, Martin testified in federal court last week, he brought a card with detailed replies dictated by Cheney, including a highly partisan, incomplete summary of Wilson's investigation into Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction program….(Washington Post, 4 Feb 07)

Gov't Balks at Phone Privacy Provision

Federal regulators working on rules to secure the calling records and other private information of telephone customers are running into resistance from phone companies and law enforcement agencies….(AP, 4 Feb 07)

Litvinenko Investigators Hope to Travel to Britain

The Prosecutor General's Office said Sunday that it hoped to receive permission as early as next week to send investigators to Britain to probe the poisoning death of former security agent Alexander Litvinenko. Prosecutors want to question Kremlin critic and self-exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky, among others….(Moscow Times, 4 Feb 07)

Libby Prosecutors Hope to Show Marked News Articles

The day of his interview with the FBI, Vice President Cheney's then-top aide hand-marked copies of two Washington Post articles about the breadth of a criminal leak investigation -- and underlined were passages suggesting that any official who had told reporters about a CIA officer could be in legal jeopardy, prosecutors said in court filings yesterday. Government prosecutors argued that the October 2003 articles -- stored in former chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's personal folders, and printed from the Internet at his request -- show that Libby had a motive to lie about his secret conversations with reporters and knew that he could be in trouble….(Washington Post 4 Feb 07)

Lawmaker Aide Charged for Spying

Prosecutors nabbed a former assistant to a lawmaker on charges of spying for North Korea. He is the sixth man to be charged in a growing espionage case that first erupted last year. The man, identified only as Park, has been questioned by the prosecution since Thursday….(Korea Times, 4 Feb 07)

Russians Hope to Probe Spy Case in U.K.

…Russian prosecutors have asked to send a team to Britain to make inquiries in the poisoning case, which has damaged the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government. The Prosecutor General's Office has received no official response but hopes for approval soon, possibly Monday or Tuesday, a spokesman told The Associated Press.…(AP, 4 Jan 07)