Five civil servants suspended over "DNA espionage'

Five civil servants who help run the national DNA database have been suspended after being accused of industrial espionage. It is alleged they copied confidential information and used it to set up a rival database in competition with their employers, the Government's Forensic Science Service. The FSS - which is suing the five men in the High Court - helps police investigate evidence from crimes and sells its services to commercial customers. It also maintains the controversial database containing DNA samples of almost four million people, the largest in the world. The men, all from the Birmingham area, are named on the writ as Azim Akhtar, his brother Zaheer Akhtar, Sultan Mahmood, Nisar Ahmed, and Athar Agha….(This is London, 31 Mar 07)

Spy tale with a Mideast plot to die for

…On Feb. 7, a top Revolutionary Guards officer named Brig. Gen. Ali Reza Asgari vanished in Istanbul. This was no small fish. He was a former deputy defense minister who, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, had been Iran's key operative in Lebanon, helping organize its proxy army, Hezbollah. According to Bob Baer, who was a CIA case officer in Beirut at that time, Asgari was the primary contact for Hezbollah's leader, Hasan Nasrallah, and its most feared terrorist operative, Imad Mughniyah….(SacBee, 31 Mar 07)

Japan sailor in possible Aegis spy case

A Japanese navy sailor is under investigation after a computer disc containing top-secret data on the Aegis destroyer was found at his home….(UPI, 31 Mar 07)

Dispute Over Spy Files Cancels Police Official’s Testimony

…Mr. Cohen, a former senior official with the Central Intelligence Agency, was to have given a second day of testimony yesterday in depositions for federal lawsuits brought by people who say they were wrongly arrested and detained during the convention…..(New York Times, 31 Mar 07)

FBI Chief Errs on Patriot Act Provision

…"I would give up NSLs for administrative subpoenas," Mueller responded. "I say that because, in the regime of administrative subpoenas, there is generally opportunity for the recipient to contest it in court, on a variety of reasons. But there also is the opportunity for the government to enforce it in court. We do not have an enforcement mechanism for national security letters." But the reauthorization of the Patriot Act a year ago provided just such an enforcement mechanism….(AP, 30 Mar 07)

US spy threat matches Cold War

…The Chinese, Iranians and Cubans are among the other foreign spies attempting to infiltrate into US secret systems and American establishments overseas, said Joel Brenner, head of the office of the national counterintelligence executive. "I don't mean to suggest that the Chinese are alone in this. The Russians are now back to Cold War levels in their efforts to (extract intelligence information from) the United States,"....(Agence France-Presse, 29 Mar 07)

US official says Russia ramping up espionage

…Tension has risen between the two countries, as Russian officials have expressed frustration at what they see as US foreign policy unrestrained by consultation with other world powers, including Russia. They have criticized the expansion of NATO into the former Soviet sphere of influence and US plans to install radar and interceptors in Eastern Europe as part of a missile defense program…..(AP, 30 Mar 07)

Retired Russian Officer Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Spying

A district military court in Moscow has sentenced retired Colonel Valentin Shabaturov to 12-year imprisonment for treason and espionage, RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday. Shabaturov was arrested at Sheremetevo airport in Moscow a year ago. The court verdict said that he had been recruited by a European country and received $100,000 for his services. “The defendant actively cooperated with foreign intelligence for seven years, from 1999 to 2006, and revealed state secrets to them, causing substantial damage to Russia’s national security,”….(MosNews, 30 Mar 07)

Russia Jails Army Colonel For Spying

A Russian military court on Friday sentenced an army colonel to 12 years in prison for spying for an unnamed European power…..(Reuters , 30 Mar 07)

Russian exiles Berezovsky, Zakayev to testify in Litvinenko case

Exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky is to be questioned Friday by Russian investigators working in the United Kingdom to probe last November's murder of former secret agent Alexander Litvinenko… Berezovsky said the Russian investigative team had initially planned to question more than 100 witnesses, but that only three had consented, including himself and fellow exile Ahmed Zakayev...He (Berezovsky) said Scotland Yard had ensured that his terms for the interview be met…..(RIA Novosti, 30 Mar 07)

Berezovsky to Be Questioned by Russian Investigators in London

Exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky will be questioned on Friday by Russian investigators who came to the United Kingdom to probe last November’s murder of former secret agent Alexander Litvinenko, RIA Novosti news agency reported. Litvinenko died Nov 23, 2006 after being poisoned with the radioactive substance Polonium-210. In December, a Scotland Yard team arrived in Moscow to question two key suspects in the case, spies-turned-businessmen Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitri Kovtun….(MosNews, 30 Mar 07)

Testimony resumes Friday in military secrets trial in Calif.

The FBI said it seized letters, photos and other evidence linking a Chinese-American engineer with a Chinese government official seeking secret information about the space shuttle….(AP, 30 Mar 07)

FBI: Mak had destroyer data

A federal agent testified Friday that investigators found a computer disk with sensitive details on the Navy's next generation of destroyers when they searched the home of a Chinese-American engineer accused of illegally sending technology information to China….(Press Telegraph, 30 Mar 07)

Accused spy's defense bolstered by e-mails

An attorney showed a jury e-mails Thursday that he said proved officials at an Anaheim defense firm knew that an engineer accused of illegally supplying military technology to China was going to present the information at a public symposium. Chi Mak, 67, is on trial in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, charged with 15 counts of conspiring to violate export laws, exporting or attempting to export defense information to China, acting as an agent of the Chinese government and lying to the FBI….(LA Times, 30 Mar 07)

Kremlin critic Berezovsky says Russian investigators will question him in London over spy poisoning case
Self-exiled Russian tycoon and Kremlin opponent Boris Berezovsky said Friday that he would meet Russian prosecutors investigating the poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko later in the day. "Scotland Yard told me that I have a meeting today with Russian prosecutors," Berezovsky told The Associated Press by telephone….(AP, 30 Mar 07)

Frank H. Laubinger CIA Officer

Frank Herbert Laubinger, 80, who retired from the CIA in 1980 as a technical operations officer, died March 10…Mr. Laubinger joined the Central Intelligence Agency in the early 1950s as a chemist and later served as chief of a technical support branch….(Washington Post, 30 Mar 07)

National Security Agency Cryptanalyst John Brinton

John G. Brinton, a retired cryptanalyst with the National Security Agency who was involved in community and church activities, died March 18… Mr. Brinton, who began working for the NSA in 1951 and retired in 1982…..(Washington Post, 30 Mar 07)

Intelligence agents arrest journalist and opposition activist as she gets off plane

Reporters Without Borders called today for the release of freelance journalist and pro-democracy activist Fatou Jaw Manneh, who was arrested by the National Intelligence Agency on 28 March on her arrival at Banjul international airport…..(RSF, 30 Mar 07)

Today in History March 29-30:

1951: Rosenbergs guilty of espionage

An American electrical engineer and his wife have been found guilty by New York's Federal Court of passing atomic secrets to the Russians. Julius Rosenberg, 33, and his 35-year-old wife, Ethel, were accused of stealing technical information from the atom research centre in Los Alamos and turning it over to the KGB. A radar expert, Morton Sobell, has also been found guilty of the same charges....(BBC)

Surveillance Detailed in Engineer Trial

…One 1987 letter was addressed to a Boeing engineer who worked on the space shuttle program and requested information on the development of the space shuttle as China discussed commercial aircraft. The official, identified as Gu Wei Hao, then stated he would find a way to pay Chung cash in person for any expenses in collecting or purchasing information, and said he could convey any suggestions or information through Chi Mak. "This channel is much safer than others," the official wrote. The official identified Mak as a relative, and the letter stated that it was to be hand-delivered by Mak to Greg Chung, the Boeing engineer…..(AP, 29 Mar 07)

Man accused of spying for China on trial

…Chi Mak, 67, has been held without bail since his arrest on Oct. 28, 2005. His defense team denied that he did anything wrong and accused the government of building its case against him by overstating the evidence and portraying him as a spy when no classified information was given to China…..(LA Times, 29 Mar 07)

Russia's Litvinenko probe in Britain smooth so far - chief prosecutor

…Earlier this year, Scotland Yard handed the Litvinenko case over to the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Russian Prosecutor's Office launched an inquiry of its own. Chaika said the Russian investigators had already met for consultations with officials from the Crown Prosecution Service, the Home Office, and Scotland Yard. But he stopped short of giving a timeframe for their stay in the U.K…..(RIA Novosti, 29 Mar 07)

Holocaust Survivors Seek Nazi Files

...Leo Rechter, an Austrian Jew who survived the Holocaust as a boy by hiding in basements and attics after his family fled to Belgium and his father was deported to Auschwitz, testified Wednesday of his incredulity that the information had been kept from survivors for more than sixty years…..(AP, 29 Mar 07)

Verdict in spy case postponed

A verdict in the case of a Toronto man charged with spying for Israel was postponed yesterday as his defense lawyer made a spirited four-hour argument ridiculing the accusations against Mohamed el-Attar. The judge announced the delay until April 21 during a hearing packed with more than 15 security officers, journalists and photographers. Also in attendance was a delegation from the Canadian embassy in Cairo. In an often-passionate defense of his client, lawyer Ibrahim Bassiouny rejected claims that el-Attar was a homosexual, a convert to Christianity, and an Israeli spy….(Star, 29 Mar 07)

Spirited defence offers hope to accused spy

As he was being led away in handcuffs, Mohamed el-Attar couldn't help but let his optimism show. After what could only be called a good day in court, given his circumstances, he flashed a wide smile and raised two fingers in a victory sign at a row of photographers anxious to capture the image….(Globe & Mail, 29 Mar 07)

Feds Eyeballed AIPAC

…defense lawyers for Steve Rosen, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's former foreign policy chief, and Keith Weissman, its former Iran analyst, claimed for the first time that the FBI had considered expanding its criminal investigation. AIPAC's March 2005 firing of Rosen and Weissman, and its decision several months later to stop paying their legal fees, headed off the expanded investigation, according to the sworn defense filing. The filing stems from a defense effort to force AIPAC to resume paying legal fees….(Jewish Times, 29 Mar 07)

Kollek was British informer

Teddy Kollek, the legendary mayor of Jerusalem, lent a hand to the British authorities in their 1940s crackdown against right-wing underworld movements that sought to drive the British out of Palestine, secret MI5 documents have shown. Kollek, who died three months ago, supplied the British intelligence agency with information about the activities Irgun and Stern Gang…..(YNet, 29 Mar 07)

The FBI is riding high

…The Justice Department's Inspector General's report rightfully points out the need for continued vigilance to ensure proper administrative steps regarding National Security Letters are followed and addressed, and that the process is refined and improved where appropriate. But it's also significant that the IG's report highlighted the breakneck, intense environment the FBI has operated in since 9/11 to ensure that no terrorism lead goes uncovered, and that another 9/11 does not ever happen again…..(LA Times, 29 Mar 07)

Francis G. Monan CIA Officer

Francis G. Monan, 85, a retired Central Intelligence Agency officer, died March 22… Mr. Monan moved to the District in 1952 to begin working for the CIA. He served in posts around the world, primarily in Asia and Europe, before retiring in 1979 as deputy director of personnel. He was called back to the agency in 1983 and retired again in 1989. He was a recipient of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal…..(Washington Post, 29 Mar 07)

Keystroke logging on increase

… Once a cybercriminal has a user’s confidential data, they can easily transfer money from the user’s personal accounts. Keyloggers can also be used in industrial and political espionage to access proprietary commercial information and classified government data…..(Computer Active, 29 Mar 07)

Prosecution: Spy Case Shows China's Effort To Steal U.S. Secrets

The career of a Chinese-born electrical engineer, Chi Mak, over four decades is a textbook example of how China's spy services encourage their agents to burrow into American society in order to steal America's defense secrets, federal prosecutors said yesterday. The picture of Mr. Mak as a dedicated and patient Chinese spy, along with an alternate image of him as a tireless and loyal developer of vital technologies for the American Navy, came as the government and the defense presented opening statements in one of the most significant China-related prosecutions ever to go trial in an American courtroom…..( New York Sun, 29 Mar 07)

US official: Russian espionage at Cold War levels

…Joel Brenner, the head of the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, said the US is concerned that Russia is continuing to ramp up its operations. "The Russians are now back at cold war levels in their efforts against the United States," he said at an event held by the American Bar Association, a lawyers' group. "They are sending over an increasing and troubling number of intelligence agents."….(Jerusalem Post, 29 Mar 07)

US Army restarting spy plane program after long pause

The U.S. Army said Thursday it will restart a spy plane program that has been on hold since early 2006…The Aerial Common Sensor program will take new shape over the next 60 days….(MarketWatch, 29 Mar 07)

Ex-spy dealt setback in fight to clear name

…A judge in Houston dismissed Edwin Wilson's lawsuit against seven former federal prosecutors -- including two who are now federal judges -- and a former executive director of the CIA. U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal found that even if the officials' behavior was improper when Wilson was sent to prison in the early 1980s, all eight legally have immunity from Wilson's claims of wrongdoing….(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 29 Mar 07)

Seducing Special Duty Intelligence Officers

To support war on terror and Information War operations, the U.S. Navy is expanding its force of intelligence officers. The easiest way to do that is to offer $40,000 bonuses if intel officers, about to get out, are  convinced to stay in….(Strategy Page, 29 Mar 07)

Computers Expedite Employee Screenings

…New computer software operated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has cut the wait times for background check results from three months to an average of two weeks….(Washington Post, 29 Mar 07)

New US counterintelligence strategy to involve public and private sectors

…A key priority is to prevent spies from corrupting U.S. intelligence, a major problem demonstrated by agents uncovered in recent years inside the U.S. government who were working clandestinely for China, Russia and Cuba and who were able to influence U.S. intelligence analyses and policies, washtimes.com reports…..(Pravda, 29 Mar 07)

Congress to Get Closed-Door Briefing on Cuban Spy

Congress will receive a rare, closed-door briefing by top U.S. intelligence officials on Thursday, to learn details of a still-classified damage assessment on a Defense Intelligence Agency analyst who spied for Cuba for sixteen years. Ana Belen Montes was arrested in late September 2001 on charges of spying for Cuba….(Newsmax, 28 Mar 07)

DoD Intelligence Nominee Envisions Role in Policy, Not Analysis

Intelligence analysis is best left to the organizations set up for that purpose, President Bush’s nominee to be the next undersecretary of defense for intelligence told the Senate Armed Services Committee at his confirmation hearing here yesterday. Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James A. Clapper Jr. said neither the person in the position for which he’s been nominated nor “nonintelligence agencies” should analyze intelligence…..(Press Zoom, 28 Mar 07)

A Los Angeles Mother and Daughter Sickened by Thallium During Trip to Native Russia

Marina Kovalevsky and her daughter, Yana, were on a picture-perfect trip to their native Russia last month when the trip took a shocking turn…Theirs is the latest in a string of mysterious Russian poisoning cases, but how did a family from Los Angeles get caught up in the international intrigue?….(ABC, 28 Mar 07)

NSA program draws Congress' ire

…Dubbed "Turbulence," the signature initiative of the NSA director, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, is experiencing "management deficiencies" just 18 months after it was launched, the Senate Armed Services Committee said in the course of its confirmation process for James R. Clapper Jr., who is President Bush's nominee to be Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence….(Baltimore Sun, 28 Mar 07)

Soviet spy 'seduced girls in British embassy'

A Soviet spy, who employed his skills of seduction to gather secrets, infiltrated Britain's embassy in Prague, a new book claims. The playboy agent, codenamed Victor, was recruited by the Czech StB secret police in 1959 after they spotted his charisma and taste for "Western culture". Once trained, the spy, whose real name was Jiri Bartos, was unleashed on lonely secretaries at the embassy where he was activated as a "social agent".….(Telegraph, 28 Mar 07)

Miller pleas for American in China prison

At the request of the man's Vallejo sister, Rep. George Miller on Tuesday rallied for the release of a former Chinese dissident - now an American citizen - held in China on espionage charges. Chinese authorities arrested David Wei Dong, of Brooklyn, N.Y., in September 2003, convicted him and sentenced him to 13-years imprisonment, according to Miller's office…(Times-Herald, 28 Mar 07)

Top spies come to town to cheer big new intel facility

Before taking up a golden shovel for the morning photo-op, Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss assured everyone that the nation is on the right path. “You’re doing the Lord’s work,” he told an audience of soldiers, spies, contractors, politicians and bureaucrats who gathered near an empty field at Fort Gordon on Monday. The occasion was the groundbreaking for the National Security Agency’s new $340 million Regional Security Operations Center….(Metro Spirit, 28 Mar 07)

NSA to open facility at Fort Gordon

Augusta (Georgia) will soon play a new role in the War on Terror. The government agency that breaks down enemy communication and protects our own is opening a new facility at Fort Gordon. The National Security Agency and Central Security Service work around the clock to get the enemy's top secret information...and protect ours. They say that is essential to our success in this time of war…..(WRDW, 28 Mar 07)

Army Announces Human Intelligence Special Recruiting Program

The U.S. Army announced the implementation of the Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Non-Commissioned Officer Special Recruiting Program March 28 to bring at least 100 experienced NCOs into the 97-Echo career field. "Our goal is to quickly infuse 100 Staff Sergeants and Sergeants First Class to our HUMINT force from all other career fields,"….(Army Press Release, 28 Mar 07)

DOJ Controversy Undermines FBI's Efforts

The political fallout over Justice Department missteps has sidetracked fledgling discussions aimed at helping the FBI establish itself as a pre-eminent domestic intelligence agency. A classified FBI report said last year that existing laws on electronic surveillance are inadequate to investigate homegrown Islamic extremists….(AP, 28 Mar 07)

FBI director blames agency, not Patriot Act, for abuses

… Mueller's mea culpa came two weeks after Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine reported that the FBI repeatedly violated internal regulations and federal law in issuing some national security letters between 2003 and 2005….(SF Chronicle, 28 Mar 07)

Failures at FBI Acknowledged

… Mueller -- who was making his first appearance at a hearing since the March 9 release of a highly critical report by the Justice Department's inspector general about the FBI's abuse of the letters -- acknowledged the failure and said that "what I did not do, and should have done, is put in a compliance program, complete with auditing," to ensure that legal rules were being followed…..(Washington Post, 28 Mar 07)

US engineer on trial over military secrets for China

US engineer Chi Mak has went on trial on charges he exported US military submarine secrets to China…"Opening statements could begin later this week for a trial US District Judge Cormac Carney has said could run four to six weeks," said assistant prosecutor Greg Staples said….(Zee News, 28 Mar 07)

Business Frets Over Impact of China Spy Case

A major Chinese espionage case set to open today is causing concern among attorneys for major defense contractors and exporters, who contend that one of the prosecution's key legal arguments upsets a long-standing interpretation of export laws and could wreak havoc in industry and elsewhere…The prosecution argument prompting worry in business circles stems from the government's decision not to charge Mr. Chi Mak and his counterparts with the theft of classified data but with violations of export control laws….(New York Sun, 28 Mar 07)  

Jury is selected in alleged spy's trial

A jury of eight women and four men was selected Tuesday for the federal trial of a Chinese-American engineer accused of stealing military secrets and conspiring to send them to China. The panel and four alternates, who will hear opening statements today, were chosen after the judge and attorneys quizzed prospective jurors on a range of issues including views on Chinese immigrants, China's role in the world….(AP, 28 Mar 07) 

Man tried in Egypt over spying for Israel: I confessed under duress

The defense lawyer for an Egyptian-Canadian charged with spying for Israel asked the Cairo court on Wednesday to drop the charges against his client, saying his confession was made under duress while being interrogated…Mohammed el-Attar, 30, has been on trial since February 24 at the State Security Emergency Court in the Egyptian capital, and pleaded not guilty….(AP, 28 Mar 07)

Spy Murder Shakes Russian Émigrés Flooding Britain With Cash

…Now, along with this wealth comes a murder with more twists than a John le Carre thriller. The killing in London of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB spy and foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has riveted the affluent émigrés and prompted talk of a new Cold War between Russia and the West…(Bloomberg, 28 Mar 07)

Russian Investigators in London Start Work on Litvinenko Poisoning Case

According to the Russian embassy in U.K. Russian investigators are in London to investigate the radioactive poisoning death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, AFP reported March 28….(MosNews, 28 Mar 07)

Stepped-up counterintelligence OK'd

…The strategy, made public in a report released yesterday, emphasizes the need to penetrate foreign intelligence organizations, governments and foreign groups with agents or by electronic or other means…Gaps between domestic and international counterintelligence efforts, namely those carried out by the FBI and CIA, resulted in foreign penetrations that caused "incalculable" damage to U.S. security , from both compromised secrets and lives lost over the past decades, the National Counterintelligence Strategy report said….(Washington Times, 28 Mar 07)

Press Release:  National Counterintelligence Strategy of USA 2007.pdf

Document:  National Counterintelligence Strategy of USA 2007.pdf

U.A.E. ban may complicate U-2 mission

The president of the United Arab Emirates forbade the U.S. military from using bases in his country to attack or spy on Iran as mammoth Navy maneuvers in the Gulf entered their second day…Leaders of Arab nations around the Gulf have grown increasingly uneasy with the tough U.S. stance toward Iran, believing any outbreak of war would bring Iranian retaliation on their own soil, which lies in easy reach of Iranian missiles…..(AP, 28 Mar 07)

Spy agency to access financial records

Parliament has signed off on a law that allows money laundering watchdog AUSTRAC to hand information to Australia's overseas spy agency…The bill gives the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) the ability to access AUSTRAC's records on suspicious financial transactions…..(Age, 28 Mar 07)

Pak spy in remand for two more days

A local court today extended the police remand of a Pakistani spy arrested recently from Chander Nagar till March 30 The spy had been living in the city since December 2005 under a fake Indian name, Rajvir Ranavat….(Express India, 28 Mar 07)

Intelligence chief target of suicide attack

A suicide bomber trying to blend in with street beggars exploded himself near a top intelligence official in the Afghan capital Kabul early today, killing four and wounding 12 people….(Scotsman, 28 Mar 07)

Pakistan 'secret agents killed'

Unidentified gunmen have shot dead four officials from Pakistan's secretive ISI intelligence agency in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials say. Two others were wounded in the attack in the Rashkai area of Bajaur agency...Initial reports say the officials were travelling to the main town of Khar when they were ambushed….(BBC, 28 Mar 07)

Asghari Case: Defection and Damage Control

…The United States and Iran have been locked in a covert "intelligence war" that has been raging for some time now. And, as in the Cold War, this war likely will involve the use of tactics ranging from assassinations and clandestine operations to propaganda, disinformation and the use of military proxies. Defectors and agents of influence also have been a feature of such wars in the past - which brings us back to the Asghari case.….(Kuwait Times, 27 Mar 07)

14 defence ‘spies’ given stringent punishment

As many as 14 Armed Forces personnel have been given stringent punishment for espionage activities in the last few years, according to the defence ministry. Pakistan’s ISI is suspected to be involved in such espionage activities….(Statesman, 27 Mar 07)

Japan's spy satellite hits snag

One of Japan's four spy satellites orbiting earth has hit a snag and has not been functioning properly from Sunday….(Xinhua, 27 Mar 07)

Tory vow to launch spy agency has fizzled, source says

…The idea of a new service to spy abroad faces opposition from many senior officials in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other existing security agencies….(Globe & Mail, 27 Mar 07)

Cabinet appoints new chief of National Intelligence Agency
The Cabinet appoint on Tuesday Sirachai Chotirat as new chief of National Intelligence Agency, replacing Gen Waipote Srinuan. Waipot will return to Defense Ministry as Special Advisor to the permanent secretary….(Nation Multimedia, 27 Mar 07)

Romania’s Intelligence Service Head Toppled by His Generals

Claudiu Saftoiu, head of the Romanian intelligence service, or SIE, for the past six months, presented his resignation last week. In this interview he tells us why…(Jurnalul, 27 Mar 07)

U.S. ‘Mole Hunter' Warns of Cuban Spy Danger

Fidel Castro's intelligence services still pose a significant threat to the United States. That is the message Scott Carmichael, a Special Agent and counter-intelligence specialist with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) told a packed house of reporters and citizens last weekend….(News Max, 27 Mar 07)

Russian investigators begin work on Litvinenko case in London

Russian investigators probing the murder of former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Litvinenko are in London, where they are expected to question more than 100 people, including exiled businessman Boris Berezovsky. Interfax learned on Tuesday that a delegation headed by Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev left for the United Kingdom a day earlier….(Interfax, 27 Mar 07)

Russian prosecutors arrive in London to discuss investigation into death of former Russian agent

Russian prosecutors have arrived in London for a second meeting with British police to discuss the inquiry into the poisoning death of a former KGB agent turned Kremlin critic, the Russian Embassy said Tuesday. Alexander Litvinenko died Nov. 23 after being exposed to a lethal dose of radioactive polonium-210 in London. Russian investigators had submitted a request in January to visit Britain and investigate the death….(AP, 27 Mar 07)

Russian prosecutors meeting with British colleagues in London

Russian prosecutors arrived in London Monday and are meeting with their British colleagues, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in the U.K. said Tuesday. "They arrived yesterday to hold earlier planned meetings with their British colleagues to discuss ways of cooperating," the diplomat said….(RIA Novosti, 27 Mar 07)

Egyptian-Canadian accused of spying for Israel testifies

…During a brief questioning by his defence lawyer on Monday, Mohammed el-Attar told the court he tried to obtain legal counsel on the first day of his detention, but his request was denied, the CBC's Nahlah Ayed reported from Cairo. "I was pressured psychologically and physically, so that I admit things that I didn't say, and are totally opposite to the truth,"…(CBC, 27 Mar 07)

Falklands and Iraq 'intelligence failures'

The Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982 was caused by a "failure of intelligence" equal to that leading up to the invasion of Iraq, according to Lord Carrington, who resigned as Foreign Secretary for his role in allowing the Falklands to be invaded…..(Telegraph, 27 Mar 07)

Former Member of the U.S. Navy Indicted on Terrorism and Espionage Charges

…it is alleged that, in 2001, Abujihaad provided the battle group information to Azzam Publications. Specifically, the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint alleges that search warrants executed upon the various email accounts associated with the Azzam Web sites recovered several email exchanges from late 2000 to late 2001 between members of Azzam Publications and Abujihaad while he was an enlistee in the U.S. Navy on active duty in the Middle East and stationed aboard the U.S.S. Benfold, one of the ships in the battle group whose movements were disclosed….(New York Jewish Times, 27 Mar 07)

ITT to Plead Guilty In Export Case

SAP responds to Oracle lawsuit

…"SAP will not comment other than to make it clear to our customers, prospects, investors, employees and partners that SAP will aggressively defend against the claims made by Oracle in the lawsuit," read the statement…..(CRN, 27 Mar 07)

Jury selection set to begin Tuesday in military secrets case

Prosecutors cast engineer Chi Mak as a secret foreign agent who used his position at a U.S. defense contractor to steal military secrets for China. Defense attorneys say that is an exaggeration, that Mak is a devoted American who would never harm his adopted country….(AP, 27 Mar 07)

Orin E. Atkins; Tainted CEO Expanded Ashland Oil

Orin E. Atkins, 82, who helped turn what is now Ashland Inc. into one of the nation's largest independent oil companies but whose 16-year tenure as chief executive was tarnished by his effort to sell confidential company documents to Iran, died March 23…According to documents from lawsuits, Mr. Atkins gained access to hundreds of internal Ashland memorandums, including some dealing with the company's legal strategies. He offered them to the Iranian oil company for tens of millions of dollars. Mr. Atkins pleaded guilty in 1989…..(Washington Post, 27 Mar 07)

Engineer goes to trial in China military spy case

…Chi Mak, an electrical engineer who worked on some of the U.S. Navy's most sensitive high-tech weapons, goes on trial in a federal court in Santa Ana, Calif., on charges of conspiracy to export U.S. defense secrets to China, possession of property in aid of a foreign government and failure to register as a foreign agent….(Washington Times, 27 Mar 07)

Former spy's second hunger strike

…Viktor Makarov spent 13 years as a member of the KGB before he was arrested and held in a Russian labour camp on suspicion of being a double agent. He had been a double agent, passing secrets to British intelligence for two years. After five year's detention in a labor camp in the Arctic Circle he fled to the UK in 1992 believing he would be looked after by the authorities and offered a job in intelligence…..(BBC, 27 Mar 07)

January 2005: Russian ex-spy on hunger strike

Ex-KGB spy on hunger strike in U.K., demands defector pension

…A former double agent, Viktor Makarov fled to the U.K. 15 years ago hoping to continue his career in intelligence. But his dream did not materialize, and Makarov has since survived on benefits in a small town in the north of England…(RIA Novosti, 27 Mar 07)

Judge Says Police Files Remain Secret

A federal judge refused yesterday to reissue his order preventing disclosure of police documents about surveillance leading up to the 2004 Republican convention in New York City, saying the existing ruling to keep them secret still stands….(New York Times, 27 Mar 07)

CIA director in Seoul to discuss N. Korean nuclear issue: sources

The head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) met Tuesday with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue….(Yonhap, 27 Mar 07)

CIA negoitiations keep Plame from Iowa speaking engagement

…The speaker who took the place of CIA agent Valerie Plame was her husband, Joseph Wilson. He admitted it wasn't another obligation, but "the status of...sensitive negotiations" with her former employer, the CIA, that was the reason lawyers told them it wouldn't be appropriate for her to speak publicly right now…..(Radio Iowa, 27 Mar 07)

UPI Intelligence Watch

... A series of executive orders signed in the mid-1990s established the procedure for handling and securing classified information within the Executive Office of the president, Knodell explained. If an employee of the EOP breaches these guidelines, a report must be filed with the Office of Security, and Knodell's office would determine whether to revoke the individual's security clearance….(UPI, 27 Mar 07)

FBI Provided Inaccurate Data for Surveillance Warrants

…The errors were pervasive enough that the chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, wrote the Justice Department in December 2005 to complain. She raised the possibility of requiring counterterrorism agents to swear in her courtroom that the information they were providing was accurate….(Washington Post, 27 Mar 07)

The Police and the Spy Unit

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s city attorneys are fighting the release of police surveillance records related to the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City by arguing that the public might misinterpret them or the news media will “fixate upon and sensationalize” them…..(New York Times, 27 Mar 07)

Alleged spy details torture by Egyptians

… Mr. el-Attar, detained after flying into Cairo on Jan. 1, is charged with spying for Israel to harm Egypt's national interests. When the accusations against him were made public last month -- that he had deserted Islam for Christianity, found radical Zionism and married four different men in Canada with the intention of getting them to work for Israel's intelligence service, the Mossad….(Globe & Mail, 27 Mar 07)

Justice: Intelligence Agencies Answerable to Court

Three members of the Supreme Court in Pakistan have determined that intelligence agencies are answerable to it in cases where they are not accountable before any government department. Senior Supreme Court Justice Javed Iqbal made these remarks on Monday during court proceedings related to missing persons….(Ohmynews, 27 Mar 07)

Intelligence assets listen in to Teheran

The antennae of all British signals intelligence assets will now be pointing at Iran to gather information on the location of the 15 prisoners and the intentions of those holding them. At GCHQ headquarters in Cheltenham, listeners fluent in Farsi will be monitoring the mobile telephone and signaling airwaves of the Revolutionary Guards….(Telegraph, 26 Mar 07)

Discussion topic Cold War, espionage

“Espionage and the Cold War” will be the topic of an eight-week discussion group led by Roger Magnuson. The group will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, beginning April 4, in the Shiras Room at Peter White Public Library (Marquette, MI)…..(Mining Journal, 26 Mar 07)

Spy Robert Schaller's life of secrecy, betrayal and regrets

In the 1960s, Dr. Robert Schaller was recruited by the CIA for a clandestine mission high in the Himalayas. He kept his secret for more than 40 years about a mission that the government still does not officially acknowledge. In response to a request for confirmation, a CIA spokesman released this statement: "I would say that agency officers have a long tradition of using skill and daring to acquire critical intelligence."….(Seattle PI, 26 Mar 07)

U.S. engineer faces trial for smuggling military secrets to China

A Chinese-born U.S. engineer will go on trial in a California court on Tuesday charged with smuggling sensitive technology of U.S. Navy submarines to China…Chi Mak has not been formally charged with espionage because the information on the disk has not officially been deemed classified…..(Press TV, 26 Mar 07)

Man accused of spying for China

As a top engineer at a major U.S. defense contractor, Chi Mak helped develop some of the most advanced and closely guarded naval technology in the world, including silent-running propulsion systems that can make submarines virtually undetectable. Now, in a case that experts say could have serious implications for U.S. security, the Downey resident is accused of stealing those secrets for the Chinese. Prosecutors say the Chinese-born Chi operated as a spy for China from 1983 until his arrest two years ago, stealing hundreds of documents about a number of defense systems, including the weapons, nuclear reactors and propulsion systems aboard U.S. submarines….(AP, 26 Mar 07)

Accused Egyptian-Canadian spy verdict delayed

An Egyptian-Canadian man accused of espionage returned to court in Egypt on Monday, but his sentencing was delayed as new documents were introduced. Mohammed el-Attar, 30, is accused of spying for Israel and harming Egyptian national interests. …"There was expected to be a verdict today but the late delivery of some documents coming from Canada has actually put the proceedings over until Wednesday,"…..(CTV, 26 Mar 07)

Jerusalem councilors urge mayor to grant Pollard honorary city residency

"We believe that it is worthy that Jonathan Pollard should be granted honorary residency in Jerusalem as part of the celebrations marking the 40 years since the reunification of the city," a March 8 letter sent to the mayor by four National Religious Party city officials…(Jerusalem Post, 26 Mar 07)

Army interpreter seeks probe of security clearance suspension

Alex Remington, a sergeant first class in the 378th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Snelling, wrote to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman last week asking for the Republican’s help with the suspension.  Remington, a 26-year veteran who speaks Arabic and several other languages, said he has been falsely accused of stealing $217 worth of walkie-talkies….(AP, 26 Mar 07)

City Asks Court Not to Unseal Police Spy Files

Lawyers for the city, responding to a request to unseal records of police surveillance leading up to the 2004 Republican convention in New York, say that the documents should remain secret because the news media will “fixate upon and sensationalize them,” hurting the city’s ability to defend itself in lawsuits over mass arrests….(New York Times, 26 Mar 07)

Colombia Rejects Paramilitary Report

Colombia’s government disputed a published report on Sunday of leaked C.I.A. intelligence linking the chief of the army to paramilitary death squads…(New York Times, 26 Mar 07)

Instances of espionage in India army

In addition to increasing number of suicide and fratricide cases among Indian troops in occupied Kashmir, now several instances of espionage have also surfaced in Indian army. An Indian army official told media in Jammu that 16 army personnel have been arrested on charges of espionage…(Kashmir Media, 26 Mar 07)

If you espy this one, be sure to catch it!

The Enemy Within: A History of Espionage, by Terry Crowdy

…From the 12 spies that Moses sent into the Promised Land to the use of espionage in the modern era, author Terry Crowdy details the history of espionage through a variety of characters, methods and examples. The author begins with the earliest accounts of espionage found within the Bible…(Traveler Online, 26 Mar 07)

Iran ‘to try Britons for espionage’

Fifteen British sailors and marines arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards off the coast of Iraq may be charged with spying. A website run by associates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, reported last night that the Britons would be put before a court and indicted…..(Sunday Times, 25 Mar 07)

Colombia army chief linked to outlaw militias

The CIA has obtained new intelligence alleging that the head of Colombia's U.S.-backed army collaborated extensively with right-wing militias that Washington considers terrorist organizations, including a militia headed by one of the country's leading drug traffickers…..(LA Times, 25 Mar 07)

City Police Spied Broadly Before G.O.P. Convention

For at least a year before the 2004 Republican National Convention, teams of undercover New York City police officers traveled to cities across the country, Canada and Europe to conduct covert observations of people who planned to protest at the convention….(New York Times, 25 Mar 07)

Espionage trial may be window on Chinese intel

The FBI knew about Chi Mak's retirement plans, what his dining room looked like and what he allegedly took home from work. The 66-year-old engineer for a Southern California defense contractor and his 57-year-old brother, Tai Mak, were under surveillance for months. Agents tapped the Maks' phones, planted listening devices in their cars, sifted through their trash and installed a closed-circuit camera above Chi Mak's dining-room table. Investigators suspected Chi Mak was taking restricted documents about naval technology from his job at Anaheim-based defense contractor Power Paragon and passing them to his brother, who was going to deliver them to a contact in China….(Copely News Service, 25 Mar 07)

C.I.A. Awaits Rules on Terrorism Interrogations

A sharp debate within the Bush administration over the future of the Central Intelligence Agency’s detention and interrogation program has left the agency without the authority to use harsh interrogation techniques that the White House said last fall were necessary in questioning terrorism suspects….(New York Times, 25 Mar 07)

William B. Boyd Air Force Officer

William B. Boyd, 87, a retired Air Force colonel who worked on security and VIP protection at the Republican and Democratic National conventions in 1968, died March 16…During World War II, he was assigned to the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the CIA, and helped set up OSS headquarters in Paris in 1944 and Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1945….(Washington Post, 25 Mar 07)

Richard Conway Casey Blind Federal Judge

Richard Conway Casey, 74, who was the nation's first blind federal trial judge and presided over high-profile cases including an abortion-law challenge and the Peter Gotti trial, died March 22…he worked as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan from 1960 to 1963, winning convictions of three Russian spies…..(Washington Post, 25 Mar 07)

Paranoia, fear run deep in business

…U.S. companies, especially those that are innovative or undergoing change, worry night and day. They worry about U.S. competitors, foreign competitors, shareholders and employees who know too much or talk too much. They worry about revolts within the company. They worry about the economy….(Tribune Media, 25 Mar 07)