Archive for the 'Covert Operations' Category
Law Enforcement Speech Recognition System Stores Millions of Voices
September 23rd, 2012Made in Russia. Via: Slate: Russia’s Speech Technology Center, which operates under the name SpeechPro in the United States, has invented what it calls “VoiceGrid Nation,” a system that uses advanced algorithms to match identities to voices. The idea is that it enables authorities to build up a huge database containing up to several million […]
Iran Claims Siemens Planted Bombs in Parts Meant for Nuclear Program
September 23rd, 2012Via: AP: Iran on Saturday accused the German technology company Siemens of planting tiny explosives inside equipment Iran bought for its disputed nuclear program, a charge Siemens denied. Aladdin Boroujerdi, a prominent lawmaker, said Iranian security experts discovered the explosives and removed them before detonation. The authorities believe that the booby-trapped equipment was sold to […]
Facebook Wants You To Snitch on Friends Using Pseudonyms
September 22nd, 2012Via: Paul Bernal’s Blog: A story about Facebook went around twitter last night that provoked quite a reaction in privacy advocates like me: Facebook, it seems, is experimenting with getting people to ‘snitch’ on any of their friends who don’t use their real names. Take a look at this…
Italy Upholds Convictions of 23 CIA Operatives in Absentia
September 21st, 2012Via: AFP: Italy’s highest court confirmed the guilty verdicts Wednesday of 23 CIA agents tried in absentia for the 2003 abduction of Egyptian imam Osama Mustafa Hassan in Milan. The United States has already refused to extradite the agents. Italy’s top court Wednesday confirmed guilty verdicts against 23 CIA agents for the 2003 abduction of […]
Holder Cleared in Justice Gunwalking Probe
September 20th, 2012Mmm hmm. Via: CBS: The Justice Department’s inspector general cleared Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday of knowing about the gun-walking operation known as Fast and Furious that allowed thousands of weapons to cross into Mexico. But Inspector General Michael Horowitz concluded that there were “serious failures” at both the Justice Department and its Bureau of […]
Cyber Clues Link U.S. to New Computer Viruses
September 18th, 2012Via: Reuters: Researchers have found evidence suggesting that the United States may have developed three previously unknown computer viruses for use in espionage operations or cyber warfare. … For now, the two firms know very little about the newly identified viruses, except that one of them is currently deployed in the Middle East. They are […]
U.S. State Department Had 48 Hours Notice That Attacks Were Coming
September 14th, 2012I have absolutely no idea what this thing is about. Via: Independent: The killings of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were likely to have been the result of a serious and continuing security breach, The Independent can reveal. American officials believe the attack was planned, but Chris Stevens had been […]
House Approves Sweeping, Warrantless Electronic Spy Powers
September 13th, 2012Via: Wired: The House on Wednesday reauthorized for five years broad electronic eavesdropping powers that legalized and expanded the George W. Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. The FISA Amendments Act, (.pdf) which is expiring at year’s end, allows the government to electronically eavesdrop on Americans’ phone calls and e-mails without a probable-cause warrant so long […]
Some ‘Fast and Furious’ Guns Ended Up in Colombia
September 13th, 2012Via: Colombia Reports: U.S. weapons that were exported to Mexico as part of the controversial “Fast and Furious” program ended up in the hands of Colombia crime syndicate Oficina de Envigado, reported newspaper El Tiempo Monday. According to the newspaper, investigations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have established that some […]
Shooting in French Alps
September 6th, 2012Update: Ex-Policeman Arrested in Village Near Scene of al-Hilli Shootings Via: Guardian: French police on Tuesday arrested a 48-year-old former policeman in a French Alpine village close to the layby where the Iraqi-born British engineer Saad al-Hilli, two members of his family and a French cyclist were murdered. The arrest came after police issued an […]
