Archive for the 'Covert Operations' Category
U.S., Israel Developed Flame Computer Virus
June 20th, 2012Via: Washington Post: The United States and Israel jointly developed a sophisticated computer virus nicknamed Flame that collected intelligence in preparation for cyber-sabotage aimed at slowing Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, according to Western officials with knowledge of the effort. The massive piece of malware secretly mapped and monitored Iran’s computer networks, sending […]
Active CIA Employees Developed Alien Language for Disney Children’s Film
June 18th, 2012[???] Via: Silver Screen Saucers: One of the most eyebrow-raising cases of government involvement in a Hollywood UFO movie in recent years is that of Race to Witch Mountain (2009), which apparently received extensive support from the CIA – albeit in an ‘off the books’ capacity – despite its plot drawing extensively from UFO mythology […]
Flame Uses Sneakernet Functionality Against Targets on Airgapped Networks
June 16th, 2012Via: Forbes: The program known as Flame has fascinated the cybersecurity industry with its sophistication and versatility as a Swiss-Army knife of cyberspying. Now researchers have discovered another unexpected tool in its data-stealing arsenal: You. Malware analysts at the security firm Bitdefender say they’ve found a unique capability within Flame’s code that would potentially allow […]
Could U.S. Cyberspies Have Moles Inside Microsoft?
June 16th, 2012Another possibility is that this is blowback from Microsoft’s recent collaboration with NSA. Via: PCPro: US government officials could be working under cover at Microsoft to help the country’s cyber-espionage programme, according to one leading security expert. The warning comes in the wake of the Flame virus that targeted key computers in the Middle East, […]
What Facebook Knows
June 14th, 2012Via: MIT / Technology Review: If Facebook were a country, a conceit that founder Mark Zuckerberg has entertained in public, its 900 million members would make it the third largest in the world. It would far outstrip any regime past or present in how intimately it records the lives of its citizens. Private conversations, family […]
U.S. Bolsters Ties to Fighters in Syria
June 14th, 2012In other news: Syria: Clinton Admits U.S. On Same Side As Al Qaeda To Destabilize Assad Government. Via: Wall Street Journal: U.S. intelligence operatives and diplomats have stepped up their contacts with Syrian rebels in part to help organize their burgeoning military operations against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, according to senior U.S. officials. As part […]
Russia Is Sending Syria Attack Helicopters
June 12th, 2012Here it is, in black and white: The Real Reason to Intervene in Syria: Cutting Iran’s link to the Mediterranean Sea is a strategic prize worth the risk. We’re not done with the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran. Given that the current round of negotiations with the world’s major powers will not fundamentally […]
In-Q-Tel
June 12th, 2012I haven’t posted any stories about in-Q-Tel in a while. Via: Mercury News: Silicon Valley in years past has supplied surveillance satellites, missiles and electronic warfare gadgets to the government. But more recently, a dazzling array of other innovations has grabbed the interest of the country’s covert operatives. Nearly a third of the 87 companies […]
Flame and Stuxnet Share Common Origin
June 12th, 2012Via: Threat Post: Researchers digging through the code of the recently discovered Flame worm say they have come across a wealth of evidence that suggests Flame and the now-famous Stuxnet worm share a common origin. Researchers from Kaspersky Lab say that a critical module that the Flame worm used to spread is identical to a […]
Vatican Bank’s Former President Has, ‘Prepared a Series of Dossiers to be Sent to Named Individuals in the Event of His sudden Death’
June 11th, 2012Via: Guardian: The ousted head of the Vatican bank came under a withering counter-attack at the weekend as his former top official accused him of negligence and leaked documents were published casting doubt on his mental health. The Vatican meanwhile warned Italian prosecutors against using information in papers seized last week from the bank’s ex-president, […]
