SPY NEWS: 2022 — Week 24
Summary of the espionage-related news stories for the Week 24 (12–18 June) of 2022.
1. Iranian Cyber Espionage Operation Targeting Former Israeli and US Officials
On June 14, cyber security and intelligence firm Check Point Research published a technical analysis of a previously unknown cyber espionage operation performed by the Iranian intelligence services. According to the research, it was targeting specific Israeli and US high-ranking officials including: Tzipi Livni, former Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, a former Major General who served in a highly sensitive position in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), the former US Ambassador to Israel, and others.
2. Dutch AIVD Exposes Russian Spy Trying to Infiltrate the International Criminal Court
The counter-intelligence department of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) of the Netherlands published details of a recently completed operation. According to that, Russian military intelligence (GRU) officer Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov (36), spent years years developing his cover story in Brazil in order to apply for an internship at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, specifically in the space of war crimes cases. AIVD disrupted and exposed this ICC infiltration attempt by Russia’s GRU. Bellingcat also published a detailed article about the case.
3. Summary of Recent Undersea Cable Tapping Case in Hawaii
On June 15th, Will Manidis, CEO of ScienceIO, published a series of tweets discussing an attempt to tap into an undersea cable off the coast of Hawaii that happened in April 2022. As per the tweets, “the cable is part of a network that carries over 95% of the world’s data.” He also explained that “the tapping process is done via “intercept probe” A small device containing a prism that splits the light coming across the cable — duplicating the signal between its original path and a second set of cables for monitoring.”
4. Satellites Open the Door to Era of British Espionage From Space
Larisa Brown of The Times published this article after the announcement that the British government will launch two miniature spy satellites this summer from Cornwall. As per the article, “high-quality imagery of the battlefields in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of satellites in providing an accurate picture amid widespread disinformation, Doug Liddle, head of In-Space Missions, said. Britain has relied on its relationship with the US Department of Defense, which has shared its data, and the imagery from RAF aircraft in the region to analyse Russian troop movements. However, the UK wants to develop its own sovereign capability by creating a constellation of small intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites that will enable it to gather imagery and electronic intelligence. One of their functions will be the monitoring of radio signals — a capability that has proved crucial to intercepting conversations between Russian commanders and junior ranks.”
5. Turkey Among 4 Main Espionage Actors in Germany
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency (BfV) reported that throughout 2021 the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) has been on the most active espionage actors inside the country. The other 3 that were mentioned were the intelligence services of Russia, China and Iran. According to BfV, the main targets of MİT’s covert operations inside Germany are “individuals and organizations that oppose or are thought to oppose the Turkish government, especially members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and people with ties to the faith-based Gülen movement.”
6. The 2000 Espionage Case of Soviet and Russian Agent George Trofimoff
Former US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, Christopher Burgess published a short article discussing the case of George Trofimoff, a US military intelligence officer of Russian descent who became a Soviet spy in the 1970s and 1980s and was discovered and arrested in 2000 by the FBI. He was initially clandestinely operating as a KGB agent, and after the Soviet Union collapse, he became a Russian SVR agent.
7. New Indian Cyber Espionage Operation Targeting Pakistani Navy
Cyber threat intelligence researcher Jazi disclosed technical indicators of an active cyber espionage attributed to an actor dubbed as SIDEWINDER who has been previously associated with India. In this case, the operation was impersonating Pakistan’s Joint Maritime Information Coordination Centre (JMICC) and Pakistani Navy with lure documents. If the target opened those documents, a custom cyber espionage software implant was covertly installed.
8. Video: The Ultimate RQ-4 Global Hawk Spy Drone of the US Army
The Military Weapons YouTube channel published a 10-minute long video summarising the history and overview of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft which is used by the US Department of Defence (DoD) and other US agencies.
9. Ukrainian SBU Summary of Recently Completed Counter-Intelligence Operations
On Saturday, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) published a summary of 5 recently completed counter-intelligence operations. Those were: 1) SBU reports that the Director of Russia Today (RT), Anton Krasovsky has been promoting the extermination of Ukrainians. 2) In the region of Odessa, SBU detained a Russian agent who helped calibrate the missile strikes on the bridge across Dniester river. 3) In Kherson, SBU exposed a local businessman who helped organise the capture of the Novokakhovsky division of “Khersongaz.” 4) In Kramatorsk, SBU exposed a local resident who supported the Russian actions in the region, and 5) SBU uncovered a number of illegal armed groups that were operating checkpoints in the Kharkiv area.
10. Chinese Cyber Espionage Operation Targeting India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Others
The cyber security firm Volexity published a technical analysis of a previously unknown cyber espionage operation attributed to Chinese nation-state actors. The operation used a previously unknown flaw in the Sophos Firewall products to infiltrate various computer networks and conduct cyber espionage. The Record highlighted that the espionage activity “was concentrated in South Asia, in particular government and private sector entities in Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.”
11. Podcast: From Navy Analyst to State Dept. Intelligence Chief
The International Spy Museum’s SpyCast released a new 1-hour long episode featuring Ellen McCarthy, who among other positions, in the period of 2019–2021 served as the Head of the US State Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). In this first part, the topics covered are: 1) Her start as a Soviet submarine analyst in the Office of Naval Intelligence. 2) Bringing the U.S. Coast Guard intel. program into the Intelligence Community (IC). 3) Working for DoD and Geospatial-Intelligence, and 4) Why she admires the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR).
12. June 2022 Issue of the SIGNAL Magazine
The SIGNAL magazine of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) is now available online. It covers topics such as: Army Senses Quantum Future, DHS Seeks To Ensure 5G Cybersecurity, and Global Tactical Connectivity Abounds for Warfighters.
13. Mapping Russian Propaganda on Italian TV
On June 14th the Decode 39 published an article summarising how Russian intelligence services are influencing certain Italian TV networks and persons to promote the Russian foreign policy positions. The analysis was performed by Associate Research Fellow on Radicalization and International Terrorism, Matteo Pugliese, of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI).
14. FBI Sentences Chinese Professor to One Year in Prison
As per the official statement of the US Department of Justice (DoJ), former University of Arkansas Professor Simon Saw-Teong Ang, 65, used university resources and research to file, without disclosing it to anyone, 24 patents in China under his name. When confronted by the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division (CD) he lied about them. He was receiving royalties as well as talent awards from the Chinese government for those patents. He was sentenced to “12 months and a day in prison followed by one year of supervised release on one count of making a false statement to the FBI about the existence of patents for his inventions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).”
15. SOA Participates in Croatia’s Coordination for the Homeland Security System
Through an official announcement, Croatia’s Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) revealed that their Director, Daniel Markić, participated in the Coordination for the Homeland Security System. As per the announcement, “the topics of the Coordination session were the implementation of the Program of Activities in the Implementation of Special Fire Protection Measures of Interest to the Republic of Croatia in 2022 and the protection of state bodies and critical infrastructure from advanced cyber attacks.”
16. Podcast: SpyScape: Sexpionage, Part 2: Russian Doll
The SpyScape published a new 38-minute long episode, the second part of a 3-part series where “Vanessa Kirby joins espionage authors Henry Schlesinger and Michael Smith to uncover the real stories behind some of history’s most explosive honeytrap operations.” As per the description, in this episode “Henry Schlesinger reveals the unlikely life and times of a celebrity spy. In 2010, Russian property entrepreneur Anna Chapman was exposed as one of 10 deep-cover agents working on US soil. Armed with SVR tradecraft, nightlife connections and charm to spare, she was linked to a variety of rich and influential men as she rose through the upper echelons of Western society — waiting for the moment to strike.”
17. Canada’s CSIS Needs Fundamental Changes to Carry Out Intelligence Mandate
According to the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency of Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) needs “urgent changes” to “carry out intelligence mandate.” Some of the highlighted findings where: 1) CSIS has a history of quick reforms, followed by neglect, high turnover of personnel leading to a loss of institutional knowledge, and inadequate resources. 2) CSIS policies had not kept pace with operational reality, as they are often vague, dated, overlapping and contradictory. 3) Players involved in the warrant process did not have a common understanding of the rationale for each of the of steps in the warrant application scheme. 4) CSIS has struggled to ensure all information concerning the credibility of sources is properly included in warrant applications, and service officers involved in the early stages do not clearly understand the legal expectations surrounding the duty of candour, and 5) Deficient information-management systems related to human sources at CSIS have resulted in important omissions, violating duty-of-candour obligations.
18. IDF Surveillance Balloon Captured East of Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip
Al Jazeera shared footage captured by residents of the Beit Hanoun region of the Gaza Strip. In the video, an Israeli surveillance balloon known as Skystar 300 is seen falling from the sky, and then captured by local residents. The overhead surveillance platform was reportedly operated by intelligence units of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
19. Russian FSB Arrests Estonian Spy in Murmansk, Russia
According to Russian media, a 36-year old Estonian man was arrested by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in the city of Murmansk, Russia. According to the FSB, the man was operating on behalf of a NATO country’s intelligence agency and was tasked with “collecting information about employees of the FSB with access to state secrets, as well as citizens who confidentially cooperate with the FSB.” He is now facing espionage charges.
20. Turkish Government Secured the Release of Jihadist MİT Agent Serving Life Sentence in UAE
According to the investigation conducted by Nordic Monitor, through bilateral relations, the Turkish government secured the release of Mehmet Ali Öztürk, 54. An Al Qaeda militant convicted to life sentence in United Arab Emirates (UAE) for his participation and orchestration of jihadist terrorist attacks. As per the article, he “set up and ran a jihadist network in 2012 in Turkey and Syria and pursued projects in Iraq and the African countries of Malawi and Madagascar. He was one of many assets used by Turkish intelligence agency MİT in arming and training Turkmen groups in Syria.”
21. United States NSA Presents the Defence Industrial Base (DIB)
On June 16th, the US National Security Agency (NSA) published a 7-minute long video presenting the DIB and its importance for NSA’s cybersecurity mission.
22. Ukrainian SBU Neutralised Large-Scale Russian Agents Network
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) issued a press release for the disruption of a large-scale Russian intelligence network inside Ukraine. According to SBU, 19 Russian agents were detained in Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Vinnytsia. The agents were providing coordinates for missile strikes as well as information on Ukrainian Armed Forces positions, and details of the detention facilities where Russian prisoners were held. They were also documenting who were secretly opposing to Russian forces in the Russian-captured regions. SBU stated that the network was led by an FSB agent in the Kherson region who was collecting the information from the agents and forwarding it to his Russian handler, and an Adviser of the Crimean Mayor Aksonov. The Russian agents now face up to life imprisonment.
23. South Asian Cyber Espionage Operation Targeting Turkey
The Red Drip Team of Qi An Xin revealed a previously unknown cyber espionage operation attributed to an actor dubbed as BITTER who has been previously associated with the intelligence services of a South Asian country. In this operation, the actor used a document impersonating communications between Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) and the Turkish Navy. If the target opened the lure document, a custom cyber espionage software implant was covertly installed. The lure documents were observed in Turkey which implies that this was likely the target of the espionage.
24. Mossad-MİT Secret Alliance to Target Iranian Operations
According to Israeli and Turkish media, the Israeli Mossad and the Turkish MİT have recently entered secret agreement to “thwart the plans of Iranian intelligence seeking revenge on Israel for a series of assassination and sabotage operations attributed to Mossad on Iranian soil.”
25. Interview: Virtual Spy Chat with Chris Costa | Guest: Ric Prado
The International Spy Museum published a new 1-hour long video recording of an interview between the museum’s Executive Director and former US intelligence professional, Chris Costa and Enrique “Ric” Prado, former Counterterrorist Chief of Operations, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
26. Official Press Conference for Romanian SRI New Authorities
Following week 22 (story #42), this week the Romania’s Intelligence Service (SRI) Director, Eduard Hellvig, held a press conference presenting the new legislative authorities and powers that SRI got from the Romanian government. Those include that SRI can now “oblige civilians or companies, as well as public authorities and institutions, to assist SRI inquiries about their operations” and that the Romanian President can dismiss the Head of SRI.
27. Two New Espionage Cases Uncovered by Armenia’s NSS
The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia issued to public statements this week. The first, is about a local serviceman who was recruited by a foreign intelligence service through social media and was tasked to collect information of fellow servicemen, military unit details, time schedules, combat readiness, staff lists, and other military intelligence subjects. He received a total of $2,800 for his services by his handler. He was receiving the payments via bank transfers of $900 each. The second case, involved Major-General Armen Harutyunyan, who was the former Head of the Artillery Department of Armenia’s Armed Forces. According to NSS, he was colluding with arms dealers and approving purchases of inferior weapon systems in order to receive large commissions from the sales.
28. Suspected Russian Spy Arrested at Gatwick Airport
The British domestic intelligence agency, the MI5, in collaboration with other local law enforcement agencies, arrested a man in his 40s last Monday while attempting to leave UK via the Gatwick Airport of London. The man was detained on suspicions of being a Russian spy and he is still in custody without any further details publicly disclosed.
29. Israeli Aeronautics Trojan Presents New UHP Spy Drone
The Israeli Aeronautics Trojan released a 2-minute long video presenting their latest Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance (ISR) autonomous platform known as Unmanned Hover Plane (UHP).
30. Ukrainian SBU Detains Russian Agent in the City of Sumy
Ukraine’s SBU released the video from the arrest of a Russian agent in the city of Sumy, Ukraine. The Russian agent was instructed by his handler to provide photographs and videos of defence facilities as well as movements of Ukrainian military forces and equipment.
31. L3 Harris Plans to Acquire the Israeli Cyber Espionage Firm NSO Group
According to Intelligence Online, the US electronic warfare giant L3 Harris is planning to acquire the controversial Israeli cyber espionage firm NSO Group, the vendor behind the Pegasus cyber espionage suite. As per the article, “NSO is likely to be spun off into L3Harris Trenchant, which has already incorporated the Australian cyber intelligence companies Azimuth Security and Linchpin Labs.”
32. The Spy History of Egyptian Actress Zubaida Tharwat
This week Saleh 13 published an article about Egyptian actress Zubaida Tharwat (1940–2016). The article was later translated to English too.
33. Change of Leadership for the United States NGA
The US National Geospatial-intelligence Agency (NGA) released the video from the change of command. The new, 8th, Director of NGA is Vice Admiral Frank D. Whitworth. The ceremony took place on June 3rd. The former NGA (7th) Director, Vice Admiral Robert D. Sharp, was also awarded the George Washington Spymaster Award.
34. Iranian MOIS Arrests Iranian Spy Linked with 2 French Spies
On Thursday Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) announced the arrest of an Iranian national on espionage charges. The suspect is accused of having links with 2 French citizens who have been arrested in Iran for espionage. The suspect was arrested “while trying to leave the country through the province of West Azerbaijan.” As per the announcement, “the suspect was a Marxist who visited the two alleged French spies before the May 1 International Workers’ Day, as part of a plot to “create unrest among workers.”.”
35. Turkish MİT Assassinates Senior PKK Member and 3 of His Bodyguards in Syria
According to Turkish media, the National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) of Turkey conducted an operation in Syria killing Ferhad Şebli, Chairman of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Executive Council and 3 of his bodyguards. The article highlights that he was targeted with a SİHA drone while travelling with his vehicle, and that he was a high-ranking official who was known to regularly meet with “senior US military officials and Russian army generals, who frequently visited northern Syria.”
36. Spy Way of Life: China Foreign Affairs University Canteen
For this week spy site, Intelligence Online selected the China Foreign Affairs University’s canteen, located in Beijing, China. As per the article, this canteen has a long history of secretive meetings with spy chiefs and diplomats, where “in this spartan but refined setting at the heart of the prestigious university campus, senior Chinese and foreign officials meet to strengthen ties and discuss China’s plans for the New Silk Road.”
37. Podcast: Spycraft 101: Secrets of the Cold War 1947–1990
In this 1-hour long podcast episode of Spycraft 101, “Aden Magee, a retired US Army counterintelligence officer and the author of The Cold War Wilderness of Mirrors: Counterintelligence and the U.S. and Soviet Military Liaison Missions 1947–1990” presents how “members of the US Military Liaison Mission frequently went on dangerous reconnaissance missions inside East Germany, in full uniform. From 1947 until 1990, each of the four major powers occupying divided Germany created liaison organizations which were ostensibly intended to promote communication and peace. Instead, the Soviet Union, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States immediately began using these small units of trained intelligence personnel to spy on each other.”
38. Catalan Government Demands Answers After Head of CNI Confirms Wiretapping
Following the Spanish espionage scandal of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) secretly spying on Catalan politicians using the Israeli Pegasus cyber espionage suite, the Catalan government demands answers “from the highest level.” As per the article, this was because “although Paz Esteban’s testimony before the official secrets commission was given behind closed doors, sources from the political parties told the Spanish media that the director of the CNI had confirmed that 18 of the 63 Catalan activists cited in a Citizen Lab report at the end of April had been spied on.”
39. The Potential of Integrating Intelligence and Intuition
Carmen Medina, former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence, published an article discussing the value of intuition in intelligence analysis and how it could be potentially incorporated without negatively impacting the quality of the finished intelligence products.
40. Belarusian Hacktivists Release Alleged KGB Wiretaps
A hacktivist group known as “Belarusian Cyber-Partisans” released a 4-minute long audio recording (with subtitles) which is allegedly coming from Belarusian KGB systems the group compromised which had recordings of wiretapped calls. The recordings are from the Russian Embassy and Consulate in Minsk, Belarus which were, allegedly, some of the targets that Belarusian KGB was spying on.
41. New Law in Turkey Bans Criticism of Spy Agency (MİT)
According to the Nordic Monitor, a new media bill passed in Turkey adds censorship clauses to protect the country’s spy agency, the MİT. The new legislation states that “MİT documents cannot be used in the news regardless of whether the news is true or false” and journalists and agencies doing that will be prosecuted for espionage.
42. Podcast: SpyCraft 101: Aerial Experiences in Cold War Reconnaissance
Spycraft 101 published this 1.5-hour long podcast episode featuring “Robert Hopkins the III, a retired USAF pilot and the author of Spyflights and Overflights: US Strategic Aerial Reconnaissance 1945–1960.” As per the article, this episode covers the “risks and rewards of these dangerous missions; the men who died and disappeared in secret, and Robert’s own experiences as a recon pilot during the Cold War, witnessing ballistic missile tests and a possible Soviet superweapon now known only as the Dome of Light.”
43. GEOIntelligence 2022 Conference
From 14–15 June 2022, the GEOIntelligence Conference took place at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi, India. Many experts in the field presented their work which was split to two tracks: ISPA Space and Defence. Some notable subjects covered included: Geo4IR for National Security, Geospatial Approach to Modern cybersecurity threats, Geospatial Infrastructure for Informatized Warfighting, Resilient PNT and ISR Capability, and 4IR Technologies in GeoInt.
44. North Korean Cyber Espionage Operation Targeting South Korea
The “CyberWar — 싸워” cyber threat intelligence researcher disclosed technical indicators of an active cyber espionage operation attributed to the intelligence services of North Korea, targeting South Korea. The operation involved fake websites impersonating the login page of the popular South Korean newspaper JoongAng. If the target used their credentials in that fake website, they would get stolen by the North Korean operators.
45. Is There Such a Thing as Female HUMINT?
On June 13th, Joseph Fitsanakis published a short article covering this subject based on an article published in the “International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence” and discussing the potential value of female-only HUMINT teams. As per the article, “this concept was partly behind the creation of female engagement teams (FETs), which have been pioneered in Afghanistan by American and other Western Special Operations Forces units in order to engage with local women.”
46. NSA 2022 Memorial Wall Ceremony Highlight
On June 16th, the US NSA released a 4-minute long video and a report from the 2022 Memorial Wall Ceremony. Presented by NSA/CSS Director, General Paul M. Nakasone the video highlights a new addition to the Agency’s Memorial Wall. The honoured member presented was US Army Sergeant First Class Antonio Rey Rodriguez who was killed in 2020 in Afghanistan while operating as a Cryptologic Linguist for a unit known as the “Red Empire,” tasked with “carrying out difficult and challenging special operations missions around the globe.”
47. Podcast: Spycraft 101: The Incredible Military Feat of Operation Jaque
On June 14th, the Spycraft 101 released a new 40-minute long podcast episode covering Operation JAQUE. That was a covert operation with Colombian and American intelligence services working together to rescue hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2008.
48. Singapore’s Espionage Concerns Over Chinese Surveillance Cameras
Following the Netherlands (see week 23 story #24), Singapore is also having espionage concerns over the use of the Chinese Hikvision surveillance cameras across the country. According to the article, the United States is also pressing Singapore to cancel this contract for geopolitical reasons.
49. Indian DRDL Engineer Honey-Trapped by Pakistani ISI Operative
According to the Times of India, Indian national Mallikarjuna Reddy, 29, was arrested on Friday on espionage charges. He was an engineer at the country’s Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) and was approached via Facebook. He was approached by an attractive female using the name “Natasha Rao” in 2020. She introduced herself as a UK Defence Journal employee and a daughter of an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot living in Bengaluru. She eventually recruited him as a spy and until December 2021 he was providing her with classified material related to DRDL missile development projects. In December 2021 she changed her Facebook name to “Simran Chopra” and stopped all communications. Indian officials stated that they suspect Natasha was a covert Pakistani ISI intelligence officer.
50. TikTok User Data Have Been Repeatedly Access from China
On June 17th, Emily Baker-White of the BuzzFeed News published a story based on leaked audio files from 80 internal TikTok meetings. Those reveal that TikTok user data were repeatedly accessed by Chinese actors, allegedly for espionage purposes. For instance, in an audio recording an external auditor hired by TikTok to assess the risk, he highlighted that “I feel like with these tools, there’s some backdoor to access user data in almost all of them.”
51. British Royal Navy Sexual Affair Ended up in OPSEC Violation for UK’s Nuclear Submarines
The Daily Mail released a story about two Royal Navy officers who exchanged unencrypted emails that compromised covert operations of British nuclear submarines. As per the article, “their messages contained the departure time as well as the direction, speed and depth of travel of Vanguard-class submarine HMS Victorious. All of this ‘would have been useful to an enemy’ and risked weakening the ‘cornerstone’ of the nation’s nuclear deterrent, the hearing was told.” Unencrypted email is regularly intercepted by Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) agencies and this could have compromised the missions of HMS Victorious.
52. Podcast: Team House: The CIA’s Head Spy Hunter
On June 18th, The Team House published a new over 2-hours long podcast episode featuring Professor James Olson who is currently teaching Intelligence and Counterintelliegnce at the Bush School. As per the description, he “served for over thirty years in the Directorate of Operations of the Central Intelligence Agency, mostly overseas in clandestine operations. In addition to several foreign assignments, he was Chief of Counterintelligence at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Professor Olson has been awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit, the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Donovan Award, and several Distinguished Service Citations. He is the recipient of awards from the Bush School and the Association of Former Students for excellence in teaching. Professor Olson is the author of Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying and To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence. Prior to his career in the CIA, he served in the US Navy, where he attained the rank of lieutenant commander.”
53. MI6 Strengthens Legal Team for Future Intelligence Legislation
Following the recent changes in the British intelligence community (see week 22 story #54 and week 23 story #2) the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), better known as MI6, is “strengthening its legal team, which has been tasked with lobbying in Westminster” as reported by Intelligence Online.
54. New Cyber Espionage Operation from India Targeting the Pakistani Navy
Cyber threat intelligence researcher Jazi disclosed technical indicators of a new cyber espionage operation attributed to an actor dubbed as SIDEWINDER who has been previously associated with the intelligence services of India. In this case, a lure document impersonating the Pakistan Navy War College (PNWC) was sent, titled “The Beacon: Pakistan Navy War Collect Review (2018–20119): 48th Pakistan Navy Staff Course.” The document was hosted on a website impersonating the Bahria Foundation, a Pakistani Navy welfare company. If opened, the lure document covertly installed a custom cyber espionage software implant.
55. Argentina Investigates Potential IRGC Quds Force Covert Transport via Emtrasur Cargo Plane
On Thursday it was announced that the Argentinian authorities grounded a Boeing 747 cargo plane owned by the Venezuelan Emtrasur and were conducting an extensive search at the Ezeiza International Airport. The plane was allegedly transferring car parts, but according to Argentina, it was part of an Iranian covert operation. This week the authorities raided and searched the hotel rooms of the 14 Venezuelan and 5 Iranian crew members in search of evidence. As it was revealed, US intelligence notified their Argentinian counterparts that the aircraft and its crew has suspicious links with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Following that, “the Iranian crew had already had their passports temporarily seized, and on Tuesday the Venezuelans had their freedom curtailed after police confiscated mobile phones, computers and documents in the early-morning raid.” The reason was that the aircraft’s pilot was Gholamreza Ghasemi Abbas, someone with the same name as an IRGC Quds Force operative. The Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires officially commented that the “said aircraft, which until very recently was used by Iranian firm Mahan Air, landed in Argentina carrying a group of Iranian officials, among them a high-ranking executive of airline Qeshm Fars Air, which is dedicated to the trafficking of weapons and people that operate for the Quds Force, which is sanctioned by the United States for being involved in terrorist activities.”
56. Gambia’s Spy Chief Highlights that Cyberspace Remains a Challenge
On Wednesday, Ousman Sowe, Director-General of Gambia’s State Intelligence Service (SIS) stated that “cyberspace continues to pose a security challenge as the reported cases of cyber bullying and hate speech rises.” He highlighted the threat that this poses to national security and the importance of the work of SIS in this domain. This happened at the passing out ceremony of SIS recruits.
