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Archive for February 13, 2009

United States (Country threat level - 3):Continental Airlines flight 3407

February 13, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

crashed into a house in Clarence, New York (a suburb of Buffalo), at approximately 2210 local time on 12 February 2009. Clarence is located approximately 10 mi/16 km from Buffalo International Airport (KBUF/BUF). All 48 passengers on board, including four crew members, and a man in the house died. The Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash, though reports indicate that light snow and fog were present in the area at the time of the incident

Posted in CIP | Print | No Comments »

Feds charge son resumed his convicted spy father’s work

February 13, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

(AP, 2/1/09)A 24-year-old Eugene man faces federal charges he traveled the globe to get money from Russian spies and disperse the money to family members at the direction of his father, a former CIA spy imprisoned in Oregon since 1997 for espionage. Nathaniel James Nicholson, 24, of Eugene, Ore., and his father, Harold James Nicholson, 58, who is incarcerated at a federal prison in Sheridan, Ore., are charged on two counts of conspiracy, one count of acting as agents of a foreign government and four counts of money laundering, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The federal charges allege the son met with the father in prison on several occasion to obtain information with the intent to then meet with representatives of the Russian Federation. The indictment alleges the son then brought the money, paid by the Russian Federation for the father’s past espionage activities, back to Oregon to disperse to family members at his father’s direction.

http://www.kval.com/news/local/38622497.html

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Drive-By ‘War Cloning’ Attack Hacks Electronic Passports, Driver’s Licenses

February 13, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

 (Dark Reading, 2/2/09)

With a $250 used RFID scanner he purchased on eBay and a low-profile antenna tucked away in his car, a security researcher recently cruised the streets along Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, where he captured — and cloned — a half-dozen electronic passports within an hour. This newest RFID attack is being coined as “war cloning” given its similarity to war-driving, or wireless sniffing.

The security weaknesses of the EPC Gen 2 RFID tags, which lack encryption and true authentication, have been well-known and of concern to privacy advocates for some time. These tags are being used in the new wallet-sized passport cards that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers under the new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative for travel to and from Western Hemisphere countries. The e-cards are aimed at simplifying and speeding up the border-crossing process, providing U.S. Customs and border agents with information on the individual as he or she queues up to inspection booths at the border.

http://www.darkreading.com/security/privacy/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=213000321&cid=nl_DR_WEEKLY_T

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Congress opens secrets to local first responders

February 13, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

(AP, 2/3/09)

Terrorists could be lurking in some American town, but the local sheriff or fire chief might be left in the dark about the threat because he can’t easily access information classified by the Feds in Washington. That scenario could change under legislation passed by the House to reduce overclassification of threat information.

“Classifying information for the wrong reasons — to protect turf or to avoid embarrassment — is wrong,” said Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., sponsor of the bill that passed on a voice vote. She said that in her eight years on the House Intelligence Committee, “I become incredibly frustrated with this practice — which the Bush administration elevated to an art form.” The legislation would require the Homeland Security Department to produce a declassified version of threat information for state and local first responders who don’t have the security clearance to view classified material.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gXWjD52LjxBpk5wM6Xf_ajkdc8GwD964EAQO0

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Wildfires Could Fuel ‘Forest Jihad’ Terrorists, Experts Say

February 13, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

 (Fox News, 2/9/09)

Firefighters and homeowners aren’t the only ones keenly watching Australia’s massive wildfires, responsible for killing at least 173 people in the southern part of the continent.
Terrorism experts suspect Muslim extremists are watching closely, too — and taking note of the devastation.

While Australian authorities have revealed no evidence linking the wildfires to extremists, terrorism experts say the large death toll, the huge swath of destruction and the massive financial blow to the country are proving to Islamic terrorists that arson can be a highly effective — and simple — tool of holy war. In November, an extremist Web site called on Muslims to launch a “forest jihad” in Australia, Europe, Russia and the United States.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,490306,00.html

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Alarm raised over increase in Eurospies

February 13, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

 (Times Online, 2/12/09)

Keep an extra close eye on the stunning blonde with the long legs, EU bureaucrats were told yesterday. She might seem harmless, but the chances are that she is an agent for a foreign power. A growing number of spies are trying to get their hands on confidential EU documents using a range of guises including journalists, lobbyists, trainees on secondment and IT support workers.

As if to prove the scale of the problem, a top-secret internal memo setting out the threat of espionage was itself leaked yesterday. “Like any large-scale organisation which deals with confidential information, there are always people who endeavour to gain access to this information,” said Valerie Rampi, a European Commission spokeswoman. She said that the head of Belgian security confirmed that “there has been an increase in such activity” in and around the EU institutions.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5713130.ece

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Los Alamos computers missing

February 13, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

 (AP, 2/12/09)

The Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory in New Mexico is missing 69 computers, including at least a dozen that were stolen last year, a lab spokesman said. No classified information has been lost, spokesman Kevin Roark said. The watchdog group Project on Government Oversight released a memo dated Feb. 3 from the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration that said 67 computers were missing, including 13 that were lost or stolen in past 12 months.

Roark initially confirmed those figures, but later updated them. He said a total of 80 computers were lost or stolen in 2008, but 11 were recovered. The lab was initiating a monthlong inventory to account for every computer, Roark said. The computers were a cybersecurity issue because they may contain personal information like names and addresses, but they did not contain any classified information, he said.

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20090212/NEWS01/902120320/1002/NEWS01

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