espionage

Secrets of Area 51: History, technology, and controversy

Area 51 is one of the most enduring mysteries and sources of speculation in American history.

Located inside the Nevada Test and Training Range, the flat, dry lake bed known as Groom Lake has been the home to some of the nation's most advanced espionage and weapons technology, hair-raising tales of Cold War brinksmanship, and possibly much worse, according to a new book about the top-secret military base.

In writing "Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base," Annie Jacobsen combed through thousands of pages of declassified material on American spy plane development, nuclear testing at Area 51, and the history of the CIA and Air Force's control of the base.

In the course of her research, she interviewed dozens of men who worked or lived at Area 51 and are only now talking to one another and the public about their time there. She also interviewed one anonymous source who suggested a deeply dark side of the research conducted at Area 51: human experimentation and psychological warfare (and, of course, a high-level cover-up).

I interviewed Jacobsen, along with Jim Friedman, who was a senior field administrator at Area 51 for 13 years, and TD Barnes, a radar specialist who lived and worked at Area 51, in Nevada near the edge of the enormous testing range and base. We drove up to the gate at Area 51, talked at length about the planes and other technologies developed there and dug into the controversy surrounding the most shocking parts of Jacobsen's book.

The interviews and footage originally aired on CBS' "The Early Show," and these three videos are extra footage and longer interviews about the topics covered in the book. First, a journey down the long Nevada highway and desolate dirt road that leads to the back gate at Area 51: the most intimidating gate you've ever seen. When we got there, there was broken glass on the ground, an ominous camera gazing down at us, and absolutely no one in sight. But I could feel the weight of eyes on me with every moment we were there (and I expected a blow-dart in the back at any second!). … Read more

China linked to new breaches tied to RSA

Recent attacks on three U.S. defense contractors could be tied to cyberespionage campaigns waged from China, several security experts told CNET.

The incidents at Lockheed Martin, L-3 Communications, and Northrop Grumman appear to stem from a breach at RSA in March in which data was stolen related to RSA's SecurID two-factor authentication devices--widely used by U.S. government agencies, contractors, and banks to secure remote access to sensitive networks.

Lockheed confirmed to The New York Times on Friday that hackers had used data stolen in the RSA breach and other methods to figure out the coded password of … Read more

Julian Assange leaves London jail on bail

A beaming Julian Assange emerged from solitary confinement in London's Wandsworth Prison today and said he plans to continue his work as the most visible face of WikiLeaks.

The Australian programmer, computer hacker, and document-leaking evangelist told a scrum of journalists and supporters that "I hope to continue my work," and insisted he was innocent of the odd sexual allegations that led Swedish authorities to seek his extradition.

"To the British justice system itself, where if justice is not always an outcome, at least it is not dead yet," Assange said. (Here's audio.)

Earlier … Read more

WikiLeaks could be vulnerable to Espionage Act

news analysis If WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange is indicted by the U.S. government for disseminating classified information, as even his own lawyer now expects, his defense is likely to face long legal odds.

The 1917 Espionage Act, enacted by the U.S. Congress during World War I, has been a mainstay of national security prosecutions ever since. And it's been upheld as constitutional by every court that has examined whether its invocation in a criminal prosecution complies with the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech.

A CNET review of Espionage Act cases shows that judges have … Read more

WikiLeaks faces more U.S. demands for prosecution

WikiLeaks encountered another round of criticism in Washington political circles today as the two senators who head the Senate Intelligence Committee called for the espionage prosecution of editor Julian Assange.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kit Bond (R-Miss.) said that Assange--and, in wording that was likely designed to intimidate programmers and other volunteers aiding WikiLeaks--any of "his possible accomplices" should be charged with federal crimes.

"We believe that Mr. Assange's conduct is espionage and that his actions fall under the elements of this section of law," the senators told Attorney General Eric Holder in a … Read more

GOP senator proposes law targeting WikiLeaks 'cowards'

A Republican senator has proposed rewriting the Espionage Act to target WikiLeaks.

Sen. John Ensign of Nevada yesterday announced a bill that would make it illegal to identify informants working with the U.S. military, which WikiLeaks did earlier this year when releasing files from the war in Afghanistan.

In last week's Iraq war files release, WikiLeaks removed names, but the U.S. Defense Department said yesterday that information in the leaked documents could still identify dozens of people.

"My legislation will extend the legal protections for government informants, such as the Iraqis named in this latest document … Read more

Report: Alleged Russian spy worked for Microsoft

A 12th alleged Russian spy recently identified by the U.S. government has a tech connection: he worked for Microsoft.

Alexey Karetnikov has been deported to Russia because federal investigators believe he was "in the early stages" of alleged espionage, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The paper's anonymous government source asserted that Karetnikov had "obtained absolutely no information" while he was in the United States.

Karetnikov had been in the Seattle area and working for Microsoft as a software tester since October, the Post said. Microsoft confirmed to the Post that Karetnikov was, in fact, … Read more

Report: India targeted by spy network

Researchers have uncovered a spy network that stole classified and other sensitive documents from the Indian government, the Dalai Lama's office, the United Nations, and compromised computers elsewhere, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The operation, dubbed "Shadow Network," is detailed in a report that also cites evidence it says links the Shadow network to two people living in Chengdu, China, and the underground hacking community in that country.

The report is based on research from volunteers at the U.S.-based Shadow Server Foundation and Information Warfare Monitor, which includes researchers from the Citizen Lab … Read more

Report unearths targeted attacks on oil firms

Three U.S. oil companies were targeted in 2008 in computer attacks in which sensitive information was leaked, including in one case to a computer in China, according to a published report.

In the attacks, senior level executives received e-mails that contained embedded links that when clicked on downloaded spyware to computers, The Christian Science Monitor reported Monday. The spyware was custom-made and undetectable by antivirus software, according to the report. The publication conducted a five-month investigation into the attacks.

The companies--Marathon Oil, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips--were informed by the FBI that valuable information was targeted including "bid data" … Read more

Google's spy case: Not the first, nor the last

The recent cyberattacks on Google and other U.S. companies became public because they prompted Google's dramatic showdown with China, but attempts to steal corporate secrets using the Internet happen under the radar on a daily basis.

"Espionage has been going on for decades. The Internet has made it a lot easier to conduct espionage," said John Bumgarner, chief technology officer at the government-funded think tank U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit. "The targets are mostly defense contractors and high-tech companies that have some type of competitive advantage that someone wants to steal."

When regular business … Read more