A former Central Intelligence Agency computer engineer was found guilty July 13 in U.S. Federal Court of the largest data leak in ghe agency’s history. Joshua Schulte, whose previous trial ended with a hung jury in 2020, was accused of handing over reams of classified information to WikiLeaks in 2016 while working in the CIA Center for Cyber Intelligence. [node:read-more:link]
The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency is reviewing internal security programs at the Communication Security Establishment, the foreign signals intelligence agency. Among other things, NSIRA is looking into whether the use of polygraph tests in CSE recruitment "is lawful, reasonable and necessary. The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected the use of polygraph results as evidence in court due to concerns of accuracy. [node:read-more:link]
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly used the backdrop of a G20 Summit in Indonesia today to announce new sanctions against Russian agents and organizations, notably focusing on disinformation efforts. The measure applies to 29 agents and 15 entities owned or controlled by the Russian government. [node:read-more:link]
The Community Security Establishment’s use of polygraph tests as part of its agent recruitment process is being assessed by the National Security and Intelligence Review. The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected the use of polygraph results as evidence in court but NSIRA investigators say the review should include sampling the results of current and prospective CSE personnel’s “lie detector” tests, a proposal the CSE says raises serious personal privacy concerns. [node:read-more:link]
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent and a former agent have been indicted in connection with an alleged Chinese scheme to stalk, harass and spy on U.S.-based Chinese critics. The Justice Department said July 7 that the pair are accused of accessing and providing information about cfiticsactivists from a government database. [node:read-more:link]
The British government has approved a £2.6 billion takeover of Ultra Electronics, which manufactures a range of sensitive defence and security systems for the “Five Eyes”, by the Boston-based Advent International private equity firm. This was after months of discussion in London about the sale to a foreign entity and there were reports that U.S. officials threatened to limit intelligence-sharing if the deal wasn’t approved. [node:read-more:link]
The extreme views facilitated by the Muslim Association of Canada, have been ongoing, yet the organization continues to receive millions in federal funding. Speakers at the upcoming conference in Toronto will include one who advocates the death penalty for homosexuality and another who says it's OK to beat your wife. An ongoing Canada Revenue Agency audit has identified links between the association and foreign entities, and the MAC is seeking a court order to have the audit shut down. [node:read-more:link]
The extreme views facilitated by the Muslim Association of Canada, have been ongoing, yet the organization continues to receive millions in federal funding. Speakers at the upcoming conference in Toronto will include one who advocates the death penalty for homosexuality and another who says it's OK to beat your wife. An ongoing Canada Revenue Agency audit has identified links between the association and foreign entities, and the MAC is seeking a court order to have the audit shut down. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Department of Defence Inspector General’s office plans to look into the extent to which the U.S. military “developed, planned, and executed cross-domain intelligence sharing” with its European partners in support of Ukraine. This is several months after the White House relaxed constraints on how the DoD and intelligence agencies shared information. [node:read-more:link]
Individuals described as pro-Chinese agents have been using social media to pose as local residents and environmental activists unhappy with rare earth mining projects in the U.S. and Canada, according to a Virginia-based threat intelligence consultancy. The misrepresentation is designed to give China, the largest producer of rare earth minerals, a competitive advantage. [node:read-more:link]
The Communications Security Establishment has both defensive capabilities and what are called "active" capabilities – which allow it to disrupt foreign online threats to Canada's system. The 2021-2022 annual report gives some details about the cyber campaigns it is waging to safeguard national security. It notes the CSE has used its active cyber operations capabilities to disrupt the efforts of foreign-based extremists to "recruit Canadian nationals, operate online and disseminate violent extremist material." [node:read-more:link]
The Dominican Republic, a popular Caribbean destination for Canadian tourists, has been added to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Level 3: Covid-19 High” risk category along with Kuwait. As of the weekend, there were some 115 Level 3 designations, accounting for nearly half of the places monitored by the CDC. [node:read-more:link]
An alleged Russian spy studying in an elite program favoured by the U.S. military at the Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies in Washington evidently was betrayed by his accent. When a classmate asked “Victor Muller” outright, he replied that he was Brazilian, but it was found be to part of an elaborate “deep sleeper” cover intelligence agent Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov sought to parlay into a position at the International Court of Justice. [node:read-more:link]
Tracking by a Global Affairs Canada unit has identified an apparent Chinese disinformation campaign about what Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were doing in China before they were detained in 2018. They were convicted in closed courts of spying in 2021 in what was generally seen as unwarranted retaliation for Canada’s detention of a Huawei executive at the request of the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP have been told they could be doing a better job of investigating extremism in the prison system. “One of the concerns we have is the lack of coverage over persons convicted of terrorism offences once they are in jail,” two national security experts say in an internal report. “Where a person has been convicted of a terrorism offence, it is likely that they will continue to adhere to an extremist ideology and influence others who will pose threats to national security upon release.” [node:read-more:link]
