Tag: SPY

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Five to be charged with spying for Russia

Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova were previously charged with “possession of false identity documents with improper intention” in February contrary – news of which emerged in August…reports Asian Lite News

Five Bulgarians living in the UK have been charged by the Crown Prosecution Service, accused of being engaged in a conspiracy to spy for Russia between August 2020 and February this year.

The three men and two women, aged between 29 and 45, are, the CPS said, accused of “conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy”.

Orlin Roussev, 45, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk; Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, and Katrin Ivanova, 31, both from Harrow, west London, will now appear in Westminster magistrates court on 26 September for an initial hearing.

They will be joined by Ivan Stoyanov, 31, from Greenford, west London, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, from Churchway, north-west London. All five have been charged with offences contrary to section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova were previously charged with “possession of false identity documents with improper intention” in February contrary – news of which emerged in August.

Prosecutions for espionage in British courts are very rare, with cases of spying by foreign nationals often dealt with through expulsions. However, relations between the UK and Russia have deteriorated sharply following Moscow’s decision to launch the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

There have been a number of high-profile Russian plots in recent years, including the murder in 2006 of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko and the attempted murder in 2018 of the Russian defector Sergei Skripal.

Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova had lived in the UK for several years, working in a variety of jobs, and lived in a series of suburban properties. Internet searches show that Roussev previously held technical jobs, describing him in 2009 as a network engineer and software developer.

Roussev’s LinkedIn profile did not feature a photograph. It says he is the owner of a now-dissolved artificial intelligence company, NewGenTech Ltd. He describes himself as a former adviser to Bulgaria’s energy ministry and has recently been living at a seaside guesthouse in Great Yarmouth.

Dzhambazov is described as a driver for hospitals. His Facebook page lists no friends. It features several videos of nightclubs and parties. A live stream from 2018 appears to show him teaching English to a group of mature Bulgarian students.

Ivanova describes herself on her LinkedIn profile as a laboratory assistant for a private health business. In a Facebook video for the Bulgarian Social Platform Ivanova gives advice on how to obtain basic UK qualifications. Topics include citizenship, employment, and an introduction to “British values”.

Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova also worked for electoral commissions in London that facilitate voting in Bulgarian elections by citizens living abroad, according to Bulgarian state documents online.

Prosecutions follow an investigation by Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command, which is also responsible for investigating espionage and hostile state activity.

Nick Price, the head of the CPS’s special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: “Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, Katrin Ivanova, 31, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, and Vanya Gaberova, 29, will be charged with conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy for a purpose prejudicial to the safety and interest of the state between 30 August 2020 and 8 February 2023.

“Roussev, Dzhambazov and Ivanova were previously charged on 11 February 2023 with possession of false identity documents with improper intention under section 4 of the Identity Documents Act 2010.”

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-Top News China UK News

Sunak challenges premier Li after ‘spying for China’ arrests

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds a bilateral meeting with China Premier Li Qiang at the G20

The prime minister has also refused to rule out inviting China to his summit on artificial intelligence later this year…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak has challenged the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, over Chinese interference in the UK parliament, after two men were arrested amid allegations that a parliamentary researcher had spied for Beijing.

The prime minister met Li on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi in an unplanned meeting hours after the Sunday Times revealed the researcher, who is understood to have had links to senior Conservative MPs, had been arrested along with another man.

After the meeting, Sunak said: “I obviously can’t comment on the specifics of an ongoing investigation but with regard to my meeting with Premier Li what I said very specifically is that I raised a range of different concerns that we have in areas of disagreement, and in particular, my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable.

“We discussed a range of things and I raised areas where there are disagreements. And this is just part of our strategy to protect ourselves, protect our values and our interests, to align our approach to China with that of our allies like America, Australia, Canada, Japan and others, but also to engage where it makes sense.”

According to Chinese media, Li told Sunak the two countries “should properly handle disagreements, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns”.

The meeting had not been scheduled, but was confirmed on Sunday morning after news of the arrests broke. The issue was the first thing Sunak raised during their 20-minute encounter, to which Li responded that the two countries had “differences in opinion”.

The pair also spoke about trade, Ukraine and artificial intelligence. They did not talk in detail about the AI summit in the UK later this year, however, despite reports that Britain had issued an invitation to China to attend.

Last month, James Cleverly became the first foreign secretary in five years to visit China and said during the visit that it would not be “credible” to disengage with Beijing.

Sunak, meanwhile, has angered China hawks in his own party by refusing to say the country is a threat to Britain. He said earlier this year: “I don’t think it’s kind of smart or sophisticated foreign policy to reduce our relationship with China – which after all is a country with one and a half billion people, the second biggest economy, and member of the UN security council.”

The prime minister has also refused to rule out inviting China to his summit on artificial intelligence later this year.

The latest row over Chinese espionage at the heart of British democracy risks damaging any detente between the two countries, however.

The Sunday Times said the researcher, who is in his 20s, and another man in his 30s had been arrested in March. The man, who is a UK citizen, reportedly had links to Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee, and Tom Tugendhat, the security minister.

Officers from the Metropolitan police’s counter terrorism command, which oversees espionage-related offences, are investigating.

The man in his 30s was arrested in Oxfordshire on 13 March , while the man in his 20s was arrested in Edinburgh, Scotland Yard said. Both were held on suspicion of offences under section one of the Official Secrets Act 1911, which punishes offences that are said to be “prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state”.

“Searches were also carried out at both the residential properties, as well as at a third address in east London,” a statement from the force said. Both men were held at a south London police station until being bailed until early October.

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-Top News India News USA

India, US discuss Chinese spy balloons

The first phase of the exercise commenced on Monday. This phase of the exercise will focus on air mobility and will involve the transport of aircraft and Special Forces assets from both the Air Forces…reports Asian Lite News

India and the US held discussions over the Chinese spy balloons that were shot down by the American Air Force recently after being detected at a very high altitude there carrying out suspicious activities.

Asked whether the issue of the Chinese Spy balloon incident came up for discussions with Indian officials, Pacific Air Force Commander General Kenneth S. Wilsbach said, “He had very ‘brief’ conversations and dialogue with most of the air chiefs in the region, shortly after within few weeks after it was shot down by the United States down the Coast of South Carolina.”

Also, speaking about the incident, the Commander added that any country that would violate the sovereignty of another country should cause concern to us.

“Certainly, we had some dialogue on it. We have very briefly, I wouldn’t say it was extensive but had very brief conversations with most of the air chiefs in the region. It wasn’t public but rather private comments behind closed doors,” he said.

“I would like to discuss, something that should concern those of us who value a free and open Indo – Pacific..The sovereignty of your air space and the fact that we believe that your air space in India is your sovereign space and that you should decide who you get to fly into it. And when you have countries that don’t necessarily agree with that and they just decide to violate your sovereignty and fly in it, whether it’s your air space or ours or Canada’s as you are referring to the Balloon that eventually got shut down off the Coast of South Carolina”, said the Commander.

“Any country that would violate the sovereignty of another country’s airspace, who is not abiding by the international law or norms should cause concern for us and that is something that we as nations that believe in the rule of law should emphasize to the foundations that should abide by the rule of law and we should have discussions to encourage them to comply with that international law so that we don’t have areas that could turn into a very big miscalculation”, he added.

In February, the U.S. fighter jets shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon that had drifted across the United States for several days bringing an end to the opening chapter of a tense public standoff with Beijing over the intrusion into U.S. airspace.

Speaking about Exercise Cope India 23, a bilateral Air Exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF), the Commander said that he is excited about that which will see air crafts and personnel training together. The Commander also highlighted that for the first time, B1 Bombers will be part of the exercises too along with a minimum of 4 F-15Es, C-17 and 2 C-130s.

“This is my fourth trip to India since I have been in the air force. It is an honour to be back. I really work on the overall objective towards the United States Indo-Pacific command and for free and open Indo-Pacific and one of the methods by which we do that is to work with allies and partners which brings us here in India and we had a number of opportunities to have training opportunities and subject matter expert exchanges with Indian air force”, he said.

“This week we are very excited that Cope India will be going on and we will have several of our aircraft and many of our personnel here in India, training together. It is an opportunity to be able to prove our interoperability and to share tactics, techniques and procedures and what is very exciting about this particular Cope India is the induction of some of our Bombers that will be here later in the week”, he added.

Exercise Cope India 23 is being carried out at Air Force Stations Arjan Singh (Panagarh), Kalaikunda (West Bengal) and Agra in UP. The exercise aims to enhance mutual understanding between the two Air Forces and share their best practices.

The first phase of the exercise commenced on Monday. This phase of the exercise will focus on air mobility and will involve the transport of aircraft and Special Forces assets from both the Air Forces.

Both sides will field the C-130J and C-17 aircraft, with the USAF operating an MC-130J.

The exercise also includes the presence of Japanese Air Self Defence Force aircrew, who will participate in the capacity of observers.

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-Top News Asia News Tech Lite

Chinese tech giants face scrutiny amid spying concerns

From Huawei to TikTok, Chinese tech giants face scrutiny amid spying concerns

Many US policymakers view Huawei as a commercial extension of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)…reports Asian Lite News

With China-based tech giants like Huawei triggering national security concerns — amid Beijing-backed bad actors capable of orchestrating massive cyber-attacks on industries and defence establishments across the world — the outcome of the constant tussle could shape the world’s tech landscape for years to come.

Beijing has always denied its links to any large-scale cyber attack, espionage via its tech companies or stealing users’ data via its apps (like TikTok), experts warn that tensions between Washington and Beijing over technology could lead to a “digital iron curtain”, which would compel foreign governments to decide between doing business with the US or China.

According to New York-based think-tank Council on Foreign Relations, Huawei faces accusations that Beijing could use its 5G infrastructure for espionage.

“The US and other countries claim that Huawei threatens their national security. They say it is beholden to the Chinese government, which could use the company to spy,” according to the council’s latest report that came out earlier this week.

The US, Australia, Japan, and others have effectively banned Huawei from building their 5G networks, but it remains popular in low-income countries.

In recent years, the US and several other countries have asserted that Huawei threatens their national security, saying it has violated international sanctions and stolen intellectual property, and that it could commit cyber espionage.

Many US policymakers view Huawei as a commercial extension of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“There are also concerns that Huawei’s 5G infrastructure could contain backdoors that allow the Chinese government to collect and centralize massive quantities of data and give Beijing the necessary access to attack communications networks and public utilities. In 2022, an FBI investigation found that Huawei equipment can be used to disrupt US military communications, including those about the U.S. nuclear arsenal,” according to the Council’s report.

Huawei, however, has denied all such accusations. The company has distanced itself from the CCP, repeatedly asserting that its equipment have never been used, and will never be used, to spy.

The US government limitations on Huawei have been ongoing since 2017, when the Congress restricted some Department of Defense networks from using Huawei or ZTE equipment.

In November 2022, the Joe Biden government banned the sale and import of new communications equipment from five Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE, amid concerns over national security.

Other Chinese companies listed included Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera, which make video surveillance equipment and two-way radio systems.

Hikvision, Huawei and others denied supplying data to the Chinese government. Hikvision said that its products present no security threat to the US.

In January 2023, the Biden administration stopped providing licenses for US companies to export goods to Huawei.

The countries of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence alliance — The US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK — have banned or are rolling out bans on Huawei.

Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Sweden have also restricted the use of Huawei equipment in the construction of their 5G networks.

Meanwhile, China has also been accused of cyber warfare against countries.

In 2021, the US, NATO and other allies alleged China employed “contract hackers” to exploit a breach in Microsoft email systems, giving state security agents access to emails, corporate data and other sensitive information.

China-sponsored hacker groups also allegedly compromised the US energy department, utility companies, telecommunications firms and universities.

ByteDance-owned TikTok has also been in the news for reportedly stealing US users’ data.

The US plans to ban Chinese short video-making app TikTok nationwide, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a vote next month on a bill to completely block the platform.

5G.

According to reports, the bill will give the White House the legal power to ban TikTok over larger national security concerns.

Last month, the Chinese short-form video making app was banned on mobile devices issued by the US House of Representatives. The House ordered staff to delete TikTok from all mobile phones.

A TikTok spokesperson told South China Morning Post that a total ban of the app is a “piecemeal approach to national security and a piecemeal approach to broad industry issues like data security, privacy and online harms”.

“We hope that lawmakers will focus their energies on efforts to address those issues holistically, rather than pretending that banning a single service would solve any of the problems they’re concerned about or make Americans any safer,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

TikTok is currently negotiating a deal with the US Justice Department to resolve national security concerns.

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-Top News UK News

UK exposes Russian spy agency behind cyber incidents

Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss speaks to her counterpart in Australia Simon Birmingham the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment as they start the Trade talks between the UK and Australia. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

The malware used against the petro-chemical plant was designed specifically to target the plant’s safety override for the Industrial Control System and resulted in two emergency shutdowns of the plant…reports Asian Lite News

The UK, together with the US and other allies, on Thursday exposed historic malign cyber activity of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) – the successor agency to the KGB.

One month on since Putin’s unprovoked and illegal war in Ukraine started, the global scope of the FSB’s Centre 16 cyber campaign has been revealed.

The National Cyber security Centre (NCSC) assess it is almost certain that the FSB’s Centre 16 are also known by their hacker group pseudonyms of ‘Energetic Bear’, ‘Berserk Bear’ and ‘Crouching Yeti’, and conducted a malign programme of cyber activity, targeting critical IT systems and national infrastructure in Europe, the Americas and Asia. They have today been indicted by the FBI for targeting the systems controlling the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant in Kansas, US in 2017 but failed to have any negative impact.

Separately, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has used the UK’s cyber sanctions regime to designate a Russian defence ministry subsidiary, the Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics (TsNIIKhM), for an incident involving safety override controls in a Saudi petro-chemicals plant in 2017.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, “Russia’s targeting of critical national infrastructure is calculated and dangerous. It shows Putin is prepared to risk lives to sow division and confusion among allies. We are sending a clear message to the Kremlin by sanctioning those who target people, businesses and infrastructure. We will not tolerate it. We will continue to work together with our allies to turn the ratchet and starve Putin’s war machine of its funding and resources.”

The malware used against the petro-chemical plant was designed specifically to target the plant’s safety override for the Industrial Control System and resulted in two emergency shutdowns of the plant.

The malware was designed to give the actors complete control of infected systems and had the capability to cause significant impact, possibly including the release of toxic gas or an explosion – either of which could have resulted in loss of life and physical damage to the facility.

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-Top News India News

ISI targets security posts, camps in Kashmir

The ongoing anti-terror operation in Poonch has indicated the preparation level of these terrorist groups, they added…reports Asian Lite News…reports Asian Lite News.

Following the recent civilian killings in the Kashmir, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is now pushing the terrorists and overground workers, as well as hybrid terrorists, to hit the security forces’ camps and posts in the valley, sources said.

The sources quoting intelligence inputs, have confirmed that the ISI has asked the handlers of terror outfits active in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) such as Lashakar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the newly-floated ‘The Resistance Force’ to instruct its cadre to hit the security forces’ camps and posts.

They also said that some heavily-armed terrorists who might have sneaked into the valley earlier, may sprawl on security establishments, therefore, extra vigil have been instructed without any laxity.

The ongoing anti-terror operation in Poonch has indicated the preparation level of these terrorist groups, they added.

The sources also said that despite the high security apparatus that have activated in Jammu and Kashmir especially after the recent visit by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, these inputs are a matter of concern.

However, officials involved in the operations said that adequate security arrangements have been put in place to prevent untoward attempts.

“Barricades and fortified bunkers have been placed at the security forces’ camps and residential complexes have been tightened, adequate security deployments have been deployed at the entry and exit points of the cities in the Union Territory including Srinagar,” the security officials said, adding that similar arrangement have also made for defence establishments, while joint patrolling by the army and CRPF have already been intensified.

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NSA got Danish intel help to spy on allies: Report

The report was published on Sunday by Denmark’s national broadcaster DR News, in collaboration with Swedish, Norwegian, German and French media…reports Asian Lite News

Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE) has given the US National Security Agency (NSA) open internet access to spy on senior politicians of neighbouring countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a media report said.

The report was published on Sunday by Denmark’s national broadcaster DR News, in collaboration with Swedish, Norwegian, German and French media, Xinhua news agency reported.

The media outlets found out some “startling conclusions” in a secret internal investigation on the FE dubbed as “Operation Dunhammer” which was concluded in May 2015.

A significant conclusion in the Dunhammer report, according to DR News, is that the NSA has purposefully obtained data and thus been able to clandestinely spy on targeted heads of state, as well as neighbouring Scandinavian leaders, top politicians, and high-ranking officials in Germany, Sweden, Norway, and France.

Danish Minister of Defence Trine Bramsen responded to the report by sending an email to DR News, saying that the government will not “enter into speculation about any intelligence matters from the press or others… Systematic wiretapping of close allies is unacceptable”.

However, the governments of Norway and Sweden are pressing Denmark and demanding immediate answers about the alleged NSA espionage through Danish cables.

“We demand to be fully informed about matters concerning Swedish citizens, companies and interests. And then we have to see how the answer sounds from a political side in Denmark,” Swedish Minister of Defence Peter Hultqvist told state broadcaster SVT on Sunday.

However, according to DR News’ report, the information about the NSA’s espionage through cooperation with the FE should already have been known by the Defence Minister as details were included in a four-volume statement that Bramsen received from the FE in August 2020.

In the statement, the FE was accused of obtaining and passing on information about Danish citizens, according to local media.

Bramsen has harshly criticized the failure by the FE’s management to follow up on or investigate further signs of espionage within the area of the Ministry of Defence.

There are indications that the FE has “initiated operational activities in violation of Danish law”, he said.

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-Top News Kerala

CBI to probe ISRO espionage case

The 79-year-old Narayanan waged a legal battle against the Kerala police officers who accused him of being a Pakistan’s spy in 1994…reports Asian Lite News.

At last former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan’s case was handed over to CBI. The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a CBI probe into the role of Kerala police officers in framing ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage case.

A bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar accepted the report of a panel headed by former top court judge D.K. Jain, and asked the CBI to carry out further investigation. The top court said the matter is very serious and it requires a CBI probe.

The bench asked acting CBI Director to take charge of the case and treat the report by Justice Jain panel as a preliminary inquiry report to conduct further investigations into the matter.

The bench also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari also asked the CBI to file status report on its investigations in three months. The top court has ordered that panel’s report should be kept confidential in a sealed cover.

The 79-year-old Narayanan waged a legal battle against the Kerala police officers who accused him of being a Pakistan’s spy in 1994. Besides appointing the panel, the top court had directed the Kerala government to pay Rs 50 lakh compensation to Narayanan for causing him immense humiliation.

In 2018, a bench of the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra decided to appoint a committee under Jain and asked the Centre and the Kerala government to name one person each to the committee. While the Centre appointed a top official — D.K. Prasad, the Pinarayi Vijayan government appointed former Additional Chief Secretary V.S. Senthil.

The ISRO spy case surfaced in 1994 when Narayanan was arrested on charges of espionage along with another senior official of ISRO, two Maldivian women and a businessman.

The CBI had held that the then top police officials in Kerala were responsible for Narayanan’s illegal arrest. The panel examined the circumstances leading to Narayanan’s arrest. It was alleged that confidential documents on India’s space program was allegedly transferred to foreign countries.

Narayanan had maintained that Kerala police fabricated the case and the technology he was accused to have stolen and sold in 1994 case did not even exist at that time.

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