For years, China’s state-backed hackers have stolen huge troves of company secrets, political intelligence, and the personal information of millions of people. On Monday, officials in the United States and United Kingdom expanded the long list of hacking allegations, claiming China is responsible for breaching the UK’s elections watchdog and accessing 40 million people’s data. … Read more
HELSINKI — Latvia´s state security service has started criminal proceedings against an European Parliament lawmaker and a citizen of the Baltic country who is suspected of cooperating with Russian intelligence and security services, according to Latvian media reports Saturday. Latvian media outlets reported that the security service, known by the abbreviation VDD, has been investigating … Read more
VIENNA — Austria said on Wednesday it has ordered two diplomats from Russia’s Embassy in Vienna to leave the country. An Austrian official said the expulsions were related to spying activities. The Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement that the two Russian diplomats had “engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status” and have … Read more
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish authorities have detained 33 people suspected of spying for Israel, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported on Tuesday. Authorities were still searching for 13 others believed to have links to Israel’s Mossad security service, the Anadolu Agency reported. The suspects were detained in raids in Istanbul and seven other provinces for allegedly … Read more
For the first time in four centuries, it’s good to be a beaver. Long persecuted for their pelts and reviled as pests, the dam-building rodents are today hailed by scientists as ecological saviors. Their ponds and wetlands store water in the face of drought, filter out pollutants, furnish habitat for endangered species, and fight wildfires. … Read more
NEW DELHI — Qatar’s Court of Appeal reduced Thursday the death sentence handed in October to eight retired Indian navy officers on spy charges, the Indian foreign ministry said. Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement the detailed verdict has not been received yet. “We are in close touch with the legal team as … Read more
“Did you learn things in CIA training about withstanding interrogation that are going to make it harder for me to interview you?” I asked Joe Weisberg, creator of the TV espionage drama The Americans and onetime CIA agent. He looked momentarily startled, as though he’d expected this to be easier. Good, I had him where … Read more
MIAMI — A former career American diplomat was charged Monday with serving as a secret agent for communist Cuba going back decades in what prosecutors portrayed as one of the most brazen and long-running betrayals in the history of the U.S. foreign service. Court papers alleged that Manuel Rocha engaged in “clandestine activity” on Cuba’s … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave The Justice Department unsealed charges Monday against a retired ambassador, accusing him of being a “clandestine agent” for decades — allegedly betraying his country by acting covertly on behalf of Cuba’s spy agency. The arrest of 73-year-old Manuel Rocha capped an undercover sting operation that lasted more … Read more
Some of the United States’ largest civil liberties groups are urging Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer not to pursue a short-term extension of the Section 702 surveillance program slated to sunset on December 31. The more than 20 groups—Demand Progress, the Brennan Center for Justice, American Civil Liberties Union, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice among … Read more