2 Colombia ex-intelligence officers receive extended sentences over wiretapping scandal

A Colombia judge has decided to increase prison sentences on two former intelligence officers who were already convicted for their roles in a wiretapping scandal that unfolded in 2008, local media reported on Thursday.

As more information came to light in the cases against former officials from Colombia’s now-defunct intelligence agency DAS, a Bogota judge has increased the sentences of Luz Marina Rodriguez and Bernardo Murillo Cajamarca from six years in prison to 12.

In addition to their crimes of conspiracy, abuse of public office, and violation of communication for spying on opposition politicians, journalists, and human rights advocates, Rodriguez and Cajamarca have also been linked to infiltrating Colombia’s supreme court.

“As the development of their functional duties, among which are highlighted sessions or private meetings, […] […]

Espionage concerns reach into all levels of politics. We have been called in on cases where a mayor suspected the chief of police may have bugged his office, and where the local police department thought the town council may have bugged their offices.

Here we find the N.H. State Police were called in to investigate allegations that the Nelson Town Hall may have been bugged with an electronic eavesdropping device.

N.H. State Police investigate allegations of wiretapping at Nelson’s town hall

NELSON — An investigation into whether town officials illegally wiretapped conversations at the Nelson Town Hall is now with the Cheshire County Attorney’s Office, police said.

N.H. State Police say they recently wrapped up a nearly two-month probe into the case.

The top secret CIA Museum only spies can visit. (From the UK Daily Mail.)

Tucked away among the labyrinthine corridors of the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia, is the ‘coolest museum you will never see’.  Hidden from public view, the CIA Museum is comprised of five exhibits full of real paraphernalia from the storied history of the spy agency, which dates back to World War II. Proudly on display are some of the most important historical artifacts of modern times – including the AK-47 found beside the body of Osama bin Laden and the mock-up of his Pakistan compound the agency used to plan their successful assault. The museum, which is just as covert as the spy ring which it honors, displays the James Bond-style gadgets, artifacts and of course trophies they have accrued over 70-years of espionage.

Closed to the public […]

The 2014 Verizon DBIR is available for download. This year’s report features nine common incident patterns, bringing together insights from fifty global organizations and more than 63,000 confirmed security incidents.

https://www.verizonenterprise.com/DBIR/2014/

“…we’ve created sections around common incident patterns derived directly from the data itself… Within each of those patterns, we cover the actors who cause them, the actions they use, assets they target, timelines in which all this took place, and give specific recommendations to thwart them. The drive for change is three-fold: first, we realized that the vast majority of incidents could be placed into one of nine patterns; second, we can (and did) draw a correlation between these incident patterns and industries; and third, we wanted to challenge ourselves to look at the data with a fresh perspective. The ultimate goal is to provide actionable information presented in a way that enables you to hash out […]

from The Herald

Savanna Tobacco says industrial espionage by its tobacco industry arch rivals is suffocating its potential and capacity to increase exports by a factor of at least 50 percent.
Executive chairman Mr Adam Molai said in an interview last week that customers were being haunted and their products confiscated in what could throw the victims out of business…

British American Tobacco Zimbabwe was recently caught in an intricate web of controversy over allegations of employing industrial espionage tactics against its competitors, Kingdom, Savanna Tobacco, Breco, Cutrag, Trednet and Chelsea although this has remained difficult to prove.

However, its handlers have hitherto courted similar controversy on the continent with media reports alleging this is the group’s modus operandi in other markets in Africa.

According to media reports in Nigeria, in April 2002 a legal team from South Africa’s Port Elizabeth obtained urgent court […]

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 6 May.’14 / 14:58

Prosecutor’s office said it has launched investigation into claims by Tbilisi-based Rustavi 2 TV channel that offices of its top executives were bugged.

Head of Rustavi 2 TV Nika Gvaramia claims he is under surveillance. (Interpressnews.)

Last September we reported (See London banks attacked) that Barclays and Santander banks in London had been attacked by criminals using remote KVM (keyboard/video/mouse) switch controllers.   The London Metropolitan Police just announced that the gang members involved have received their sentencing.

from met.police.uk:

Nine members of a gang which carried out a sophisticated cyber attack on the UK banking industry, stealing just over £1.25 million by remotely controlling bank accounts, have been sentenced to a total of 24 years and nine months imprisonment today, Thursday, 24 April.

The organised crime group also used bank and credit cards obtained from around one million intercepted or stolen letters to fraudulently purchase Rolex watches, designer jewellery and other high-value items, worth over £1 million.

Eavesdropping doesn’t need to be high tech. Employees, spouses, and family members have a duty to protect and safeguard confidential information.  

Two Men Caught Trading on Confidential Information Gained Through Eavesdropping

New York (HedgeCo.Net) –  A man is being charged with violating a duty of trust by trading during a blackout window after he overheard work calls made by his wife.

“Spouses and other family members may gain access to highly confidential information about public companies as part of their relationship of trust,” said Jina L. Choi, director of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office. “In those circumstances, family members have a duty to protect and safeguard that information, not to trade on it.”

Tyrone Hawk of Los Gatos, Calif., overheard his wife, a finance manager at multinational computer technology corporation Oracle Corp speaking of her company’s plan to acquire Acme Packet Inc. Hawk also had a conversation with his wife in which she informed him […]