Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, court rules … but appeals could take years

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited from the UK to the US, the High Court has ruled.

The US won its appeal against a January UK court ruling that he could not be extradited due to concerns over his mental health.

Judges were reassured by US promises to reduce the risk of suicide. His fiancee said they intended to appeal.

Mr Assange is wanted in the US over the publication of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011.

Share

Nuclear submarine ‘spies’ invoke Trump defense

A Maryland woman charged in connection with selling US nuclear submarine secrets to a foreign power wanted to flee the country because she despised President Donald Trump, not because she feared arrest, her lawyers said.

Diana Toebbe and her husband Jonathan were arrested in October and face espionage charges. Prosecutors have argued against freeing them on bail, citing a text message from Diana saying the couple would be “welcomed and rewarded by a foreign [government].”

At a hearing on Wednesday, her lawyers presented additional messages to argue she was motivated by disdain for the Republican president, not fear of being caught.

Share

NSO Group spyware used to hack at least nine US officials’ phones – report

The iPhones of at least nine US state department officials were recently hacked by a government using NSO Group spyware, according to a new report that raised serious questions about the use of Israeli surveillance tools against US government officials around the world.

The claim, which was reported by Reuters, comes just weeks after the Biden administration placed NSO on a US blacklist and said the surveillance company acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US”.

Share

Is Pegasus Peeping on Your iPhone?

The Israeli technology has reportedly been used to spy on journalists and politicians across continents.

The biggest spy scandal of the year has been all but ignored in conservative media. Apart from a freelance story in the Washington Examiner, a conservative reader will be entirely in the dark about the scandal embroiling Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group.

Share

Chinese Spy Convicted of Conspiracy to Steal Cutting-Edge US Aviation Technology

A jury in Cincinnati has convicted a Chinese intelligence agent over his role in a scheme to recruit spies and steal sensitive American aviation technology for Beijing.

Xu Yanjun, a deputy division director at the Chinese Ministry of State Security, Beijing’s top intelligence agency, was found guilty on all counts, including conspiring to and attempting to commit economic espionage and stealing trade secrets, according to the Justice Department.

Share

Israeli spyware company NSO Group placed on US blacklist

NSO Group has been placed on a US blacklist by the Biden administration after it determined the Israeli spyware maker has acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US”.

The finding by the commerce department represents a blow to the Israeli company and reveals a deep undercurrent of concern by the US about the impact of spyware on national security interests.

It comes three months after a consortium of journalists working with the French non-profit group Forbidden Stories, including the Guardian, revealed multiple cases of journalists and activists who were hacked by foreign governments using the spyware.

Share

Chinese Agent Accused of Recruiting Spies to Steal US Aircraft Tech Stands Trial

A historic federal espionage trial against a Chinese intelligence agent started in Cincinnati, Ohio on Oct. 18. The agent, named Yanjun Xu, has been charged with recruiting spies to steal tech from U.S. aviation and aerospace firms.

According to the prosecutors, the Chinese regime was attempting to steal know-how from American aircraft companies, particularly from Evendale-based GE Aviation, with the intent of replicating turbine engines, reported local news channel WCPO.

Share

Cybersecurity firm says Chinese digital spies have hacked telecom data

A network of digital spies with connections to Chinese interests has hacked part of the global telecommunications network to steal a large amount of cellphone data, according to a California-based cybersecurity firm.

CrowdStrike reported on its blog Tuesday the results of an investigation that shows the hacking group, dubbed “LightBasin” by the firm and known publicly as UNC1945, has compromised at least 13 global telecommunications companies since 2019.

Share

Wife of Navy submarine spy, posted anti-Trump rants, praised Hilary

The wife of a Navy submarine engineer-turned-spy is a leftist who supports ‘The Resistance’ and posted about ‘stopping Donald Trump’, according to her social media posts that reveal the couple organized a babysitter on Facebook so they could make their last secret drop of stolen intelligence before they were caught by the FBI.

Share

US navy engineer charged with trying to sell nuclear submarine secrets

A US navy nuclear engineer with access to military secrets has been charged with trying to pass information about the design of American nuclear-powered submarines to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government – but who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.

In a criminal complaint detailing espionage-related charges against Jonathan Toebbe, the US Department of Justice said he sold information for nearly the past year to a contact he believed represented a foreign power. That country was not named in the court documents.

Share

German police arrest Briton on suspicion of spying for Russia

German police have arrested a British man who worked at the British embassy in Berlin on suspicion of spying for Russian intelligence in exchange for cash, according to prosecutors.

Germany’s highest public prosecutor said the man, identified only as David S, was arrested at his Potsdam apartment at 2.20pm on Tuesday, and his home and embassy workplace were searched.

Share

Survey of Chinese Espionage in the United States Since 2000

This survey lists 160 publicly reported instances of Chinese espionage directed at the United States since 2000. It does not include espionage against other countries, against U.S. firms or persons located in China, nor more than 50 additional cases involving attempts to smuggle munitions or controlled technologies from the U.S. to China. We also did not include the more than 1200 cases of intellectual property theft litigation brought by U.S. companies against Chinese entities in either the U.S. or Chinese legal systems.

Share

Liberals’ attempt to shield documents on fired scientists violates parliamentary privilege, Speaker tells court

“This constitutionally entrenched power is fundamental to our system of parliamentary democracy, and to Parliament’s critical role in acting as the ‘grand inquest of the nation’ and in holding the executive branch of government to account,” Rota’s notice says.

Share