Counterintelligence

A collection of 35 posts

Russia-Ukraine

Security Primers for Journalists and Activists in Ukraine

Putin and his security apparatus are keeping many lists and the barrier to entry is likely very low. If you're a journalist, activist, political figure, or influencer in Ukraine you must up your security game immediately.

Covert Contact

Shortwave Numbers Stations

Scot Terban joined me to discuss the use of shortwave numbers stations, recently declassified KGB investigative techniques for identifying recipients of those broadcasts, and how shortwave has changed with the introduction of the internet.

Covert Contact

Chinese Spies in US Law Enforcement - And Everywhere Else

The regular counterintelligence chat with William Tucker is a day late but full of new Chinese espionage activity in the NYPD, the EU, and beyond. We also touch on intelligence history and why literature from the Middle Ages or beyond is not only fascinating but still relevant.

Counterintelligence

The Threat of Fake Spies

William Tucker returns to discuss the incredible case of Garrison Courtney and Alpha-214. Posing as a CIA NOC Courtney was able to engineer a scheme that duped numerous beltway contractors, intelligence officials, former military officers and many others.

Counterintelligence

Election Threats and Disrupting Chinese Espionage

In this episode we discuss the recent report for Microsoft that details Russian, Chinese, and Iranian attacks on individuals and organizations tied to our presidential campaigns and the recent move to revoke the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese grad students and researchers

Counterintelligence

French Officer Busted Spying on NATO for GRU & Other Espionage Cases

William Tucker joins me to discuss two high profile cases this week, sloppy Chinese tradecraft, and why it always pays to visit the FBI before the FBI visits you.

Covert Contact

Texas A&M, NASA, and Chinese Espionage

William Tucker joins me to discuss the Zhengdong Cheng case, how Chinese espionage might be forced to evolve, global awareness of the scope of China’s spying, and how organizations can protect themselves if they haven’t started evaluating their own risk.

Covert Contact

Spying for Russia: The Peter Debbins Case

William Tucker joins me again to look into yesterday’s indictment of Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins, a former Green Beret alleged to have worked for Russian intelligence for over a decade.

William J. Tucker

Counterintelligence Chat: Alexei Navalny & Alexander Ma

William Tucker returns to look at the apparent poisoning of Alexei Navalny and yet another Chinese espionage case, this time involving Alexander Ma. It’s a classic case, with a Hawaii connection, and there’s likely more interesting details to come.

Covert Contact

Preparing for A Career in Intelligence: Thoughts on Personal Security and Behavior

Former CIA officer Maggie Gwynne joins me to discuss how those interested in pursuing a career in intelligence should manage their profiles (online and off) and conduct themselves to prepare for a challenging recruitment and training period.

Covert Contact

A Pardon for Edward Snowden?

William Tucker returns to discuss the Edward Snowden case after President Trump made remarks on the case that sparked new speculation about a potential pardon.

Covert Contact

Washington Takes Aim at the Confucius Institute

Today’s decision to force the Confucius Institute to register as a foreign mission is the subject of my regular Thursday evening counterintelligence chat with Covert Contact regular William Tucker. We look at why it was necessary and where we, and China, might go from here.

Covert Contact

Chinese Spies and Russian Honey Traps

William J. Tucker returns for our regular Thursday evening counterintelligence chat. We start off by discussing the resource challenges in addressing Chinese espionage but quickly pivot to thoughts on Russian cases, honey traps, and more.

Covert Contact

Chinese Espionage in the United States

William Tucker is back to discuss the scale of Chinese espionage in the United States and some of the misconceptions that have hampered our response to the threat.

Covert Contact

What's Happening at the Chinese Consulate in Houston?

Houston rarely finds itself at the center of geopolitical drama but that changed overnight as firefighters and police surrounded the Chinese consulate as staff there began burning massive amounts of documentation in the building's courtyard.

Counterintelligence

The Entirely Predictable Subversion of the US IC

I hear a lot of people saying that "the warning lights are blinking red" this week but the truth is that they were blinking in late 2015. The dismantling of institutions and norms has been systematic and if you think this is bad - it's just getting started.

Counterintelligence

A New Counterintelligence Strategy

The National Counterintelligence and Strategy Center rolled out their roadmap for the next two years and, on paper at least, it looks good.

Covert Contact

The Poisoning of Sergei Skripal

Fred Burton joined me shortly after the attack on Sergei Skripal. We look at the many implications of this brazen attack, security issues surrounding it, and the need for a serious response.

Covert Contact

The Jerry Chun Shing Lee Case

Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a former CIA case officer, is suspected by many to have compromised CIA activities in China but has only been charged with the less serious crime of unlawful retention of national defense information.

Covert Contact

Economic Espionage: No One Is Immune

William J. Tucker, a regular contributor on counterintelligence and security topics for Blogs of War and Covert Contact, joins me for a deep dive on economic espionage.

Covert Contact

Beyond Russia: Overlooked Counterintelligence Threats

Russian intelligence presents a significant challenge for the United States but it is far from the only threat. There are dozens of nations and non-state actors actively collecting against us at any given time.

Covert Contact

Counterintelligence in the Trump Era

William J. Tucker, regular contributor on counterintelligence topics for Blogs of War and Covert Contact, joins me to discuss the unprecedented challenge the Trump presidency poses to both U.S. counterintelligence and the intelligence community as whole.

Covert Contact

Russian Hackers Run Wild on the DNC

Regular Blogs of War and Covert Contact contributor William J. Tucker joins me to discuss the apparent Russian state-sponsored hack of the DNC. We also spend quite a bit of time discussing the sorry state of security. We’re talking about cyber issues constantly but the intrusions, threats, and vulnerabilities

Covert Contact

Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin: Identity, Espionage, and Counterintelligence

Regular Blogs of War and Covert Contact contributor William J. Tucker joins me to discuss the Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin espionage case. While little is known about the case, and Edward Lin has yet to be convicted, all signs point to a very damaging affair. Lin was born in Taiwan,

Covert Contact

Government Email Problems, Wikileaks, Russia, Drone Leaks, NASA Security and Other Counterintelligence Nightmares

The Covert Contact podcast kicks off again with an admittedly rambling, but hopefully entertaining, start as I review a number of high profile security issues with counterintelligence pro William J. Tucker. We look at the hack of DCIA John Brennan’s AOL account [http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/