* subscribe at http://techPolice.com http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41950,00.html by Declan McCullagh 2:00 a.m. Feb. 22, 2001 PST WASHINGTON -- Robert Philip Hanssen is not only an accused spy who federal agents say is responsible for one of the most serious breaches of national security in years. He's also allegedly a geek. In a 150KB affidavit, the FBI says that the 56-year-old counterintelligence specialist used a Palm III, encryption and flash memory cards to convey documents to his Russian handlers. Instead of old-fashioned midnight meetings, the affidavit says, Hanssen suggested in 1985 that communications take place through a computer bulletin board system. "Hanssen, using the code name 'Ramon,' engaged in espionage by providing highly classified information to the KGB and its successor agency ... using encrypted communications, dead drops, and other clandestine techniques," FBI Director Louis Freeh said on Tuesday. Court documents filed by the U.S. government provide not only a tantalizing glimpse into the life of the 25-year veteran agent, but also hint at the surveillance capabilities of the FBI and the National Security Agency. Hanssen has been charged with multiple felony counts, including leaking national defense information and conspiracy to commit espionage. An attorney for Hanssen said his client would likely plead not guilty. An affidavit written by FBI agent Stefan Pluta says that Hanssen forwarded 26 diskettes -- some with data hidden on tracks not usually read by a computer -- and 27 letters in exchange for over $600,000 in cash in a series of clandestine trips to a local park in Virginia. Among the information Hanssen allegedly turned over to the Russians: details of a "new technique" used by the NSA, information about the U.S. government's ability to conduct "technical surveillance" and sensitive documents describing COINS-II. At the time -- in 1987 -- COINS-II was the name for the Community Online Intelligence System, a classified intranet used by the CIA, NSA, the Defense Department and other intelligence agencies. Newer versions of COINS that are aimed at authorized end users reportedly provide a front end that can be used with a Web browser, complete with XML and Java support. The FBI also says Hanssen turned over secret and top-secret documents revealing how effectively the NSA and other agencies can spy on electronic communications and that he compromised "electronic surveillance and monitoring techniques" and "specific communications intelligence capabilities" and targets. Translation: The eavesdroppers up at Fort Meade, Maryland are growing really nervous right about now. According to the affidavit, Hanssen was inventive, suggesting at one point that he trade in his Palm III for a wireless Palm VII, which he could use to send encrypted messages. The FBI said it has found a message Hanssen wrote to the Russians, which says: "It can allow the rapid transmission of encrypted messages, which if used on an infrequent basis, could be quite effective in preventing confusions if the existance [sic] of the accounts could be appropriately hidden as well as the existance [sic] of the devices themselves. Such a device might even serve for rapid transmittal of substantial material in digital form. Your FAPSI could review what would be needed, its advisability, etc., obviously -- particularly safe rules of use." The FAPSI is Russia's federal agency of government communication and information -- the rough equivalent of the NSA -- which specializes in electronic intelligence-gathering and countermeasures. Freeh, who once lobbied for a permanent ban on the distribution of encryption software without a backdoor for his agency, could use this case as justification for restrictions that Congress would have to approve. In a statement, Freeh stressed that Hanssen used a "variety of sophisticated means of communication (and) encryption." But for all of the alleged spy's reported tech savviness, he didn't appear to have realized one basic fact: Computers keep logs. FBI logs say that Hanssen's account was used 35 times to search the agency's Electronic Case File database -- which contains information about ongoing investigations -- for his name and keywords such as "DEAD DROP" and "GRU" in an attempt to detect whether he was under investigation. GRU is a reference to Glavnoye Razvedyvateinoye Upravlenie, Russia's military intelligence agency. Other search terms, according to the agency, include "FISA AND CELL PHONE." That's a reference to a secret federal court created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that approves surveillance and search warrants in certain types of cases. During the investigation, agents from the FBI and other agencies conducted surveillance of Hanssen under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This week, agents seized computers from his Vienna, Va. home. The conservative news site World Net Daily on Wednesday reported that Hanssen is a Linux user and used e-mail addresses including [EMAIL PROTECTED] and [EMAIL PROTECTED], both local Internet service providers. /=-=-=-=-Click Here & Support Our Sponsor-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\ DEBT REDUCTION HELP! Did you know you can get INSTANT assistance lowering your interest charges and debt? 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