ISRAEL FLAGGED AS TOP SPY THREAT TO U.S. BY JEFF STEIN <http://www.newsweek.com/authors/jeff-stein> [image: Israel] An Israeli soldier rides an armored personnel carrier toward a staging area near the Gaza Strip border on August 4, 2014.BAZ RATNER/REUTERS WORLD <http://www.newsweek.com/world>ISRAEL <http://www.newsweek.com/topic/israel>
Israel was singled out in 2007 as a top espionage threat against the U.S. government, including its intelligence services, in a newly published National Security Agency (NSA) document obtained by fugitive leaker Edward Snowden, according to a news report Monday. The document also identified Israel, along with North Korea, Cuba and India, as a “leading threat” to the infrastructure of U.S. financial and banking institutions. The threats were listed in the NSA’s 2007 Strategic Mission List, according to the document obtained by journalist/activist Glenn Greenwald, a founding editor of The Intercept <https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/04/cash-weapons-surveillance/>, an online magazine that has a close relationship with Snowden, a former NSA and CIA contractor who fled the U.S. with thousands of top-secret documents last year. In this new document, Israel was identified by the NSA as a security threat in several areas, including “the threat of development of weapons of mass destruction” and “delivery methods (particularly ballistic and nuclear-capable cruise missiles).” The NSA also flagged Israel’s “WMD and missile proliferation activities” and “cruise missiles” as threats. In a section of the document headed “Foreign Intelligence, Counterintelligence; Denial & Deception Activities: Countering Foreign Intelligence Threats,” Israel was listed as a leading perpetrator of “espionage/intelligence collection operations and manipulation/influence operations…against U.S. government, military, science & technology and Intelligence Community” organs. The term “manipulation/influence operations” refers to covert attempts by Israel to sway U.S. public opinion in its favor. In this, Israel has dubious company, according to the NSA: Other leading threats were listed as China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea, France, Venezuela and South Korea. Israel has similar company in threats against U.S. infrastructure, according to the NSA document. Under a section headed “Mastering Cyberspace and Preventing an Attack on U.S. Critical Information Systems,” Israel, India, North Korea and Cuba are identified as “FIS [financial/banking system] threats.” Israel also appears on the list of countries believed by the NSA to be “enabling” electronic warfare “producers/proliferators.” The new document again underscores the schizoid relationship between the U.S. and Israel, which cooperate closely in military and intelligence operations but also aggressively spy on each other. A previously released Snowden document said that “one of NSA’s biggest threats is actually from friendly intelligence services, like Israel.” Another revealed that a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate ranked Israel as “the third most aggressive intelligence service against the U.S.,” behind only China and Russia. In a series of articles last May, Newsweek reported that “Israel has been caught carrying out aggressive espionage operations against American targets for decades,” an allegation vociferously denied by Israeli officials, who insisted that Jerusalem stopped spying on the U.S. after the late 1980s arrest and conviction of its secret agent Jonathan Pollard, a U.S. Naval Intelligence analyst. Over the weekend, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported that Israel eavesdropped on Secretary of State John Kerry’s cellphone conversations during Middle East peace talks in 2013. (According to a July 20, 2014, piece in The New Republic, “The Kerry team spoke more carefully over cell phones, believing the Israelis might be listening.”) The State Department had no comment on the Der Spiegel allegations. Washington’s protective relationship toward Israel is heavily influenced by its close cooperation in intelligence operations against common Middle Eastern threats, such as Iran, Syria, terrorist groups and the Palestinians. Citing NSA documents, Greenwald’s piece in The Intercept says, “The relationship has, on at least one occasion, entailed the covert payment of a large amount of cash to Israeli operatives.” The NSA and its British counterpart also “rely on U.S.-supported Arab regimes, including the Jordanian monarchy and even the Palestinian Authority Security Forces, to provide vital spying services regarding Palestinian targets. “Over the last decade,” Greenwald added, “the NSA has significantly increased the surveillance assistance it provides to its Israeli counterpart, the Israeli SIGINT National Unit (ISNU; also known as Unit 8200), including data used to monitor and target Palestinians. In many cases, the NSA and ISNU work cooperatively with the British and Canadian spy agencies, the GCHQ and CSEC.” On Monday, January 4, 2016 at 1:54:33 PM UTC-6, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > > http://thecipherbrief.com/article/cyber-espionage > > > > *Expert Commentary* > Cyber Espionage > > January 3, 2016 | John Sipher > > > > [image: Description: > http://thecipherbrief.com/sites/default/files/styles/headshot_-_article/public/sipher_2.jpg?itok=2z3SbUbG] > > <http://thecipherbrief.com/expert/John-Sipher> > > > *John SipherFormer Member, CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service > <http://thecipherbrief.com/expert/John-Sipher>* > > > > For years, I slept fitfully after a “friend” told me that it wasn’t the > noisy mosquitos buzzing in my ears at night that were a problem. Instead, > it was the female mosquitos that made no noise at all but laid eggs in your > ears at night. That image wrecked my sleep until the Internet helped me to > dispel the myth years later. > > The cyber threat is a little like the silent mosquito. The biggest > dangers are the ones that you will never know about. > > However, if you follow the public discourse on the nature of the cyber > threat to the U.S., it seems that the bulk of the dialogue has to do with > the issue of hackers and the thousands of daily thwarted attacks against > government and private computer systems. It is almost as if the danger is > easily detected, and a better password and up-to-date antivirus software > can solve the problem. > > However, the far bigger threat is from foreign intelligence and terrorist > groups, who have the talent, resources, and wherewithal to do serious > damage to U.S. interests – damage we may never realize until it is too > late. While we publically frame the problem by citing how many attacks are > observed every day, the far bigger problem is hidden. An intelligence > organization’s job is to pick your pocket without you ever knowing anything > is amiss. You won’t make it very far as an intelligence officer if your > adversary becomes aware of your activities. > > Of the capable organizations that are determined to do us harm, perhaps > the most competent, dedicated, and focused is Russia’s Special > Communications Service, the Russian equivalent of the U.S. National > Security Agency (NSA). > > Russia doesn’t do many things well (dancing bears, perhaps). Spying, > however, is a Russian specialty honed by decades of experience controlling > its population and stealing from the West. The U.S. has been their main > enemy since WWII and remains so today. Indeed, while we more often hear > about Chinese cyber activities, the Russian cyber espionage enterprise is > far more sophisticated and capable than its Chinese counterpart, according > to statements by U.S. intelligence officials. > > Unlike in the U.S., the Russian espionage effort is central to its foreign > policy, and its offensive cyber capability is a particularly powerful > weapon that is used to challenge the U.S. across the board. Indeed, the > Russian NSA equivalent is used for – among other things - cyber warfare, > espionage, counterintelligence, internal control of its citizens, > disinformation, and propaganda. Russia’s cyber attacks – both blatant and > stealthy – are used to achieve geopolitical ends and to maintain an > asymmetric ability to damage the U.S. > > The Russians have shown a willingness to use the cyber weapons at their > disposal, and have done so effectively. In 2007, the Russians swamped > Estonian computer systems to express their anger at perceived Estonian > disrespect of Russian symbols. A year later, they combined sophisticated > cyber intrusions with their military attack against Georgian forces. More > recently, they used offensive cyber tools to support their aggressive > annexation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. We even witnessed Russian cyber > probing of top U.S. financial institutions in 2013. > > Internally, the Russians use cyber weapons to maintain control over their > population. By law, all private encryption equipment in Russia is required > to be licensed by Russian Intelligence. Likewise, all internet providers > in Russia have to install hardware/equipment provided by the Russian NSA > equivalent (and pay for it themselves). There is no such thing as privacy > in Russia. > > While the U.S. Government is probably the biggest target of Russian cyber > spying, you can be confident that they go after anyone and anything that > can help them get what they need. They surely steal directly from Yahoo, > Google, Facebook, and social media platforms. If they want to collect > compromising information on a person in a bank, military unit, national > laboratory, or nuclear power plant, you can be sure that they are swimming > in e-mail and personal data that can help them craft an approach to that > individual. > > At the same time, the Russians are collecting the capability to understand > and possibly disrupt our power grid, air traffic control, oil and gas > infrastructure, and transit networks. Additionally, recent reports cite a > significant increase in Russian submarine surveillance activity in the > vicinity of the strategic underwater fiber cables that facilitate > commercial and classified communications. This aggressive effort has > intensified fears of Russian efforts to tap or cut these critical deep sea > communication conduits that carry trillions of dollars a day in global > business. > > The only real way to protect ourselves from this kind of sophisticated > cyber warfare is a robust public-private partnership between our > intelligence and law enforcement services, and those companies that provide > the backbone of our computer networks. In this sense, perhaps the most > damaging of Edward Snowden’s many traitorous acts was to destroy the trust > between the private sector and our security professionals. We are now > talking past each other, and the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and others > are having a field day. Until those key relationships and trust is > restored, we will remain in a vulnerable state. > > So, the next time you hear a story about hackers attacking various > computer networks, think of the buzzing mosquito, and remember that there > is probably something much more dangerous happening away from public notice. > > > > The Author is John Sipher > > John Sipher is a senior project leader at the McChrystal Group. John > retired in 2014 after a 28-year career in the Central Intelligence Agency’s > National Clandestine Service. At the time of his retirement he was a member > of the CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service. John served multiple overseas > tours as Chief of Station and Deputy Chief of Station in Europe, Asia, > Southeast Asia, the Balkans, and South Asia. He is the recipient of the > Agency's Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal. > > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected] <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZHZhc2drBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NTE5MzUzMTk-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlNXYwazBtBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQ1MTkzNTMxOQ--> > > • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • > Unsubscribe <javascript:> • Terms of Use > <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> > > __,_._,___ > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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