Overview of the ongoing efforts by the US to modernize its spy operations, to contain the damage from the 2014 OPM breach, be more resilient to tracking, more
When hackers began slipping into computer systems at the Office of Personnel Management in the spring of 2014 … Tweets: @edwardlucas , @sanhotree , @zachsdorfman , @inteloperator , @artyomlukin , @kimzetter , @wethemx , @rob_barry , @wylienewmark , @weinbergersa , @lopezlinette , @weinbergersa , @weinbergersa , @pinstripedline , @peterrobards , @zachsdorfman , @yahoonews , @zachsdorfman , @zachsdorfman , @zachsdorfman , @fbajak , @zachsdorfman , @zachsdorfman , @fbajak , @zachsdorfman , @dnvolz , @kennwhite , @dnvolz , @josephfcox , @shaneharris , @jennamc_laugh , @jennamc_laugh , @dnvolz , @libbycopeland , and @livefree_76 Tweets: Edward Lucas / @edwardlucas : I wrote about this a few years ago in my book “spycraft rebooted” (kindle single, costs pennies). Useful updates here “Inside the secret battle to save America's undercover spies in the digital age” https://news.yahoo.com/... Sanho Tree / @sanhotree : “In one previously unreported incident, around the time of the OPM hack, senior intelligence officials realized that the Kremlin was quickly able to identify new CIA officers in the US Embassy in Moscow — likely based on differences in pay between diplomats, speedy promotions...” https://twitter.com/... Zach Dorfman / @zachsdorfman : Widespread state hacking of airport biometric data. A compromise of CIA officers in Moscow. The end of fake IDs. Based on conversations w over 40 officials, @JennaMC_Laugh & I did a deep dive on how the digital age has transformed human spying forever: https://news.yahoo.com/... @inteloperator : “The OPM hack was a watershed moment, ushering in an era when big data and other digital tools may render methods of traditional human intelligence gathering extinct” H/T @hoyawolf https://news.yahoo.com/... Artyom Lukin / @artyomlukin : Fascinating longread on espionage tradecraft. Mentions possible CN-RU spy axis. “Kremlin was quickly able to identify new CIA officers in the US Embassy in Moscow...Those clues could have come from access to the OPM data, possibly shared by the Chinese.” https://news.yahoo.com/... Kim Zetter / @kimzetter : “The foundations of the business of espionage have been shattered. We haven't acknowledged it organizationally within CIA, and some are still in denial...” Great, comprehensive piece on threats to spycraft in the age of always-on surveillance and a president who undermines spies https://twitter.com/... Wethem / @wethemx : OPM was advised not to digitized clearances by senior CI agents in DOD. They were told to pound sand. . Cover programs have gaping holes and we will never seal them. Inside the secret battle to save Americas undercover spies in the digit... https://news.yahoo.com/... via @Yahoo Rob Barry / @rob_barry : The massive Office of Personnel Management hack of 2014 is widely attributed to China. But senior intelligence officials believe the pilfered data could have been used by the Kremlin to identify CIA officers posted in Moscow, Yahoo News reports https://news.yahoo.com/... Horkos / @wylienewmark : Human intelligence is not dead, dying, or going anywhere. However, the digital age - including cyber - is changing it in profound and fundamental ways. Cover is just the tip of a monumental iceberg when it comes to how tradecraft must evolve or obsolesce. https://news.yahoo.com/... Sharon Weinberger / @weinbergersa : While people are debating Trump's de facto outing of the alleged CIA whistleblower, a more profound dynamic is at work now. Trying to keep any intelligence employee's identity anonymous is all but impossible. https://news.yahoo.com/... https://twitter.com/... Linette Lopez / @lopezlinette : “Today there are “about 30 countries” where CIA officers are no longer followed on the way to meetings because local governments no longer see the need, given that surveillance in those countries is so pervasive...” https://news.yahoo.com/... Sharon Weinberger / @weinbergersa : NEW: The last spy? From DNA tests to the OPM hack, @JennaMC_Laugh and @zachsdorfman look at the possible end of undercover espionage. Bunch of exclusives packed in here, including how China hacked a biometric database in the Bangkok airport. https://news.yahoo.com/... via @Yahoo Sharon Weinberger / @weinbergersa : Exclusive: Around time of the OPM hack, Russia began identifying new CIA officers in the U.S. embassy, likely based on differences in pay between diplomats, and other digital clues, say four former intelligence officials. And much more in this story. https://news.yahoo.com/... Sir Humphrey / @pinstripedline : This is a superb article about the difficulty many intelligence agencies face in deploying Intelligence Officers under cover abroad, and how ‘home team’ officialdom can also make life hard too. Well worth a read, and perhaps to contemplate how far your own digital footprint goes. https://twitter.com/... Peter Robards / @peterrobards : Fascinating story about how digital footprints have not only completely changed the face of espionage, but also how individual's personal data and the digital traces we leave behind are being weaponized like never before. https://news.yahoo.com/... Zach Dorfman / @zachsdorfman : Within the last decade, the CIA assembled a diverse group of intelligence personnel to create the “Station of the Future” — an ambitious Silicon Valley-style startup costing millions and nestled within a diplomatic facility in Latin America: https://news.yahoo.com/... @yahoonews : Personal data was being weaponized like never before. In one previously unreported incident, senior intelligence officials realized that the Kremlin was quickly able to identify new CIA officers in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. https://yhoo.it/2teUK3Q Zach Dorfman / @zachsdorfman : US officials realized that the Kremlin was able to identify new CIA officers in the US Embassy in Moscow — likely based on the differences in pay between diplomats, details on past service in “hardship” posts, speedy promotions & other digital clues: https://news.yahoo.com/... Zach Dorfman / @zachsdorfman : By the early 2000s, CIA ceased running certain types of operations in Singapore because of the sweeping digital surveillance there. The Singaporeans had developed a database that incorporated real-time flight, customs, hotel and taxicab data. https://news.yahoo.com/... Zach Dorfman / @zachsdorfman : . @JennaMC_Laugh and I spent many months reporting this story, and there are a lot of new revelations contained within it. So I'll be sharing individual snippets over the day: https://news.yahoo.com/... Frank Bajak / @fbajak : Interesting nugget: Spy agencies are hacking into biometric databases at important airports worldwide. “The U.S. has spearheaded breaches of its own, successfully hacking biometric data from the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, says a former official.” Zach Dorfman / @zachsdorfman : For spy services, biometric data has become a highly valued currency. The U.S. successfully hacked biometric data from the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, says a former official. https://news.yahoo.com/... Zach Dorfman / @zachsdorfman : In the 2000s, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that in many parts of the world, within a short time, all alias work would likely become impossible. These fears were largely borne out, say former CIA officials. https://news.yahoo.com/... Frank Bajak / @fbajak : Digital surveillance and large-scale biographic and biometric data theft (especially the Office of Personnel Management hack) have completely upended ops at CIA and other spy agencies. A solid, detailed look by @jennaMC_Laugh @zachsdorfman https://news.yahoo.com/... Zach Dorfman / @zachsdorfman : Chinese intelligence successfully hacked into the biometric data from Bangkok's airport. “The Chinese have consistently extracted data from all the major transit hubs in the world,” says a former senior official. https://news.yahoo.com/... Dustin Volz / @dnvolz : This Yahoo story also expertly lays out why and how cybersecurity and intelligence have fully merged and are no longer two separate worlds. This has profound implications for national security. Kenn White / @kennwhite : Fabulous reporting by @JennaMC_Laugh and @zachsdorfman on US intel community's struggle to protect identities in the era of surveillance capitalism. Seriously, some of the best work I've seen this year. https://news.yahoo.com/... Dustin Volz / @dnvolz : It's worth remembering that the top takeaway from the worldwide threat assessment in January was that China and Russia were more strategically aligned today than at any time since the 1950s. https://www.wsj.com/... @josephfcox : Piece interviewing over 40 current and former officials finds the time of traditional human spying may be over due to the monumental rise of biometrics, digital tracking https://news.yahoo.com/... https://twitter.com/... Shane Harris / @shaneharris : This long piece from @JennaMC_Laugh and @zachsdorfman is worth your time. https://news.yahoo.com/... “Inside the secret battle to save America's undercover spies in the digital age” Jenna McLaughlin / @jennamc_laugh : For the piece, I had a fantastic interview with @jahimes (head of HPSCI's subcommittee on strategic tech) on the challenges (and opportunities) for human intelligence gathering in the digital age. His on-record insight was invaluable. https://news.yahoo.com/... https://twitter.com/... Jenna McLaughlin / @jennamc_laugh : At CIA, some officials were so concerned about technology thwarting espionage, they created a “Station of the Future” in Latin America to reimagine tradecraft. This is the story of the digital threat to human intelligence over the last several decades. https://news.yahoo.com/... Dustin Volz / @dnvolz : Some incredible reporting here from @JennaMC_Laugh and @zachsdorfman, including the concern among intelligence officials that China may have shared hacked OPM data with the Kremlin, who in turn leveraged it to identify undercover CIA spies. https://news.yahoo.com/... Libby Copeland / @libbycopeland : really want to know more about what the pentagon sees as the potential for “unintended security consequences and increased risk to the joint force and mission” posed by members of the military doing home dna testing. https://twitter.com/... Jon Dembo / @livefree_76 : “U.S. intel officials are concerned about how DNA testing will affect the ability to operate worldwide, says former SR intel official, who pointed to rise of DNA swab tests at some int'l airports as one factor in a decline in CIA personnel using aliases while travelling abroad.” https://twitter.com/...