Security News
Joshua Schulte, a former programmer with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, has been found guilty of leaking a trove of classified hacking tools and exploits dubbed Vault 7 to WikiLeaks. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that Schulte was convicted for "One of the most brazen and damaging acts of espionage in American history," adding his actions had a "Devastating effect on our intelligence community by providing critical intelligence to those who wish to do us harm."
Long article about Joshua Schulte, the accused leaker of the WikiLeaks Vault 7 and Vault 8 CIA data. Well worth reading.
Two US Senators claim that the CIA has been running an unregulated — and almost certainly illegal — mass surveillance program on Americans. The senator’s statement. Some declassified information...
Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich, of Oregon and New Mexico respectively, on Thursday announced that in April 2021 they sent a co-signed letter [PDF] to director of national intelligence Avril Haines and CIA director William Burns, seeking expedited declassification of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board's review of two CIA counterterrorism programs - named "Deep Dive I" and "Deep Dive II". The Deep Dives were made possible by Executive Order 12333 - a Reagan-era order that allows widespread data collection, and data-sharing with the CIA, in the name of national security. The senators wanted a review of the documents' status because they felt the CIA had conducted a bulk information collection effort that harvested data on US citizens - probably illegally.
Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich, of Oregon and New Mexico respectively, on Thursday announced that in April 2021 they sent a co-signed letter [PDF] to director of national intelligence Avril Haines and CIA director William Burns, seeking expedited declassification of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board's review of two CIA counterterrorism programs - named "Deep Dive I" and "Deep Dive II". The Deep Dives were made possible by Executive Order 12333 - a Reagan-era order that allows widespread data collection, and data-sharing with the CIA, in the name of national security. The Senators wanted a review of the documents' status because they felt the CIA had conducted a bulk information collection effort that harvested data on US citizens - probably illegally.
A former CIA software engineer can represent himself at his upcoming retrial on espionage charges, a judge said Monday. Schulte, 32, faces an October trial on charges that he leaked CIA secrets to WikiLeaks, which published materials in 2017 that revealed how the CIA hacked Apple and Android smartphones in overseas spying operations and efforts to turn internet-connected televisions into listening devices.
GreyNoise, which describes itself as an "Anti-threat intelligence" company, helps analysts distinguish between malicious and benign internet traffic and the alerts triggered by security defenses, allowing SOCs to differentiate between those events stemming from harmless internet 'noise' and those that have a malicious intent. "Security analysts are overwhelmed with alerts," comments GreyNoise founder and CEO Andrew Morris.
A former CIA employee cannot get espionage charges against him dismissed on the grounds that there weren't enough Hispanic or Black individuals on the grand jury that indicted him, a judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty issued his ruling in the case against Joshua Schulte, finding that there was nothing illegal about a suburban grand jury in White Plains returning the indictment during the coronavirus pandemic rather than a grand jury in Manhattan that normally would have done so.
Striving to further diversify its ranks, the CIA launched a new website Monday to find top-tier candidates who will bring a broader range of life experiences to the nation's premier intelligence agency. The revamped website has links for browsing CIA jobs complete with starting salaries and requirements, sections on working at the agency, and a streamlined application process.
Swiss politicians have voiced outrage and demanded an investigation after revelations that a second Swiss encryption company was allegedly used by the CIA and its German counterpart to spy on governments worldwide. He called for a parliamentary inquiry after an SRF investigation broadcast on Wednesday found that a second Swiss encryption firm had been part of a spectacular espionage scheme orchestrated by US and German intelligence services.