Chinese intelligence and spying (catch all)

[davidbfpo]

A NYT report that starts with:

The Chinese government systematically dismantled C.I.A. spying operations in the country starting in 2010, killing or imprisoning more than a dozen sources over two years and crippling intelligence gathering there for years afterward.

Link:https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/2...espionage.html

[Bill Moore]

A NYT report that starts with:Link:https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/2...espionage.html

Those who rejected the mole theory attributed the losses to sloppy American tradecraft at a time when the Chinese were becoming better at monitoring American espionage activities in the country. Some F.B.I. agents became convinced that C.I.A. handlers in Beijing too often traveled the same routes to the same meeting points, which would have helped China’s vast surveillance network identify the spies in its midst

.

There are a number of possibilities on how the agents were compromised as the article points out. Espionage has always been a hazardous line of work, and it is even more so in the age of transparency. Also an age when we're overly forgiving of those who leak classified information, or in the case of former Secretary of State Clinton and others who maintain classified e-mails on unsecure systems. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that are now publically available.

I pulled the above quote from the article to also point out that I believe tradecraft skills probably have eroded over recent years due to the massive human intelligence requirement to support the war on terror. This may have created an erosion in tradecraft skills for at least two reasons. Mass production of case officers, and then conducting operations against relatively unsophisticated opposition (Jihadists). Not all were unsophisticated, but the most of the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were, but even there shortcuts resulted in CIA agents getting killed.

Operating against a state actor like China and Russia is a very different and much more challenging challenge. The hard lessons of tradecraft developed over years need to be followed, regardless of how inconvenient they may be.

[davidbfpo]

A report by Bill Gertz, ex-WaPo, which uses Congressional testimony as the foundation. Two small quotes:

Gone was any dedicated strategic [counterintelligence] program, while elite pockets of proactive capabilities died of neglect....We know surprisingly little about adversary intelligence services relative to the harm they can do.

Link:http://freebeacon.com/national-secur...-s-technology/

[davidbfpo]

A story that may re-appear one day meantime. Was this discretion or secrecy:

The suspects were charged in December, but this has only now come to light.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44250720

[davidbfpo]

This does make one wonder and with my emphasis dded in bold:

A FORMER French intelligence agent facing treason charges was reportedly ensnared by a Chinese “honeytrap” when he began an affair with an interpreter in Beijing, it emerged yesterday.The retired spy, named as Henri M, 71, and another former operative, Pierre-Marie H, 66, are accused of passing “information detrimental to fundamental national interests” to a foreign power.
According to a report in Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Henri M fell for a woman who worked as an interpreter for the French ambassador in Beijing after he was posted there in 1997 as station chief for France’s DGSE foreign intelligence service. Security sources confirmed the report.

The interpreter, who has not been named, was reportedly suspected of being an informant. Pierre Morel, the ambassador, became concerned about the relationship and asked for Henri M to be recalled to France in 1998.

Link:https://digitaledition.telegraph.co.uk/editions/edition_wn5YC_2018-05-28/data/496616/index.html?

[davidbfpo]

An official DoJ press release on 4th June 2018, that starts with:

Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, a resident of Syracuse, Utah, and a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer, was arrested Saturday afternoon on federal charges including the attempted transmission of national defense information to the People’s Republic of China. The FBI agents took Hansen into custody while he was on his way to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle to board a connecting flight to China.....From May of 2013 to the date of the complaint, Hansen received not less than $800,000 in funds originating from China.

Link:https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/forme...pted-espionage

[AdamG]

Chinese government hackers have compromised the computers of a Navy contractor, stealing massive amounts of highly sensitive data related to undersea warfare — including secret plans to develop a supersonic anti-ship missile for use on U.S. submarines by 2020, according to American officials.
The breaches occurred in January and February, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The hackers targeted a contractor who works for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, a military organization headquartered in Newport, R.I., that conducts research and development for submarines and underwater weaponry.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...2b1_story.html