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Ga. Appeals Court Tosses Ex-Glock Exec's Convictions
Associated Press (NY) (07/11/13) Brumback, Kate
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned the conviction of former Glock Executive Paul Jannuzzo on theft and racketeering charges. Presiding Judge Gary Blaylock Andrews wrote in the opinion that the state had failed to indict Jannuzzo within the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for the felony theft charge is four years and five years for the racketeering charge, and would be counted from the date when Jannuzzo was indicted by the state. Because of these limitations, the charges would only be valid if Glock had no knowledge of the alleged crimes prior to June 2005 and June 2004, respectively. However, the Court of Appeals found that Glock had been aware of the alleged offenses since early in 2003. Jannuzzo was accused of stealing a pistol and conspiring with former company vice president Peter Manown to steal over $5 million using fake bank accounts, false loan documents, and the forged signatures of company founder Gaston Glock. Formerly Glock's general counsel, Jannuzzo had long claimed that the state did not prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and that prosecutors waited too long to prosecute him. His lawyers are working to get him released from jail, where he has been since before his conviction.
Office of Law Firm Representing State Department Whistleblower Burglarized
Homeland Security News Wire (07/10/13)
Two unknown burglars stole three computers from the Dallas-based law firm of Schulman, & Mathias, which is representing State Department whistleblower Aurelia Fedenisn. During the burglary, which occurred two weeks ago, the suspects cut through a wall between the law firm's offices and a vacant suite next door. In addition to the computers, they took one credit card from a drawer that was later used for several purchases at Dallas' Valley View Center mall on June 29. Police are looking to obtain footage from the mall on that day. Commenting on the theft, firm partner Cary Schulman said he believed that it was committed by "somebody looking for information and not money." The firm has also said the burglars could have been hired to find information on Fedenisn, who leaked a State Department Inspector General report to CBS in early June. The report provided details on sex crimes of U.S. diplomats, including an ambassador who allegedly hired prostitutes. The State Department has denied any knowledge of the theft, and the firm has not leveled any allegations directly against the government.
Sage Conversations: Unlocking the Keys to Organizational Change
Security InfoWatch (07/09/13) Worman, Ronald
When Ronald Worman, the found and managing director of The Sage Group, surveyed security executives about their programs and challenges faced over the next year to two years, he found that the challenges are the same ones that Sage Group has been tracking over the past two years. He comments that each of these challenges reinforce the others, and that changes need to be made for there to be progress. Worman said that he has seen progress occur in the past in a broken and political climate, but noted that this usually happens when a leader comes forward who consciously brings the company through a deliberate change management process. His survey suggested that companies need to have an outsider play this role, but noted that there are few consultants or vendors who have the level of trust or the knowledge needed to create and sustain such change initiatives. While it is possible for companies to introduce information management, metrics, optimization, and standardization, Worman wrote that there needs to be "a catalyst, internal or external, to the security organization." However, he noted that senior executives in IT and operations have begun to take an interest when organizational goals and functions intersect with elements of physical security.
Saginaw Couple Face Shoplifting-Related Charges in Four Counties
MLive.com (07/08/13) Hoag, Andy
Eric Kjellen and Megan Perkins of Saginaw, Mich., have been charged with stealing merchandise from stores in Kochville and Thomas townships and in Bay, Midland, and Genesee counties in Michigan starting on April 15. Investigators say the couple primarily stole "high-end electronics or tools," with Kjellen carrying out the theft and Perkins driving him away in a Honda Element. The couple was arrested on June 3 after the car was seen leaving the scene of a robbery at a Kohl's store. Other retailers allegedly targeted by the pair included Toys R Us and Hobby Lobby. Kjellen and Perkins were also reportedly stopped from stealing a computer at a Wal-Mart by loss prevention staff, resulting in a fight that the couple was able to escape. The pair faces up to five years in prison under a statute enacted on March 31 designed to punish suspects who steal and resell merchandise, which prosecutors say the couple did at pawn shops.
Authorities Can't Rule Out Foul Play in Quebec Town Train Blast
Wall Street Journal (07/07/13) King, Carolyn; Van Hasselt, Caroline; Fowler, Tom
A train carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire in Lac Megantic, Quebec, on July 6, killing at least five people. An additional 40 to 60 people are missing. Authorities say that up to 30 buildings were destroyed, oil has leaked into the surrounding area and river, and about 2,000 people have been evacuated from the town and the surrounding area. Officials say they have not determined the cause of the derailment, but it is possible that the train, its brakes, or the tracks were tampered with. Quebec police, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, and the train operator, Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway Inc., are all investigating the incident. A spokesman for the operator says the train had been secured outside of Lac Megantic on July 6 when it began moving again for unknown reasons. It traveled another seven miles before derailing in town. There were no crew members believed on board at the time of the incident, as the train had been halted for a crew change. The train had been inspected by the engineer not long before it began moving again, and everything was believed to have been secure.
U.S. is Pressing Latin Americans to Reject Snowden
New York Times (07/12/13) Neuman, William ; Archibold, Randal C.
The U.S. is using diplomacy to pressure Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia to not offer asylum to Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed a number of sensitive documents about the federal government's surveillance programs last month. For example, senior State Department officials have told their Venezuelan counterparts that offering asylum to Snowden could threaten the improving relationship between the two countries as well as plans to exchange ambassadors. Officials at American embassies in other Latin American countries have also told officials there that allowing Snowden into their territory could have a number of negative consequences. The diplomacy effort seems to be working somewhat. Ecuador had seemed eager to provide asylum to Snowden after he flew to Moscow from Hong Kong, but has appeared to back off its desire to provide him with refuge after Vice President Biden urged the country's president not to do so. But American officials are also seeing that they do not have as much influence over Latin America as they used to, in part because the leftist governments in power in some of these countries gain a political benefit by standing up to the U.S. The U.S. may also find it difficult to extradite Snowden from Ecuador and Venezuela should he end up in either of those countries, in part because both nations say that Washington is refusing to extradite fugitives that they want to bring to justice.
Report Indicates More Extensive Cooperation by Microsoft on Surveillance
New York Times (07/12/13) Risen, James
A new report from the Guardian quoting disclosures by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward J. Snowden shows that Microsoft collaborated with the agency more extensively than it previously admitted. According to the report, Microsoft provided NSA with up-to-date access to its customer data whenever the company changed its encryption or related software technology. The report also said that Microsoft helped the NSA circumvent the encryption on its Outlook.com portal's encrypted Web chat function, and provided "pre-encryption stage" access to e-mail on Outlook. In addition, the report claimed that the FBI was provided with access to Microsoft's SkyDrive service. Microsoft refuted that claim in a statement, saying that it "does not provide any government with blanket or direct access to [...] any Microsoft product," and that it "only ever [complies] with orders about specific accounts or identifiers." With many Silicon Valley companies beginning to openly push back against the NSA and growing signs of a backlash from its large-scale collection of personal data, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) says he believes that the NSA may have to abandon the bulk collection of the telephone data of Americans and that the While House may soon be willing to drop the program altogether.
Lawmakers Say Administration’s Lack of Candor on Surveillance Weakens Oversight
Washington Post (07/11/13) Wallsten, Peter
A bipartisan group of lawmakers says that they cannot perform adequate oversight of the National Security Agency's surveillance programs because of the misleading statements some Obama administration officials have made about those programs during congressional testimony. Among the Obama administration officials that these lawmakers have accused of making misleading statements is Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who told the Senate Intelligence Committee in March that the federal government was not collecting data on millions of Americans. Clapper was forced to acknowledge that his statement was incorrect after Edward Snowden made revelations to the contrary. According to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), these and other misleading statements have made it impossible for Congress or the public to have a meaningful debate about government surveillance programs. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), meanwhile, said that Congress cannot perform its duties in overseeing the surveillance programs if it does not get "truthful and non-misleading" testimony from administration officials. But congressional supporters of the surveillance programs, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), say that the programs were fully explained to lawmakers. Administration officials, meanwhile, have said that they have tried to be as transparent as possible in explaining the programs to Congress.
Syria Chemical Weapons 'Most Worrying Terror Threat to UK'
BBC News (07/10/13)
The British Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) warned in its annual report that al-Qaida could gain access to Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons with "catastrophic" consequences--a threat which it said was "the most worrying emerging terrorist threat" for the United Kingdom. The committee noted that it does not doubt that there are "vast stockpiles" of chemical weapons that have been amassed in Syria, and added that "individual jihadists" were also seen as threats. Assessments of the contents of Syria's weapons stockpiles "vary considerably", the report said, but could include mustard gas, ricin, sarin, and VX, which the committee described as "the deadliest nerve agent ever created." The report concluded that "there has to be a significant risk that some of the country's chemical weapons stockpile could fall into the hands of those with links to terrorism, in Syria or elsewhere in the region," adding that "If this happens, the consequences could be catastrophic."
Somali American Caught up in a Shadowy Pentagon Counterpropaganda Campaign
Washington Post (07/08/13) Whitlock, Craig
A Somali-American man who lives in Minnesota and runs a news and opinion Web site for other Somalis appears to have been ensnared in a little-known Defense Department counterpropaganda operation known as Military Information Support Operations. The government learned about the site run by Abdiwali Warsame after it hired the contractor Navanti Group to examine it as part of a broader effort to counter the influence of militants in Africa. Navanti Group issued a report in May 2012 that found that the Web site was extremist in nature and that its main purpose was to disseminate propaganda in support of the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab. Warsame has denied supporting the organization, though his Web site has displayed material that portrays al-Shabab as a group of freedom fighters rather than terrorists. Navanti Group also said that Warsame's Web site presented opportunities to carry out Military Information Support Operations, an activity formerly known as psychological operations, in which anti-al-Shabab comments posted on Warsame's site would be repeated so that Somalis around the world could read them. Warsame has said that Navanti's research into him and his site violated his rights as a U.S. citizen. The Pentagon is forbidden from performing psychological operations in the U.S. and cannot target U.S. citizens no matter where they are. Navanti has said that its actions were not improper, and that it did not know that Warsame was a U.S. citizen. The contractor also said that it turned over its information about Warsame and his site to the U.S. government and the appropriate law enforcement agencies when it found that he was an American.
U.S. Emergency Alerting System (EAS) Vulnerable to Hacking
Homeland Security News Wire (07/11/13)
The cybersecurity company IOActive Inc. claims to have found vulnerabilities in the U.S. Emergency Alerting System (EAS) that could allow it to be hacked. According to IOActive, a successful cyberattack on the EAS would allow hackers to disrupt its ability to transmit in an emergency or could send false information. Principal IOActive researcher Mike Davis says these vulnerabilities stem from the DASDEC application servers that receive and authenticate EAS messages. DASDEC producer Monroe Electronics released a software update in April designed to address some potential problems that could be exploited by cyberattackers, including the removal of SSH keys and changes to password handling. Davis points out, however, that for these changes to be effective, they need to be uploaded by all EAS participants. Monroe downplayed Davis' claims, saying that most of its clients "have already obtained this software update." Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials agreed with Monroe, pointing to a July 2 notice that addressed IOActive's report. DHS did acknowledge that EAS vulnerabilities remain and that participants who have not yet installed updates should do so immediately.
U.K. Lawmakers Sound Alarm on Cyberattacks
Wall Street Journal (07/10/13) Douglas, Jason
The United Kingdom parliament's intelligence and security committee on Wednesday released a report warning that the cyberattack threat "is at its highest level ever" and likely to rise. The annual report is based on evidence from the U.K.'s Government Communications Headquarters, which tracks cyberthreats. Professional hackers acting on behalf of foreign states are increasingly accessing computer systems to steal government and corporate data, the committee says. "The threat the U.K. is facing from cyberattacks is disturbing in its scale and complexity," the committee cautions. "The theft of intellectual property, personal details, and classified information causes significant harm, both financial and nonfinancial. It is incumbent on everyone—individuals, companies and the government—to take responsibility for their own cybersecurity." Treasury chief George Osborne in June approved a 3.4 percent increase in the security services budget from 2015, and said another $312 million of public money would go toward Britain's cybersecurity program in 2015.
Experts: Chinese Cyber Threat to US is Growing
Defense News (07/09/13) Minnick, Wendell
Hudson Institute senior fellow Jun Isomura says that Chinese cyberattacks against American targets are still cause for concern, despite revelations that the U.S. has an offensive cyber capability. He noted that China splits its cyber targets into two groups: military and political. Military targets include the entire defense community in the United States, including U.S. intelligence and the defense industry. Isomura pointed out that the law firms contracted with U.S. defense contractors and the Pentagon are "quite vulnerable" to attack. The focus of political attacks include the Energy Department, Office of the US Trade Representative, the State Department, and the White House. Isomura also noted that attacking Chinese military networks would be exceptionally difficult, given the difficulty of accessing the Internet in China and the fact that China's network is protected a filtering system known as the Great Fire Wall. He suggested that the U.S. and China should try to use multilateral institutions to reduce cybercrime and espionage and minimize the chances of a cyberwar.
Snowden Leaks Cloud U.S.-China Talks
Wall Street Journal (07/09/13) Catan, Thomas; Chin, Josh
U.S. and Chinese officials are scheduled to hold a series of meetings this week to discuss a number of issues of interest to both countries, including cybersecurity. Both Beijing and Washington hope that the talks will lead to a set of rules that spell out the types of behavior that are acceptable for the U.S. and China to engage in on the Internet. One touchy issue that is likely to be brought up is the alleged cyberattacks on U.S. companies by Chinese hackers. Those attacks have been focused on stealing the intellectual property of the targeted firms. U.S. officials are concerned that the nation's competitive economic advantage could be hurt should such attacks be allowed to continue. But raising this issue with the Chinese is likely to prompt accusations of hypocrisy, since documents leaked by Edward Snowden indicate that the U.S. has been carrying out cyberattacks against Chinese targets. Brookings Institution China expert Kenneth Lieberthal says that these revelations will make it difficult for the U.S. to portray itself as an innocent victim of cyberattacks. U.S. officials, for their part, say that the attacks described by Snowden are different than those carried out by the Chinese because they were part of espionage efforts, which all countries engage in, while the Chinese attacks were focused on stealing intellectual property.
U.S. Ports Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
Homeland Security News Wire (07/08/13)
A new study written by Coast Guard Commander Joseph Kramek says that there is a justified concern about the vulnerability of computer networks in U.S. port facilities to cyber attacks. The particular ports examined by Kramer were the ports in Baltimore, Md., Beaumont, Texas, and Houston, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Calif., and Vicksburg, Miss. According to the study, the level of cybersecurity awareness and culture at the port facilities is low, and that if a cyberattack were to occur at a major U.S. port, there would be significant damage done to the economy in a short amount of time. Kramek wrote that while some ports have taken some steps to improve their cybersecurity, others have done little, and that overall, more needs to be done to strengthen port cybersecurity given the critical importance of the ports to the economy. Kramek recommended putting the Coast Guard in charge of enforcing compliance with cybersecurity standards at U.S. ports, and devoting more funds to addressing the port cybersecurity vulnerability problem.
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