Stories related to: spying

A former New England Patriots assistant has given the NFL eight videotapes showing that the Pats broke the rules by recording rival teams' play-calling signals—but the rumored tape of the St. Louis Rams isn't among them, the New York Times reports. There had been reports that the worker had a video of the Rams' practice the day before the 2002 Super Bowl. More »

Chi Mak, a Chinese-born engineer, lived quietly with his wife in the LA suburbs for more than two decades, slowly working his way up the ladder at a US defense contractor. Eventually, he gained a security clearance—and access to plans for Navy ships, submarines and weapons, which he secretly copied and sent to Beijing. Mak, it turns out, was one China's extraordinarily patient "sleeper" agents, writes the Washington Post . Last week a federal judge sentenced him to 24 1/2 years. More »

Where do America’s spies go to get their most useful information? The Internet, mostly. Intelligence reports are increasingly filled with “open-source intelligence,” or information that’s available to nearly anyone, USA Today reports. The much-publicized December report on Iran’s nuclear program, for example, relied heavily on public photos from Iran’s Natanz nuclear reactor. Details like the size of certain pipes gave spies crucial insight. More »

A judge sentenced Chinese-born engineer Chi Mak to 24 years in prison today for conspiring to send US military data to China, the Los Angeles Times reports. A US assistant attorney argued that Mak, 67, had violated US law even though the data on Navy submarines was not classified. Mak, a naturalized US citizen, proclaimed his love for America and vowed to appeal, Bloomberg reports. More »

CIA officials lost a bundle after 9/11 setting up fake businesses to ensnare suspected terrorists in a strategy it now concedes was ill-conceived, reports the Los Angeles Times . The agency spent hundreds of millions of dollars to establish 12 enterprises in Europe and elsewhere to provide a convincing cover for spies. All but two have been shut down. More »

UK spy agency MI5 has sent an unprecedented letter to 300 British business leaders, warning them that vital sectors of the country's economy are under attack from Chinese state-sponsored electronic espionage. The Chinese "use every means at their disposal" to dig up information about British companies, a letter recipient told the Times of London. More »

In a rare move, a federal judge yesterday ordered Condoleezza Rice and 10 other high-ranking officials to testify at the upcoming trial of two pro-Israel lobbyists accused of espionage. National security adviser Stephen Hadley and former Defense official Paul Wolfowitz are among those subpoenaed to testify on behalf of the lobbyists, the Washington Post reports. More »

While spying has only recently caused a scandal in the NFL, the practice is age-old in college football, reports the Los Angeles Times. The nation's big programs have put in place costly security systems designed to thwart intelligence gatherers, who come disguised as painters, priests, pro football scouts, and in countless other forms of camouflage. More »

China and Russia are spying on the US at nearly cold war levels, the nation's top spy told lawmakers today. Vice Admiral McConnell defended the Patriot Act as necessary for US defense and asked Congress to give intelligence agencies even greater eavesdropping powers. His  testimony comes weeks after an alleged strike by Chinese hackers on the Pentagon. More »

Formula One auto-racing team McLaren Mercedes was fined a record $100 million today for using information from rival Ferrari to improve its own cars, the New York Times reported. Though McLaren's drivers—who are at the top of the F1 standings—will keep their points and remain in competition, the team was booted from the constructors championship this year. More »