PDA

Bekijk Volledige Versie : Britse geheime dienst betrapt op spionagepraktijken in Rusland



Spoetnik
23-01-06, 14:32
UK diplomats in Moscow spying row

Russia's state security service, the FSB, has accused British diplomats of spying in Moscow.

It backed claims made in a Russian TV report which showed footage of what it said was British agents retrieving data from a fake rock planted on a street.

The programme also said a UK diplomat made regular payments to Russian non-governmental organisations.

The UK Foreign Office said it was "concerned and surprised" and denied any improper conduct with Russian NGOs.

Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed FSB spokesman as saying that "everything that was shown [in the programme] was true and based on our information".

The programme said four officials from the UK embassy and one Russian citizen, allegedly recruited by the British secret service, downloaded classified data from a transmitter in the rock onto palm-top computers.

According to the programme, the Russian citizen was later arrested.

Hidden camera footage appears to show individuals walking up to the rock.

One man is caught on camera carrying it away.

The programme contained a number of interviews with people claiming to be Russian intelligence officers, who made the allegations.

An unnamed FSB spokesman told AFP news agency one of the accused diplomats was a 30-year-old archivist.

A FSB officer told Rossiya television the hi-tech stone was "absolutely new spy technology".

Claim denied

The UK embassy in Moscow has refused to comment, but the UK Foreign Office in London issued a statement.

"We are concerned and surprised at these allegations. We reject any allegation of improper conduct in our dealing with Russian NGOs," it said.

The Foreign Office said it was well known that the UK government had given financial support to projects implemented by Russian NGOs in the field of human rights and civil society.

"All our assistance is given openly and aims to support the development of a healthy civil society in Russia," the statement said.

Michael Evans, defence editor of the UK Times newspaper, told the BBC Russia is still regarded as a centre of espionage.

"People will be a little bit surprised at the bizarre nature of this episode. I've no idea whether its true but clearly there is a lot of intelligence gathering that goes on."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4638136.stm

Het uiteindelijk doel van de Westerse elite is het versplinteren van Rusland in ministaatjes. Een sterk Rusland wordt niet geaccepteerd door het Westen.

TonH
23-01-06, 15:05
Geplaatst door Spoetnik
[b] The UK Foreign Office said it was "concerned and surprised" and denied any improper conduct with Russian NGOs.


Hier zit de kern van deze story.

Voor de een zijn de NGO's hét middel om een civil society op te bouwen, voor de ander zijn het vehicles om invloed en democratische zeggenschap in Rusland te ondermijnen.

mark61
23-01-06, 15:07
Geplaatst door Spoetnik
It backed claims made in a Russian TV report which showed footage of what it said was British agents retrieving data from a fake rock planted on a street.

Heel GB, en trouwens de hele wereld, vraagt zich af waar dit goed voor is. Volgens mij is het candid camera op zijn russisch.

Spoetnik
23-01-06, 15:18
Geplaatst door mark61
Heel GB, en trouwens de hele wereld, vraagt zich af waar dit goed voor is. Volgens mij is het candid camera op zijn russisch.

De Britse geheime dienst zal die vraag niet beantwoorden vrees ik.

Victory
23-01-06, 16:30
http://eur.news1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/reuters_molt/699857743.jpg

observer
23-01-06, 16:47
ha die engelsen liggen achter onze krakers weten al jaren hoe je stenen moeten gebruiken

ik eis dat de engelsen alle gesprekken van huisvrouwen op straat onmiddelijk vrijgeeft :maf:

Spoetnik
23-01-06, 17:44
Geplaatst door observer
ha die engelsen liggen achter onze krakers weten al jaren hoe je stenen moeten gebruiken

ik eis dat de engelsen alle gesprekken van huisvrouwen op straat onmiddelijk vrijgeeft :maf:

Het is geen afluister apparaat.

mark61
23-01-06, 18:54
Geplaatst door Spoetnik
Het is geen afluister apparaat.

Meer Wifi geloof ik. De vraag blijft wat je daar zoal kan downloaden. Wat een soap.

Spoetnik
23-01-06, 19:00
Geplaatst door mark61
Meer Wifi geloof ik. De vraag blijft wat je daar zoal kan downloaden. Wat een soap.

Soap? Ik vind het behoorlijk ernstig nu blijkt dat de Britse geheime dienst operaties uitvoert in Rusland om het land te destabiliseren.

Victory
23-01-06, 19:06
Alles wat de relatie tussen Rusland en het westen slechter maakt, is goed. :)

Soldim
23-01-06, 19:08
Geplaatst door Spoetnik
Britse geheime dienst betrapt op spionagepraktijken in Rusland

Die Britse spionnen doen nog een wat voor de kost. 't Hier heel wat anders, het kleuterklasje van de Hofstadgroep najagen, en 'geheim' materiaal lekken, verder schijnen ze niet te komen. :fpetaf:

mark61
23-01-06, 19:09
Geplaatst door Spoetnik
Soap? Ik vind het behoorlijk ernstig nu blijkt dat de Britse geheime dienst operaties uitvoert in Rusland om het land te destabiliseren.

Stel je niet zo vreselijk aan. Wat weet jij in godsnaam over Britse destabiliserende acties in Rusland, anders dan van die jofele sites van je? Destabiliserende holle rotsblokken? Lamenietlachen man.

De FSB noemde in één adem met deze stunt Britse steun aan NGO's, maar dat is helemaal geen geheim. De FSB heeft wel vaker moeite met geheimen te onderscheiden van common knowledge, zoals toen ze die journalist veroordeeld kregen wegens schenden van het 'geheim' van roestende nucleaire onderzeeërs in Moermansk, wat de hele wereld, zelfs iedereen in Rusland, al wist.

Post-Koude Oorlog spioneert iedereen er lustig op los; bedrijfseconomisch vnl. Of omdat je je nou eenmaal waar moet maken als geheime dienst, anders krijg je je hypotheek niet afgelost.

Hysterische sensatiezoeker die je dr bent.

Spoetnik
23-01-06, 19:34
Geplaatst door mark61
blabla

Als jij je ogen wilt sluiten voor wat er gaande is in de wereld moet je dat vooral doen, maar laat mij met rust wil je.

mark61
23-01-06, 19:39
Geplaatst door Spoetnik
Als jij je ogen wilt sluiten voor wat er gaande is in de wereld moet je dat vooral doen, maar laat mij met rust wil je.

Doe niet zo dom. Dit is zelfs voor jou ver onder de maat.

mark61
24-01-06, 01:18
Q&A: 'British spy rock'

Russia's intelligence agency, the FSB, has accused British agents of storing and exchanging classified information using a fake rock on a Russian street.
It says the hi-tech stone is "absolutely new spy technology". The UK has not commented on the rock allegation.

The BBC News website's technology correspondent Mark Ward considers how such a rock might work, and the potential pitfalls of such technology.

Q: What kinds of devices could be used for this?

A: Any gadget that can swap data wirelessly would be able to work with the rock but the most likely candidates would be mobile phones and handheld computers - known as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). These are used very widely and it has become easy to use them to move data - be it a text message or an image or video clip - over short and long distances.

To avoid looking suspicious, those involved in the alleged data theft might have turned to a widely available gadget because the basic data transfer capabilities would have been built in and it would need minimal tweaking to get working. Many phone and PDA users regularly swap data, such as contact details or images, via Bluetooth short-range radio or via infra-red.

Q: What capacity do such devices have?

A: The latest devices can use wi-fi or even newer technologies to move data around faster. All can transfer many thousands of bytes of data per second. One byte is equal to one character and one million characters is roughly equivalent to the amount of data in a large paperback book.

Q: How would it work?

A: Without more details it is hard to be precise about how a rock and phone/PDA combination might work.

However, from what we know it appears that those who allegedly stole the confidential information walked close to the rock and then uploaded data to the device beneath it. Later, others came and downloaded the data and walked off with it.

It is most likely that radio of some kind was used to pass data back and forth. Infra-red demands a line of sight between the devices swapping data and would not penetrate the fake surface of the rock.

Many investigation firms use custom-built devices when trying to spot insurance fraud. Some have made "smart bricks" with cameras concealed in them which they toss into a suspect's garden. Typically these use short range radio to send images back to a van close by.

Q: What are the potential problems with this sort of thing?

A: The main problem is likely to be the battery life for the device beneath the rock that stores the data. Sending data via short-range radio is a notorious gobbler of battery power. If lots of data were being passed back and forth the useful life of the rock could be very short.

Q: Are there any other problems, more specific to this situation?

A: Yes. One is the speed at which data can be uploaded or downloaded. While standing in the street tapping on a phone or PDA does not raise much comment any more, it would if you had to stay in the same place for hours. But using faster speeds tends to be even more battery hungry.

Another problem is ensuring that only the right people upload and download data. Unprotected wi-fi networks are notoriously easy to find and log on to. It might prove hard to find ways to continually update the alleged spies on regularly changing passwords, encryption keys and the like.

The final problem is the clumsiness of this method for passing data. If a PDA has a wireless link there are likely to be lots of public places that would allow that data be sent more anonymously. For instance, many tech-savvy criminal gangs use hijacked servers to store stolen data.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4639782.stm

mark61
24-01-06, 01:19
One of the non-government groups named in Russian allegations of a UK spy network has dismissed the reports as a smear aimed at undermining its work.
Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, said the government was trying to turn public opinion against NGOs it wanted to shut down.

Russia said spies posing as diplomats funded NGOs and used a hi-tech "letterbox" disguised as a rock.

The UK government denies any improper behaviour towards Russian NGOs.

Spying finds new forms

The allegations emerged in a Russian TV report on Sunday and were later backed up by the internal state security service, the FSB.

Ms Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, said they were part of a campaign against Kremlin critics, linked to a law tightening control over NGOs which President Vladimir Putin signed this month.

"They are preparing public opinion for a government move to close us down, which they can now do under the new law," she told reporters.

She said a document written in Russian which showed one of the alleged spies' signatures was a fake. All communication between her organisation and British donors was in English, according to Ms Alexeyeva.

'Red-handed'

The FSB backed the claims made on Russia's Rossiya TV channel which showed what it said were British agents retrieving data from the dummy, loaf-sized rock planted on a street.

The device is said to be a hi-tech version of the classic "dead drop"

According to the programme, a UK diplomat made regular payments to Russian non-governmental organisations.

The programme named four individuals it described as British spies working as diplomats and also mentioned a Russian citizen, said to be now in custody after confessing to espionage.

The four were named in the programme as Christopher Pirt, Marc Doe, Paul Crompton and Andrew Fleming.

"The most important thing is that we caught them red-handed while they were in contact with their agents [and established] that they were financing some non-governmental organisations," said FSB chief spokesman Sergei Ignatchenko.

He did not detail what action would be taken by the Russian authorities, saying only that the question would be "decided at the political level". The new law on NGOs bans foreign funding of any NGO with "political purposes" but it does not spell out what this means.

It also appears that the alleged donations took place before the new law took effect.

The UK Foreign Office says it is well known that the UK government gives financial support to projects implemented by Russian NGOs in the field of human rights and civil society.

"All our assistance is given openly and aims to support the development of a healthy civil society in Russia," a statement said.

Michael Evans, defence editor of the UK Times newspaper, told the BBC that Russia was still regarded as a centre of espionage.

"I've no idea whether it's true, but clearly there is a lot of intelligence gathering that goes on," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4640632.stm

Victory
24-01-06, 01:23
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/photos/index/2006_01/2006_01_24/front_3.jpg

Soldim
24-01-06, 02:02
Geplaatst door mark61
Russia said spies posing as diplomats funded NGOs

Was het niet de KGB die op een gegeven moment de halve West-Europese vredesbeweging financieerde?

Er werd geloof ik op Russiche kosten geprotesteerd tegen het plaatsen van kruisraketten (waar ik het las werd over West-Duitsland en de UK gesproken, Nederland werd niet genoemd -- 'k weet niet of dat was omdat we niet belangrijk genoeg waren, of omdat de Nederlandse vredesactivisten niet door de KGB gefinancieerd werden ;) ).

Wide-O
24-01-06, 06:27
Het vriest stenen uit de grond in Moskou.