All posts tagged: spying

Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying on U.S. to highest level, sources say

Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying on U.S. to highest level, sources say

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is increasingly concerned about Israel ramping up its spying on the U.S., recently raising the counterintelligence threat level from America’s top ally in the Middle East to the highest level, according to two U.S. officials and one former U.S. official. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency in recent weeks issued the new counterintelligence threat assessment amid rising tensions between Israel and the U.S. over the way forward in the war with Iran, the officials said. They said the DIA posted an internal message, viewed by one of the current officials, that raised the level for Israel to “critical.” The designation stems from concerns within the Pentagon that Israel is making a particular effort to surveil top U.S. officials to get information on the Trump administration’s internal deliberations and decision-making on the conflicts in the Middle East, the officials said. The DIA assessment includes a seven-page document and features a chart, according to one of the current U.S. …

Your rewards card may be spying on you — and impacting how much you pay

Your rewards card may be spying on you — and impacting how much you pay

Published by Sam Flores

If you’ve been anywhere online or in stores lately, you’ve likely encountered marketing buzz like “Sign-up to earn loyalty discounts” or “Become a rewards member today!” Today’s consumers are inundated with the pleas of businesses to sign up for member clubs, loyalty programs, discount cards and more. They often offer exclusive sales, access to limited edition items and maybe even specialized discounts. It’s also commonly understood that if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is — so what’s the catch? Increasingly, companies are using loyalty programs to offer discounts in name only by building hyperspecific profiles on members that determine what deals customers receive and the maximum they’re willing to pay. In other words, it’s all about data, which can be used against the very consumers who assume it benefits them. This practice falls under the umbrella of surveillance pricing, which is the use of a customer’s personal data to set prices. For example, Customer A is shopping online for grocery pick-up and sees $3.99 for a bag of lemons, whereas …

FBI Offers 0,000 Reward To Catch Former US Air Force Specialist In Iran Spying Case

FBI Offers $200,000 Reward To Catch Former US Air Force Specialist In Iran Spying Case

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The FBI on Thursday said it is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the capture and prosecution of a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran in 2013 and was later charged with revealing classified information to the Iranian regime. A FBI agent at the Department of Justice in Washington on Feb. 12, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times The bureau said in a statement that Monica Witt served in the military from 1997 to 2008, then worked as a government contractor until 2010. She later defected to Iran in 2013. In 2019, she was indicted by a grand jury in Washington on espionage charges, including transmitting national defense information to the Iranian regime, the FBI said. After she defected, according to the indictment, she later provided information to Iran and put “sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information and programs” at risk, according to the statement. The information she provided to the Iranian regime endangered American personnel and their families …

Netflix Sued By Texas For Allegedly Spying On Children

Netflix Sued By Texas For Allegedly Spying On Children

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times, Global video streaming service Netflix has been sued by the Texas attorney general’s office for allegedly collecting consumer data from children and adults without their knowledge or consent. In a May 11 statement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused Netflix of spying on consumers by intentionally tracking and logging their viewing habits, preferences, devices, household networks, and other sensitive behavioral data. The litigation claims that although the mega-entertainment platform purported to refrain from collecting or sharing user data, it, in fact, recorded and monetized “billions of behavioral events.” According to Paxton, every consumer interaction became a “data point,” which revealed information about the user, and tracking was then applied to both adults’ and children’s accounts and profiles. “Netflix has built a surveillance program designed to illegally collect and profit from Texans’ personal data without their consent, and my office will do everything in our power to stop it,” Paxton said in the statement. “Netflix is not the ad-free and kid-friendly platform it claims to be. Instead, it …

Scottish man jailed in Ukraine after admitting spying for Russia | UK News

Scottish man jailed in Ukraine after admitting spying for Russia | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

A Scottish man who worked as a military instructor in Ukraine has been jailed for more than eight years after he admitted spying for Russia. Ross David Cutmore, from Dunfermline in Fife, shared information about the Ukrainian military in return for payment, after being recruited to work as a Russian spy. The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said Cutmore “acted out of selfish motives and with the intent to transmit this data to the aggressor country”. Cutmore was jailed for eight-and-a-half years after admitting his guilt in a plea deal at the Kyiv district court of Odesa on 30 April. According to prosecutors, Cutmore arrived in the country in January 2024 and ran classes for Ukrainian service personnel in the city of Mykolaiv. In September that year, he moved to Odesa, where he established contact with a member of the Russian special services and agreed to send military information in return for payment. In May 2025, a probe by the Ukrainian security service (SBU) found Cutmore had transmitted the coordinates of Ukrainian units, photographs of a …

Netflix sued by Texas attorney general who claims streamer is ‘spying’ on users

Netflix sued by Texas attorney general who claims streamer is ‘spying’ on users

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Netflix is being sued by Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, who claims that the streaming service has engaged in “spying on Texans, including children, and collecting users’ data without their knowledge or consent.” The Republican politician, who is running for the U.S. Senate, alleges that the streamer has violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The lawsuit, which was filed May 11 and has been seen by Variety, claims that Netflix traded for several years on the basis that it would not introduce advertising, before doing so in 2022. The legal filing quotes Netflix’s then-CEO Reed Hastings as saying in January 2020 that: “We don’t collect anything. We’re really focused on just making our members happy, and we’re not tied up with all that controversy around advertising.” The lawsuit from the State of Texas alleges that “In short, Netflix …

Southampton investigated by EFL over alleged spying on Middlesbrough

Southampton investigated by EFL over alleged spying on Middlesbrough

Published by Sam Flores

May 7 : The English Football League has launched an investigation into allegations that a member of Southampton’s staff was caught filming a closed Middlesbrough training session ahead of the first leg of their Championship playoff semi-final on Saturday. “The EFL has written to Southampton FC requesting their observations following a complaint from Middlesbrough FC relating to alleged unauthorised filming ahead of the two clubs’ meeting in Saturday’s Championship play-off semi-final first leg,” an EFL spokesperson told Southampton daily newspaper The Southern Daily Echo. “The alleged incident is said to have taken place on Middlesbrough’s private property by an individual identified to be associated with Southampton. “The league is treating this matter as potential misconduct under EFL Regulations and will be making no further comment at this time.” BBC Sport reported that a Southampton performance analyst was caught recording Middlesbrough training and photographing tactics on Thursday morning, two days before Saturday’s first leg at the Riverside Stadium. The analyst was told to delete the footage and leave the area. League rules bar clubs from observing, …

Two Men Found Guilty of Spying on Hong Kong Dissidents in UK for China

Two Men Found Guilty of Spying on Hong Kong Dissidents in UK for China

Published by Sam Flores

By Michael Holden and Sam Tobin LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) – Two men, including a British immigration officer, ⁠were ⁠found guilty in a London court on Thursday of ⁠spying on behalf of Hong Kong and ultimately China, targeting prominent pro-democracy dissidents now based in Britain. Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, ​65, and Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 40, who worked for the UK Border Force, were convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service by carrying out surveillance on targets between December 2023 and ‌May 2024. The men, both dual Chinese and British nationals, ‌had denied the accusations, while the Chinese embassy in London has accused Britain of fabricating the charges against them. They are believed to be the first people to have been ⁠convicted of spying for ⁠China in Britain, local media reported. Wai and Yuen will be sentenced at a later date and face ​up to 14 years in jail. The jury at London’s Old Bailey court was unable to reach a verdict on another charge of conducting “foreign interference” by forcing entry on behalf of Hong …

Austria expels 3 Russian diplomats over alleged espionage – POLITICO

Austria expels 3 Russian diplomats over alleged espionage – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Espionage is a security issue for Austria,” Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger told POLITICO. “This government has made a policy shift and is taking consistent action against it. We have made this unmistakably clear to the Russian side, also with regard to the ‘forest of antennas’ at the Russian mission.” Meinl-Reisinger said it was “unacceptable” for the officials to invoke their diplomatic immunity to carry out spying operations in Austria, and said the country would move to tighten the espionage provision in the criminal code to curb the illicit activity. As a result of its proximity to the Iron Curtain, Vienna was a hotbed for foreign spies throughout the latter half of the 20th century. Because the country’s criminal code punishes only espionage actions that directly target Austria, it continues to be seen as a relatively safe haven for intelligence agents. Since the start of the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Austria has revoked the diplomatic status of 14 Russian officials found to “have engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status.” However, around 220 staff …

90,000 Screenshots of One Celebrity’s Phone Were Exposed Online

90,000 Screenshots of One Celebrity’s Phone Were Exposed Online

Published by skeptic

Stalkerware allows people to secretly spy on romantic partners, family members or other associates by infecting a target’s phone and then silently amassing their text messages, photos, location information, and other data. The malware is profoundly intrusive in and of itself, but digital rights advocates have long cautioned that on top of violating victims’ personal privacy, it also creates an additional risk that data gathered using spyware could then separately be breached by an additional, unrelated actor, creating a true privacy disaster. New research this week illustrates one such example of a true worst-case scenario. In findings released on Thursday, a security researcher details the discovery of a cloud repository that was publicly accessible on the open internet with no access controls. It contained nearly 90,000 screenshots showing a European celebrity’s private messages, photos, and phone usage—seemingly compiled using stalkerware. “All the selfies were one person, all the chats were one person, and it was basically everyone they chatted with divided into Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp,” Jeremiah Fowler, a researcher with Black Hills Information …