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☆ Newly declassified report shows U.S. intelligence community remains divided over likely origin of Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Zoë Richards | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

(L-R) Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, Director of the National Security Agency Gen. Paul Nakasone, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director William Burns and FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a House Select Committee on Intelligence hearing concerning worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill March 9, 2023 in Washington, DC. The leaders of the intelligence agencies testified on a wide range of issues, including China, Russia, Covid-19 origins, and TikTok. "All agencies continue to assess that both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible hypotheses to explain the first human infection," the 10-page declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said. But "almost all" intelligence agencies agreed that the virus wasn't genetically engineered, and all agencies agreed that Covid was not manufactured as a biological weapon. The spokesman added that "getting to the bottom of the origins" of Covid remains a top priority for the president.

Persons: Scott Berrier, Paul Nakasone, National Intelligence Avril Haines, William Burns, Christopher Wray, Covid, Joe Biden Organizations: Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, National Intelligence, CIA, Capitol, Intelligence, National Intelligence Council, Department of Energy, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Wuhan Institute, Virology, White House National Security Council Locations: Washington ,, China, Russia, Covid, Wuhan, U.S

CNN —The US intelligence community still believes it is plausible that Covid-19 originated in a laboratory or in the wild, a conclusion that has been consistent for months, according to newly declassified information released Friday evening. And almost all American intelligence agencies also assess that the virus itself was not genetically engineered, the report states. “Most agencies assess that SARS-CoV-2 was not laboratory-adapted; some are unable to make a determination. All IC agencies assess that SARS-CoV-2 was not developed as a biological weapon,” according to the ODNI report. US intelligence agencies remain split over whether it resulted from a lab leak or occurred in the wild.

Persons: ”, WIV Organizations: CNN, National Intelligence Locations: Wuhan, China

☆ U.S. Intelligence Agencies May Never Find Covid’s Origins, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This week, intelligence agencies are expected to release declassified material on what they have learned about Covid’s origins, a subject of intense interest and scrutiny among American lawmakers. But people briefed on the material say there is no smoking gun, no body of evidence that sways the intelligence community as a whole, or top C.I.A. In fact, senior intelligence officials remain more convinced than ever that the agencies are not going to be able to collect a piece of evidence that solves the puzzle. Local and national authorities in China, U.S. officials say, destroyed some virus samples and used up others in research, all of which might have helped answer the questions over Covid’s origins. But those officials also caution against overstating the importance of the destroyed samples.

Organizations: Trump, Biden, Energy Department Locations: U.S, China

☆ Opinion | So About Those U.F.O. Stories …
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The New York Times Audio app includes podcasts, narrated articles from the newsroom and other publishers, as well as exclusive new shows — including this one — which we’re making available to readers for a limited time. Download the audio app here. Earlier this month, a news outlet called The Debrief published a story that included, to put it mildly, some explosive material. The story centered on David Grusch, a decorated former combat veteran who has worked in multiple government intelligence agencies and served on the Pentagon’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. [You can listen to this episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google or wherever you get your podcasts.]

Persons: David Grusch, Grusch, “, Ezra Klein Organizations: New York Times, ., Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google

☆ How Daniel Ellsberg, who died at 92, went from being a disillusioned member of the government-military elite to a hero of anti-war movements
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower behind the Pentagon Papers, died at 92, his family said Friday. David Halberstam, the late author and Vietnam War correspondent who had known Ellsberg since both were posted overseas, would describe him as no ordinary convert. "Without Nixon's obsession with me, he would have stayed in office," Ellsberg told The Associated Press in 1999. Ellsberg's story was depicted in the 2009 documentary "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers." He and Marx wedded in 1970, the year before the Pentagon Papers were made public.

Persons: Daniel Ellsberg, Ellsberg, —, — Daniel Ellsberg, Richard Nixon, Julia Pacetti, Dan, Robert S, McNamara, Lyndon Johnson's, John F, Kennedy, David Halberstam, Johnson, Neil Sheehan, Henry Kissinger, Hannah Arendt, Nixon, Nixon fumed, H.R, Haldeman, Matthew Byrne, Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, Byrne, Daniel, Harry Truman, nodded, Ellsberg's, Rand, Anthony J, Russo, Robert, Kissinger, Sen, William J, Fulbright, George McGovern of, Marcus Raskin, Ralph Stavins, Sheehan, Raskin, Stavins, didn't, spry, George W, Bush, Obama, Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Snowden, Patricia Marx, Marx Organizations: Pentagon, Service, Supreme, Defense, Harvard, Democratic, Republican, The New York Times, Washington Post, The Associated Press, National Security, United, U.S, White, Democratic Party's, Washington , D.C, Associated Press, Coast, Rand Corp, Christian Science, Soviet Union overseas, Harvard University, Marines, Ivy League, Defense Department, State Department, Rand, Xerox, Arkansas, Foreign Relations Committee, Institute for Policy, Times, ., Army, New York Times, Massachusetts Institute, Technology's Center for International Studies Locations: Boston, Los Angeles, Vietnam, Indochina, U.S, France's, America, United States, Beverly Hills , California, Washington ,, Saigon, Santa Monica, Chicago, Detroit, Pearl, London, Germany, Japan, Santa Monica , California, George McGovern of South Dakota, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia

☆ Opinion: Decoding Trump’s top-secret documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —At the heart of the case of “United States of America v. Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta” are 31 classified documents that former President Donald Trump kept at his Mar-a-Lago club, each briefly described in the indictment against him. Peter Bergen CNNTrump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and given a variety of defenses for his handling of the documents. London and Stout walked me through what can be learned about the documents in the indictment. London then explained a point I hadn’t fully considered before: “Documents are classified to protect the sources so that we can continue collecting that information and protect the sources who are doing it. The fiasco at Mar-a-Lago that is alleged in the indictment against him suggests that Trump could care less about this fundamental duty.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Donald J, Trump, Donald Trump, Peter Bergen CNN Trump, United States ’, Douglas London, Mark Stout, Stout, “, ”, London, NOFORN ”, “ Trump Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, “, United, CIA’s Clandestine Service, of American Intelligence, State Department, CIA, London, Signals Intelligence, Twitter, Stout Locations: New America, “ United States, America, United States, East, Africa, Asia, London, Mar

☆ As China's intelligence capabilities grow, spying becomes an increasing flashpoint in ties with US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

They underscore how intelligence gathering – an activity meant to go on without detection, out of the public eye – is becoming an increasingly prominent flashpoint in the US-China relationship. That pushes intelligence gathering itself to become “another factor that is complicating US-China relations,” he said. That’s especially the case, experts say, as China continues to expand its own intelligence gathering capabilities – catching up in an area where the US has traditionally had an edge. Other arms of the Communist Party apparatus also play a role in activities beyond conventional intelligence gathering, experts say. Heightened concern and awareness about Chinese intelligence gathering – or the potential for it – has exploded in the US in recent years.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Bill Burns, ”, Lyle Morris, Christopher Johnson, “, there’s, they’ve, Johnson, Xi Jinping, That’s, Xuezhi Guo, Guo, Xi, Hector Retamal, –, TikTok –, Edward Snowden, ’, Shou Zi Chew, Jabin, John Delury, John T, Downey, Delury Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, US, White House, CIA, CNN, Asia Society, Center for, Central Intelligence Agency, China, Group, U.S . Navy, AP, Guilford College, People’s Liberation Army, Ministry of State Security, Communist Party, Federal Bureau of Intelligence, The New York Times, Huawei, TikTok, Tiktok, US Justice Department, China Initiative, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security Agency, US Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, China ”, Energy, Commerce, Capitol, Washington Post, Subversion Locations: Hong Kong, United States, China, Beijing, American, Cuba, US, Center for China, South, Russia, AFP, Washington, USA, South China, Washington , DC

☆ Tucker Carlson: Democrats arrested Trump because 7 years ago he said Bush lied about Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( John Cook | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On the third installment of "Tucker on Twitter," Carlson said Trump's arrest was for accusing George W. Bush of lying about Iraq in 2016. "We can point to the precise moment that permanent Washington decided to send Donald Trump to prison," Tucker said: Feburary 16, 2016. That's the day of a Republican primary debate in Greenville, South Carolina, at which Trump violated Republican orthodoxy by accusing George W. Bush of lying in the run-up to the Iraq War. 3 America's principles are at stake pic.twitter.com/eJNSUVvvqY — Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 13, 2023"We should never have been in Iraq," Trump said at the debate. And because Trump said it, Carlson argued, the clock started on a process that led to his arrest this week.

Persons: Tucker, Carlson, George W . Bush, —, Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump wasn't, George W, Bush, Donald Trump, eJNSUVvvqY — Tucker Carlson, Trump, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Obama, John Dingell, Sen, Al Franken, Elijah Cummings, Ernest " Fritz, Hollings Organizations: Twitter, Service, Privacy, Fox, Trump, GOP, Republican Party, National Archives, Records Administration, Democratic, Rep, Intelligence, U.S . Intelligence Community's Locations: Iraq, Washington, Greenville , South Carolina

☆ Schumer to host first of three senator-only A.I. briefings as Congress considers how to regulate
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, speaks about China competitiveness legislation alongside Democratic Senate committee chairs at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., May 3, 2023. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is set to host the first of three educational sessions about artificial intelligence Tuesday as Congress considers how best to regulate the technology. Tuesday's talk is set to offer a general overview of AI and its current capabilities, Schumer said. In the letter, the senators said the three discussions would ask the following questions:Where is AI today? How do the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community use AI today and what do we know about how our adversaries are using AI[?]

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Schumer, Antonio Torralba, Sam Altman, Mike Rounds, Martin Heinrich, Todd Young Organizations: Democratic, U.S, Capitol, Washington , D.C, Senate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lawmakers, Sens, of Defense, Intelligence, CNBC, YouTube Locations: New York, China, Washington ,

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - Chinese hackers are all but certain to disrupt American critical infrastructure, such as pipelines and railways, in the event of a conflict with the United States, a senior U.S. cybersecurity official said Monday. In comments made during an appearance at the Aspen Institute in Washington, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly said Beijing was making major investments in the capability to sabotage U.S. infrastructure. She cautioned that Americans needed to be prepared for the likelihood that Beijing's hackers would dodge their defenses and cause damage in the physical world. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request seeking a reaction to the warning. Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jen, Raphael Satter, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Aspen Institute, Infrastructure Security, Embassy, U.S, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Washington, Cybersecurity, Beijing

The documents, according to the indictment, included details about U.S. nuclear weapons, spy satellites and the U.S. military. Here are some of the documents mentioned in the indictment:- A document marked TOP SECRET//[redacted]/[redacted]//ORCON/NOFORN that the indictment says concerned "nuclear capabilities of a foreign country." - A document marked SECRET//FORMERLY RESTRICTED DATA that the indictment says concerned "nuclear weaponry of the United States." - Six top-secret documents marked TK, standing for Talent Keyhole, a classification for materials related to U.S. spy satellites. The indictment says these documents concerned the military capabilities of foreign countries.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jonathan Landay, Daniel Wallis Organizations: U.S ., Pentagon, CIA, National Security Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, United States, Department of Energy, FISA, Foreign Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Florida, United States, U.S

☆ Russia says it has video of the first Western tank in Ukraine getting blown up, and it could well be legit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is jubilant over footage is says shows a Leopard tank being destroyed in Ukraine. Western tanks like the German-made Leopard are being deployed in Ukraine as part of its long-awaited counter-offensive. —🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) June 8, 2023The footage from Thursday shows a row of tanks in a field, with ordinance exploding around them. And the Kremlin has a clear interest in showing that Ukraine's prized Western weapons can be defeated. Both UA Weapons Tracker and Oryx are open-source accounts on Twitter, but with considerable heft.

Persons: —, Insider's Sinéad Baker Organizations: Service, Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ Indictment alleges Trump hoarded classified documents on 'vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Sam Fellman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He kept records about "potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack," per the indictment. Their indictment unsealed Friday alleges that the former president had kept government records at Mar-a-Lago that pertained to "defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack." The records about nuclear programs are likely to also be highly sensitive files — especially if they describe nuclear weapon capabilities, plans or launch protocols. But Trump apparently didn't keep it a secret that he'd kept these secret files; the FBI recovered 17 documents with top-secret markings, according to the indictment. In announcing his indictment Thursday on his Truth Social network, Trump declared: "I AM AN INNOCENT MAN."

Persons: Trump, —, Donald Trump, he'd, that's, Mark Milley Organizations: Service, GOP, Mar, Defense Department, NATO, FBI, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Trump Locations: United States, Trump's, Iran

☆ Russia says West trying to confuse the world over Nord Stream culprits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 7 (Reuters) - The Russian embassy in the United States said on Wednesday that a report the United States knew of a Ukrainian plan to attack the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines was part of a coordinated Western attempt to confuse the world over the truth. "The coordinated campaign of the West, led by the United States, to confuse the international community is sewn with white threads," Russian diplomat Andrey Ledenev was quoted as saying in a post on the embassy's Telegram messaging channel. Several underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and the newly built Nord Stream 2 pipelines that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea in September 2022. Russia has repeatedly said the West was behind the blasts affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last September - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; editing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andrey Ledenev, Lidia Kelly, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Washington Post, CIA, White House, Thomson Locations: Russian, United States, Russia, Germany, Baltic, Sweden, Denmark, U.S, Melbourne

CNN —US and western officials see signs that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia is beginning and have noted a “substantial increase in fighting” in the east of the country over the last 48 hours as Ukrainian troops probe for weaknesses in Russian defensive lines, a senior NATO official said on Tuesday. The destruction of a sprawling dam in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Kherson region, which triggered a wave of evacuations on Tuesday as floods of water spilled from the Nova Kakhovka hydro-electric plant, could complicate some of Ukraine’s plans, officials told CNN. The dam’s destruction could now make it more difficult for Ukrainian troops to cross the Dnipro River and attack Russian positions there, said two western officials. Ukrainian forces are also conducting operations south of Donetsk city in eastern Ukraine, which appears to be a new effort, the western official said. The counteroffensive is expected to be carried out on multiple fronts, a senior US military official said.

Persons: “, ’, Hanna Maliar, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Mark Milley Organizations: CNN, NATO, Nova, Wall, Joint Chiefs, Staff Locations: Russia, Kherson, Dnipro, Ukrainian, ”, European, Washington, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Ukraine, Europe

☆ Exclusive: Ukraine has cultivated sabotage agents inside Russia and is giving them drones to stage attacks, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Natasha Bertrand Zachary Cohen Kylie Atwood | Natasha Bertrand | Zachary Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

US officials believe these pro-Ukrainian agents inside Russia carried out a drone attack that targeted the Kremlin in early May by launching drones from within Russia rather than flying them from Ukraine into Moscow. But US officials believe that Ukraine has developed sabotage cells inside Russia made up of a mix of pro-Ukrainian sympathizers and operatives well-trained in this kind of warfare. Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the head of the Ukrainian Security Service suggested to CNN that the mysterious explosions and drone strikes inside Russia would continue. ‘A culmination of months of effort’There has been a steady drumbeat of mysterious fires and explosions inside Russia over the last year, targeting oil and fuel depots, railways, military enlistment offices, warehouses and pipelines. A savvy military strategyPublicly, senior US officials have condemned the strikes inside Russia, warning of the potential for an escalation of the war.

Persons: Russia –, ‘ Cash, they’ve, “, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Vasyl Malyuk, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Kyrylo Budanov, Budanov, Zelensky, ” Budanov, Nicolas Vaujour, ” Vaujour, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Washington CNN —, CNN, Kremlin, Ukrainian, Reuters, Ostorozhno Novosti, Ukrainian Security Service, Security Service, Getty, Pentagon, CIA, Washington Post, Yahoo, Joint Staff, UK Ministry of Defense Locations: Washington CNN — Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Ostorozhno, AFP, Russia’s Rostov, Rostov Oblast, Moscow’s, ”, Belgorod, Russia’s

SINGAPORE, June 4 (Reuters) - Senior officials from about two dozen of the world's major intelligence agencies held a secret meeting on the fringes of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore this weekend, five people told Reuters. "Participants have found such meetings held on the sidelines of the (dialogue) beneficial." The United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operate what is called the Five Eyes network to gather and share a broad range of intelligence, and their intelligence officials meet frequently. Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Volodymr V. Havrylov, was at the Shangri-La Dialogue but said he did not attend the intelligence meeting. Haines was among the official U.S. delegates to the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Persons: National Intelligence Avril Haines, Samant Goel, Volodymr, Anthony Albanese, Defense Lloyd Austin, Li Shangfu, Haines, William Burns, Biden, Xinghui Kok, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Greg Torode, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Reuters, National Intelligence, Research, Singapore Ministry of Defence, U.S, Embassy, New Zealand, Australian, Defense, Chinese Defence, CIA, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore, U.S, China, United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New, Ukraine, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Beijing

☆ World's spy chiefs meet in secret conclave in Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Senior officials from about two dozen of the world's major intelligence agencies held a secret meeting on the fringes of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore this weekend, five people told Reuters. A spokesperson for the Singapore Ministry of Defence said that while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, "participants including senior officials from intelligence agencies also take the opportunity to meet their counterparts." The United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operate what is called the Five Eyes network to gather and share a broad range of intelligence, and their intelligence officials meet frequently. Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Volodymr V. Havrylov, was at the Shangri-La Dialogue but said he did not attend the intelligence meeting. Haines was among the official U.S. delegates to the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Persons: National Intelligence Avril Haines, Samant Goel, Volodymr, Anthony Albanese, Defense Lloyd Austin, Li Shangfu, Haines, William Burns, Biden Organizations: Reuters, National Intelligence, Research, Singapore Ministry of Defence, U.S, Embassy, New Zealand, Australian, Defense, Chinese Defence, CIA Locations: Singapore, U.S, China, United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New, Ukraine, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Beijing

☆ When the Neighbors Don’t Share Your Vision (and That Vision Involves ‘Transformers’ Statues)
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Noreen Malone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The thing about putting a pair of 10-foot statues of metal-hewn Transformers outside your townhouse in the most picturesque district of the nation’s capital is that the neighbors are going to have opinions. Plenty of people love the statues, which resemble invaders from the future, in a neighborhood that does its best to hang on to its cobblestone past. Students at nearby Georgetown University can’t get enough. Neither can tourists: The Transformers statues have their own entry on Google Maps as a place of interest, with 4.9 stars. “The best part of visiting Georgetown,” one reviewer declared.

Persons: —, Newton Howard, Georgetown University can’t, “, ” Organizations: Optimus, Georgetown University, Google Locations: Georgetown, Taiwan

☆ NASA team to issue report on unidentified phenomena in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —A team of 16 experts and scientists assembled by NASA aims to publish its first report on unidentified anomalous phenomena, also known as unidentified flying objects, or UFOS, by midsummer. “We’re trying to assess whether those phenomena pose any risks to safety and we’re doing it using science,” Evans added. Unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, “are events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective,” according to NASA. Instead, the team’s approach has been outlining how to evaluate and study unidentified anomalous phenomena using data and technology. But since being announced in June 2022, members of the independent study team have faced online harassment.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Dan Evans, “ We’ve, ” Evans, “ We’re, Evans, UAPs, Scott Kelly, David Spergel, Kelly, ” Spergel, “, Sean Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick, ” Kirkpatrick, Spergel, astrobiology, Katie Hunt, Michael Conte, Jackie Wattles Organizations: CNN, NASA, UAP, National Defense, US Navy, Simons, US Department of Defense, Pentagon Locations: New York City

☆ Chinese state-sponsored hackers infiltrated U.S. naval infrastructure, secretary of the Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Navy has been hit by the Chinese state-sponsored hack that Microsoft disclosed Wednesday, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro told CNBC's Morgan Brennan on Thursday. The warnings alerted corporate and public enterprises that a sophisticated Chinese state-backed hacking group had successfully exploited a vulnerability in a popular cybersecurity suite. The vulnerability, which was exploited by a group codenamed "Volt Typhoon," affects critical cyber infrastructure across a range of industries, Microsoft said Wednesday. The company said the Chinese hackers had targeted communications and maritime sectors in Guam, which is home to a key U.S. military base. The Chinese Foreign Ministry and state-controlled press dismissed the findings from Microsoft and the intelligence community as "disinformation."

☆ F.B.I. Violated Surveillance Program Rules After George Floyd Protests and Jan. 6 Attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The total number of queries for Americans — and the frequency of compliance incidents — appears to have dropped as a result. Among other things, an intelligence community report last month said that the F.B.I. While Congress did so in 2012 and 2018, the program faces stronger headwinds this cycle, as Republicans who have adopted former President Donald J. Trump’s hostility toward the F.B.I. and surveillance have joined with civil libertarians who have long been critical of the law. Against that backdrop, privacy advocates have revived a proposal to require the government to obtain a warrant from the surveillance court before it may query the Section 702 repository using an American’s identifiers.

Washington CNN —Timothy Parlatore, an attorney for Donald Trump who played a key role in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation and once testified before the grand jury, is leaving the former president’s legal team, two sources familiar with the exit tell CNN. The high-profile departure comes as special counsel Jack Smith appears to be in the final stretch of investigations into the possible mishandling of classified documents and efforts to obstruct the 2020 election. The former president’s legal team has been rife with infighting for several months as his attorneys have dealt with the multiple investigations facing him amid his third run for office. Trump has privately expressed unhappiness with his large legal bills and asked why the investigations, namely the documents one, have not yet gone away. Everybody knew we were taking those boxes.”When asked if he had ever shown classified documents to anyone after leaving the White House, he said, “Not really.

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - Tim Parlatore, an attorney who has represented Donald Trump in a pair of U.S. Justice Department investigations led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, said on Wednesday he has left the Republican former president's legal team. Parlatore organized searches of Trump properties for any remaining classified documents after FBI agents found thousands of government records during a search last August at the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Parlatore in December testified before a federal grand jury in Washington on the search efforts he organized. Parlatore last month was among Trump's lawyers who called for the U.S. intelligence community, not the Justice Department, to investigate the retention of the documents. According to U.S. media reports, fellow Trump attorney Evan Corcoran has recused himself from the classified documents investigation.

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