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☆ China spent years angrily trying to shut down the theory that COVID-19 came from its labs. It failed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China has pushed another theory, suggesting the COVID-19 may have jumped to humans from frozen food shipped from elsewhere in the world. Lab leak theory initially dismissedThe suspicion that COVID-19 may have leaked from a Wuhan lab has circulated since the earliest days of the pandemic. Trump sought to use the pandemic to discredit China, using the xenophobic term "China virus" to describe the disease. A group of scientists criticised the WHO for dismissing the lab leak thesis too hastily, and pointed to gaps in the report's evidence. Yet the lab leak theory has continued to gain credibility, despite China's efforts, and scientists who once dismissed it now think it's a credible explanation.

☆ China scoffs at FBI claim that Wuhan lab leak likely caused COVID pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - The FBI has assessed that a leak from a laboratory in the central Chinese city of Wuhan likely caused the COVID pandemic, director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday, a claim China said had "no credibility whatsoever". "The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan," Wray told Fox News. His comments follow a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday that the U.S. Energy Department had assessed with low confidence the pandemic resulted from an unintended lab leak in China. Four other agencies, along with a national intelligence panel, still judge that the pandemic was likely the result of a natural transmission, and two are undecided, the Journal reported. The virus was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019 before spreading round the world and killing nearly 7 million people.

Wray's comments Tuesday came after Baier noted that the Energy Department had cited the FBI's earlier findings in its report. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said earlier Tuesday that China has "always been open and transparent" about Covid. In its assessment, the Energy Department also described the "likely" laboratory-related leak as an "accident," the official added. The Energy Department is one of 18 government departments and agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said, "China obviously is very threatened by this," but "the lab leak story is not anti-Chinese.

☆ Merrick Garland's stonewalling about multiple investigations is annoying lawmakers on both sides of aisle ahead of his Capitol Hill visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Warren Rojas | Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want Merrick Garland to debrief them about DOJ investigations. Garland is scheduled to join the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 1 for a general oversight hearing — his first of the 118th Congress. In early February, both Durbin and his Republican counterparts leading the House Judiciary Committee requested briefings about McGonigal. The Senate letter requested information from Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray; the House letter was addressed to Wray but not Garland. "Everything is on the table," a staff member from House Judiciary told Insider.

☆ Trump, FBI Director Wray can be deposed in lawsuits by ex-officials Strzok and Page, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing about worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., April 14, 2021. Trump regularly attacked Strzok and Page starting in 2017, following the revelation that the pair sent anti-Trump texts while they were employed by the FBI and having an affair. Strzok and Page filed separate civil lawsuits in 2019 against the Justice Department and FBI. Strzok alleged he was fired "because of his protected political speech" in violation of his constitutional rights. The decision "was the result of unrelenting pressure from President Trump and his political allies in Congress and the media," Strzok's legal complaint alleged.

Strzok and Page factored prominently in Trump's contention that the FBI was politically biased against him. Page, who resigned her position as a senior FBI lawyer, sued over alleged privacy violations stemming from the leak of the messages. The Justice Department has argued that Strzok was fired for violating FBI policies and undermining trust in the bureau. Both Trump and Wray had resisted subpoenas to appear for depositions, arguing that Strzok had not cleared the high bar to depose senior government officials by showing that Trump and Wray had information relevant to the case. Representatives for Trump and the U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

☆ Christopher Wray Tries to Thaw FBI’s Frosty Relationship With Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FBI Director Christopher Wray has told the private sector that some of the biggest threats to national security are from the Chinese government and the cyber arena. When FBI agents last year infiltrated the networks of Hive, a notorious ransomware group that had demanded hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments from some 1,500 companies, hospital networks and other targets, they made an uncomfortable discovery. Only 20% of the victims had approached law enforcement about their attacks.

☆ FBI’s Christopher Wray Wants Business to Help Fight China, Cyber Threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Exclusive: The FBI's McGonigal labyrinth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

She never saw McGonigal pay. "The notion that Mr. Deripaska is some proxy for the Russian state is a blatant lie," Ruben Bunyatyan, a spokesperson for Deripaska, told Insider by email. McGonigal was not charged with espionage, and although there is currently no evidence that McGonigal committed espionage, an FBI source told Insider that the investigation is ongoing. At the FBI, McGonigal racked up a string of big cases and promotions. "He said he needed to make more money," Guerriero told Insider.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationWASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - China's flight of a suspected surveillance balloon over the United States appears to mark a more aggressive - albeit puzzling - espionage tactic than relying on satellites and the theft of industrial and defense secrets, security experts said. Both the United States and China have for decades used surveillance satellites to keep an eye on each other from the air. The uproar over the balloon comes as China has been building up its military capabilities and challenging America's military presence in the Pacific. The United States also believes Beijing routinely seeks to capture proprietary information and knowledge from U.S. companies. It has previously rebuffed accusations of espionage and said the United States holds a Cold War mentality and hypes up the 'China threat.'

☆ DOJ charges 3 men in murder-for-hire plot against journalist critical of Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Soon after the charges were announced, Masih Alinejad revealed that she was the target of the assassination plot. “Fortunately, their plot failed because we didn’t,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a press conference announcing the indictment. Amirov, a citizen of Azerbaijan and Russia who was living in Iran during the plot, was taken into custody in New York on Thursday. Omarov then directed Mehdiyev to carry out the plot against Alinejad and Amirov and Omarov arranged to pay Mehdiyev $30,000 in cash. Before he could carry out the plot, however, Mehdiyev was arrested near Alinejad's home in July with the assault rifle in his possession.

☆ Exclusive: Inside the extramarital affair and cash-fueled double life of Charles McGonigal, the FBI spy-hunter indicted for allegedly taking Russian money
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

She had dated federal law enforcement officials before. "Charlie McGonigal knew everybody in the national security and law enforcement world," Guerriero said, in an exclusive interview with Insider. One law enforcement source estimated that McGonigal stood to make roughly $300,000 to $350,000 a year, including annual bonuses. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whom she knew from law enforcement circles, let her stay in a guest bedroom. During her relationship with McGonigal, Guerriero says, they never talked about politics.

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The FBI revealed on Thursday it had secretly hacked and disrupted a prolific ransomware gang called Hive, a maneuver that allowed the bureau to thwart the group from collecting more than $130 million in ransomware demands from more than 300 victims. They were then able to alert victims in advance so they could take steps to protect their systems before Hive demanded the payments. In that case, the Justice Department seized some $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom after the company had already paid the hackers. The Justice Department said that over the years, Hive has targeted more than 1,500 victims in 80 different countries, and has collected more than $100 million in ransomware payments. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the FBI's operation helped a wide range of victims, including a Texas school district.

☆ Sen. Josh Hawley says he'll introduce legislation to ban TikTok nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has announced he plans to introduce legislation Wednesday that would ban the popular social media app TikTok in the United States. Now I will introduce legislation to ban it nationwide." "But listen, I welcome all efforts to ban TikTok, of whatever form it takes." Under that measure, the president could impose sanctions on TikTok and other social media companies to prevent commercial operation in the U.S. Several states have also taken steps to prohibit the use of TikTok on government devices.

☆ TikTok and its parent company spent about $5.4 million on federal lobbying last year as it faced renewed threats of a ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance spent about $5.4 million on federal lobbying in 2022. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance spent about $5.4 million on federal lobbying in 2022, a roughly 4% increase from the previous year, according to year-end disclosures filed by the companies and their hired lobbying firms on Friday. While ByteDance's and TikTok's lobbying spend remained relatively flat between 2021 and 2022, both years represented a significant spike from 2020 when the companies spent around $2.6 million. In late 2020, the Trump administration attempted to ban TikTok's app from US app stores. TikTok's app has faced similar government-device bans at the state level.

☆ Justice Department tells House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan that it won't share information about ongoing criminal probes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The DOJ told Jim Jordan it wouldn't be able to share all information about ongoing criminal probes. In a letter to Republicans, the DOJ said it needed to preserve the "integrity" of its investigations. "We are committed to cooperating with the Committee's legitimate efforts to seek information," the DOJ said. "The Department will be better able to meet your needs at hearings if your request is specific concerning the information the Committee seeks," the letter read. On Friday, House Judiciary Republicans expressed their disapproval at the response from the Department of Justice.

☆ Davos 2023: Global bank chiefs get FBI cybersecurity update
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationDAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Global bank and exchange chiefs got insight on cybersecurity and resilience from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's director during a private session in Davos this week. The financial services executives also compared notes on economic risks, financial stability and sustainability. Klaas Knot, President of the Dutch central bank who chairs the Financial Stability Board, also spoke with the group. He discussed vulnerabilities in the financial system, including risks posed by so-called shadow banks, the sources said. For daily Davos updates in your inbox sign up for the Reuters Daily Briefing here.

☆ Cloudflare says White House asked tech firm to bypass Iran censorship, but US sanctions got in the way
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In the case of San Francisco-based Cloudflare, Prince said the White House official suggested the company could be given a “license” to operate in Iran, but Prince replied that it was “too late” for that. Prince did not name the White House official. CNN has requested comment from the White House National Security Council. About 10% of Russian households use that anti-censorship Cloudflare technology, Prince claimed. The phone call from the White House, Prince said, illustrated a difficult “tradeoff” between sanctions meant to punish human rights-flouting regimes and the need to get technology into the hands of dissidents.

☆ The biggest universities in Texas are blocking students from accessing TikTok on campus WiFi
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin have blocked TikTok from campus WiFi. Texas A&M University — thought to be the state's biggest university with close to 70,000 students — is blocking TikTok from its IT network under a directive by Governor Greg Abbott, local news outlets reported on Tuesday. Lamar University and the University of Texas at Dallas told students that TikTok would continue to work at its residence halls. Even then, access would only be granted on devices connected to cellular services, not to the university's WiFi or wired network. Do you study or work at a US university that has banned the use of TikTok on campus WiFi?

☆ Capitol Police investigated more than 7,500 threats against lawmakers last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. Capitol Police investigated 7,501 threats against members of Congress last year, according to new figures released Tuesday. Last year's numbers marked the first decline in at least five years but remained "historically high," nearly double the 3,939 cases investigated in 2017, Capitol Police said. “The threats against Members of Congress are still too high,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement. Threats of political violence have also extended to the state and local levels. Solomon Pena, an unsuccessful GOP candidate for the New Mexico state House, was arrested Monday in connection with four shootings at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators.

☆ Here's a full list of the US states that have introduced full or partial TikTok bans on government devices over mounting security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

North Carolina and Wisconsin are the latest US states to ban TikTok on government devices. There are growing concerns that Chinese-owned apps share user data with its government. Many states have extended the ban to other Chinese-owned apps and platforms like Weibo, WeChat, Alibaba and Huawei Technologies. A number of states began banning the app as awareness about security issues increased. Here's a list of all 27 states that have prohibited the use of TikTok on state devices.

☆ Trump targets the 'thug' special counsel investigating him and his 'Trump Hater' wife in new attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump attacked special counsel Jack Smith in recent days, calling him a "thug" and "terrorist." He claimed the Smith's wife, who worked on Michelle Obama's documentary, "a serial and open Trump Hater." Trump complained that the special counsel probing Biden's mishandling of classified documents was "a nice guy." ), is a Trump Hating THUG whose wife is a serial and open Trump Hater, whose friends & other family members are even worse," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. Trump claimed that Smith's "wife & family get a perfect "10" for spewing Trump HATE."

The House Judiciary Committee announced Friday it's opened an investigation into the Obama-era classified documents that were found in President Joe Biden's Delaware home and his former Washington office. The White House acknowledged Thursday that classified documents dating back to Biden's time as vice president had been discovered in his garage in Delaware. Jordan and Johnson also renewed a request for information on the Trump investigation they made last year, when the committee was controlled by Democrats. "On August 15, 2022, Committee Republicans wrote to you and FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting documents and information related to the FBI’s raid of President Trump’s residence. The Justice Department has confirmed receipt of the letter but declined a request for comment.

☆ Kentucky bans TikTok from government-owned devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Kentucky is joining more than 20 U.S. states in banning the popular video app TikTok on government devices citing cybersecurity concerns. On Thursday, the governors of Wisconsin and North Carolina signed orders banning TikTok on government devices. Calls to ban TikTok from government devices gained steam after U.S. FBI Director Christopher Wray said in November it poses national security risks. Wray flagged the threat that the Chinese government could harness the app to influence users or control their devices. Last month, President Joe Biden signed into law a government funding bill that included a ban on federal employees from using or downloading TikTok on government-owned devices.

☆ Robert Hur: special counsel on Biden classified document probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Michael A. McCoyWASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday named Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate whether President Joe Biden had improperly handled sensitive government documents. Hur was the U.S. attorney in Maryland during the Trump administration and most recently served as litigation partner at law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. A graduate of Stanford Law School and Harvard College, Hur served as top aide to then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein before his appointment as the U.S. Attorney in Maryland. He knows what he is getting into," Rosenstein told CNN on Thursday after Hur's appointment as special counsel. "I will conduct the assigned investigation with fair, impartial, and dispassionate judgment," Hur said in a statement released after his appointment as special counsel.

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