Как ведущий подкаста«Вопросы разведки»,Морелл привык задавать наводящие вопросы таким гостям, как бывший министр обороны и директор Центрального разведывательного управления Леон Панетта, бывший посол США в Афганистане Залмай Халилзад и национальный кибер-директор Крис Инглис. Однако на этом мероприятии в Хорхов-холле Йельского университета Морелл был по другую сторону стола, лицом к комнате, заполненной студентами из Института Джексона.

К нему присоединилась Беверли Гейдж, профессор истории и американистики, которая начала с признания в двух скрытых мотивах в своей роли собеседника: ее предстоящей биографии печально известного директора ФБР Эдгара Гувера и нового места в Группе исторического обзора ЦРУ, которая дает рекомендации по рассекречиванию записей с историческим значением. «Поэтому я постоянно думаю о проблемах и надеждах ЦРУ», — сказала она.

Цитата

Не часто аудиторию предупреждают, что у выступающего есть оперативник в комнате, как это сделал директор Института глобальных отношений Джексона Джим Левинсон. Но Майкл Морелл, бывший заместитель директора и исполняющий обязанности директора Центрального разведывательного управления, быстро парировал: «На самом деле, у меня их несколько». (Левинсон имел в виду дочь Морелла Сара, кандидат MAS в Институте Джексона.)

Как ведущий подкаста«Вопросы разведки»,Морелл привык задавать наводящие вопросы таким гостям, как бывший министр обороны и директор Центрального разведывательного управления Леон Панетта, бывший посол США в Афганистане Залмай Халилзад и национальный кибер-директор Крис Инглис. Однако на этом мероприятии в Хорхов-холле Йельского университета Морелл был по другую сторону стола, лицом к комнате, заполненной студентами из Института Джексона.

К нему присоединилась Беверли Гейдж, профессор истории и американистики, которая начала с признания в двух скрытых мотивах в своей роли собеседника: ее предстоящей биографии печально известного директора ФБР Эдгара Гувера и нового места в Группе исторического обзора ЦРУ, которая дает рекомендации по рассекречиванию записей с историческим значением. «Поэтому я постоянно думаю о проблемах и надеждах ЦРУ», — сказала она.

У Морелла четко расставленные волосы и очки в темной оправе, как у пожизненного государственного служащего. Но он немного расслабился в своей новой роли автора и подкастера («индустрия без барьеров для входа», — прокомментировал он самоуничижительно). Галстука не было и в помине, и он носил пуговицу воротника.

Гейдж заметил, что комната была полна студентов, рассматривающих карьеру на государственной службе: «Не могли бы вы рассказать, как вы пришли к этому?»

Как он рассказал студентам, он был на пути к получению степени доктора философии по экономике в Чикагском университете, когда его пригласили приехать в Вашингтон.C для интервью с ЦРУ. Он никогда раньше не был в столице, поэтому он отправился в путешествие, думая, что никогда не присоединится. Но он оказался увлечен агентством и его работой.

" Я был поражен миссией этого места, объективной правдой о том, как выглядят угрозы и вызовы национальной безопасности, стоящие перед Соединенными Штатами», — сказал он. «Самое главное, я был поражен качеством людей, которых я встретил, и чувством семьи».

" Я сказал «да» и никогда не оглядывался назад».

Гейдж попросил его рассказать о двух катастрофических событиях, свидетелем которых он стал изнутри: распад Советского Союза и 11 сентября. «Это рассматривалось как моменты значительного провала разведки», — отметила она. «Каково было их влияние на работу, которую вы делали?»

" Когда я был руководителем аналитического отдела в ЦРУ, и когда я был заместителем директора, мы отслеживали, насколько хорошо мы справляемся с аналитическими суждениями», — сказал Морелл. «Мы смотрели на каждое решение через год — что мы сделали правильно, что мы ошиблись, что мы еще не знали. А наш средний показатель отбивки составил 80%. Это было довольно хорошо — мы многое сделали правильно».

Отвечая на вопрос Гейджа напрямую, он отметил, что у ЦРУ был точный долгосрочный взгляд на распад Советского Союза, даже если они не определили конкретные временные рамки. Атаки 11 сентября 2001 года, продолжил он, были более сложными. Морелл, который в то утро был докладчиком ЦРУ для президента Джорджа Буша-младшего, отметил, что агентство выпускало стратегические предупреждения об Усаме бен Ладене в течение многих лет. Неудача заключалась в том, что две администрации не отреагировали на эти стратегические предупреждения, а разведывательное сообщество не предоставило тактического предупреждения о нападении — получив такую информацию о конкретном заговоре 9/11, которая позволила бы предотвратить его.

" Нет организации, которая не совершала бы ошибок», — сказал Морелл. «Так уж получилось, что ошибки ЦРУ — это материал на первой полосе». Действительно, он не пошел легко на агентство. «Если бы я собирался оценивать то, что делает ЦРУ, я бы дал B для анализа, C-минус для сбора и D для тайных действий», — сказал он. («Если мы когда-нибудь заставим вас преподавать здесь, нам придется поговорить о шкале оценок», — пошутил Левинсон.)

Он поднял еще один вопрос, над которым размышлял недавно, учитывая20-ю годовщину 9/11 в сентябре этого года: как Усама бен Ладен оценит мир сегодня и состояние движения, которое он начал? «Я думаю, что он будет рассматривать распространение своей идеологии как успех», — сказал он. «До 11 сентября в одной стране было несколькосотенприверженцев его убеждений. Сейчас по всей планете разбросаны десятки тысяч. Я думаю, что он также сказал бы, что он значительно ослабил нас как страну, ведя две войны и тратя триллионы долларов».

Дискуссия продолжалась, варьируясь от конкуренции за власть, которая в настоящее время назревает между США, Китаем и Россией, и влияния технологий и социальных сетей на традиционный шпионаж. Между биометрией и Facebook «идея тайно встречаться на улицах некоторых стран больше невозможна», — отметил Морелл.

После углубления в противоречивое прошлое секретных программ ЦРУ — со времен реформ в 1970-х годах, сказал Морелл, «каждый владеет тайными действиями, даже Конгресс» — студенты вмешались. Вопросы касались Афганистана, важности понимания квантовых вычислений для следующих поколений агентов разведки и того, являются ли оборонительные механизмы (такие как укрепление внутренних целей) или наступательные средства (такие как сбор разведданных за рубежом) наиболее ответственными за предотвращение крупных внутренних нападений.

Морелл дал каждому обдуманный, подробный ответ, вдумчиво вытягивая нюансы каждого вопроса, и аудитория восторженно следила за нитями. Это был мастер-класс по оценке глобальной динамики власти и угроз для когорты студентов, которые готовы стать лидерами в борьбе с этими проблемами.

" Это отличные вопросы!» — сказал Морелл, наконец, приостановив допрос. С насмешливой серьезностью он добавил: «Это не выход из комнаты, верно?»

Андреа Томпсон Пид, декабрь 22, 2021    
Майкл Морелл.
https://news.yale.edu/2021/12/22/here-yale-stories-spymaster

В прошлом месяце датская полиция арестовала четырех нынешних и бывших сотрудников разведки по обвинению в утечке строго секретной информации. Телекомпания TV2 и другие СМИ сообщили в понедельник, что 57-летний Финдсен был среди этих четырех человек после того, как окружной суд Копенгагена отменил запрет назвать его имя по его собственному запросу.

Точные обвинения против Финдсена до сих пор не обнародованы, и неясно, слил ли он якобы информацию в СМИ или иностранным агентам. Финдсен заявил местным СМИ, что обвинения, выдвинутые против него, «безумны» и что он не признает себя виновным.

Глава разведки был отстранен от своих обязанностей с августа 2020 года после того, как надзорный совет раскритиковал роль его агентства в скандале со слежкой. Разведывательная служба Министерства обороны Дании якобы собирала данные у частных лиц и делилась этой информацией с иностранными державами, возможно, с Агентством национальной безопасности США.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-10/danish-intelligence-chief-jailed-following-surveillance-scandal

Источник: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367429930058202/permalink/2418592101608631/

На фотографиях видна полностью разрушенная по крайней мере четверть здания, которое, по словам компании ImageSat International, было «секретной ракетной базой» Корпуса стражей исламской революции, а на крыше видны дополнительные повреждения. по всей конструкции.

Взрыв произошел в понедельник, в результате чего погибли по меньшей мере два члена КСИР и пострадали еще больше, говорится в заявлении организации.

Источник: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israeli-intelligence-firm-claims-secret-missile-base-in-iran-severely-damaged/

В новом отчете openDemocracy, опубликованном в понедельник, раскрывается «шокирующая» сеть слежки, в ходе которой BP следила за участниками кампании и делилась информацией с государственными учреждениями, включая Британский музей и Уорикский университет.

В число целей компании входит Крис Гаррард, композитор классической музыки с докторской степенью Оксфордского университета. 34-летний мужчина из Бейзингстока работает с группой Art Not Oil, выступая против многолетнего спонсорства BP Британского музея.

В течение нескольких лет BP собирала личные данные о Гаррарде, в том числе изображение с камер видеонаблюдения, на котором он ожидал на вокзале Лондона в 2015 году, когда он присутствовал на годовом общем собрании нефтяного гиганта...

Далее:

Цитата

BP paid ex-MI6 spy firm to snoop on green campaigners
Exclusive: Oil giant also shared intelligence on environmentalists with British Museum and Warwick University in ‘shocking’ web of surveillance
Martin Williams
Lucas Amin
Gabriel Pogrund

Oil and gas giant BP spent years spying on peaceful climate campaigners – and even hired a private intelligence firm set up by a former MI6 agent.

A new report by openDemocracy, published on Monday, reveals a “shocking” web of surveillance that saw BP keep tabs on campaigners and share information with public institutions, including the British Museum and the University of Warwick.

The company's targets include Chris Garrard, a classical music composer with a doctorate from Oxford University. The 34-year-old from Basingstoke works with the Art Not Oil group, campaigning against BP’s decades-long sponsorship of the British Museum.

Over several years, BP gathered personal details about Garrard, including a CCTV image of him waiting at a London train station in 2015, when he attended the oil giant's annual general meeting.

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Under the image, a note said: “Male, with ginger beard observed holding a protest banner outside Excel Centre.”

BP also obtained a number of other photos of Garrard and commented on changes to his hairstyle. One memo said: “Used to have long dreadlocks. Now short hair.”

The oil firm has publicly committed to a ‘net zero’ policy and claimed it is “fundamentally changing” to become greener. But documents obtained by openDemocracy reveal it has spent years gathering information on its critics.

“It’s very murky,” Garrard told openDemocracy. “Knowing that those CCTV images could be accessed in that way was really concerning… I find it quite disturbing that BP was able to do that.”

We have used the risk consultancy Welund to monitor and review material in the public domain

The oil company also retained the services of Welund, a controversial spy firm, to provide regular email updates about Garrard. This continued between at least July 2019 and January of this year, and included details about his social media activity.

Welund – the trading name for Papea Ltd – keeps details of its work closely guarded, but it has established a reputation for teaching the oil industry how to understand “the activist threat”.

According to its website, Welund works to “monitor the threats posed by international and domestic campaign groups”, and its client list is reported to include many of the world’s biggest oil and gas firms.

Welund faced criticism last year when it was revealed to have signed a £12,000, year-long contract providing intelligence about activists to London’s City Hall.

Reports say that one of the company’s senior officials has described the green movement as an “existential threat” to the oil and gas industry.

Today, a BP spokesperson admitted: "We have used the risk consultancy Welund to monitor and review material in the public domain such as social media posts that could help us manage these and other risks."

None of the intelligence gathered about Garrard suggested he was engaged in physical protest or disruption. Instead, the musicologist prefers to focus on research and peaceful campaigning.

The director of Big Brother Watch, Silkie Carlo, said the surveillance of Garrard was “extremely intrusive, shocking, and wholly unacceptable”.

“This is an appalling, totally unjustified case of political spying,” she said. “The Information Commissioner’s Office should investigate Welund and all involved in the targeting of this campaigner, and ensure he has a route to redress.”

The role of BP in the surveillance of activists comes amid the oil giant’s attempt to rebrand as a more environmentally friendly business. Its CEO, Bernard Looney, has pledged to “help the world get to net zero” with the aim of being “recognised as a leader for transparency of reporting”.

Philip Evans, oil and gas transition campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “Reports of this kind of surveillance are disturbing, and show a completely warped set of priorities.

“Universities, cultural institutions – and most importantly fossil fuel companies – should immediately stop wasting time and money on greenwashing and monitoring activists, and instead throw all their efforts into tackling the climate crisis.”

Welund told Garrard that it holds "no personal data" about him, claiming that it only retains personal data on staff and clients. But emails from BP show the spy firm was sending regular updates which named specifically Garrard.

British Museum memos
Last year, Garrard sent a number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the British Museum about its relationship with BP.

Internal emails show how these were flagged by museum staff and shared across multiple departments, describing him as “an anti-BP activist”.

Transparency campaigners say that this goes against Freedom of Information guidelines, which say that requests should be dealt with “applicant blind” regardless of who they are from.

Conservative MP David Davis told openDemocracy that the British Museum “must ensure requests remain applicant blind”.

“The British Museum is publicly funded and should adhere to the Freedom of Information Act principles,” he said.

“If they do not follow public rules, then it must be questioned whether they should get public money.”

This is an appalling, totally unjustified case of political spying

The British Museum – which refuses to reveal how much money it gets from BP – told openDemocracy that “as far as they are aware” its staff have not received intelligence about campaigners from either BP or Welund.

But previous disclosures cast doubt on this. During one exchange in 2015, a museum employee wrote: “We got a call from the client [BP] saying they had intel that there is some protest activity planned around this event. They aren’t sure at this stage what the activity is.”

Garrard told openDemocracy that the FOI requests he submitted to the museum were “legitimate questions that you’d expect a taxpayer-funded institution should be expected to answer”.

‘Discreet security’ at Warwick
Details of BP’s snooping are revealed in a new openDemocracy report on Freedom of Information, ‘Access Denied’, published on Monday.

The report also reveals that Warwick University collaborated with BP on a security strategy about a student who was researching BP’s archive, which is housed on Warwick’s campus.

Connor Woodman was targeted with “very discreet security” in 2015 after he requested access to records.

Internal emails show that a security team was deployed to watch him in-person and on CCTV, as well as monitoring his social media activity.

It came after a BP official identified him, saying: “I recognised him from the Facebook picture we have of the anti-fossil fuel group of Warwick students.”

Emails show Woodman was repeatedly identified by staff, with the university and BP employees sharing updates about his movements.

University officials gave instructions to monitor him, saying: “Low-key, no high-viz. Think [a security staff member] should sit inside the BP archive… I can see [Woodman] videoing them and asking for comment and then claiming he is being monitored and what are we hiding.”

He added: “Delicate and very discreet security only please.”

Another email from an unknown sender warned that a student had been “asking lots of questions about BP”. They added: “We will be vigilant – opportunity to use your new CCTV!”

This is further evidence that any kind of notion of academic freedom is being increasingly eroded

Woodman was a climate activist with a group called Fossil Free Warwick, which successfully pressured the university to divest from fossil fuels. He then set up a group called BP Off Campus.

But the internal documents seen by openDemocracy do not accuse him of breaking any laws or violating university rules.

Indeed, Woodman said he had not been involved in any occupations on campus at the time, and maintains that his research aims were “completely appropriate”.

In one exchange, a BP official wrote to the university saying: “Connor Woodman (the gentleman leading the student campaign on campus) was around the [university archive] a few minutes ago and a couple of other students have also been noted…

“Not implying that this is anything but legitimate, but just wanted to keep you advised of the information…”

A university employee replied: “That is very helpful… [Woodman] is certainly very active at the moment and think he should be supervised in your archive if that is at all possible.”

Woodman told openDemocracy: “This is further evidence that any kind of notion of academic freedom is being increasingly eroded.

“There’s a political and moral question about whether we want universities that have an interest in dampening dissent. If we want to protect that liberal idea of academic freedom, then we need to think about massive structural reforms to our universities.”

'Monitor and review'
After ignoring openDemocracy's questions for days, BP eventually responded after details of this investigation were shared with the Sunday Times.

A spokesperson for the company said: “BP events have seen legitimate protests over many years, but they have also been targeted by more disruptive and sometimes potentially dangerous actions. We support people’s right to demonstrate peacefully but have a responsibility for the safety and security of those at our events and it is important to understand any risks.

They added: "We have used the risk consultancy Welund to monitor and review material in the public domain such as social media posts that could help us manage these and other risks."

Welund did not respond to questions from openDemocracy.

A Warwick spokesperson claimed that the university “does not monitor climate campaigners but will provide security support if requested”.

They added: “The BP Archive is located in the same building as the Modern Records Centre but is a separate organisation. It is not a University-run facility and access is granted by the BP Archive, who have their own separate staff and security arrangements. Warwick staff have no access to the BP Archives.”

A spokesperson for the British Museum told openDemocracy: “Nothing has been shared with BP about specific campaigners or campaign groups. It’s possible that some references may have been included in a larger summary, such as a round-up of press clips after [an] announcement or opening of an exhibition in which BP is the sponsor.”

They added that the museum has standard FOI policies in place, adding: “If ever we do notify an external third party about an FOI, our policy is to do so on an anonymised basis.”

The museum’s spokesperson confirmed that BP has a current sponsorship in place with the museum – but refused to say how much money it received from it, saying it was “commercially sensitive”.

Источник: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/bp-paid-ex-mi6-spy-firm-to-snoop-on-green-campaigners/

Цитата

In an unprecedented move for a former Japanese intelligence chief, in August, a month after leaving office Shigeru Kitamura opened his own consultancy, Kitamura Economic Security. He will focus his services on economic protection - a growing concern among Japanese businesses. 

https://www.intelligenceonline.com/corporate-intelligence/2021/09/24/former-national-security-adviser-shigeru-kitamura-launches-economic-security-consultancy,109693768-gra

Цитата

Swiss company Jihad Analytics, which was set up by a former employee of the French armed forces ministry, aims to keep jihadist organisations under surveillance by using the open source data they put out. It will attempt to carve out a niche for itself on a jihadism-focused open source intelligence (OSINT) market, where there is already strong competition.

https://www.intelligenceonline.com/corporate-intelligence/2021/09/24/jihad-analytics-tries-to-break-into-open-source-intelligence-market,109693770-art

Цитата

FRENCH intelligence has been implicated during a court case in which cement giant Lafarge has been accused of crimes against humanity involving alleged payments to armed groups in Syria, including Isis.

The country’s Court of Cassation ruled on Tuesday that the French company could face charges after it was accused of paying nearly €13 million (£11m) to jihadist groups to keep its factory running when conflict began in 2011.

It overturned a previous decision by a lower court that had dismissed claims brought against Lafarge — which merged with Swiss company Holcim in 2015 — by human rights groups.

Lafarge has previously admitted to paying so-called “middlemen” to negotiate with armed groups to enable the movement of staff and goods inside Syria.

But it denies responsibility for the money making its way to jihadist groups and has sought to have the charges against it dropped.

The Berlin-based European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and France’s Sherpa claims that the company also traded in oil and other raw materials with the jihadist groups.

A Paris court found in 2019 that the payments made by Lafarge were not aimed at enabling Isis to carry out extrajudicial executions and torture in Syria, striking out the charge of crimes against humanity.

But it found the company could be charged with “financing terrorism, violating an EU embargo and endangering the lives of others.”

The Court of Cassation heard a challenge made by former employees of Lafarge’s Syrian subsidiary and found that “one can be complicit in crimes against humanity even if one doesn’t have the intention of being associated with the crimes committed.

“Knowingly paying several million dollars to an organisation whose sole purpose was exclusively criminal suffices to constitute complicity, regardless of whether the party concerned was acting to pursue a commercial activity,” it added.

Eight of the company’s executives, including former CEO Bruno Laffont, are also charged with financing a terrorist group and endangering the lives of others.

Documents show that French intelligence was aware of Lafarge’s relationship with Isis. The papers included a 2014 email sent by the company’s security director Jean-Claude Veillard to the Interior Ministry’s intelligence directorate.

He said that Lafarge needed links with “local actors” to keep its operations running in Syria, including the sale of cement to armed gangs, including al-Nusra.

In 2018 an intelligence officer code-named AM02 appeared in court and admitted that Lafarge was their main source of information in the country.

“We approached the situation purely opportunistically, taking advantage of Lafarge’s continued work,” the official said.

More than 30 meetings took place between Lafarge and the French domestic, foreign, and military intelligence services between 2013 and 2014 alone.

Isis used the cement sold by Lafarge to build fortified shelters and tunnel networks as it swept to power in vast swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/-french-intelligence-implicated-company-charged-crimes-against-humanity-over

Information and marketing company Access Intelligence has merged with Asia-Pacific-based media intelligence platform Isentia. The combined company will operate on four continents and 10 markets, serving more than 6,000 clients.  Isentia provides insights, intelligence and media monitoring, services that will be integrated with the existing capabilities of Access Intelligence-owned company Pulsar.  Pulsar is a social listening and audience intelligence platform that provides analysis and insights of social media, search data and online conversations. These augmented offerings will allow users to gain deeper audience insights, while keeping pace with the ways PR and marketing are evolving and increasingly converging, the company said in a statement.  In new research, Access Intelligence found that 41% of PR and marketing pros globally say the two industries are indistinguishable. More than half (53%) said that will be the case within five years’ time.  Access Intelligence counts Pulsar, Vuelio and ResponseSource among its portfolio.  The company’s overall goal is to help PR and marketing pros to “anticipate, react and adapt to what’s important to customers, stakeholders and their brand.”  Isentia provides media intelligence services, including media and social media monitoring and media analysis. Last month, Isentia began a partnership with the Public Relations Institute of Australia, through when it helped PRIA deliver exclusive content and share insights with its members. The partnership also reflects Isentia's mission to reinvest in the communications industry. Source: PRWeek

campaignasia.com/article/access-intelligence-merges-with-isentia/472297

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Palantir has extended its partnership with an emerging geospatial intelligence firm by making an equity investment.

Terms of Palantir's investment in BlackSky Holdings were not disclosed, but it follows a pilot program that saw BlackSky deliver insights and intelligence to Palantir customers within minutes of collection and without human interaction.

BlackSky said Wednesday that program involved several geospatial intelligence customers.

“This collaboration further enables BlackSky to put the power of real-time intelligence in the hands of the user by allowing Palantir customers to directly task our satellites, reduce decision-making timelines and increase the delivery of on-demand insights,” BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole said in a release.

Following the pilot, the two companies have signed a multi-year software subscription agreement. They will integrate BlackSKy’s Spectra AI offering with Palantir Foundry.

“This partnership directly connects space sensors to action, accelerating operations across domains, from space to mud,” said Palantir Chief Operating Officer Shyam Sankar.

BlackSky is in the process of combining with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company formed to acquire another business and take it to the public markets.]

That deal is expected to close Sept. 8, after which BlackSky will list on the New York Stock Exchange.

washingtontechnology.com/blogs/editors-notebook/2021/09/palantir-blacksky-investment-partnership.aspx