We begin what some folks see as the foremost national security threat, via VICE News:
Oklahoma Lawmakers Want To Ban People From Wearing Hoodies In Public
If Oklahoma lawmakers get their way, fashion could soon actually become a crime.
Republican Senator Don Barrington is introducing an amendment bill this February to the South Central state that seeks to ban people from wearing hooded sweatshirts, also known as hoodies, in public.
The act would amend a previous law enacted in 2011, which made it illegal to wear a hoodie or disguise while committing a crime. Now Barrington wants to make it illegal for people to “intentionally conceal his or her identity in a public place by means of a robe, mask, or other disguise.”
“The intent of Senate Bill 13 is to make businesses and public places safer by ensuring that people cannot conceal their identities for the purpose of crime or harassment,” Barrington told Oklahoma’s KFOR-TV.
From the New York Times, sanctions unsanctioned:
François Hollande Says Destabilizing Sanctions on Russia ‘Must Stop Now’
Western nations should stop threatening Russia with new sanctions and instead offer to ease off on existing restrictions in exchange for progress in the peace process in Ukraine, President François Hollande of France said in an interview on Monday.
Backing President Vladimir V. Putin into a corner will not work, he said, giving a high-level voice to what is seen as mounting sanctions fatigue among European politicians, as the Ukraine crisis lurches into a second year.
“I’m not for the policy of attaining goals by making things worse,” Mr. Hollande said in the interview on France Inter radio. “I think that sanctions must stop now.”
Russia’s position is misunderstood, he suggested. “Mr. Putin does not want to annex eastern Ukraine, I am sure — he told me so,” Mr. Hollande said. “What he wants is to remain influential. What Mr. Putin wants is that Ukraine not become a member of NATO. The idea of Mr. Putin is to not have an army at Russia’s borders.”
From Reuters, a supportable motion:
Grand juror in Missouri police shooting case sues prosecutor
A member of the grand jury that declined to indict the white Missouri police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black 18-year-old sued the prosecutor in the case on Monday, criticizing the way evidence was presented to grand jurors and seeking court permission to speak publicly about the way the case was handled.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in St. Louis against St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch by the grand juror, whose name was withheld and was referred to as “Grand Juror Doe.”
The lawsuit relates to the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. Brown’s death and the grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson triggered months of protests over police treatment of African-Americans in the United States.
The suit argues that state laws prohibiting the grand juror from talking about the case are unconstitutional. Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Missouri, said the Brown case is an important public policy issue and the grand juror should be allowed to speak about the
On to the war front, first with France 24:
Deadly jihadi attack on northern border of Saudi Arabia
Program notes:
At 4,30 am 4 men coming from the Iraki territory attacked a border post on the northern frontier of Saudi Arabia. Two of the attackers were killed during the attack, one by gun shot and the second activated his explosive belt killing general Awda al-Balwi, commander of the northern frontier zone, with one of his gards & wounding colonel Salem al-Aanzi, head of the operations in the same zone. Beyond the symbolic impact of this attack, it shows that the attackers had accurate infos about the presence of the two high ranking officers in this exact place.
A base expansion sought, via El País:
US wants elite Marine squad to be stationed permanently in Andalusia
Special operations force at Morón would be in place to respond to crises in Africa
The United States is seeking permission from Spain to convert its temporary presence at the Morón de la Frontera air base, in Andalusia, into a permanent agreement. The site would become the center of operations for the US rapid-response unit dealing with crises in Africa.
In a letter sent last month, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel explained to Spanish officials that the Obama administration wants the current temporary agreement that allows a certain number of marines to be stationed at the base outside Seville on a year-by-year basis to be redrafted. If approved, as many as 3,000 US troops could be sent to Morón – a substantial increase to the current 850 officials (or 1,100 when troops are being relieved) that have been at the base for the past two years, military sources said.
But such a move means that there will have to be major changes to the current bilateral treaty regarding the US government’s use of Spanish bases, which will also have to be approved by Congress.
And a war on the way, from Homeland Security News Wire:
France set to intervene in Libya “within three months”: Diplomats
Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s defense minister, said that “the moment has come” to address the growing unrest in Libya, adding that France could launch a military intervention in Libya within three months. Le Drein was quoted by an Arab diplomat who spoke to the respected Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, which is published in London.
Le Drian spoke with the Arab diplomat on Saturday, while visiting French troops stationed in neighboring Niger.
The French defense minister added that the question currently under discussion in Paris is not whether France will launch military strikes against Islamist militias in war-torn Libya, but when.
Niger’s president Mahamadou Issoufou publicly called for French military intervention in Libya, a position supported by a number of other African states, including Mali and Senegal.
On to the spooky front, first with Techdirt:
Senators Leahy & Grassley Quiz DOJ & DHS About Secret Fake Phone Towers Intercepting Calls
from the good-for-them dept
We’ve written plenty about Stingrays and other “IMSI Catcher” devices that allow law enforcement to set up what are effectively fake cell phone towers, designed to intercept calls and locate certain individuals. These devices are deployed in near total secrecy, often by law enforcement who got them from the federal government. There is little to no oversight over how these are used (and abused). The attempts to keep the details a total secret represent really egregious behavior from all involved. As we’ve covered, police have claimed that non-disclosure agreements with the manufacturers (such as Harris Corp.) prevent them from getting a warrant to use the devices. The DOJ, somewhat famously, had a whole plan for how to mislead judges about the use of these devices, with official documentation telling DOJ officials to be “less than explicit” and “less than forthright” to judges about how the tech was being used. In some cases, the US Marshals have stepped in and seized documents from local police forces to block them from being released in response to FOIA requests.
In short, law enforcement really doesn’t want how it uses these devices revealed. And yet, reporters and activists keep digging up more information, including the WSJ finding out that the US Marshals (them again!) have been putting airborne versions of these devices, called DRT boxes, on airplanes and flying them over cities, likely scooping up information on tons of innocent people with no warrant.
Looking for restraint, via The Hill:
Dem spy watcher wants new rules for CIA
The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has plans for reigning in the CIA and preventing it from conducting activities that many describe as torture.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the former chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, told President Obama in a letter released on Monday that she is planning to introduce legislation early this year to close “loopholes” in the law and codify various aspects of Obama’s 2009 executive order banning waterboarding and other “enhanced interrogation” techniques.
Feinstein also gave Obama a laundry list of 11 ways that he could improve oversight of the spy agency without congressional action, including requiring that all interrogations conducted be videotaped to protect U.S. national security.
Fox News covers spooky allegations;
Sharyl Attkisson sues administration over computer hacking
Former CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson has sued the Justice Department over the hacking of her computers, officially accusing the Obama administration of illegal surveillance while she was reporting on administration scandals.
In a series of legal filings that seek $35 million in damages, Attkisson alleges that three separate computer forensic exams showed that hackers used sophisticated methods to surreptitiously monitor her work between 2011 and 2013.
The department has steadfastly denied any involvement in the hacking, saying in a 2013 statement: “To our knowledge, the Justice Department has never compromised Ms. Attkisson’s computers, or otherwise sought any information from or concerning any telephone, computer, or other media device she may own or use.”
From the New York Times, mum’s the word:
James Risen, in Tense Testimony, Refuses to Offer Clues on Sources
James Risen, a reporter for The New York Times, took the witness stand in federal court on Monday and refused to answer any questions that could help the Justice Department home in on his confidential sources.
In tense, sometimes confrontational testimony, Mr. Risen declared in the pretrial hearing that he would not say anything that could help prosecutors in their case against a former C.I.A. officer who is set to go on trial soon on charges of providing classified information to Mr. Risen for his 2006 book “State of War.”
Mr. Risen has been challenging a subpoena in the case for years, but this was his first appearance in court. His case is the highest-profile matter in the Justice Department’s unprecedented crackdown on government officials who talk to journalists covering national security. Mr. Risen fought the subpoena to the Supreme Court and lost, but said he would still not reveal his sources.
“I am not going to provide the government with information that they seem to want to use to create a mosaic to prove or disprove certain facts,” Mr. Risen said.
From the Scottish Sunday Express, spooky allegations:
EXCLUSIVE: Top secret files reveal pleas for US to intervene in Scottish referendum
TOP secret US cables today reveal the Scotland Office attempted to pressure the White House to intervene in the independence referendum.
The embarrassing revelation is included in an extraordinary cache of documents obtained by this newspaper following a three year legal battle with officials from the US State Department.
The files – which run to hundreds of pages – show that Washington followed the Scottish independence debate in remarkable detail from the day the SNP first won power in 2007.
Other disclosures include:
Gordon Brown’s belated intervention was seen as an attempt to distance Labour “from the unpopular UK Government ahead of 2015 UK elections”
US officials kept tabs on American citizens who spoke out in favour of separation
Alex Salmond was a “breath of fresh air” but noted for his “anti-war” politics, while Nicola Sturgeon was described as a “forceful politician”
US observers expected Spain and other European nations to “place serious obstacles” in the way of Scotland’s accession to the EU
business leaders privately expressed deep misgivings about the SNP’s independence plans
And Deutsche Welle, spooky allegations in Turkey:
Turkish police officers arrested over illegal wiretapping
Authorities in Turkey have detained dozens of security officers on Monday, under suspicion of spying on politicians, civil servants and businessmen. One of the alleged victims is Turkish president Erdogan.
Police conducted raids on its own members in several Turkish cities at dawn on Monday, mainly in the east and southeast of the country. The detained police officers are accused of illegal wiretapping, forging documents and violating personal privacy
According to the state media, one of the targest of illegal eavesdropping was the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In addition, the government claims they are connected to a moderate islamic movement led by Erdogan’s rival Fethullah Gulen.
The latest arrests are just the most-recent move in the government campaign against the supporters of U.S–based Muslim cleric Gulen. Dozens of policemen have already been arrested for allegedly eavesdropping on Erdogan and other important officials.
After the jump, anti-immigrant protests proceed in Germany along with counter-demonstrations, a French infant burial follows an anti-Roma ban, mounting protests over Hungarian repression, Wi-Fi password grabbing software phishing, an iCloud weakness plugged, a bankster terminated for posting passwords, on to Pakistan and another American drone strike, a bounty on a Taliban head, and an fishing boat terror attack on Indian denied, Seoul and Beijing push no-nukes-in-Pyonyang deal, China’s nuclear sub ambitions, and Abe promises a show of remorse. . .
Intolerance on the march in Germany, via the New York Times:
Defiant Dresden Protesters Proceed With Anti-Immigrant Rally
Defying appeals from an array of German institutions, anti-immigrant marchers again took to the streets here on Monday, parading their stated fear of Europe’s Islamization along with their emergence as a force of thousands of protesters commanding national attention.
The protesters, rallied by a murky movement known as Pegida, a German acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against Islamization of the West, gathered in a cold rain to show their disapproval for the influx of refugees who have flooded Europe, largely from wars and upheaval in the Middle East and Africa.
At the same time, hundreds turned out in Berlin to stand for tolerance and an immigrant-friendly culture, in resistance to the anti-immigration movement. Justice Minister Heiko Maas of the Social Democratic Party and several lawmakers from the Greens party were among those joining the pro-immigration block in the capital.
More from United Press International:
Dresden, Germany rallies against immigration
Many German organizations, including the government, have denounced the movement
An anti-immigrant rally drew thousands Monday evening in Dresden, Germany, and the movement spread to Berlin with a much smaller march.
A Christmas week demonstration in Dresden’s streets by a movement called Pegida, an acronym in German for “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West,” drew over 17,000 people and opened a dialogue in Germany over the influx of refugees, largely Muslims from Syria and North Africa, who have arrived in Europe fleeing war and poverty.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly denounced the marchers, as have most major political parties and religious organizations. Prior to Monday’s demonstration, Ingo Kramer, chief of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, said in a statement, “Germany’s image as a business location is being damaged by the impression that we are demonstrating against foreigners. We need immigration for our labor market and to allow our social system to function.”
Counter-protests from Deutsche Welle:
Thousands march against anti-Islam ‘Pegida’ movement
German citizens gathered by the thousands in several demonstrations against the anti-Islam movement “Pegida.” Politicians said they were proud of the large numbers of people supporting immigrants.
Citizens thronged to streets in German cities to protest the anti-Islam movement “PEGIDA,” members of which gather nearly every Monday to rally against a perceived Islamization of Western countries.
The Mayor of Stuttgart in Germany’s southern state of Baden Württemberg, Fritz Kuhn, expressed “pride and joy” at the large numbers of anti-PEGIDA demonstrators, saying it was a clear statement against the marginalization of immigrants and for integrating refugees into German culture.
“Refugees are welcome in Stuttgart,” Kuhn said, adding that Stuttgart was no place for people who discriminated against others. Kuhn also appealed to people of other cities to not give in and “become a tool for right-extremist Neonazis.”
An infant burial follows an anti-Roma ban, via Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Roma baby buried in France after racism row
The dead baby of a Roma family at the centre of a huge racism row in France was finally laid to rest on Monday (Jan 5) with just close family present. The tiny white coffin was buried in a cemetery in Wissous south of Paris after a religious ceremony attended by 100 or so people, including representatives from the Roma community.
The tragic death of the two-and-a-half-month-old baby hit the headlines over the weekend after the local town refused them a burial plot, with the mayor reportedly saying priority should be given to taxpayers. The mayor, Christian Leclerc, has since strenuously denied this, saying he had been a victim of a misunderstanding.
With fury mounting and even the prime minister describing the refusal as an “insult” to France, Leclerc offered his condolences to the family and said they could bury the baby in his town of Champlan. However, the family refused his offer.
From the Independent, mounting protests over Hungarian repression:
Hungarians take to the streets over plans to tax the internet and drugs-test every teenager, journalist and politician
Tax the internet; mandatory drug tests for every teenager, journalist and politician; close every shop on Sundays. These are not the policies you expect from the government of a modern EU member state.
For Hungarians, they are becoming par for the course from the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has steered the country away from Europe and back towards its former Soviet master. Last summer, in a speech now infamous in Hungary, he praised the governing models of Russia, Turkey and China and set out his desire to create an “illiberal state”.
His more outlandish policies appear to be a distraction from his conflicts with the West. The plan to tax each gigabyte of internet traffic at 150 forints (£0.40) last October came out at around the same time as six unnamed Hungarian officials were banned from the US over corruption charges.
Wi-Fi password grabbing software phishing, via Network World:
Free tool automates phishing attacks for Wi-Fi passwords
A common method of breaking into wireless networks that use the WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access II) security protocol is to set up a rogue access point that mimics the real one—this is known as an evil twin—and capture a client’s handshake when they attempt to authenticate to it. The handshake can then be fed to a brute-force cracking program or service to recover the WPA2 pre-shared key, but this is not always successful, especially if the password is long and complex.
Wifiphisher, a new tool created by an IT security engineer identified as George Chatzisofroniou and published on GitHub, takes a different approach—one that historically has had a high rate of success: social engineering.
“Wifiphisher is a security tool that mounts fast automated phishing attacks against WPA networks in order to obtain the secret passphrase,” Chatzisofroniou said in the tool’s description. “It is a social engineering attack that unlike other methods it does not include any brute forcing.”
Like many other freely available security tools, Wifiphisher can be used by both security professionals—for example during penetration testing engagements—and by malicious attackers.
Cloudy leak plugging, via SecurityWeek:
Apple Plugs iCloud Security Issue
Apple has reportedly patched a security hole exploited by a tool designed to hack accounts on Apple iCloud
The tool, dubbed iDict, was uploaded recently to GitHub. According to the user who uploaded the tool, Pr0x13, iDict uses a “100% Working iCloud Apple ID Dictionary attack that bypasses Account Lockout restrictions and Secondary Authentication on any account.”
Pr0x13 described the bug as “painfully obvious and was only a matter of time before it was privately used for malicious or nefarious,” in a post. Pr0x13 noted that the issue is fully patched now and urged the tool’s users to discontinue use if they don’t want to have their accounts locked.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment from SecurityWeek before publication.
From BuzzFeed News, a bankster terminated for posting passwords:
Morgan Stanley Says Employee Stole Wealth-Management Client Data
The investment bank said that usernames and passwords were briefly posted online
Morgan Stanley said Monday that it had fired an employee who had stolen data from up to 10% of all the bank’s wealth-management clients.
The bank said that the data, some of which was “briefly” posted online, “does not include account passwords or social security numbers.” However, some 900 clients had “certain data,” that includes account names and numbers, stolen and leaked online. Bloomberg News reported that no bank account or credit-card data was stolen, citing an unnamed source. Overall, the breach affected up to 350,000 of Morgan Stanley’s roughly 3.5 million welath management clients.
Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management division has been a growing and increasingly important part of the bank’s overall business as it seeks to get a higher proportion of its profits from more stable and lower risk businesses like managing client investments and money. Its wealth management division manages $765 billion in client assets. This is just the latest embarrassing data breach to befall a major Wall Street bank. Hackers stole similar information from JPMorgan Chase, but on a far larger scale. Some 76 million households were affected by the hack.
From the Express Tribune, another drone assassination spree:
Pakistan condemns US drone strike in North Waziristan
Pakistan on Monday condemned Sunday’s drone strike in Datta Khel, North Waziristan, which had targeted a Taliban-linked militant commander.
The drone strike, targeting Hafiz Gul Bahadur, had killed at least six militants on Sunday morning.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, the government reiterated its position that such strikes constitute a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The foreign office demanded the immediate cessation of such strikes.
A bounteous reward from Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Pakistan offers US$100,000 bounty for Taliban leader
The list also includes Mengal Bagh, chief of Lashkar-e-Islam, a Taliban-linked militant group operating in the Khyber tribal district
The government of Pakistan’s restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday (Jan 5) announced a bounty worth 10 million rupees (US$100,000) for information leading to the arrest or death of the Pakistani Taliban chief, officials said.
“The provincial government has set a bounty of RS 10 million for any information/help that can lead to the arrest or killing of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah,” a senior official in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government told AFP, requesting anonymity.
He said the government in Pakistan’s restive northwest had prepared a list of 615 high profile militants and was offering a combined bounty of RS760 million (US$7.5 million).
The official said the list also includes Mengal Bagh, chief of Lashkar-e-Islam, a Taliban-linked militant group operating in the Khyber tribal district. Mushtaq Ghani, the provincial information minister confirmed the bounty.
And an assault denied, via the Times of India:
Pak dismisses ‘terror’ boat issue as India’s ‘silly allegation’
Pakistan on Monday dismissed as a “very silly allegation” India’s assertions that the boat which exploded off the Gujarat coast belonged to it.
“I think this is a very silly allegation. We have checked with our authorities, no boats from Pakistan left,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.
“We saw the boat burn, it did not blow up. There have been various contradictory claims,” she told an Indian TV channel.
Amid questions over the ‘boat’ operation, defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said in New Delhi that “circumstantial evidence” indicated that the occupants of the vessel were “suspected or possible terrorists” and that they were in touch with Pakistani maritime officials and army.
Seoul and Beijing push no-nukes-in-Pyonyang deal, from United Press International:
China and South Korea reportedly agree on non-nuclear North Korea
According to a senior South Korean foreign ministry official, the Chinese delegation “showed its support” for Seoul’s efforts to improve inter-Korean relations and agreed to support a “zero tolerance” stance toward North Korea’s nuclear weapons program
Officials from China and South Korea met in Seoul on Monday to discuss regional security, including the objective of a non-nuclear North Korea.
“The two sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula,” a South Korean foreign ministry official told Yonhap News.
According to the official, the Chinese delegation “showed its support” for South Korean efforts to improve inter-Korean relations and agreed to support a “zero tolerance” stance toward North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Monday’s meeting marked the second such gathering since December 2013 and followed a New Year’s Day proposal by North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un “to hold the highest-level talks.”
From Want China Times, nuclear subs aplenty:
China to beef up nuclear submarine fleet by 2020: report
China will invest heavily in fielding advanced nuclear-powered attack and ballistic missile submarines during the next six years, according to a Russian report on China’s nuclear potential.
In an article published last week by the Russian Military Observer, the media outlet said China’s military has at least three operational Type-094 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, with each being capable of carrying 12 JL-2 missiles that have a range of 8,000 kilometers.
By 2020, the People’s Liberation Army is projected to field at least four Type-094s and two next-generation Type-096 submarines, carrying around 80 sea-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and 250 to 300 nuclear-armed missiles, the report stated.
And from Kyodo News, a show of remorse:
Abe to express remorse in 70th war-end anniversary statement
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he will express remorse for Japan’s actions in World War II and how it plans to contribute to world peace in his statement in August for the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.
“I would like to write Japan’s remorse on the war, its postwar history as a pacifist nation and how it will contribute to the Asia-Pacific region and the world,” Abe said at his first press conference of the year in the city of Ise, central Japan.
The Japanese government is preparing to craft a new statement by Abe to mark the 70th anniversary in August of the end of World War II, a document that will be closely watched due to its implications for relations with China and South Korea.
