China Reportedly Compiling ‘Facebook’ of US Government Employees

/1 Comment/in , /by

official-facebook-logo-slideA private industry IT security firm tells Fox News that personal data stolen over the span of several high-profile U.S. cyber breaches is being indexed by China’s intelligence service into a massive Facebook-like network.

According to CrowdStrike founder Dmitri Alperovitch, Chinese hackers are using information gained from the breaches of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, as well as intrusions into the Anthem and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield health insurance networks, to build a complete profile of federal employees in what the company calls a “Facebook of Everything.”

“That can now be used to embarrass you publicly and force you to work for the Chinese government,” Alperovitch told Fox News. “It’s, in effect, a private version of Facebook with much more detail about your life than even Facebook has that the Chinese now have access to.” Current and former intelligence officials echoed the assessment.

As Fox News has reported, the most sensitive information stolen in the OPM breach was lifted from what is known as the Standard Form 86, or SF-86. The 127-page security clearance application is essentially a road map to your life. It contains highly detailed information on everything from where an applicant lived and worked, to personal references, family members, friends and associates, as well as drug history and intimate health information.

What’s startling is the fact that virtually all government employees and contractors who hold the top echelon of U.S. security clearances were impacted by the OPM breach, even the Director of the FBI. James Comey joked at an intelligence and national security summit last week that had his SF-86 been stored in a strongly encrypted database “maybe someone wouldn’t be reading it today.” (Read more from “China Reportedly Compiling ‘Facebook’ of US Government Employees” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

U.S. Training Helped Mold Top Islamic State Military Commander

/1 Comment/in , /by

ISIS-Omar_02The 15 Chechens looking to cross the border from Turkey to Syria didn’t strike Abdullah as particularly important or unusual.

It was early summer in 2012, and as a smuggler based in the Turkish border town of Killis, Abdullah, who’d fled his home village in Syria because of fighting on the outskirts of Aleppo, was used to secretive groups of foreigners – journalists, aid workers and many recently aspiring jihadists – hiring him to cross Turkish military lines at the border while avoiding what was then still a significant Syrian government presence in northern Syrian . . .

The 15 men had reached Abdullah through a network of contacts that were funneling new fighters to northern Syria, and Abdullah recalled they said they were going to Syria to assist in the fight against Assad. They were quiet, disciplined and for the most part spoke only a bit of crude formal Arabic.

Only later did Abdullah realize that the network that funneled these men to him was the beginnings of the Islamic State, and that one of the 15 would turn out to be the most important non-Arab figure in the Islamic State hierarchy, a former American-trained noncommissioned officer in the special forces of the nation of Georgia, who’d led his men heroically during the 2008 Russian invasion of his homeland . . .

But analysts of extremist groups said Batirashvili’s impact has been far greater than the small numbers of Muslims in Georgia would suggest. Since he swore allegiance to the Islamic State in 2013, thousands of Muslims from the Caucasus have flocked to Syria to join the extremist cause. (Read more from “U.S. Training Helped Mold Top Islamic State Military Commander” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

US Warns North Korea Over Nuclear Plant ‘Provocation’

/2 Comments/in , /by

_85550498_hi003128714The US has warned North Korea to refrain from “irresponsible provocation” after the communist state said its main nuclear facility had resumed normal operations.

The reactor at Yongbyon has been the source of plutonium for North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.

The White House said North Korea should “focus instead on fulfilling its international obligations”.

The reactor was shut down in 2007 as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal.

But Pyongyang vowed to restart it in 2013, following its third nuclear test and amid high regional tensions. (Read more from “US Warns North Korea Over Nuclear Plant ‘Provocation'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Another Country Is Refusing to Take More Syrian Refugees

/2 Comments/in , /by

refugee-crisis-transit-670x499By Kenneth Chan. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has no plans to drastically increase the number of Syrian refugees permitted to resettle in Canada.

During a Q&A session on his Facebook page this morning, Harper maintained that a thorough security screening process is needed for each refugee being considered entry given the risk that a terrorist could slip through.

“The situation in Syria and Iraq is troubling. Laureen and I were touched, just like all Canadians, at the pictures from last week,” Harper wrote on Facebook. “But, to help we must ensure we screen every potential refugee carefully.”

“We have been clear that we are willing to take more people, but we must be sure we are helping the most vulnerable. We cannot open the floodgates and airlift tens of thousands of refugees out of a terrorist war zone without proper process. That is too great a risk for Canada.”

The security screening used by the federal government includes the use of a time and labour-intensive biometric system, which will be expanded to the visa applications of all tourists, students, immigrants, migrant workers and refugees by 2018. (Read more from “This Country Is Refusing to Take Syrian Refugees” HERE)

__________________________________________

Mexico Opening Door to Syrian Refugees

By Brandon Darby. Prominent Mexican officials are calling on their president to open the doors for 10,000 Syrian refugees, though thousands of Mexicans per year are fleeing their cartel-controlled nation and its violence and seeking asylum in the United States. The move comes on the heels of Mexico accepting 30 Syrian students. Other nations south of the porous U.S.-Mexico border have already opened their doors for people fleeing the Middle East.

Considering the Mexican government’s inability to govern its own territory and the willingness of Mexican officials to accept cash bribes, one could question whether their screening process would exclude potentially dangerous individuals. Even in the case of an individual being identified having a connection to a terrorist organization, a wealthy benefactor or ally of the individual could simply pay off a decision-maker and get the individual through.

An article posted by the GlobalPost.com built a case for Mexico opening the doors for Syrians. They wrote:

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Mexico has a proud history of welcoming refugees fleeing war and persecution around the world . . .

Senators of all political stripes on Thursday implored President Enrique Peña Nieto and his government to allow in as many Syrian refugees as possible.

(Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

BIS Fears Emerging Market Maelstrom as Fed Tightens

/1 Comment/in , /by

newPic_7805_PNG_3315703bDebt ratios have reached extreme levels across all major regions of the global economy, leaving the financial system acutely vulnerable to monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve, the world’s top financial watchdog has warned.

The Bank for International Settlements said the wild market ructions of recent weeks and capital outflows from China are warning signs that the massive build-up in credit is coming back to haunt, compounded by worries that policymakers may be struggling to control events.

“We are not seeing isolated tremors, but the release of pressure that has gradually accumulated over the years along major fault lines,” said Claudio Borio, the bank’s chief economist.

The Swiss-based BIS said total debt ratios are now significantly higher than they were at the peak of the last credit cycle in 2007, just before the onset of global financial crisis.

Combined public and private debt has jumped by 36 percentage points since then to 265pc of GDP in the the developed economies. (Read more from “BIS Fears Emerging Market Maelstrom as Fed Tightens” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Egypt Security Forces Accidentally Kill 12, Including Mexican Tourists

/0 Comments/in , /by

Egypt-Camp-1-APEgyptian security forces killed 12 Mexicans and Egyptians and injured 10 “by accident” on Monday, mistaking a tourist convoy for militants they were chasing in the country’s western desert, the ministry of interior said . . .

A joint force from the Egyptian police and military was chasing militants in the country’s vast western desert, which borders Libya, when it inadvertently opened fire on the convoy.

The convoy was made up of four four-wheel drive vehicles, the Egyptian interior ministry said in a statement, and there will be an investigation into how and why the tourists entered an off-limits area.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned the attack on his Twitter account, describing it as a tragic incident and demanding a full investigation . . .

Egypt’s tourism ministry spokesman told state news agency MENA the convoy was at an off-limits site and was using unlicensed cars. The convoy was taking part in an unapproved safari, he said. (Read more from “Egypt Security Forces Accidentally Kill 12, Including Mexican Tourists” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

China Tells U.S. To Stop ‘Groundless’ Hacking Accusations

/1 Comment/in , /by

hacker1China reacted angrily on Friday following a call by America’s top intelligence official for cyber security against China to be stepped up, and said the United States should stop “groundless accusations”.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said the United States must beef up cyber security against Chinese hackers targeting a range of U.S. interests to raise the cost toChina of engaging in such activities . . .

China routinely denies any involvement in hacking and says it is also a victim.

“Maintaining cyber security should be a point of cooperation rather than a source of friction between both China and the United States,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing.

“We hope that the U.S. stops its groundless attacks against China, start dialogue based on a foundation of mutual respect, and jointly build a cyberspace that is peaceful, secure, open and cooperative.” (Read more from “China Tells U.S. To Stop ‘Groundless’ Hacking Accusations” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

107 Killed in Crane Collapse at Mecca’s Grand Mosque [+video]

/4 Comments/in , /by

150911203203-restricted-mecca-crane-crash-0911-exlarge-169A powerful storm toppled a construction crane Friday afternoon at the Masjid al-Haram, or Grand Mosque, in Mecca — killing at least 107 people and injuring 238 others, Saudi Arabia’s civil defense authorities said on Twitter.

Photos and video on social media showed the crane crashing through the mosque roof and the aftermath, with bodies, blood and debris spread across the courtyard.

The crane fell 10 days before the start of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage expected to bring 2 million people to Mecca. The Masjid al-Haram is the largest mosque in the world and surrounds Islam’s holiest site, the Kaaba — a cube-shaped shrine that worshippers circle . . .

“We just washed and were getting ready to head to the Masjid al-Haram for the Maghrib prayer (sunset prayer),” said Yahya Al Hashemi, 30, a CNN iReporter who shot iPhone video of the crane striking the roof of the mosque. “It was a sandstorm which turned to rainstorm and lot of the construction covering boards were flying around, and lots of cracking noises which unfortunately ended with this tragedy. … Everybody were pushing trying to escape from inside towards the exits.”

More than 50 rescue teams and 80 ambulances converged on the mosque as part of the rescue effort after the crane fell at 5:24 p.m. local time (10:23 a.m. ET), said Saudi Civil Defense Director Maj. Gen Suleiman al-Amro. (Read more from “107 Killed in Crane Collapse at Mecca’s Grand Mosque” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Ancient Human Fossils Found in African Cave Astonish Scientists, Reflect Intentional Burial

/1 Comment/in , /by

635774192580235042-06-ngm-1015-MM8345-mystery-man-robert-clarkThe two amateur cavers had to feel their way along the cave’s winding passages, crawl on their stomachs through an opening less than 10 inches high, ascend a jagged wall, cross a narrow ledge dubbed the “Dragon’s Back,” and make a 400-foot descent, sideways, through a vertical crack before finally arriving at the prize: a 30-foot-long chamber probably between 2 million and 3 million years old.

American paleoanthropologist Lee Berger had asked the men to keep their eyes open for fossils, though the well-explored cave at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa had given up most of its treasures decades ago.

What they found in September 2013 nearly took their breath away: fossil fragments of a relative of the human species, and a cache of bones and teeth buried in ancient clay that would eventually number more than 1,500 — the largest hominin fossil discovery of its kind in Africa. . .

Although the fragments have not yet been dated, the scientists said they could well represent one of the most primitive members of the genus Homo, which includes today’s humans.

Perhaps more remarkable, they added, was that the pieces belonged to at least 15 individuals of the same species — men, women, children and infants — and all of them appeared to have been deliberately placed there after death. The implication was as astonishing as the initial discovery: It suggested the ritualized disposal of bodies. (Read more from “Ancient Human Fossils Found in African Cave Astonish Scientists” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

ISIS’ Second-In-Command on Kayla Mueller: ‘Her Stupid Government, We Killed Her’

/0 Comments/in , /by

Kayla MuellerKayla Mueller, the American humanitarian aid worker held captive by the Islamic State, was killed by the terrorist group despite previous reports that she died in a Jordanian airstrike, according to another hostage.

BBC reported that a Yazidi woman held as a “slave” by now-deceased Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL) second-in-command Hajji Mutazz said the terrorist group was responsible for Mueller’s death.

While it was previously reported that Mueller was repeatedly raped by IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the terrorist group has alleged that the American hostage was killed in a building destroyed by Jordanian airstrikes.

However, according to the since-escaped Yazidi woman, Amshe, the IS second-in-command informed her that Baghdadi killed Mueller when he was finished abusing her . . .

“We killed her because she is an American,” he allegedly continued. “If Obama wanted to he could tell Bashar [al-Assad, the Syrian president] to stop bombing us. Ten of our women and children die every day. This is our revenge. We will kill any American citizen we capture. If any Western government refuses to put pressure on Bashar, we will kill their citizens too.” (Read more from “ISIS’ Second-In-Command on Kayla Mueller: ‘Her Stupid Government, We Killed Her'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.