[Infowarrior] - DOD workers warned about spy coins

[Richard Forno]

Defense workers warned about spy coins

By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 4 minutes ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/spy_coins

Can the coins jingling in your pocket trace your movements? The  Defense
Department is warning its American contractor employees about a new
espionage  threat seemingly straight from Hollywood: It discovered Canadian
coins with tiny radio  frequency transmitters hidden inside.

In a U.S. government report, it said the mysterious coins were found
planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least
three  separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the
contractors traveled  through Canada.

The U.S. report doesn't suggest who might be tracking American  defense
contractors or why. It also doesn't describe how the Pentagon discovered the
ruse, how the transmitters might function or even which Canadian currency
contained  them.

Further details were secret, according to the U.S. Defense Security
Service, which issued the warning to the Pentagon's classified contractors.
The  government insists the incidents happened, and the risk was genuine.

"What's in the report is true," said Martha Deutscher, a spokeswoman  for
the security service. "This is indeed a sanitized version, which leaves a
lot of questions."

Top suspects, according to intelligence and technology experts:  China,
Russia or even France ‹ all said to actively run espionage operations inside
Canada with enough sophistication to produce such technology.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it knew nothing about  the
coins.

"This issue has just come to our attention," CSIS spokeswoman Barbara
Campion said. "At this point, we don't know of any basis for these claims."
She  said Canada's intelligence service works closely with its U.S.
counterparts and  will seek more information if necessary.

Experts were astonished about the disclosure and the novel tracking
technique, but they quickly rejected suggestions Canada's government might
be spying  on American contractors. The intelligence services of the two
countries are  extraordinarily close and routinely share sensitive secrets.

"It would seem unthinkable," said David Harris, former chief of  strategic
planning for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "I wouldn't expect
to  see any offensive operation against the Americans."

Harris said likely candidates include foreign spies who targeted  Americans
abroad or businesses engaged in corporate espionage. "There are certainly a
lot  of mysterious aspects to this," Harris said.

Experts said such tiny transmitters would almost certainly have  limited
range to communicate with sensors no more than a few feet away, such as ones
hidden inside a doorway.

"I'm not aware of any (transmitter) that would fit inside a coin and
broadcast for kilometers," said Katherine Albrecht, an activist who believes
such  technology carries serious privacy risks. "Whoever did this obviously
has access  to some pretty advanced technology."

Experts said hiding tracking technology inside coins is fraught with  risks
because the spy's target might inadvertently give away the coin or spend it
buying coffee or a newspaper.

They agreed, however, that a coin with a hidden tracking device might  not
arose suspicion if it were discovered loose in a pocket or briefcase.

"It wouldn't seem to be the best place to put something like that;  you'd
want to put it in something that wouldn't be left behind or spent," said
Jeff  Richelson, a researcher and author of books about the CIA and its
gadgets. "It  doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense."

Canada's physically largest coins include its $2 "Toonie," which is  more
than 1-inch across and thick enough to hide a tiny transmitter. The CIA has
acknowledged its own spies have used hollow, U.S. silver-dollar coins to
hide messages and  film.

The government's 29-page report was filled with other espionage  warnings.
It described unrelated hacker attacks, eavesdropping with miniature pen
recorders and the case of a female foreign spy who seduced her American
boyfriend  to steal his computer passwords.

In another case, a film processing company called the FBI after it
developed pictures for a contractor that contained classified images of U.S.
satellites and their blueprints. The photo was taken from an adjoining
office window.

___

On the Web:

CIA hollow coin: https://http://www.cia.gov/cia/information/artifacts/
dollar.htm

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