Mount McKinley, America's highest mountain, to be restored to original name Denali by Telegraph Staff Monday August 31st, 2015 at 11:41 AM
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Barack Obama will announce the decision during visit to Alaska, ending a 40-year campaign by native people who view the peak as sacred
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It is the second of the city's ancient temples to be destroyed in a week as jihadist groups continues its programme of "cultural cleansing"
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Move has been welcomed as an important step forward in a country where woman are not allowed to drive
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Black Lives Matter group criticises sheriff for "politicising" alleged murder of one of his officers
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Lidiane Leite boasted of her lavish lifestyle - but has now gone on the run, accused of corruption
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Police have been injured during a demonstration in the Ukrainian capital
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Arnold Anderson explained his perpetual lateness by saying his morning meals had a tendency to overrun
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Tehran said he would not be let in to perform in the country with a Berlin orchestra because he holds Israeli nationality
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A top Lebanese official defied demands from thousands of protesters over the weekend to step down, providing potential fuel for a growing antigovernment movement that is coalesced around uncollected trash.
U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice on Sunday told top civilian and military leaders in Islamabad that attacks in neighboring Afghanistan by Pakistan-based militants were “absolutely unacceptable,” according to a senior American official.
A large fire at a residential compound of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant killed at least 11 people and injured more than 200, officials said.
U.A.E. forces prevented Houthi rebels in Yemen from overrunning the Yemeni port city of Aden, and now also reluctantly find themselves in the business of nation-building.
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Germany, France and the U.K. pushed for a faster response in dealing with the continent’s migration crisis as Hungarian police detained a fifth person in connection with the deaths of 71 migrants found in a truck in Austria.
Long before investors lost faith in the Chinese stock market, something seemed amiss at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The number of containers coming from China was up, but beginning in 2013, fewer loads were being sent in the other direction.
Ahead of a planned visit to the U.S., the Chinese president’s image as a bold leader is being undermined by his botched handling of the stock market rout and the country’s economic slowdown.
In Dubai, a young female fighter who goes by the name “Joelle” brings fishnets and enthusiasm to a sport dominated by men.
Islamic State has partially destroyed Palmyra’s 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel in a massive explosion, activists and a monitoring group said.
Austrian police have toughened controls in the country’s eastern border region close to Hungary in response to last week’s discovery of 71 dead migrants in an abandoned truck, the country’s interior minister said.
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About fifty members of Ukraine’s National Guard were injured, four of them seriously, in a blast outside parliament, as fighting broke out between protesters and law-enforcement personnel following a controversial vote on the country’s constitution.
Despite a strong US push, development of an integrated GCC ballistic missile defense program has seen little progress
August 31, 2015, 4:58 PM (IDT)
The “NATO servicemen” killed in southern Afghanistan last Wednesday were identified by the Pentagon Monday as two special tactics airmen, Capt. Matthew D. Roland, 27, and Staff Sgt. Forrest B. Sibley, 31.Two gunmen in Afghan National Defense Forces uniform shot up their vehicle at a checkpoint in Camp Antonik, now a forward operating base. NATO troops returned the fire and killed the shooters. Air Force Col. Pat Ryder, a CentCom spokesman, said it was still unclear whether this was an insider attack by ANSF members or by Taliban infiltrators. Ryder also said, "There has been an increase in US air strikes" in Helmand province, where the Taliban earlier this week reportedly overran ANSF positions in the Musa Qalah district northeast of Camp Antonik. The two US officers were experts in close air support.
Spy services in China and Russia, among others, are collecting and scrutinizing hacked United States computer databases to target American intelligence agents and officers. Foreign spies have penetrated government websites and emails, social media accounts and massive data troves containing personal information on millions of Americans, including medical forms, Social Security numbers and airline records, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
These data files are used to identify and track -- or even blackmail and recruit -- U.S. undercover operatives and agents overseas. The foreign spy services employ sophisticated software to reveal “who is an intelligence officer, who travels where, when, who’s got financial difficulties, who’s got medical issues, [to] put together a common picture,” William Evanina, the top counterintelligence official for the U.S. intelligence community, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
Evanina declined to say which countries were involved, but other U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity said Chinese and Russian adversaries in particular were aggregating and cross-indexing vast U.S. computer files for counterintelligence purposes. The Russian Embassy did not respond to requests for comment, but Chinese Embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan said Friday China’s government “firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with the law,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has said China is the top suspect in the hacking of a U.S. government agency that compromised the personnel records of at least 4.2 million current and former government workers. Above, a tourist uses his camera to photograph the setting sun as he looks over a harbor in Hong Kong from an observation deck in Kowloon on Nov. 15, 2013. AFP PHOTO / ANTHONY WALLACE
The White House is considering applying sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals who have benefited from the Chinese government’s alleged hacking of U.S. trade secrets, which China has denied doing. U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has said China is the top suspect in the hacking of a U.S. government agency that compromised the personnel records of at least 4.2 million current and former government workers, the Washington Post reported Sunday.
The Obama administration has scrambled to boost cybersecurity mechanisms for federal agencies and vital infrastructure. American intelligence officials have urged Obama to express concerns about Chinese hacking during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House on Sept. 25. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the military also needs to increase its cybersecurity systems.
"We're not doing as well as we need to do in job one in cyber, which is defending our own networks," Carter said Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Our military is dependent upon and empowered by networks for its effective operations... We have to be better at network defense than we are now."
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China and Russia are cross-indexing hacked data to target US spies ...
Los Angeles Times-4 hours ago
... put together a common picture," William Evanina, the top counterintelligence official for the U.S. intelligence community, said in an interview.
China, Russia Targeting US Spies Via Hacked Computer Databases ...
International Business Times-2 hours ago
International Business Times-2 hours ago
Explore in depth (3 more articles)
Manipulation of feds' personal data is a major danger in OPM cyber ...
Washington Post (blog)-Aug 19, 2015
“The breach itself is issue A,” said William “Bill” Evanina, director of the federal National Counterintelligence and Security Center. But what the ...
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
IRAQ and SYRIA
Turkish fighter jets conducted their first airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria over the weekend as part of the US-led coalition. [Al Jazeera America] As Turkey joints the air campaign, the US may face a difficult choice in whether to continue supporting Syrian Kurds’ involvement in the fight on the ground. [Politico’s Nahal Toosi]
A 17-year-old in Virginia was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to material support for terrorism charges. In June, he had admitted to running a pro-Islamic State Twitter account and driving a friend to the airport in an attempt to help the friend join ISIS. [New York Magazine’s Jamie Fuller]
Islamic State militants have severely damaged the 2000-year old Bel Temple in Palmyra, Syria, which is considered one of the greatest sites of the ancient world. [Associated Press’ Sarah el Deeb]
The Islamic State has recently published a list of the names of more than 2,000 people the group claims to have killed in Mosul since the group took control of the city. [Daily Beast’s Khales Joumah]
Individuals fleeing violence in Syria have started to travel to Europe via the Arctic Circle, crossing into Norway via the far northern reaches of Russia. [Guardian’s Patrick Kingsley]
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is set to reopen the heavily fortified Green Zone to civilians to the first time in 12 years as part of an anti-corruption initiative. The roughly four square mile area that has long contained many government buildings was taken over by American forces following the 2003 invasion and has long been off limits to many civilians who did not work there. [BBC]
AFGHANISTAN
US special operations forces in Afghanistan are seeking a balance between “doing too much and too little” as the US winds down combat operations in the country, according to a profile by Michael M. Phillips. This often means taking a back seat to their Afghan counterparts during operations against insurgents. [Wall Street Journal]
The British Museum has turned down a unique digital collection of Taliban documents citing fears that holding the documents may violate the UK’s anti-terror laws. [Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison and Kevin Rawlinson]
IRAN
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he not opposed to Iran using nuclear energy for civilian purposes, saying that his opposition is only to a military nuclear program. [Jerusalem Post]
The debate over the Iran nuclear deal is heating up in Congress. Senate Republicans are gearing up to respond to a potential filibuster when the deal comes to the floor for a vote next month. [The Hill’s Julian Hattem]At the same time, Burgess Everett and Seung Min Kim from Politico have a roundup of key Democrats whose support for the deal may be key in preventing the President from needing to veto a resolution condemning the deal.
Iran’s President Rouhani said it was unlikely that there will be a quick resolution to the house arrest of two political reformers who have been critical of the 2009 election processes in the country. [Agence France-Presse]
SURVEILLANCE and PRIVACY
The DC Circuit reversed an injunction against the NSA’s bulk collection of telephone metadata without ruling on the legality of the program on Friday. [Politico’s Josh Gerstein] Just Security’s Co-Editor-in-Chief Steve Vladeck has more on the opinion here.
The NSA’s bulk collection program has been extended until November 29, when the USA Freedom Act’s changes to Section 215 go into effect. [The Hill’s Julian Hattem]
The co-founder of one of the world’s top security companies told lieutenants they should sabotage a rival antivirus software maker’s products in recently released emails from 2009. [Reuters’ Shannon Stapleton]
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Three journalists convicted in Egypt of “spreading false news” have been sentenced to three years in prison. [BBC] Al Jazeera has condemned the verdict. Meanwhile, Egypt has summoned the British ambassador in Cairo to protest statements he made in the wake of the trial. [Associated Press’ Brian Rohan]
The US’s first special envoy for hostage affairs has been named: James O’Brien, who helped negotiate the Dayton Accords, which brokered peace in the Balkans in the 1990s. [Politico’s Nahal Toosi]
Defense Secretary Ash Carter awarded $75 million on Friday to a consortium of high-tech firms and researchers, including Apple, Boeing, Harvard, and 159 other organizations, to develop electronic systems that can be worn by soldiers or molded onto the exterior of planes. [Reuters’ Jonathan Ernst]
Boko Haram killed 56 villagers during a meeting with the parents of the 219 schoolgirls abducted last year. The girls have been kidnapped for more than 500 days. [Associated Press’ Haruna Umar and Bashir Adigun]
The UN Security Council has threatened to impose an arms embargo and other sanctions on South Sudan if the warring factions do not implement a peace deal that went into force over the weekend. [BBC]
President Obama’s “idealism and wishful thinking” has often hampered his counterterrorism policies, argues Jessica Stern in an in-depth opinion piece on the administration’s counterterror programs. [Foreign Affairs]
Russia faces an uphill battle to modernize its military and is struggling to find and maintain enough recruits for the military to operate efficiently. [Foreign Affairs‘ Elisabeth Braw]
Read on Just Security »
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Page 5
I. Surveillance, Privacy & Cybersecurity
Julian Sanchez, Does CISA Contain a Surveillance Law XSS Attack? (Tuesday, August 25) Rachel Levinson-Waldman, Guest Post: Armed Drones and the Influence of Big Business on Police Surveillance Technology (Friday, August 28) Steve Vladeck, Better Never Than Late? The D.C. Circuit’s Problematic Standing Holding inKlayman (Friday, August 28)
II. Detention
Marty Lederman, The Government’s Baffling Brief in Ba Odah (Thursday, August 27)
III. Judicial Review & Executive Branch Oversight
Andy Wright, A Legislative Fix to Inspectors’ General Difficulties Accessing Information? (Monday, August 24) Steve Vladeck, The Supreme Court, ISIS, and the War Powers (Tuesday, August 25) Steve Vladeck, The Alarming Gaps in Military Appellate Review (Wednesday, August 26)
IV. Torture
Deborah Popowski, Guest Post: Beyond the APA: The Role of Psychology Boards and State Courts in Propping up Torture (Monday, August 24)
V. Women on the Front Lines
Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, On the Front Lines: Women and the Military (Monday, August 24) Read on Just Security »
В обзоре британских газет:
- Российский лидер и подозрительные сделки с недвижимостью
- На востоке Украины вновь объявляют прекращение огня
- "Рабский труд мигрантов" на строительстве объектов ЧМ-2018
"Недалеко, в Торревьехе"
"Путин связан с подозрительными сделками с недвижимостью в Испании", - утверждает Times.
По сведениям газеты, появилась новая информация, согласно которой президент России мог быть причастен к покупке дома на средиземноморском побережье.
В 2008 году испанская полиция провела рейд в жилище Геннадия Петрова - предполагаемого босса одной из крупнейших российских преступных группировок.
В ходе обыска у Петрова, пишет Times, были изъяты документы, в которых говорилось, что он принимал от имени президента России участие в покупке недвижимости в Малаге.
"Сеньор Путин, земля в Малаге, российский участок или российская городская застройка. Земля не куплена. Управление делами президента", - такая рукописная надпись на испанском, датированная 2001 годом, значилась, по утверждению издания, на одном из изъятых документов.
"Как говорится в обвинительном акте, обнародованном испанскими прокурорами в мае нынешнего года, некоторые высокопоставленные политические союзники Путина были связаны с криминальной империей Петрова", - продолжает Times.
Кроме того, как выяснила газета, у следователей есть запись переговоров двух членов преступной группировки Петрова.
Телефонная беседа состоялась в 2007 году между некими Виктором Гавриленковым и Маратом Полянским, которые обсуждали учреждение подставной фирмы в Испании для отмывания преступных денег.
"Полянский спросил Гавриленкова, где можно остановиться. Тот ему ответил: "Есть куча гостиниц в Аликанте, и дом Путина в Торревьехе тоже не слишком далеко", - рассказывает Times.
Как поясняет издание, местечко Торревьеха находится на Коста-Бланка.
Испанская прокуратура, информирует Times, "намерена предъявить обвинения 27 проходящим по делу лицам, включая высокопоставленного члена российской правящей партии, в мошенничестве, отмывании денег и других преступлениях".
В обвинительном заключении упоминаются также, хотя никаких обвинений в их адрес не выдвигается, председатель правления "Газпрома" и бывший глава правительства Виктор Зубков, заместитель премьер-министра России, два бывших министра и глава могущественного Следственного комитета, пишет газета.
"Петров, предположительно, использовал свое влияние, чтобы помочь сообщникам занять ключевые посты в российской политике и правоохранительных органах в обмен на активы в Испании", - добавляет Times.
Виктора Зубкова испанские прокуроры, как пишет издание, называют среди тех, кто "покровительствовал организации Петрова, принимая некоторые политические решения в ее пользу".
Журналисты Times попытались связаться с пресс-секретарем президента России Дмитрием Песковым, чтобы тот подтвердил или опроверг информацию о покупке Путиным недвижимости в Испании в 2001 году, однако ответа не получили.
Ранее Песков, дополняет картину газета, называл подобные утверждения "полной чушью" и неоригинальной шуткой "за гранью разумного".
Новое прекращение огня?
Guardian посвящает редакционную статью перспективам развития военного конфликта на востоке Украины.
"Забытая война" на восточных окраинах Евросоюза, пишет издание, идет уже 16 месяцев. Стороны дважды заключали соглашения о прекращении огня, однако оба раза перестрелки не прекращались.
По словам Guardian, власти Украины одновременно с вооруженными сторонниками независимости восточных регионов страны вновь заявляют о готовности полностью прекратить боевые действия - на этот раз с 1 сентября.
Как отмечает газета, в минувшие выходные лидеры Германии, Франции и России в телефонном разговоре поддержали новый план полного прекращения огня.
Guardian в связи с этим не скрывает своего скепсиса: реанимировать февральские Минские соглашения и добиться их полного выполнения сегодня удастся вряд ли, тогда как очередное перемирие почти наверняка будет нарушено, подобно прежним.
Есть, однако, момент, на который стоит обратить внимание: к концу года, напоминает издание, контроль за международно признанной границей Украины на востоке страны должен вновь перейти к украинскому правительству.
"Скоро остальным европейским странам придется принимать решение о том, продлевать ли действие санкций в отношении России, которая вооружает боевиков и продолжает оказывать им поддержку посредством скрытого участия в военизированных формированиях", - считает Guardian.
По мнению газеты, Россия не оставляет попыток дестабилизировать положение в соседней Украине, а заодно переформатировать в своих интересах всю структуру европейской безопасности.
"Нужно последовательно противостоять и тому и другому, в то же время поощряя на Украине проведение реформ", - считает Guardian.
"Однако более значительный европейский интерес состоит по-прежнему в том, чтобы мистер Путин вывел российские силы из восточной Украины и окончательно подтвердил нерушимость международных границ", - резюмирует издание.
"Рабский труд"
Sun на развороте рассказывает о том, как в России идет строительство спортивных объектов к чемпионату мира по футболу 2018 года.
Газета пишет, что стадионы строят гастарбайтеры, многие из них готовы работать по 12 часов в день, 30 дней в месяц без выходных.
В день, по сведениям репортеров Sun, строители получают мизерную оплату в 1000 рублей, то есть около 10 фунтов.
Их жилищные условия, продолжает издание, напоминают ад: мигранты на стройках, ютятся в железных вагончиках с зарешеченными окнами, 20 человек делят между собой один туалет и душ.
Стройки обнесены колючей проволокой, по периметру расположены часовые на сторожевых вышках, дополняет картину Sun.
"Путин отменил действие трудового законодательства для проектов ФИФА, позволив боссам издеваться над персоналом, пренебрегать правилами безопасности и заставлять работников трудиться сверхурочно", - отмечает газета.
"Слабый контроль за соблюдением правил безопасности, как сообщается, стал причиной до 70 смертельных случаев при строительстве объектов прошлогодней российской Зимней Олимпиады в Сочи", - напоминает Sun.
Дешевая рабочая сила для объектов ЧМ-2018, по словам издания, прибывает в Россию из Турции, Узбекистана, Киргизии, Таджикистана, Сербии и Украины. Вместе с гастарбайтерами работают за копейки и местные строители.
"Нет больничных, нет праздников. Если я не работаю - мне не платят. Поэтому я стараюсь изо всех сил, чтобы удержаться на работе", - рассказал журналистам таджик Рузи, занятый на строительстве стадиона "Зенит Арена" в Санкт-Петербурге.
Строительство этого стадиона, как выяснила Sun, отстает от графика на семь лет, а бюджет уже в три раза превысил запланированный.
Пять лет назад ФИФА проголосовала за то, чтобы страной-хозяйкой чемпионата мира по футболу 2018 года стала Россия.
С тех пор число городов, где будут проходить матчи, сократилось с 14 до 12, число стадионов - с 13 до 11, а число новых гостиниц, которые надлежит построить к началу соревнований, - с 63 до 38, отмечает газета.
Россия, по словам Sun, сократила бюджет подготовки ЧМ-2018 на 400 млн фунтов (почти 640 млн долларов), отказавшись от строительства пяти- и четырехзвездочных гостиниц в пользу более дешевых вариантов.
Представитель ФИФА, с которым связались журналисты издания, комментировать материал Sun не стал.
Обзор подготовил Дмитрий Полтавский, <a href="http://bbcrussian.com" rel="nofollow">bbcrussian.com</a>
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Russia and NATO are engaged in an "action-reaction cycle" that is difficult to stop. History is full of examples of tensions that escalated into war even when neither side intended it. Something similar could happen between Russian and NATO forces. According to the European Leadership Network, a war between Russia and the West almost broke out 66 times between March 2014 and March 2015.
Russia, NATO hold military drills with war plans in mind
The London-based think tank has been keeping count since March 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea. Soon after, Russian-backed separatists declared war against Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine. As tensions with the West continued to escalate, the Kremlin made thing worse by bullying the Baltic states.
The European Leadership Network is a group of 14 people including former German defense minister Volker Ruehe, and ex-Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov. The think tank said that NATO and Russia conduct military drills "with war plans in mind." Though the Western military alliance has planned to conduct only 280 drills this year, Russia has announced 4,000 military exercises in 2015.
However, Moscow has still lashed out at NATO for its "provocative policy." Russia Foreign Ministry recently said that NATO was not ready to recognize the "possible explosive consequences" of holding military drills. Since last year, the Western alliance has intercepted hundreds of Russian fighter jets over NATO airspace. These Russian jets fly with their transponders turned off, posing a direct threat to civil aviation.
NATO building up military presence near Russian border
NATO troops have increased their presence in eastern Europe to counter Russian aggression. They were practicing "air lifts, sea landings, and assaults" in the region. NATO is set to hold its biggest military exercise in over a decade in October. Earlier this week, the U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah James said the Pentagon would send its Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) F-22 fighter jets to Europe.
The European Leadership Network has called for a high-level Russia-NATO meeting. The two sides must reduce the risk of inadvertently triggering a war by agreeing common rules to handle the unexpected military encounters, the think tank added.
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Foreign spy services, especially in China and Russia, are aggressively aggregating and cross-indexing hacked U.S. computer databases — including security clearance applications, airline records and medical insurance forms — to identify U.S. intelligence officers and agents, U.S. officials said.
At least one clandestine network of American engineers and scientists who provide technical assistance to U.S. undercover operatives and agents overseas has been compromised as a result, according to two U.S. officials.
The Obama administration has scrambled to boost cyberdefenses for federal agencies and crucial infrastructure as foreign-based attacks have penetrated government websites and email systems, social media accounts and, most important, vast data troves containing Social Security numbers, financial information, medical records and other personal data on millions of Americans.
Counterintelligence officials say their adversaries combine those immense data files and then employ sophisticated software to try to isolate disparate clues that can be used to identify and track — or worse, blackmail and recruit — U.S. intelligence operatives.
Digital analysis can reveal "who is an intelligence officer, who travels where, when, who's got financial difficulties, who's got medical issues, [to] put together a common picture," William Evanina, the top counterintelligence official for the U.S. intelligence community, said in an interview.
Asked whether adversaries had used this information against U.S. operatives, Evanina said, "Absolutely."
Evanina declined to say which nations are involved. Other U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments, say China and Russia are collecting and scrutinizing sensitive U.S. computer files for counterintelligence purposes.
U.S. cyberspying is also extensive, but authorities in Moscow and Beijing frequently work in tandem with criminal hackers and private companies to find and extract sensitive data from U.S. systems, rather than steal it themselves. That limits clear targets for U.S. retaliation.
The Obama administration marked a notable exception last week when a U.S. military drone strike near Raqqah, Syria, killed the British-born leader of the CyberCaliphate, an Islamic State hacking group that has aggressively sought to persuade sympathizers to launch "lone wolf" attacks in the United States and elsewhere.
Junaid Hussain had posted names, addresses and photos of about 1,300 U.S. military and other officials on Twitter and the Internet, and urged his followers to find and kill them, according to U.S. officials. They said he also had been in contact with one of the two heavily armed attackers killed in May outside a prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Garland, Texas. Hussain is the first known hacker targeted by a U.S. drone.
The Pentagon also is scouring the leaked list of clients and their sexual preferences from the Ashley Madison cheating website to identify service members who may have violated military rules against infidelity and be vulnerable to extortion by foreign intelligence agencies.
Far more worrisome was last year's cyberlooting — allegedly by China — of U.S. Office of Personnel Management databases holding detailed personnel records and security clearance application files for about 22 million people, including not only current and former federal employees and contractors but also their families and friends.
"A foreign spy agency now has the ability to cross-check who has a security clearance, via the OPM breach, with who was cheating on their wife via the Ashley Madison breach, and thus identify someone to target for blackmail," said Peter W. Singer, a fellow at the nonprofit New America Foundation in Washington and coauthor of the book "Cybersecurity and Cyberwar."
The immense data troves can reveal marital problems, health issues and financial distress that foreign intelligence services can use to try to pry secrets from U.S. officials, according to Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
"It's very much a 21st century challenge," Schiff said. "The whole cyberlandscape has changed."
U.S. intelligence officials have seen evidence that China's Ministry of State Security has combined medical data snatched in January from health insurance giant Anthem, passenger records stripped from United Airlines servers in May and the OPM security clearance files.
The Anthem breach, which involved personal data on 80 million current and former customers and employees, used malicious software that U.S. officials say is linked to the Chinese government. The information has not appeared for sale on black market websites, indicating that a foreign government controls it.
U.S. officials have not publicly blamed Beijing for the theft of the OPM and the Anthem files, but privately say both hacks were traced to the Chinese government.
The officials say China's state security officials tapped criminal hackers to steal the files, and then gave them to private Chinese software companies to help analyze and link the information together. That kept the government's direct fingerprints off the heist and the data aggregation that followed.
In a similar fashion, officials say, Russia's powerful Federal Security Service, or FSB, has close connections to programmers and criminal hacking rings in Russia and has used them in a relentless series of cyberattacks.
According to U.S. officials, Russian hackers linked to the Kremlin infiltrated the State Department's unclassified email system for several months last fall. Russian hackers also stole gigabytes of customer data from several U.S. banks and financial companies, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., last year.
A Chinese Embassy spokesman, Zhu Haiquan, said Friday that his government "firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with the law." The Russian Embassy did not respond to multiple requests for comment. U.S. intelligence officials want President Obama to press their concerns about Chinese hacking when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the White House on Sept. 25.
After the recent breaches, U.S. cybersecurity officials saw a dramatic increase in the number of targeted emails sent to U.S. government employees that contain links to malicious software.
In late July, for example, an unclassified email system used by the Joint Chiefs and their staff — 4,000 people in all — was taken down for 12 days after they received sophisticated "spear-phishing" emails that U.S. officials suspect was a Russian hack.
The emails appeared to be from USAA, a bank that serves military members, and each sought to persuade the recipient to click a link that would implant spyware into the system.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the hack shows the military needs to boost its cyberdefenses.
"We're not doing as well as we need to do in job one in cyber, which is defending our own networks," Carter said Wednesday. "Our military is dependent upon and empowered by networks for its effective operations.... We have to be better at network defense than we are now."
Carter spent Friday in Silicon Valley in an effort to expand a partnership between the Pentagon, academia and the private sector that aims to improve the nation's digital defenses. Carter opened an outreach office in Mountain View this year to try to draw on local expertise.
U.S. intelligence officers are supposed to cover their digital tracks and are trained to look for surveillance. Counterintelligence officials say they worry more about the scientists, engineers and other technical experts who travel abroad to support the career spies, who mostly work in U.S. embassies.
The contractors are more vulnerable to having their covers blown now, and two U.S. officials said some already have been compromised. They refused to say whether any were subject to blackmail or other overtures from foreign intelligence services.
But Evanina's office, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, based in Bethesda, Md., has recently updated pamphlets, training videos and desk calendars for government workers to warn them of the increased risk from foreign spy services.
"Travel vulnerabilities are greater than usual," reads one handout. Take "extra precaution" if people "approach you in a friendly manner and seem to have a lot in common with you."
Twitter: @ByBrianBennett
Twitter: @wjhenn
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