Underwater Data Cable, Linking The US To Hong Kong Cancelled Because Of Fears Of Chinese Data Theft

A map from December 2017 of undersea data cables

BBC: US-China row moves underwater in cable tangle

An underwater data cable, linking the US to Hong Kong, looks set to be rejected by the US government because of fears of Chinese data theft.

The Pacific Light Cable Network, backed by Google and Facebook, is designed to boost internet speed and capacity.

But a US government committee known as "Team Telecom" has now recommended that the US denies it approval.

The decision is another sign of the growing tension between the US and China, who are in a trade war.

It would reportedly be the first such cable rejected by the US on national security grounds.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Besides data theft, there is also the fear that China will be monitoring communications.

Is China Targeting The World's Underwater Internet Cables For Hacking?

Map Of Underwater Cables That Supply The Worlds Internet, via MapPorn

Zero Hedge: Intel Officials Fear China Will Target Globe's Underwater Internet Cables

A new op-ed in Bloomberg Quint has noted what the United States should really be worried about regarding Beijing's intentions after a year of tense China-US Navy encounters in the South China Sea. This potential threat, which is "far harder to discern," involves the world's some 380 underwater cables carrying more than 95% of all data and voice traffic between the continents. Could China be stealthily hacking them? It is certainly now in a better position to do so.

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WNU Editor: I think it is a given that China (and almost everyone else) are trying their best to monitor global communications.

Russian Forces Are Using High-Tech Equipment To Jam Drones And Block Battlefield Communications

Photo credit: U.S. Army/Spc. Joshua Edwards

Foreign Policy: Russia’s Winning the Electronic War

In Ukraine and Syria, Russian forces are using high-tech equipment to jam drones and block battlefield communications -- and forcing the U.S. to scramble to catch up.

It comes at different times, and in different forms. But as they have charted the war in southeast Ukraine over the past year, drones flown by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have run into the same problem: Russian troops on the ground are jamming them into virtual blindness.

It’s just one part of a sophisticated Russian electronic warfare (EW) effort in Ukraine that has proved a sobering experience for the U.S. Army. Faced with how the newly modernized Russian army is operating in Ukraine and Syria — using equipment like the Krasukha-4, which jams radar and aircraft — American military officials are being forced to admit they’re scrambling to catch up.

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army units in Europe, has described Russian EW capabilities in Ukraine as “eye-watering.” Ronald Pontius, deputy to Army Cyber Command’s chief, Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, told a conference this month that “you can’t but come to the conclusion that we’re not making progress at the pace the threat demands.”

WNU Editor: You have to wonder if Russian jamming operations resulted in this .... U.S. Air Force Loses 2 Predator Drones In Iraq And Turkey.

U.S. Authority To Intercept Electronic Comunications Extended

Federal Power To Intercept Messages Is Extended -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval on Friday to a bill extending the government’s power to intercept electronic communications of spy and terrorism suspects, after the Senate voted down proposals from several Democrats and Republicans to increase protections of civil liberties and privacy.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 73 to 23, clearing it for approval by President Obama, who strongly supports it. Intelligence agencies said the bill was their highest legislative priority.

Critics of the bill, including Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon, a Democrat, and Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican, expressed concern that electronic surveillance, though directed at noncitizens, inevitably swept up communications of Americans as well.

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My Comment: When this Act was passed years ago by President Bush and a Republican Congress it was front page on the New York Times (as it should be). Now .... this story and this same bill is deeply buried in the New York Times that I only discovered accidentally today .... media bias .... nah.

Memo To All Intelligence Agencies: Take Notice

Quantum Hackers Use Lasers to Crack Powerful Encryption Without Leaving a Trace -- Popular Science

Quantum cryptography is one of the most secure known means of transmitting data, due to the fact that even if a third party does intercept a quantum signal, that interference changes the encryption key, making the tampering apparent to parties at both ends. But a handful of quantum hackers at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim recently performed successful hacks of two commercial quantum cryptographic systems -- and they did so without leaving a trace.

Read more ....

My Comment: If understanding how quantum communication, cryptography, and hacking works .... this article is for you.

Citing National Security, Blackberry Services To Be Suspended In the UAE And Saudi Arabia

BlackBerry Users In UAE, Saudi May Have Services Cut -- Yahoo News/Reuters

DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) – More than a million BlackBerry users may have key services in Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut off after authorities stepped up demands on smartphone maker Research In Motion for access to encrypted messages sent over the device.

BlackBerry's Messenger application has spread rapidly in the Gulf Arab region but because the data is encrypted and sent to offshore servers, it cannot be tracked locally.

Read more ....

More News On The UAE And Saudi Arabia Suspending Blackberry Services

UAE and Saudi Arabia ban instant messaging on BlackBerry mobile phones -- The Telegraph
UAE to Ban BlackBerry Services, Saudi Follows Suit -- ABC News
UAE to suspend BlackBerry services -- Financial Times
United Arab Emirates to block key features on BlackBerrys -- Washington Post
BlackBerry Challenges Set to Spread as Governments, RIM Collide -- Bloomberg
U.A.E. Is to Bar BlackBerry E-Mail Over Security Issues -- New York Times
Two Mideast countries to ban BlackBerry functions -- CNET
UAE restricts BlackBerry use -- L.A. Times
BlackBerry users in UAE see speech, business concerns -- FOX News

Big Brother Has Officially Arrived in England

(Photo From Legal Juice)

Government Will Spy On Every Call And E-Mail -- Times Online

Ministers are considering spending up to £12 billion on a database to monitor and store the internet browsing habits, e-mail and telephone records of everyone in Britain.

GCHQ, the government’s eavesdropping centre, has already been given up to £1 billion to finance the first stage of the project.

Hundreds of clandestine probes will be installed to monitor customers live on two of the country’s biggest internet and mobile phone providers - thought to be BT and Vodafone. BT has nearly 5m internet customers.

Ministers are braced for a backlash similar to the one caused by their ID cards programme. Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said: “Any suggestion of the government using existing powers to intercept communications data without public discussion is going to sound extremely sinister.”

My Comment: This is very depressing news. If George Orwell was alive today, he will be shaking his head.