AP: Defense workers warned about spy coins

Begin forwarded message:

From: [email protected]
Date: January 11, 2007 12:54:40 AM EST
To: [email protected]
Subject: AP: Defense workers warned about spy coins

Dave

Speaking of RFID's... or....

Any IPer's have coins in their pockets?

Bob Rosenberg
P.O. Box 33023
Phoenix, AZ  85067-3023
Mobile:  602-206-2856
LandLine:  602-274-3012
[email protected]


  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=20=20
Defense Department
is warning its American contractor employees about a new espionage=20=20
threat seemingly
straight from Hollywood: It discovered Canadian coins with tiny radio=20=20
frequency
transmitters hidden inside.

In a U.S. government report, it said the mysterious coins were found=20=20
planted on U.S.
contractors with classified security clearances on at least three=20=20
separate occasions
between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled=20=20
through Canada.

The U.S. report doesn't suggest who might be tracking American=20=20
defense contractors
or why. It also doesn't describe how the Pentagon discovered the=20=20
ruse, how the
transmitters might function or even which Canadian currency contained=20=20
them.

Further details were secret, according to the U.S. Defense Security=20=20
Service, which
issued the warning to the Pentagon's classified contractors. The=20=20
government insists
the incidents happened, and the risk was genuine.

"What's in the report is true," said Martha Deutscher, a spokeswoman=20=20
for the
security service. "This is indeed a sanitized version, which leaves a=20=20
lot of
questions."

Top suspects, according to intelligence and technology experts:=20=20
China, Russia or
even France =97 all said to actively run espionage operations inside=20=20
Canada with
enough sophistication to produce such technology.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it knew nothing about=20=20
the coins.

"This issue has just come to our attention," CSIS spokeswoman Barbara=20=20
Campion said.
"At this point, we don't know of any basis for these claims." She=20=20
said Canada's
intelligence service works closely with its U.S. counterparts and=20=20
will seek more
information if necessary.

Experts were astonished about the disclosure and the novel tracking=20=20
technique, but
they quickly rejected suggestions Canada's government might be spying=20=20
on American
contractors. The intelligence services of the two countries are=20=20
extraordinarily
close and routinely share sensitive secrets.

"It would seem unthinkable," said David Harris, former chief of=20=20
strategic planning
for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "I wouldn't expect to=20=20
see any
offensive operation against the Americans."

Harris said likely candidates include foreign spies who targeted=20=20
Americans abroad or
businesses engaged in corporate espionage. "There are certainly a lot=20=20
of mysterious
aspects to this," Harris said.

Experts said such tiny transmitters would almost certainly have=20=20
limited range to
communicate with sensors no more than a few feet away, such as ones=20=20
hidden inside a
doorway.

"I'm not aware of any (transmitter) that would fit inside a coin and=20=20
broadcast for
kilometers," said Katherine Albrecht, an activist who believes such=20=20
technology
carries serious privacy risks. "Whoever did this obviously has access=20=20
to some pretty
advanced technology."

Experts said hiding tracking technology inside coins is fraught with=20=20
risks because
the spy's target might inadvertently give away the coin or spend it=20=20
buying coffee or
a newspaper.

They agreed, however, that a coin with a hidden tracking device might=20=20
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;=20=20
you'd want to put
it in something that wouldn't be left behind or spent," said Jeff=20=20
Richelson, a
researcher and author of books about the CIA and its gadgets. "It=20=20
doesn't seem to
make a whole lot of sense."

Canada's physically largest coins include its $2 "Toonie," which is=20=20
more than 1-inch
across and thick enough to hide a tiny transmitter. The CIA has=20=20
acknowledged its own
spies have used hollow, U.S. silver-dollar coins to hide messages and=20=20
film.

The government's 29-page report was filled with other espionage=20=20
warnings. It
described unrelated hacker attacks, eavesdropping with miniature pen=20=20
recorders and
the case of a female foreign spy who seduced her American boyfriend=20=20
to steal his
computer passwords.

In another case, a film processing company called the FBI after it=20=20
developed
pictures for a contractor that contained classified images of U.S.=20=20
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/=20
dollar.htm

Copyright =A9 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The=20=20
information
contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast,=20=20
rewritten or
redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated=20=20
Press.
Copyright =A9 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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