(((I think Gordon Brown's govt is getting a bad press on its hapless computer security, but this latest episode is downright pathetic.)))
(((From SANS, and several dozen other sources who find themselves just kind of emptily staring at the train-wreck.)))
–Gordon Brown Aide's BlackBerry Stolen on China Trip
(July 20, 2008)
An aide to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown fell prey to a likely
"honeytrap" scheme in January when his BlackBerry phone was stolen after he brought a woman he met at a disco in China back to his hotel room.
The aide was accompanying the PM on the trip; he reported the device missing the next morning. Officials suspect the incident was orchestrated by Chinese intelligence. It was not disclosed whether the device held top-secret information, but even so, it could potentially be used to gain access to the Downing Street server. Blackberrys used by Downing Street staff are password-protected but most are not encrypted. The aide has been informally reprimanded.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4364353.ece
[Editor's Note (Ullrich): A nice reminder to leave electronic devices at home when traveling abroad. And if you are geek enough to take them, being all for sudden popular with women is a dead giveaway for an intelligence operation.
(Northcutt): Classic! If you know anyone going to the Olympics, please share this story with them and suggest they leave their laptops and other electronics at home. This will be a field day for Chinese intelligence gathering. They have been targeting people and are quite ready:
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article22984
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/24/asia/AS-GEN-China-Olympic-Intelligence.php
(Paller) Or take "travel-tops" and "travel-phones" that are throw-aways without sensitive data or access to sensitive systems. (((Yeah, especially if you're heading for the USA.)))
(((Rumors are rife that it was British Intelligence who spotted
Radovan Karadzic disguised as a New Age quantum guru. Man, we're hip-deep in the hall of mirrors of Spook Country, all of a sudden.)))
