Military Agents Spied On MILF Meeting In South RP

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Titan Rain - How Chinese Hackers Targeted Whitehall: The Guardian

Chinese hackers, some believed to be from the People's Liberation Army, have been attacking the computer networks of British government departments, the Guardian has learned.

The attackers have hit the network at the Foreign Office as well as those in other key departments, according to Whitehall officials.

The Ministry of Defence declined yesterday to say whether it had been hit. An incident last year that shut down part of the House of Commons computer system, initially believed to be by an individual, was discovered to be the work of an organised Chinese hacking group, officials said.

Security and defence officials are coy about what they know of specific attacks. However, they say several Whitehall departments have fallen victim to China's cyberwarriors. One expert described it as a "constant ongoing problem".

The disclosures came after reports that the Chinese military had hacked into a Pentagon military computer network in June. The Financial Times said American officials called it the most successful cyber attack on the US defence department.

Defence department officials confirmed that there had been a "detected penetration" of elements of the email system used by the network serving the office of Robert Gates, the US defence secretary.

US officials were reported to have said that an investigation had discovered that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was responsible.

The US gave the codename "Titan Rain" to the growing number of Chinese attacks, notably directed at the Pentagon but also hitting other US government departments, over the past few years.

The latest attack caused some minor administrative disruptions, but there had been no adverse impact on operations, an official said.

Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, is reported to have raised the issue of Chinese attacks on her government's computers during a visit to Beijing. Officials here declined to say whether the British government had raised the issue with the Chinese authorities.

Alex Neill, China expert and head of the Asia Security Programme at the Royal United Services Institute, Rusi, said cyber attacks by the Chinese had been going on for at least four years. He described the reported attack on the Pentagon as the "most flagrant and brazen to date".

He said such attacks reflected a new doctrine of the PLA described as "pressure point warfare" - the attacking of specific nodes to leave the adversary paralysed.

The incidents should be seen against the background of the forthcoming 17th Chinese Communist party congress, which could determine the next generation of leaders, and the PLA keen to flex its muscles, Mr Neill suggested.

The attacks on the Pentagon's computer system were described by Dr Sandra Bell, head of Rusi's homeland security department, as "very much a wake-up call". She added: "The Chinese see no difference between asymmetric warfare and conventional warfare".

Analysts have argued over the seriousness of the attacks, and China has officially denied responsibility. However, the latest attack was said by officials and analysts yesterday to be the most serious discovered so far.

Responsibility for advising government departments on how to protect their networks rests with MI5, GCHQ, and the Centre for the Protection of the National Infrastructure in the Cabinet Office.(Richard Norton-Taylor/The Guardian)

We Are Listening...

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 21 Jun) – The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno on Thursday criticized a government proposal for telephone and mobile communication firms to record all voice calls and text messages made by their owners in the Philippines.

It said the proposal made by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is an assault on the right to private communication.

It said an NTC order which is supposed to take effect next month requires all telephone and mobile phone companies to keep a log of all land line calls up to two months and four months for mobile phone communications.”

“This one order makes all the laws protecting private communication obsolete. Doctor-patient private communication privileges are thrown down the sewer; lawyer-client confidentiality also becomes a victim of this order and even journalists and their private sources for news are now exposed."

"Intimate communication between husband and wives are open for scrutiny,” Elmer Labog, chairman of the KMU, said in a statement sent to the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

But the NTC said that only the time, dates and length of calls will be recorded and not actual conversations. The proposal would only be used for billing complaints of consumers.

The Philippine police have praised the proposal, saying, it would help in fighting terrorism and criminal syndicates.

Labog said the NTC proposal would only serve as a legal blanket for eavesdropping and end up targeting government critics and political groups opposed to President Gloria Arroyo’s rule.

“Even before this order, the tapping of phone conversations of private individuals has become a staple for the intelligence units of the military and police and court order have never been a hindrance to them continuing such surveillance,” Labog said.

He said his group is coordinating with consumer advocacy groups like TxtPower on how to fight this order.

“We are also calling on all Filipinos who value their privacy to oppose this,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Mastermind In Kidnap Or Italian Priest Still With MILF

An undated photo of a United States Navy Orion spy plane flying over Zamboanga Peninsula in the southern Philippines. The U.S deploys an Orion aircraft, also known as electronic warfare prowler jet, to help Philippine authorities track down an Italian missioner Giancarlo Bossi, who was kidnapped by rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, possibly with ties to the Abu Sayyaf group linked to al-Qaeda. Below, a fleet of Orion planes stationed in Mactan Air Base in central Philippines, in this photo taken in 2006, from the archives of the Zamboanga Journal Online News. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / 14 Jun) – The mastermind in the kidnapping of an Italian priest in the southern Philippines may still be connected with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Philippine authorities tagged a rogue MILF leader Akiddin Abdusallam and his brother Waning Abdusallam, in the kidnapping June 10 of Fr. Giancarlo Bossi in Payao town in Zamboanga Sibugay province.

Rebel leaders initially denied the charges and blamed the Abu Sayyaf in the kidnapping, but the group’s deputy chief, Ghazali Jaafar, on Thursday said the chief kidnapper appears to be still a member of the MILF.

“Akiddin Abbusallam appears to be an MILF member up to this time,” said Jaafar, the MILF deputy chief for political affairs.

But Jaafar was quick to say that Abdusallam may also be innocent of all accusations against him.

“As far as we know, those who abducted the priest are notorious personalities involved in previous kidnappings (for ransom) in Pagadian City and Zamboanga City and in (Zamboanga) Sibugay,” Jaafar said. “They operate on their own and we cannot say if they have links or members of the Abu Sayyaf group.”

Jaafar said they have three suspects in the kidnapping of Bossi, but could not divulge them publicly, saying, it could jeopardize efforts to free the missioner.

Maj. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito, commander of the Army’s First Infantry Division, said Abdussalam has denied any involvement in the kidnapping.

Pajarito said: “Akiddin Abdusallam has denied any involvement in the kidnapping of the Italian priest. Fr. Bossi. He said he has no participation in the kidnapping. Authorities are investigating this claim.”

Police said Abdusallam is the deputy commander the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the military wing of the MILF, operating in the province. He was previously reported to have died in a clash with troops, but it turned that he is alive.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu and chief rebel peace negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal, both said that Abdusallam, who was a former leader of the Moro National Liberation Front, had long ceased to be a member of their group, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila.

For his part, Jaafar said the MILF is helping Filipino authorities track down the kidnappers and their hostage in Zamboanga Sibugay province.

Catholic priests are also seeking contact with the kidnappers in an effort to secure the freedom of Bossi, who was seized after celebrating mass in the remote village of Bulawan.

The Philippines also sought the deployment of a U.S. EP-3 Orion reconnaissance aircraft, also known as electronic warfare prowler jets, to help ground forces trace the kidnappers.

The Philippine and U.S. forces previously used the spy plane, capable of carrying missiles, to hunt down Abu Sayyaf militants who kidnapped three American citizens in 2001 in Mindanao.

Reconnaissance aircraft routinely flies over Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago presumably to spot Abu Sayyaf positions. U.S. forces, on the request of the Philippine government, are helping Filipino soldiers in the campaign by providing satellite snapshots of the area of operation. (With a report from Mark Navales)

AFP Walang Kinalaman Sa Burgos Case, Aquino Spying: Esperon

MANILA – Mariin ang pagpalag ngayon ni Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. sa pagtatrato sa militar bilang suspek sa pagkawala ng anak ng publisher na si Jonas Burgos.

Kasabay nito ang depensa ni Esperon sa nabigong pagharap nina Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) Chief Major General Delfin Banguit at AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence Commodore Leonardo Calderon sa pagdinig ng Commission on Human Rights (CHR) kanina.

Iginiit ng heneral na maling idiin ang AFP sa naturang insidente gayung kahit na gisahin pa sila ay hindi rin ito makakatulong para mapalutang ang batang Burgos.

"I do not think that is the correct way of putting things, we can certainly help by looking into the matter and probably gather more information, but it would be off tangent to be alleging that the military is the suspect," ani Esperon sa pahayagang Mindanao Examiner.

"I don't think we can contribute to the solution of the problem by being called and grilled and appear, and look like suspects," dagdag nito.

Bukod dito, ikinatwiran ni Esperon na wala ring ipinadalang pormal na imbitasyon ang CHR sa AFP at hindi rin nakipag-ugnayan sa CHR office sa militar.

Naninindigan ang AFP Chief na walang kinalaman ang militar sa nangyari kay Burgos dahil hindi ito ang uri ng operasyon na kanilang isinasakatuparan.

Ibinintang rin sa AFP ang umano’y pange-espiya sa dating Pangulong Corazon Aquino matapos na matagpuan ang isang bugging device sa linya ng telepono nito sa labas lamang ng kanilang bahay sa Quezon City.

Bagamat inamin ni AFP Public Information Office (PIO) Chief Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro na may kapabilidad ang militar na magsagawa ng surveillance operations, hindi nito pag-aaksayahan ng panahon na ilegal na tiktikan ang dating Presidente.

Maaaring kagagawan aniya ng ibang grupo na may sariling interes ang naturang hakbang.

Sinabi ni Bacarro na may basbas o kautusan ng hukuman sakaling magsagawa man ng paniniktik ang AFP.

"Definitely there are court orders allowing us to do that then we will do that, but of course ma-satisfy 'yung requirements, justified kung ano purpose ng paggamit nang ganung capability," ani Bacarro.

Naniniwala si Bacarro na sa kasalukuyang makabagong teknolohiya, simple na lang at madaling isakatuparan ang wiretapping.

"If you get another telephone, attach it to the line, anybody can do it, you can use another telephone as a listening device, it's just parang extension, ganun ang concept nun," ani Bacarro.

Gayunman, walang balak ang AFP na magsagawa ng imbestigasyon hinggil sa nadiskubreng wiretapping device sa mga Aquino.

Inaasahan na rin ng militar na palagiang mapagbintangan ang AFP bilang suspek sa paniniktik.
"Some groups will take advantage of hitting the Armed Forces of the Philippines again, we would be the easiest excuse or the way out definitely merong mga pointing fingers na naman dyan," dagdag ng opisyal. (Juley Reyes)