AP: Defense workers warned about spy coins

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: bobr () bobrosenberg phoenix az us
Date: January 11, 2007 12:54:40 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
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
bob () bobrosenberg phoenix az us


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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