Re: Russian diplomats lingering near fiber optic cables

[Brandon Vincent <Brandon.Vincent () asu edu>]

DO NOT ANCHOR OR DREDGE is a pretty good indicator.

On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 11:05 AM, Jared Mauch <jared () puck nether net> wrote:
> > On Jun 1, 2017, at 2:02 PM, Sean Donelan <sean () donelan com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > There must be a perfectly logical explanation....  Yes, people in the industry know where the choke points are. But 
> > the choke points aren't always the most obvious places. Its kinda a weird for diplomats to show up there.
> >
> > On the other hand, I've been a fiber optic tourist.  I've visited many critical choke points in the USA and other 
> > countries, and even took selfies :-)
> >
> >
> > http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/01/russia-spies-espionage-trump-239003
> >
> > In the throes of the 2016 campaign, the FBI found itself with an escalating problem: Russian diplomats, whose travel 
> > was supposed to be tracked by the State Department, were going missing.
> >
> > The diplomats, widely assumed to be intelligence operatives, would eventually turn up in odd places, often in 
> > middle-of-nowhere USA. One was found on a beach, nowhere near where he was supposed to be. In one particularly 
> > bizarre case, relayed by a U.S. intelligence official, another turned up wandering around in the middle of the 
> > desert. Interestingly, both seemed to be lingering where underground fiber-optic cables tend to run.
> >
> > According to another U.S. intelligence official, “They find these guys driving around in circles in Kansas. It’s a 
> > pretty aggressive effort.”
> >
> > It’s a trend that has led intelligence officials to conclude that the Kremlin is waging a quiet effort to map the 
> > United States’ telecommunications infrastructure, perhaps preparing for an opportunity to disrupt it.
>
> Seems it would be easier to just pay for a subscription to a service like FiberLocator or similar.
>
> They could just dial 811 as well and request the locates happen.
>
> - Jared