Latest news with #CounterIntelligence
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Norway spy chief blames Russian hackers for dam sabotage in April
ARENDAL, Norway, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Russian hackers briefly took control of a dam in Norway earlier this year, the head of the Nordic country's counter-intelligence agency said on Wednesday, the first time Oslo has officially attributed the cyberattack to its neighbour. While in command of the dam in Bremanger, western Norway, on April 7, the hackers opened a flood gate and released 500 litres (132 gallons) of water per second for four hours before the attack was detected and stopped, authorities previously said. No one was injured during the attack. Norway produces most of its electricity via hydropower dams and intelligence authorities have previously warned of the risk of attacks on its energy infrastructure. "Over the past year, we have seen a change in activity from pro-Russian cyber actors," Beate Gangaas, head of Norway's PST security police agency, said in a speech. The incident at Bremanger was one such activity, Gangaas added. "The aim of this type of operation is to influence and to cause fear and chaos among the general population," she said. "Our Russian neighbour has become more dangerous." The Russian embassy in Oslo did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Last September, Britain's spy chief accused Russia of waging a "staggeringly reckless campaign" of sabotage in Europe, partly to scare European countries from helping Ukraine. Moscow denies this is true. After her speech, Gangaas told Reuters that she was going public with the attribution to warn the general population and to try to prevent Russia launching further attacks. "I want Norwegians to be prepared," she said in an interview. NATO-member Norway shares a border with Russia in the Arctic. Like the other Nordic countries, it is a staunch supporter of Ukraine. It is also Europe's largest supplier of gas, which is mostly transported via a network of pipelines under the North Sea.
Deccan Herald
4 days ago
- Deccan Herald
Five arrested as Punjab Police dismantle ISI-linked Babbar Khalsa network
In a major breakthrough against #Pakistan 's ISI-backed terror network, Counter Intelligence, #Jalandhar, in a joint operation with @SBSNagarPolice busts a #BKI terror network operated by foreign-based handlers Mannu Agwan, Gopi Nawashehria and Zeeshan Akhtar on the directions of…
Hans India
29-07-2025
- Hans India
Pak-smuggler's operative held with five pistols in Amritsar
Chandigarh: The Counter Intelligence (CI) team of Amritsar has busted a cross-border arms smuggling module with the arrest of one of its operatives working under the directions of a Pakistan-based smuggler, said Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday. The arrested person has been identified as Bharatpreet Singh, a resident of Marhi Megha village in Tarn Taran district. Police teams have recovered five sophisticated pistols, two 9 MM, two .30 bore and one .32 bore, from his possession, besides impounding his motorcycle being used for transporting the consignments. DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the arrested accused person, along with his two other associates, was acting upon the directions of Pakistan-based smuggler, who has been using drones to drop weapon consignments from across the border. The arrested accused was further supplying arms to criminals and gangsters in Punjab to fuel criminal activities in the state, he said. Sharing operation details, the DGP said that teams of Counter Intelligence Amritsar received specific intelligence about the retrieval of weapons consignments from the India-Pakistan border area falling near Daliri village in Tarn Taran. Acting swiftly, police teams have intercepted suspect Bharatpreet Singh from Ibban village in Amritsar, when he was going to deliver the consignment to some party, and recovered illegal weapons from his possession, he added. Further investigations are underway to uncover the network's backward and forward linkages. A case was registered on Monday under the Arms Act and various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Police Station State Special Operation Cell in Amritsar. Last week, Punjab Police's Counter Intelligence (CI) Amritsar busted a cross-border illegal arms smuggling module with links to Pakistan and arrested one of its operatives after recovering ten .30 bore sophisticated pistols along with magazines from his possession, said Director General of Police Yadav here on Thursday.
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Afghan data breach: Just how bad is it for MI6 and SAS?
On the face of it, the Afghan data breach is very bad indeed. It is arguably the worst leak of secret UK government names since the former MI6 officer Richard Tomlinson went rogue and published a list online containing dozens of names of MI6 officers in a case officer in the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), having your name and details outed in public is potentially a career-killer. That said, names can be changed, forged or disguised. What cannot be is biometric data - something increasingly used in counter-intelligence to uncover and catch spies - and there is no indication so far that UK officers have had this data leaked as well. For serving and former members of the highly secretive Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS), leaks like this one can, in theory, expose them to the risk of threat to life, given the lethal, covert operations some will have taken part in that may have involved the deaths or capture of individuals. The physical risk resulting from this leak to those members of UK Special Forces whose names were on the leaked dataset is judged to be minimal. Those who face the greatest risk are Afghans still in revelation that, in addition to the thousands of leaked names and details of potentially vulnerable Afghans, there are 100 or more involving British operatives is certainly shocking. But this "unauthorised data breach" was - belatedly - discovered as far back as August 2023. So that has given the UK intelligence and special forces communities nearly two years in which to come up with ways to mitigate this disaster and adopt whatever protective measures they can, for both Afghans and Brits on the leaked dataset. Amongst the worse-case scenarios that MI6 in particular will have had to consider is that Russia, China, Iran or even North Korea may now also be in possession of those leaked names. It is a fair assumption to make that the Taliban's intelligence apparatus would have had little interest in the names of long-departed British soldiers and spies. But they would be canny enough to work out who would be interested: the UK's global now, those who have most to fear are the 600 former Afghan government soldiers and their estimated 1,800 relatives who are still in Afghanistan. Whatever routes out were being suggested to them will have now been compromised and the publicity surrounding this whole story will have inevitably re-energised some of the more fanatical members of the Taliban to hunt down those on the list and exact what they perceive as rightful vengeance for treachery during the 20 years when they were out of power.
Hans India
06-06-2025
- Hans India
Punjab Police arrests two for cross-border arms smuggling; eight weapons seized
In a major breakthrough, Punjab Police's Counter Intelligence of Amritsar apprehended two people, Sukhchain Singh and Jugraj Singh, who were actively involved in cross-border arms smuggling and recovered eight weapons, police said on Friday. Director General of Police, Gaurav Yadav, said that acting on specific Intelligence, these operatives were intercepted while transporting a consignment of illegal arms from Pakistan-based smuggler Noor. The DGP wrote on social media handle X that three Glock 9mm pistols, four Px5 pistols and one .30 bore pistol were seized. "A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered in Amritsar. Further investigation is underway to identify additional handlers and unearth the full extent of this smuggling network," the DGP added. In another crackdown a day earlier on cross-border drug smuggling networks, Amritsar Commissionerate Police busted two international narco-trafficking cartels with the arrest of its six drug smugglers, including a woman, and recovered four kg heroin. DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that one module is operated by arrested accused Sevenbir, who is in direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers. The latter received heroin consignments and operated under the guise of livestock trade, he said. The DGP added that one of the arrested accused, Jasbir Kaur, is linked to the cartel of the infamous smuggler Ranjeet, alias Cheeta, and maintained contact with smugglers in India and across the border. In one more major breakthrough on Thursday, the police dismantled a cross-border weapon smuggling module with links to Pakistan and arrested two of its operatives after recovering six highly sophisticated pistols. The accused have been identified as Surajpal Singh and Arshdeep Singh. DGP Yadav said that accused Surajpal Singh was in direct contact with Pakistan-based handlers identified as Rana and Sikander, who were using drones to drop consignments of arms and ammunition.
