Spying

• Britain's cyberspying chief warned on Wednesday that artificial intelligence has become an "unstoppable force" currently being weaponized by adversaries. • The official highlighted that AI is being used to conduct operations that fall just short of traditional warfare, specifically citing threats from Russia. • This warning underscores the growing risk of AI-driven cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns that can destabilize national security without triggering a formal military conflict.

William Majcher was accused of helping Chinese police coerce a Vancouver-area real estate investor, accused of fraud, to return to ChinaA retired police officer Canada accused of being an agent for China has been acquitted of national security charges after prosecutors failed to prove he acted illegally.William Majcher, who served in the RCMP’s financial crime unit, was charged in 2023 over allegations he had breached Canada’s Security of Information Act by helping Chinese police coerce a Vancouver-area real estate investor, accused of fraud, to return to China. Continue reading...

Chi Leung Wai and Chung Biu Yuen convicted over surveillance of dissidents in ‘shadow policing’ operationA UK Border Force officer and Hong Kong trade official based in London have been found guilty of spying for China and surveilling dissidents through a “shadow policing” operation.Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 38, and Chung Biu Yuen, 65, also known as Bill, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of assisting a foreign intelligence service, making them the first people in British history to be convicted of spying for China. Continue reading...

Austrian foreign minister says ‘forest of antennae’ at mission in Vienna being used for illicit collection of dataAustria has expelled three Russian embassy staff on suspicion of spying after determining that a “forest of antennae” on the diplomatic mission in Vienna, Europe’s espionage capital since the cold war, was being be used for illicit data collection.“It is unacceptable that diplomatic immunity be used to commit espionage,” Austria’s foreign minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, said on Monday. She added that the three embassy staff – whose expulsions bring the number of Russian diplomats sent home by Vienna to 14 since 2020 – had already left the country. Continue reading...

Lawmakers agree 45-day extension but Republican and Democratic critics urge reform of surveillance programThe US Congress has passed a 45-day extension of a law that grants US intelligence agencies warrantless spying powers.Bitter infighting over section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in the Republican wing of Congress has repeatedly tanked conservative leaders’ plans to renew the controversial surveillance law for multiple years. The deadlock continued on Thursday, as the Republican House speaker Mike Johnson refused to include key reforms pushed by hardliners in his party and progressive Democrats. Continue reading...

Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, and Alireza Farasati, 22, arrested after counter-terrorism investigationTwo men have been charged with spying for Iran over alleged surveillance of the Jewish community in London, police said.Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual British-Iranian national, and Alireza Farasati, 22, an Iranian national, have been charged with engaging in contact that is likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 9 July 2025 and 15 August 2025, contrary to section 3 of the National Security Act 2023. Continue reading...