With a Little Stealth, Just About Anyone Can Get Phone Records

It is not clear how widespread pretexting is, but its perpetrators appear to be mostly private investigators, seeking information for clients involved in divorces or other civil disputes. Hewlett-Packard used investigators to try to ferret out which company directors had leaked information to reporters.

Walt Sharp, a spokesman for AT&T, said AT&T determined that over the last year, records of some 2,500 customers could have been compromised.

HP memo: We will take the necessary action

On Friday, Mark Hurd, president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard and a member of its board of directors, sent the following memo to the company's employees. The memo stresses that leaking information to the media is a problem that must and will be resolved.

Oh, the irony.

HP probe snared a third News.com reporter

An HP spokesman said reporter Stephen Shankland's records were targeted by a subcontractor working for a private investigator hired by the company. Shankland was a contributing reporter on a Jan. 23 article about a long-term board planning session that apparently angered HP Chairman Patricia Dunn, who launched the investigation.

The co-authors of that Jan. 23 News.com article, Dawn Kawamoto and Tom Krazit, were told Thursday by the California attorney general's office that their phone records were also accessed using a controversial method called "pretexting," where someone poses as a telephone subscriber to gain access to that subscriber's records.

The personal phone records of six other reporters, including Pui-Wing Tam and George Anders of The Wall Street Journal and John Markoff of The New York Times, were also targeted by HP's investigators. Friday afternoon, BusinessWeek reported on its Web site that the phone records of three of its reporters, Peter Burrows, Ben Elgin and Roger Crockett, were also targeted.

Also on Friday, Dunn apologized to Kawamoto and Krazit, and said she first learned two days earlier that reporters' records were pretexted. Nonetheless, Dunn still defended the need for HP's investigation.

H.P. Chairwoman Aims Not to Be the Scapegoat

At a board meeting on Sunday, the underlying theme is whether Patricia Dunn should remain as chairwoman. Dunn is the daughter of a vaudeville actor and a Las Vegas showgirl.

"This is not a job I asked for or a job that I particularly wanted," she said.

That sounds a lot like a taunt. She seems to be telling the board, I beg you to fire me!

Ms. Dunn said Friday that she felt that a personal dispute was at the center of the storm. "Tom is a powerful man with friends in powerful places," she said. "This brouhaha is the result of his anger toward me. He is winning the p.r. war."

"He was the most hawkish member of the board for finding the leaker," she added. "He wanted us to bring in lie detectors."

And fire him, too, while you're at it! I can't stand him!

HP Pretexting Scandal - Updates

On August 22, a few hours before Iran delivered its response to the UN about its nuclear program, an Iranian warship fired on a Romanian oil rig and seized it. The New York Sun reports:

An Iranian naval vessel fired on the rig, named Orizont, owned by Grup Servicii Petroliere in Iran's offshore Salman field and took control of its radio room at about 7 a.m. local time, Grup's representative in the United Arab Emirates, Lulu Tabanesku, said in a phone interview from Dubai yesterday. "The Iranians fired at the rig's crane with machine guns," Mr. Tabanesku said. "They are in control now, and we can't contact the rig." The Romanian company has 26 workers on the platform, he said.

Although the Romanians are working to defuse the situation and have reportedly agreed that the incident was "of a commercial nature," there is much more to the seizure than that. Iran has engaged in a number of provocative moves lately, and this incident must be seen as part of a broader picture.

Counterterrorism Blog: Storming of Romanian Oil Rig Continues Iran's Provocative Actions

Via ABC News:

There is new evidence that North Korea may be preparing for an underground test of a nuclear bomb, U.S. officials told ABC News.

"It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility," said a senior State Department official.

A senior military official told ABC News that a U.S. intelligence agency has recently observed "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected North Korean test site.

The activity includes the unloading of large reels of cable outside P'unggye-yok, an underground facility in northeast North Korea. Cables can be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside observation equipment. The intelligence was brought to the attention of the White House last week.

And it's having an effect on the markets according to Bloomberg:

The yen approached a record low against the euro on reports North Korea may be preparing an underground test for a nuclear bomb.

"Security concern over North Korea's possible nuclear test prompted yen-selling," said Yuji Saito, a senior currency dealer in Tokyo at Societe Generale SA. "If tensions continue, this will push down the yen further."

"It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility," ABC quoted a senior State Department official as saying.

However, NIS is playing it down:

South Korea said Friday it has no clear evidence that communist North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test, responding to a news report citing a U.S. official saying intelligence showed possible signs of an upcoming test.

"I haven't heard that we have confirmed clear evidence that North Korea is pursuing a nuclear test," Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok told lawmakers at a committee hearing.

Or is it?

The United States and South Korea "share all intelligence and evaluations" related to North Korean movements, Lee told The Associated Press.

"We cannot specifically confirm the report as it is an intelligence matter," a spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

And then, there is always Tuesday. But don't take anything too seriously, otherwise you will be stuck making awkward jokes where the punch-lines all have something to do with the end of history and global ideological insanity.

Decius wrote (re):

Pro war monks?

What the hell is this world coming to?

noteworthy wrote:

How about feminist supporters of Hezbollah?

This is a friendly reminder that the end of the world is currently scheduled for August 22nd. Be there or be square! RSVP!

RE: Pro-war Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka?

The war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has exposed deep rifts between Iran and Syria on the one hand and the conservative and America-friendly regimes in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt on the other. This was dramatically underlined by Saudi Arabia’s unusually tough stance against Hezbollah at the outset of the conflict

It is well-known that amongst the West’s allies in the region, it is only the Saudis who can openly criticize American policy without risking their ties to Washington. Therefore, the fact they chose to unequivocally chastise Hezbollah (knowing full well what effect this will have on pro-Hezbollah public opinion in the Arab world) speaks volumes about growing Saudi desperation.

The Saudi stance against Hezbollah has less to do with fears of Iran’s growing geopolitical weight, than a demoralised reaction to the failure of its foreign policy in Lebanon. However, by choosing to side with Washington and Tel Aviv, the House of Saud risks deepening the dynamics that generate divisions and dissent in the Kingdom.

Already its controversial stance against Hezbollah has divided opinion in the Kingdom. The most important dissenter is Sheikh Salman al-Auda, a former Salafi hardliner, who has come out in support of Hezbollah. More broadly, there is significant grassroots support for Hezbollah, which is seen (as it is seen in other Arab countries) as the only effective tool against Israeli hegemony.

In the final analysis, the Lebanon war has not only imperilled 15 years of Saudi investments, but once again exposed the limitations of the Kingdom’s foreign policy. More ominously for the al-Saud, it has sharply divided opinion in the country and further discredited the official Wahabi Ulema. This is bound to undermine the regime’s security and create new forms of challenges and dissent long after the fighting stops in Lebanon.

I'd like to hear more about the effects of the current conflict on the internals of Saudi Arabia. I'd also like to hear some high level analysis on the political situation in Jordan, if any.

This next week is the time to start filling in question marks presented within the region. If America turns on the TV, and just hears vacant punditry all week, I'm going to be disappointed. Large chunks of the layout are still in question. If we hit the point of reiteration come monday, the US media has failed to bring the big picture in view, beyond pointing the obvious finger at Iran.

When pondering the current situation.. I have trouble envisioning September absent of a radically different layout in the Middle East.

At the very least, we have entered the post-nation-state era... Too many hyphens? New world order? I don't think that's what anyone was thinking...

No World Order? Two letters off, not bad.. And all the conspiracy theorists thought there would be some one-world-government thing going on. Common.. We can't even build a peacekeeping force.. Or a peace for it to keep!

SaudiDebate.com - Saudis mull losses in Lebanon as bid for influence is shattered

I might be completely crazy, but this kinda sounds like fun to me..

At 3 a.m. I get the call. Shortly after, I meet the man in the lobby. I'd been expecting an ex-Green Beret -- somebody with a thick neck, steel grey eyes, a tattoo saying "He Who Dares Wins," an aged Dolph Lundgren type, all business and mysterious past. We're expecting a midnight drive in a flatbed truck, maybe hidden under a tarp. Bribes at the border. A next-day rendezvous with a blacked-out helicopter. The man I meet is a short, nebbishy type -- he looks like someone you'd meet at an office supply convention. He has two cars out front -- his, and another driven by a woman associate. We load out quickly and race through empty streets, blowing through traffic lights -- no directionals, last-minute turns -- to the other side of town, to Le Royale, a mammoth hotel on a hill in the Christian section, fairly close to the American embassy. This, as it turns out, will be our home for the next week.

Nearly a week later, they've brought in a polka band to play in the dining room of the "Mexican"-themed restaurant at Le Royale. Outside, on the pool deck, though the bar is unattended, they keep the radio cranked up to drown out the sounds of bombing -- so as not to scare the kiddies. We wake up to molar-vibrating percussions and go to sleep to distant thunder. Afternoons, we watch as Beirut is dismantled. Bit by bit. First the sound of unseen jets flying overhead. Then silence. Then a "Boom!" Then a distant plume of smoke. Black, brown, white ... the whole city south of us slowly growing more indistinct in the midday light under a constant, smoglike haze.

It's called "Kwik-Clot," Mr. Wolfe tells us. And in case of arterial bleeding, it's essential gear. He's thinking of issuing us some -- in case one of us should catch a bullet or shrapnel to the femoral artery. Mr. Wolfe has lived in Fucked-Up Country One and done work in Fucked-Up Countries Two and Three. He lives in the Most Legendarily Fucked-Up area of Lebanon -- where they have a Hezbollah gift shop, for chrissakes. So we take him seriously -- though this is not the kind of morale-boosting patter we want to hear. "Just pour in wound!" he tells us cheerily. It's not, however, that harsh a segue from the "Know Your Exits" lecture, in which we are advised to "casually" explore all the nooks and crannies and "avenues of egress" from all points in the hotel.

Or the "Vary Your Routines" briefing, where we are instructed to use a different elevator or service stairway when going to breakfast or meetings or heading to the pool. We are to eat, drink, swim at unpredictable times as we wait for news. "It takes three days of planning and surveillance to set up a kidnapping" says Mr. Wolfe, lowering his voice suddenly when a lone gentleman in casual clothes enters our area of the balcony and sits at a nearby table. "Amateur," says Mr. Wolfe. "Look at how he's got his face pointed straight out at sea, his... [ Read More (0.2k in body) ]

Watching Beirut die | Salon Life

Remember Iran, it's nuke program, and that incentive package?

Iran said on Sunday it would stop considering international incentives aimed at ending its uranium enrichment program if the U.N. Security Council passes a resolution against its atomic work.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also warned a resolution against Iran would create what he called a deeper crisis in the Middle East, but he declined to be more specific.

Asefi said Iran could still reply to the incentives, if the Security Council held its fire.

"We still believe in talks and if Europeans can wait until August 22, they will get an answer to the package," he said.

And what exactly will that answer be? And why the 22nd? Quick, put on your over reaction glasses, and prepare yourself for Apocalypse Iran...

According to the Shiite Muslim tradition, of which Ahmadinejad is a strong follower, the 12th imam, or the so-called “hidden” Imam Mahdi, has miraculously been kept alive since his disappearance in 874 AD.

The revered Imam is set to return at a time of great global chaos, war and bloodshed, after which an era of Islamic justice will be ushered in.

Some believe that Imam Mahdi will be returning some time this August, also the time some military experts predict that Iran will be ready to construct its first nuclear weapon.

Also important to note is that fact that August 22 of the current year also corresponds with the Islamic date of Rajab 28. This day is the same day on which the great Saladin conquered and entered Jerusalem, further evidence of Ahmadinejad’s belief in the regional importance of the date chosen by him to report to the West.

Apparently, Ahmadinejad sees himself as an instrument to pave the way for the arrival of Imam Mahdi as well as an important successor to Saladin in terms of the liberation of Jerusalem. He has reportedly used public appearances on a number of occasions to make clear his confidence that he and other true believers can affect the apocalyptic timetable, urging Iranians to prepare to back him in the momentous endeavor at hand.

Wait, there's more...

Farid Ghadry, the president of the Reform Party of Syria, has offered a provocative explanation for this delay. He asserts that the Supreme National Security Council of Iran chose the August 22 date “for a very precise reason. August 21, 2006 (Rajab 27, 1427) is known in the Islamic calendar as the Night of the Sira’a and Miira’aj, the night Prophet Mohammed (saas) ascended to heaven from the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on a Bourak (Half animal, half man), while a great light lit-up the nigh... [ Read More (0.2k in body) ]

Here is an article round up from Haaretz, one of Israel's leading newspapers. Let's start with Hamas's reaction to the Qana bombing, echoed from Reuters:

"In the face of this open war against the Arab and Muslim nations all options are open, including striking the depth of the Zionist entity," Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas lawmaker, told Reuters.

Asked if that meant suicide bombings against Israelis, Masri said: "All options are open. Every means is allowed. This is a crime and state-terror and a crossing of all red lines."

Just wonderful. Does this mean a new round of suicide bombing at checkpoints? Onward to some op-ed.

"Days of darkness":

The devastation we are sowing in Lebanon doesn't touch anyone here and most of it is not even shown to Israelis. Those who want to know what Tyre looks like now have to turn to foreign channels - the BBC reporter brings chilling images from there, the likes of which won't be seen here. How can one not be shocked by the suffering of the other, at our hands, even when our north suffers? The death we are sowing at the same time, right now in Gaza, with close to 120 dead since the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, 27 last Wednesday alone, touches us even less. The hospitals in Gaza are full of burned children, but who cares? The darkness of the war in the north covers them, too.

Since we've grown accustomed to thinking collective punishment a legitimate weapon, it is no wonder no debate has sparked here over the cruel punishment of Lebanon for Hezbollah's actions. If it was okay in Nablus, why not Beirut? The only criticism being heard about this war is over tactics. Everyone is a general now and they are mostly pushing the IDF to deepen its activities. Commentators, ex-generals and politicians compete at raising the stakes with extreme proposals.

Haim Ramon "doesn't understand" why there is still electricity in Baalbek; Eli Yishai proposes turning south Lebanon into a "sandbox"; Yoav Limor, a Channel 1 military correspondent, proposes an exhibition of Hezbollah corpses and the next day to conduct a parade of prisoners in their underwear, "to strengthen the home front's morale."

It's not difficult to guess what we would think about an Arab TV station whose commentators would say something like that, but another few casualties or failures by the IDF, and Limor's proposal will be implemented. Is there any better sign of how we have lost our senses and our humanity?

A bereaved father, Haim Avraham, whose son was kidnapped and killed by Hezbollah in October 2000, fires an artillery shell into Lebanon for the reporters. It's vengeance for his son. His image, embracing the decorated artillery shell is one of the most disgraceful images of this war. And it's only th... [ Read More (0.7k in body) ]

Haaretz Roundup

From mass targeting of mobile phones with voice and text messages to old-fashioned radio broadcasts warning of imminent attacks, Israel is deploying a range of old and new technologies in Lebanon as part of the psychological operations ("psyops") campaign supplementing its military attacks.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv on Sunday reported the appearance of a website called All 4 Lebanon which offered payment for tip-offs from Lebanese citizens "that could help Israel in the fight against Hezbollah".

On Friday, residents of southern Lebanon reported receiving recorded messages on their mobile phones from an unknown caller.

The speaker identified himself as an Israeli and warned people in the area to leave their homes and head north.

According to US magazine Time, Israel has been targeting SMS text messages at local officials in southern Lebanon, urging them to move north of the Litani river before Israeli military operations intensified.

BBC | Israel steps up psy-ops in Lebanon

UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon contacted Israeli troops 10 times before an Israeli bomb killed four of them, an initial UN report says.

The post was hit by a precision-guided missile after six hours of shelling, diplomats familiar with the probe say.

The four unarmed UN observers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland, died after their UN post in the town of Khiam was hit by an Israeli air strike on Tuesday.

The UN report says each time the UN contacted Israeli forces, they were assured the firing would stop.

A senior Irish soldier working for the UN forces had warned the Israelis six times that their bombardment was endangering the lives of UN staff, Ireland's foreign ministry said.

Had Israel responded to the requests, "rather than deliberately ignoring them", the observers would still be alive, a diplomat familiar with the report said.

This is really not good.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israel troops 'ignored' UN plea