Intelligence: August 30, 2002

Archives

The Department of Defense Defense Security Service has sent out a warning to universities and research centers to beware of an e-mail intelligence collection program being carried out by unnamed foreign nations. The emails pretended to be from graduate students working on a school project. The "students" were seeking some advice from engineers and scientists who, in many cases, were working on classified projects. Legitimate emails like this are not unusual, and the senior people who get them usually try and help the students as much as they can. But these "students" were caught asking for classified information. The Department of Defense did not disclose what kind of classified info the intelligence operation was trying to obtain, but did warn all concerned to report any suspicious requests, and not respond to the email. Apparently someone already did. The Department of Defense warning contained the admonition; "REMEMBER!!! You do not have to hold a security clearance or work with classified information to be a target of foreign intelligence collection efforts!"