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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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 Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:59 am Post subject: Canadians spying on USA through coins |
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070111/ap_on_hi_te/spy_coins
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U.S. warns about Canadian spy coins
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jan 11, 4:16 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Money talks, but can it also follow your movements?
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In a U.S. government warning high on the creepiness scale, the Defense Department cautioned its American contractors over what it described as a new espionage threat: Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside.
The government said the mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada.
Intelligence and technology experts said such transmitters, if they exist, could be used to surreptitiously track the movements of people carrying the spy coins.
The U.S. report doesn't suggest who might be tracking American defense contractors or why. It also doesn't describe how the Pentagon discovered the ruse, how the transmitters might function or even which Canadian currency contained them.
Further details were secret, according to the U.S. Defense Security Service, which issued the warning to the Pentagon's classified contractors. The government insists the incidents happened, and the risk was genuine.
"What's in the report is true," said Martha Deutscher, a spokeswoman for the security service. "This is indeed a sanitized version, which leaves a lot of questions."
Top suspects, according to outside experts: China, Russia or even France � all said to actively run espionage operations inside Canada with enough sophistication to produce such technology.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it knew nothing about the coins.
"This issue has just come to our attention," CSIS spokeswoman Barbara Campion said. "At this point, we don't know of any basis for these claims." She said Canada's intelligence service works closely with its U.S. counterparts and will seek more information if necessary.
Experts were astonished about the disclosure and the novel tracking technique, but they rejected suggestions Canada's government might be spying on American contractors. The intelligence services of the two countries are extraordinarily close and routinely share sensitive secrets.
"It would seem unthinkable," said David Harris, former chief of strategic planning for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "I wouldn't expect to see any offensive operation against the Americans."
Harris said likely candidates include foreign spies who targeted Americans abroad or businesses engaged in corporate espionage. "There are certainly a lot of mysterious aspects to this," Harris said.
Experts said such tiny transmitters would almost certainly have limited range to communicate with sensors no more than a few feet away, such as ones hidden inside a doorway. The metal in the coins also could interfere with any signals emitted.
"I'm not aware of any (transmitter) that would fit inside a coin and broadcast for kilometers," said Katherine Albrecht, an activist who believes such technology carries serious privacy risks. "Whoever did this obviously has access to some pretty advanced technology."
Experts said hiding tracking technology inside coins is fraught with risks because the spy's target might inadvertently give away the coin or spend it buying coffee or a newspaper. They agreed, however, that a coin with a hidden tracking device might not arouse suspicion if it were discovered in a pocket or briefcase.
"It wouldn't seem to be the best place to put something like that; you'd want to put it in something that wouldn't be left behind or spent," said Jeff Richelson, a researcher and author of books about the CIA and its gadgets. "It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense."
Canada's largest coins include its $2 "Toonie," which is more than 1-inch across and thick enough to hide a tiny transmitter. The CIA has acknowledged its own spies have used hollow, U.S. silver-dollar coins to hide messages and film.
The government's 29-page report was filled with other espionage warnings. It described unrelated hacker attacks, eavesdropping with miniature pen recorders and the case of a female foreign spy who seduced her American boyfriend to steal his computer passwords.
In another case, a film processing company called the FBI after it developed pictures for a contractor that contained classified images of U.S. satellites and their blueprints. The photo was taken from an adjoining office window. |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:03 am Post subject: |
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Astute observers will note that I posted on this topic over three weeks before this news broke.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=73651&start=30
| Son Deureo! wrote: |
And for what it's worth, in my hometown of Buffalo, NY, store clerks are constantly slipping me Canadian coins with my change.  This irritates me to no end since they're not only worth less than the USD equivalents, but no one ever wants to take Canadian coins, and they don't work in US vending machines either. Canadian coins? I just throw them in the trash!  |
Go ahead, just call me a goddamned prophet now. You know you want to. |
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shifter2009
Joined: 03 Sep 2006
Location: wisconsin
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:05 am Post subject: |
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| Son Deureo! wrote: |
Astute observers will note that I posted on this topic over three weeks before this news broke.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=73651&start=30
| Son Deureo! wrote: |
| And for what it's worth, in my hometown of Buffalo, NY, store clerks are constantly slipping me Canadian coins with my change. This irritates me to no end since they're not only worth less than the USD equivalents, but no one ever wants to take Canadian coins, and they don't work in US vending machines either. Canadian coins? I just throw them in the trash! |
Go ahead, just call me a goddamned prophet now. You know you want to. |
Someone give the man his due! |
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Zoobot
Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:35 am Post subject: |
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Maybe Canada wouldn't need to spy on the USA if their gov't actually honoured the treaties they have with Canada (i.e. NAFTA). The US still owes Canada billions in tariffs collected on softwood lumber that (surprise, surprise) raised the price of the average american home by $1000, thereby making hundreds of thousands of average americans unable to finance a house.
Yay George Bush! |
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twg
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 8:18 am Post subject: |
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That's uh... random. Are CSIS taking their lessons from comicbooks now?
Hey CSIS! I'm going to make a comic about you guys paying off my debts! Add it to the tactics. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 12:38 pm Post subject: |
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Actually, the article doesn't say the Canadians are spying on the US.
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Top suspects, according to outside experts: China, Russia or even France � all said to actively run espionage operations inside Canada with enough sophistication to produce such technology.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it knew nothing about the coins.
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But then why bother reading the article when we can just use it as an excuse to start another Canada vs US thread, like Zoobot is trying to do. We haven't had one of those threads in at least a month. |
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Cerebroden
Joined: 27 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 12:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Zoobot wrote: |
Yay George Bush! |
oh wait!! who signed it in to law?
Just checking |
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SirFink
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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Ya Ta Boy beat me to it. Nothing in the article says it's Canadians doing the spying, just Canadian coins. What are the Chinese gonna use, Chinese coins?? Americans will often get the odd stray Canadian coin in their pockets and cashiers often won't take them so you're kind of stuck with the stupid thing for awhile.
Something about this whole story sounds fishy to me. I give it two days before we find out the whole thing was made up. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya Ta Boy beat me to it. |
Ya gotta get up pretty darn early in the morning to beat this Boy.
(I was up because I needed to make a phone call back home during their business hours.) |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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The report was wrong.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070111.COINS11/TPStory/National
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Official short-circuits report on suspect coins
COLIN FREEZE
A report that some Canadian coins have been compromised by spies secretly embedding transmitters in them is wrong, a U.S. official said yesterday.
A report from a Pentagon agency made headlines this week because it stated Canadian coins found in the possession of U.S. defence contractors had been tampered with.
While some special-issue Canadian coins briefly triggered suspicions in the United States, the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fears were groundless. |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
The report was wrong.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070111.COINS11/TPStory/National
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Official short-circuits report on suspect coins
COLIN FREEZE
A report that some Canadian coins have been compromised by spies secretly embedding transmitters in them is wrong, a U.S. official said yesterday.
A report from a Pentagon agency made headlines this week because it stated Canadian coins found in the possession of U.S. defence contractors had been tampered with.
While some special-issue Canadian coins briefly triggered suspicions in the United States, the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fears were groundless. |
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That's what they want you to believe. Anonymous U.S. official, or anonymous deep-cover CSIS agent who has successfully infiltrated U.S. government?
My fellow Americans, keep throwing that Canadian change in the trash. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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It remained unclear last night which coins were under suspicion.
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Pssssst! Hey, guys! It's the coins that go, "Beep, beep, beep".  |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:13 pm Post subject: |
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Let's see. There is CSI, CSI: Miami and CSI: New York.
Is CSIS short for CSI: Saskatoon? |
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Zoobot
Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
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| Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:08 am Post subject: |
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I didn't read the article, because I basically don't care. And any Americans who take offense to my attack on their government (and not them per se) deserve the offense.
Canada should be spying on the USA. Breaking a treaty is a breach of trust. |
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rakuan
Joined: 30 Aug 2004
Location: Pohang, Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
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| Ya Ta Boy beat me to it. |
Ya gotta get up pretty darn early in the morning to beat this Boy.
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would have been cooler if you'd said "Ya gotta get up pretty darn early in the morning TA beat this Boy."
it's cool. though |
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