USA
U.S. Naval Update Map: Sept. 14, 2011
September 13, Seattle Times – (Washington) Man charged in attempt to sideswipe Marine recruiters on I-5 near Northgate. An ex-con with possible ties to the alleged ringleader of a plot to attack Seattle's Military Entrance Processing Station with assault rifles and hand grenades has been charged with assault for allegedly trying to run two Marine recruiters off Interstate 5 near the Northgate section of Seattle, September 14. The ex-con, who prosecutors said uses the nickname "Mikhail Jihad" on the Internet, is facing his "third strike" and a possible life sentence if convicted of the attack. He has an extensive criminal history, including convictions for first-degree robbery in 2006, assault in 2005, and other felony crimes. King County prosecutors have asked that the ex-con, 28, be held on $2 million bail. He is to appear in King County Superior Court for arraignment September 27, an office spokesman said. Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016197413_assault14m.html
September 15, Softpedia – (New York) Malware comes as traffic tickets. It would seem that the New York State Police is sending traffic tickets to those caught speeding via e-mail. If a user opens the attachment, she might not have to pay the ticket, but instead have to disinfect her computer. According to a printscreen of the e-mail provided by Bkis Blog, the “Uniform Traffic Ticket” comes from the address noreply(at)nyc(dot)gov. The message appears to come from the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, and it informs the unsuspecting victim she was caught speeding in New York City at a certain time and is charged of committing the violation ”speed over 55 zone.” The receiver is requested to print out the attached ticket and send it to the town court of Chatam at a provided P.O. Box. Attached to the e-mail is an archive that contains what seems to be a .pfd file. This file is actually a Trojan that connects to many addresses and downloads other malicious elements. The Trojan was identified as being W32.FakeHddRepair.Trojan, which constantly displays hardware error messages. Later it turns out to be a piece of scareware that starts a fake hardware scanner that informs the user of hard drive errors that cannot be resolved unless the application is activated. The activation comes at a price the victim must pay to get rid of the alerts. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Malware-Comes-as-Traffic-Tickets221866.shtml
EUROPE
Europe Solicits American Advice On Financial Crisis
A good summary of this interesting article:
The Europeans during the meeting will ask the Americans what Washington can do to help. (Technically this is a question for the Federal Reserve chairman, but Ben Bernanke and Geithner have been on each other’s speed dial for some time now.) The answer: Precisely the same thing the American government did during the last financial crisis. At that time global markets seized up due to fear, and banks became afraid to lend to one another. Lending and credit specifically, and economic activity in general, ground to a halt. So the U.S. Federal Reserve granted unlimited low-interest dollar-denominated loans to nearly anyone who wanted them and could provide reasonable collateral. Due to the depth of the crisis, even foreign entities qualified. That bought time for investors, lenders and consumers to recover from their shock. After a few nervous months, normalcy returned and the Fed dialed back the liquidity.
U.S.: Russia Demands NATO Security Guarantees September 17, 2011
Russia reiterated demands for “firm security guarantees” from the United States and NATO regarding deployment of U.S. missile defense systems in Romania and Turkey, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated on its website Sept. 17. Implementation of U.S. missile defense plans in Europe is proceeding rapidly, specifically in Poland, despite challenges and threats, the ministry stated. Moscow wants guarantees that the missile defense systems in Europe are not directed against Russia’s strategic nuclear forces
ASIA
China Security Memo: The Limited Capabilities of Uighur Militants
China Political Memo: Dilemma for Private Enterprises
RUSSIA
Help Net Security – (California; International) Russian cyber criminal steals $3.2 million in 6 months. A Russian resident in his early 20s is believed to be the leader of a tightly knit gang using banking Trojans and money mules to earn themselves millions of dollars. The actions of this group have been followed for awhile by Trend Micro researchers, who said "Soldier" — as the young gang leader is known in the criminal underground — has managed to steal more than $3.2 millions in only 6 months, starting in January 2011. To that effect, he uses a variety of malware: the SpyEye and ZeuS Trojans for stealing online banking and other credentials, and a number of exploit kits to install them on target computers. The overwhelming majority of the infected computers are located in the United States, where the money mules recruited by an accomplice believed to reside in Hollywood, California, are also located. The researchers have analyzed the IP addresses recorded by one of his SpyEye botnet's command and control centers and have come to the conclusion that computers from various organizations and businesses were compromised, including those belonging to the U.S. government and military, educational and research institutions, airports, banks, and other companies. They believe all these organizations were not the main target of this gang. They were after easy money that could be gained by stealing online banking credentials and accessing the victims' accounts, or by selling other stolen log-in credentials such as those for social networks, e-mails, and PayPal. "Compromise on such a mass scale is not that unusual for criminals using toolkits like SpyEye, but the amounts stolen and the number of large organizations potentially impacted is cause for serious concern," said the researchers, who are in the process of informing the owners of the enslaved machines about their findings. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=11628
IRAN
Internal Rifts Hamper Iran's Strong Negotiating Position
Iran: Belarus Supplying Nuclear Technology To Tehran - Diplomats September 15, 2011
Unnamed Western diplomats said Belarus is acting as a middleman to help Iran access Russian technology to develop its own surface-to-surface missiles and dual-use navigation and guidance products for its nuclear capabilities, Reuters reported Sept. 15. The diplomats said Belarus is increasingly important to Iran as Tehran’s ability to procure products from China, Russia and Dubai has become more difficult. Some members of a U.N. expert panel will visit Belarus in September to discuss its compliance with the U.N. ban on selling Iran nuclear and missile technology
IRAQ
The Turkish-Iranian Competition in Northern Iraq
ISRAEL
Egypt: Camp David Accords Open For Discussion - PM September 15, 2011
Egypt’s peace deal with Israel, the Camp David Accords, is open for discussion and could be changed if the changes benefit the region or enhance peace, Egyptian Prime Minster Essam Sharaf said Sept. 15 in a television interview, Reuters reported.
Israel: Netanyahu Will Agree To Palestinian Status Upgrade September 16, 2011
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton that Israel would agree to an upgrade of the Palestinian Authority’s status at the United Nations as long as it was not declared a state, Haaretz reported Sept. 16. An unnamed source familiar with Netanyahu said the prime minister was open to status upgrade short of actual statehood, a sentiment also confirmed by one of Netanyahu’s advisers. On Sept. 15, Netanyahu said he will stress in his upcoming speech to the United Nations that negotiations are the only path to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
AFGHANISTAN
Agenda: With George Friedman on the Taliban Strategy
MIDDLE EAST
Libya: Al Qaeda Seeking Presence In Libya - U.S. September 15, 2011
An unnamed U.S. Pentagon official said al Qaeda is seeking to gain a foothold and to establish a long-term internal network in Libya in the unrest following Moammar Gadhafi’s ouster, AFP reported Sept. 15. The official said the leadership of al Qaeda and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have both expressed interest in playing a role in Libya, seeing it as an opportunity. The official said the militant groups are proceeding cautiously but their presence poses a long-term concern.
In Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood Confronts Military Leadership
Egypt: Parliament Vote Set September 17, 2011
Egypt will hold elections for the lower house of parliament on Nov. 21 and voting for the upper house will be held Jan. 22, according to Al Arabiya Television, Reuters reported Sept. 17. These will be the country’s first elections since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted seven months ago. Egypt’s election commission officials were not available for comment. The dates will be officially announced soon, an army source said
Libya: Agoco To Pump 200,000 Barrels September 16, 2011
Libya’s Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco) said it is producing 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 100 wells in its eastern oilfield Sarir and it expects to boost production to 200,00 bpd by the end of September, Agoco spokesman Abdelijalil Mayuf said, Reuters reported Sept. 16. Mayuf said the boosted production should allow for a 1 million barrel cargo to be exported from the Mediterranean port of Tobruk every ten days
U.S.: Obama To Meet With Libyan NTC Chairman September 16, 2011
U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdel-Jalil on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, according to a statement from the White House, AFP reported Sept 16.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
MISC
Intelligence Guidance: Kabul Attack, Syria's Opposition, Informal Chinese Lending
Except where noted courtesy www.stratfor.com
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