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Posted by George W. Maschke
 - Jan 11, 2024, 06:03 AM
QuoteActually, I just found this:
https://therecord.media/fbi-document-shows-what-data-can-be-obtained-from-encrypted-messaging-apps

It shows exactly what info the feds can get from messaging apps.  It looks like Telegram is the most secure and Signal is the second-most secure.  I guess Wenheng Zhao and Jinchao Wei must have been using some other messaging service that was less secure.  Fools.

Telegram is not more secure than Signal. The opposite is true.
Posted by George W. Maschke
 - Jan 11, 2024, 06:02 AM
QuoteDo you think that U.S. federal agents conducted electronic surveillance by monitoring Wei's emails, SMSs, and/or messaging apps?

I would expect that efforts were made to do all of these things.

QuoteThe Chinese also use WeChat, which is not encrypted, but the data is stored on Chinese servers that I'm sure the U.S. government would never see...

It's possible that the NSA has technical means of accessing WeChat's backend, but if so, I would expect that to be a closely-held secret, and I wouldn't expect indictments to include information that could lead to the discovery of that secret.

But there are other ways such information could be obtained. If information in the indictments is derived in part from WeChat transactions, such data may have been obtained from an unencrypted backup to iCloud or Google Drive, for example.

In addition, Kaspersky last year divulged that the last few generations of Apple chips include a hardware backdoor that Apple has not publicly documented. This backdoor was used in what Kaspersky has dubbed "Operation Triangulation." For more on this, see episode 955 of the Security Now podcast:

https://youtu.be/fJHzq4YOv68?si=QAXKSWVtaQYRyvLX&t=2080

Posted by user2024
 - Jan 11, 2024, 05:27 AM
Actually, I just found this:
https://therecord.media/fbi-document-shows-what-data-can-be-obtained-from-encrypted-messaging-apps

It shows exactly what info the feds can get from messaging apps.  It looks like Telegram is the most secure and Signal is the second-most secure.  I guess Wenheng Zhao and Jinchao Wei must have been using some other messaging service that was less secure.  Fools.
Posted by user2024
 - Jan 11, 2024, 04:43 AM
Quote from: George_Maschke on Jan 10, 2024, 11:55 PMand that electronic surveillance of Wei may have led to the identification of this officer, and subsequently, to the discovery that Zhao was also committing espionage.

Do you think that U.S. federal agents conducted electronic surveillance by monitoring Wei's emails, SMSs, and/or messaging apps?  I know U.S. email services like Gmail can be easily monitored by the government.  I would think that apps like WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram's secret chat feature are all encrypted so the U.S. government could not see them unless the sender or recipient showed the messages to the government or some other third party.  Is that true?  Can the U.S. government monitor encrypted chat messages and if so, how?

The Chinese also use WeChat, which is not encrypted, but the data is stored on Chinese servers that I'm sure the U.S. government would never see . . . that is, unless they saw the messages on Wei or someone else's personal device located in the U.S.

Hmm . . . just how far can the U.S. government go to monitor someone's electronic devices?
Posted by George W. Maschke
 - Jan 10, 2024, 11:55 PM
QuoteDoes anyone know exactly how Wenheng Zhao and Jinchao Wei were caught?  I mean did the feds catch them taking pictures and/or in the act of receiving money?  How did they receive the money?

Both pled guilty, and the evidence that led to their apprehension has not been made public. However, there is a hint in the Wei indictment as to how they may have been discovered. At para. 8 it states:

Quote... In or about February 2022, when defendant JINCHAO WEI's espionage activities with Conspirator A [a Chinese intelligence officer] began, defendant JINCHAO WEI told another U.S. Navy sailor that he had been asked to spy for the PRC.

Perhaps this other U.S. Navy sailor reported the incident, launching the investigation.

I suspect that "Conspirator A" in both the Wei and Zhao cases is the same Chinese intelligence officer, and that electronic surveillance of Wei may have led to the identification of this officer, and subsequently, to the discovery that Zhao was also committing espionage.
Posted by user2024
 - Jan 10, 2024, 07:26 PM
Does anyone know exactly how Wenheng Zhao and Jinchao Wei were caught?  I mean did the feds catch them taking pictures and/or in the act of receiving money?  How did they receive the money?
Posted by George W. Maschke
 - Aug 05, 2023, 04:41 AM
I also look into espionage cases as they arise to see whether there might be a polygraph connection. One that I'm keeping an eye on is that of Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a former CIA officer and FBI translator who is awaiting trial on espionage charges. That trial is presently scheduled to begin on 10 June 2024.

By the way, you're welcome to post in Reddit's r/AntiPolygraph subreddit.
Posted by usatoday
 - Aug 05, 2023, 02:50 AM
I appreciate this.  By the way, I do not work for USA Today.  I am a writer (maybe a famous news journalist, or maybe just a random blogger) on another platform, however. 

I oppose the polygraph because I know it is just an interrogation tool to extract confessions from people.  Unfortunately, in my circle, everyone has been brainwashed by the media to believing that the polygraph works and when I share my opinion about it I get backlash.  I have been lurking on Antipolygraph.org and other internet sites about the polygraph for a while.  To no surprise, I have been banned from Reddit, the late Federalsoup forum (now defunct), and others for speaking about about the polygraph.

Whenever someone has a job that required them to pass a thorough background check or a polygraph as terms of their employment, which is usually someone with a security clearance or in law enforcement, I dig into the story a bit.

Since this story has nothing to do with someone beating the polygraph while concealing criminal activity, I guess I will move on.  LOL.

Posted by George W. Maschke
 - Aug 04, 2023, 02:25 AM
According to their indictments, both Wenheng Zhao and Jinchao Wei held only secret level security clearances. Thus, it seems unlikely that either of them would have been subject to polygraph screening.
Posted by usatoday
 - Aug 03, 2023, 08:16 PM
George,

Can you verify if the security clearance level of the recently arrested and accused Chinese-American Navy spies Wenheng Zhao and Jinchao Wei? 

Did they have TS/SCI clearance and if so did they pass polygraphs?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/08/03/navy-sailors-charged-espionage-passing-information-china/70523081007/