City Paradiso

“Of course, in Los Angeles, everything is based on driving, even the killings. In New York, most people don't have cars, so if you want to kill a person, you have to take the subway to their house. And sometimes on the way, the train is delayed and you get impatient, so you have to kill someone on the subway. That's why there are so many subway murders; no one has a car.” 

-- George Carlin

Chinese economic cyber-espionage plummets in U.S.: experts

20 JUNE 2016       REUTERS       JOSEPH MENN, JIM FINLKE

The Chinese government appears to be abiding by its September pledge to stop supporting the hacking of American trade secrets to help companies there compete, private U.S. security executives and government advisors said on Monday.

FireEye Inc , the U.S. network security company best known for fighting sophisticated Chinese hacking, said in a report released late Monday that breaches attributed to China-based groups had plunged by 90 percent in the past two years. The most dramatic drop came during last summer's run-up to the bilateral agreement, it added. 

... Kevin Mandia, the Mandiant founder who took over last week as FireEye chief executive, said in an interview that several factors seemed to be behind the shift. 

He cited embarrassment from Mandiant's 2013 report and the following year's indictment of five PLA officers from the same unit Mandiant uncovered. 

... A senior Obama administration official said the government was not yet ready to proclaim that China was fully complying with the agreement but said the new report would factor into its monitoring. "We are still doing an assessment," said the official, speaking on condition he not be named. 

... The official added that a just-concluded second round of talks with China on the finer points of the agreement had gone well. He noted that China had sent senior leaders even after the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security pulled out because of the Orlando shootings. 

FireEye said that Chinese intrusions into some U.S. firms have continued, with at least two hacked in 2016. But while the hackers installed "back doors" to enable future spying, FireEye said it had seen no evidence that data was stolen. 

Both hacked companies had government contracts, said FireEye analyst Laura Galante, noting that it was plausible that the intrusions were stepping stones toward gathering information on government or military people or projects, which remain fair game under the September accord. 

FireEye and other security companies said that as the Chinese government-backed hackers dropped wholesale theft of U.S. intellectual property, they increased spying on political and military targets in other countries and regions, including Russia, the Middle East, Japan and South Korea. 

Another security firm, CrowdStrike, has observed more Chinese state-supported hackers spying outside of the United States over the past year, company Vice President Adam Meyers said in an interview. 

Targets include Russian and Ukrainian military targets, Indian political groups and the Mongolian mining industry, Meyers said. Read More

Australian Olympic chiefs demand Rio ramp up security

21 JUNE 2016       AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE       Frederic J Brown

Australian Olympic chiefs Tuesday demanded Rio Games organisers ramp up security immediately after a highly decorated Paralympian and her physiotherapist were robbed at gunpoint in the city, amid fears others will be targeted.

The Australian Paralympic Committee said sailor and wheelchair basketball player Liesl Tesch and team official Sarah Ross were riding their bikes in broad daylight in a park on Sunday. 

They were confronted by two men, one of them carrying a pistol, who demanded money before shoving them off the bikes and riding off on them. 

Kate McLoughlin, chef de mission of the Australian Paralympic team, said the pair, in Rio to train at the Paralympic sailing venue, were "understandably shaken but unhurt". 

Rio is experiencing a spike in crime and robberies ahead of the Olympics which open on August 5. 

Earlier this month, a Brazilian competitive shooter, who just missed out on a spot on the Olympic team, was shot in the head during an attempted robbery in Rio. 

It followed the armed mugging of members of the Spanish sailing team in the city last month. 

Australian Olympic Committee chef de mission Kitty Chiller called on Games organisers to mobilise security forces immediately rather than wait until nearer the event's official opening. 

"The Rio organisers need to introduce the extra security precautions as soon as possible before an athlete gets hurt. 

We have written to them today asking them to address this issue," Chiller said. 

"This is not an isolated incident, athletes have been mugged while training or competing in Rio test events and we want our athletes protected. 

"This is a major concern and the only answer is for the authorities to put extra police and security on the ground now." 

- 'It was pretty horrific' - 

According to the AOC, the Rio Organising Committee has vowed to mobilise 100,000 police, military and other personnel in time for the Olympics with the force remaining in place for the Paralympics which begin on September 7. 

"We have briefed our athletes leading into the Games," added Chiller. 

"Basically we are saying that if you are confronted by criminals, comply, hand over your belongings and don't argue. That is exactly what the two Paralympians did on Sunday." Read More