June 2020 – Page 5 – Law Enforcement, Military, and Terrorism News

NATO launches Counter-Terrorism Reference Curriculum

NATO on Friday, June 12, launched its first ever Counter-Terrorism Reference Curriculum (CTRC). It supports interested Allies and partner countries in enhancing their capacities to develop national skills and improve counter-terrorism strategies.

The Curriculum will also serve as a reference document to address partner nation defense educational institution requirements and will provide helpful guidelines for relevant existing NATO courses. Drawing on historical examples, the CTRC provides an overview of terrorist ideologies, motivations and methods, as well as contemporary counter-terrorism practices and potential future projections.

Launching the Curriculum, Dr. Antonio Missiroli, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges stated: “Security challenges like terrorism are not diminishing because of the global pandemic. Terrorism undermines our safety and the very values that underpin and inspire our societies. The Alliance is committed to address this threat with all available means. Supporting improved awareness, strengthening resilience and building counter-terrorism capacity of both Allies and partners are all part of this effort, and the CTRC perfectly fits these objectives. I would like to thank all those who helped make this Curriculum possible, including the United Nations, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).”

Partners can significantly benefit from using the CTRC for the development of their own tailored courses on Counter-Terrorism. This support will be provided and facilitated in the framework of NATO’s Defense Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP). Dr. John Manza, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Operations, highlighted: “The Counter-Terrorism Reference Curriculum will be available to all interested partners and Allies. DEEP will work diligently to help partners who request support in implementing tailored versions of the curriculum for their professional military education institutions. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reflecting other longer-term trends, NATO will also work to implement the Counter-Terrorism Reference Curriculum as a distance course, available to all partners who wish to use it in their institutions. Supporting our partners in this way makes us all stronger in the face of a common threat.”

Dr. Sajjan M. Gohel, the CTRC’s co-editor and academic project lead from the Asia-Pacific Foundation and the London School of Economics (LSE) added: “The CTRC is designed to provide users with a robust, holistic and nuanced comprehension of terrorism as well as improve potential counter-terrorism outcomes for NATO members and partners. The curriculum reflects NATO’s innovative best.”

The NATO Counter-Terrorism Reference Curriculum is the result of close cooperation between the Defense Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) and NATO`s Counter-Terrorism Section, as well as the Partnership for Peace Consortium. Over 100 experts from nations across five continents, including from Tunisia, Jordan and Mauritania, as well as multiple international organizations contributed to the writing, drafting, and editing of the final product.

NATO.int (June 2020) NATO launches Counter-Terrorism Reference Curriculum

China Demolishes House Church One Month After Violent Raid

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on June 11, local authorities brought in more than 100 officers from four different agencies to demolish Xingguang Church in China’s Xiamen city, Fujian province.

All Property at Xingguang Church Destroyed or Removed

The demolition came a month after the violent May 3 raid of the house church, during which several members were injured.

Around 9:00 a.m., dozens of chengguan, or Urban Management Law Enforcement officials, lined up outside of Xingguang Church in Jimei district, before storming the church located on the fifth floor with other dozens of fire fighters, public security officers, and religious affairs bureau staff.

The house church, purchased by the members and also the home of several members, was soon was reduced to rubble. Since the authorities barred the church members from entering, when a churchgoer managed to record the demolition, a chengguan yelled, “What are you filming with your cell?” while attempting to knock away the phone.

The furniture and personal property stored at the church were also confiscated by the authorities illegally. A member documented the aftermath and debris left behind by the authorities in a video.

Preacher Yang Xibo from Xunsiding Church, shared his anger on Facebook.

He said, “Xiamen Xingguang House Church now encounters a forceful demolition, which targets a private property, someone’s home. The Property Law [in China] is nothing but a wastepaper. The government of Xiamen has been gansterized…This also gives you a glimpse of how China has been gansterized in recent years.”

The church has already been raided twice this year – on April 19 and on May 3. The church’s preacher, Titus Yu, was threatened with a notice that his church would face disbandment as punishment if he did not correct his ‘illegal’ act.

A house church pastor from Zhejiang told ICC, “As far as I know, I haven’t heard about the arrest of Xingguang Church’s preacher [as part of the demolition].”

Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said, “As stated in the latest United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) report by commissioner Johnnie Moore, ‘There is no question that China is the world’s foremost violator of human rights and religious freedom.’ China’s rule of law is merely a slogan, since the authorities can simply crack down on anyone whom they consider a threat. We regret to see the Xiamen authorities’ continuous oppression against Xingguang Church. This serves as a great example of the absence of religious liberty in the communist country.”

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org.

Persecution.org (June 2020) China Demolishes House Church One Month After Violent Raid

Fifteen Defendants Plead Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy in International Cyber Fraud Scheme

Fifteen defendants have pleaded guilty to-date for their roles in a transnational and multi-million dollar scheme to defraud American victims through online auction fraud.

Four of the guilty pleas took place in the past 24 days before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew A. Stinnett of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Bogdan-Stefan Popescu, 30, of Romania, pleaded guilty on June 11, 2020, to one count of RICO conspiracy. According to plea documents, Popescu operated a car wash in Bucharest, Romania, where he managed co-conspirators in the RICO enterprise. From at least December of 2013, Popescu oversaw an operation whereby he knowingly negotiated fraudulently obtained Bitcoin.

He did so in many ways.

For example, he would sometimes receive cryptocurrency from co-conspirators who obtained the funds through online fraud scams, transfer the cryptocurrency to other conspirators such as co-defendant Vlad-Călin Nistor.

He would then direct that Nistor exchange the cryptocurrency for fiat currency, and deposit the fiat currency into bank accounts held in the names of various employees and family members. According to court documents, in addition to providing money laundering services, Popescu also coordinated the dissemination of tools used to defraud American-based victims, such as the language and photographs for fake advertisements as well as usernames and passwords for IP address anonymizing services. Popescu also assisted members of the RICO conspiracy by connecting them with other members who could provide call center services—that is, who would impersonate eBay customer service representatives over the phone.

Liviu-Sorin Nedelcu, 34, of Romania, pleaded guilty on June 11, 2020, to one count of RICO conspiracy. According to court documents, Nedelcu worked in conjunction with others to post advertisements for goods online. To maintain the appearance of legitimacy, Nedelcu created fictitious entities through which he purported to sell vehicles. Once Nedelcu and his co-conspirators convinced victims to purchase falsely advertised goods, they sent the victims invoices for payment that appeared to be from legitimate sellers, such as eBay Motors. Upon receiving payment, Nedelcu and his co-conspirators engaged in a sophisticated money laundering scheme to convert the victim payment into Bitcoin.

Vlad-Călin Nistor, 33, of Romania, pleaded guilty on May 19, 2020, to one count of RICO conspiracy. According to plea documents, Nistor was the founder and owner of the Romania-based Bitcoin exchange Coinflux Services SRL. He exchanged cryptocurrency into local fiat currency on behalf of the Romania-based members of the conspiracy, knowing that the Bitcoin represented the proceeds of illegal activity. According to plea documents for example, Nistor exchanged over $1.8 million worth of Bitcoin for co-defendant Bogdan Popescu.

Beniamin-Filip Ologeanu, 30, of Romania, pleaded guilty on May 19, 2020, to one count of RICO conspiracy. According to court documents, Ologeanu worked in conjunction with others in the conspiracy to post advertisements for goods to auction websites, including eBay, and sales websites, including Craigslist. Once Ologeanu or his co-conspirators convinced victims to purchase and provide payment for falsely advertised items, Ologeanu reached out to U.S.-based conspirators to convert the victim payment into other forms of payment and transfer part of it to Ologeanu in Bitcoin. Ologeanu also purchased fraud proceeds from other co-conspirators, typically in the form of prepaid debit cards, to be laundered by U.S.-based co-conspirators.

“Today’s modern cybercriminals rely on increasingly sophisticated techniques to defraud victims, often masquerading as legitimate businesses,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These guilty pleas demonstrate that the United States will hold accountable foreign and domestic criminal enterprises and their enablers, including crooked bitcoin exchanges that swindle the American public.”

“The guilty pleas announced today are a direct result of the extraordinary cooperation and partnership among law enforcement agencies at the local, state, federal, and international levels,” said U.S. Attorney Robert M. Duncan Jr. for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “These partnerships helped dismantle a sophisticated organized crime group who preyed upon victims across the United States. I commend the exceptional work conducted by our law enforcement partners and trial team members who worked diligently to hold these defendants accountable.”

“Through the use of digital currencies and trans-border organizational strategies, this criminal syndicate believed they were beyond the reach of law enforcement,” said Assistant Director Michael D’Ambrosio, U.S. Secret Service, Office of Investigations. “However, as this successful investigation clearly illustrates, with sustained, international cooperation, we can effectively hold cyber criminals accountable for their actions, no matter where they reside. I commend the hard work and perseverance of all those who joined together in this investigation and prosecution. This includes our partners in Europe, as well as those closer to home.”

“Today’s guilty pleas serve as a reminder that IRS-CI special agents will uncover illegal activity here and abroad, pierce the perceived veil of anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies, and bring those responsible for unlawful acts to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Larsen of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York Field Office. “We will continue to push the agency to the forefront of complex cyber investigations and work collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to ensure the United States financial system is protected.”

“These are scam artists who hide behind a wall of technology which allows them to prey upon innocent victims throughout the United States,” said Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer. “The dismantling of this criminal enterprise was made possible because of the incredible level of cooperation between the law enforcement community here in Kentucky.”

According to court documents, the defendants participated in a criminal conspiracy that engaged in a large-scale scheme of online auction fraud. Specifically, Romania-based members of the conspiracy posted false advertisements to popular online auction and sales websites—such as Craigslist and eBay—for high-cost goods (typically vehicles) that did not actually exist. Members of the conspiracy would convince American victims to send money for the advertised goods by crafting persuasive narratives, for example, by impersonating a military member who needed to sell the advertised item before deployment.

According to court documents, members of the conspiracy created fictitious online accounts to post these advertisements and communicate with victims, often using the stolen identities of Americans to do so. They also delivered invoices to the victims bearing trademarks of reputable companies in order to make the transaction appear legitimate. Members of the conspiracy also set up call centers, impersonating customer support, to address questions and alleviate concerns over the advertisements.

Once victims were convinced to send payment, the conspiracy participants engaged in a complicated money laundering scheme wherein domestic associates would accept victim funds, convert these funds to cryptocurrency, and transfer proceeds in the form of cryptocurrency to foreign-based money launderers.

The 15 defendants who have pleaded guilty in this case have yet to be sentenced. Two other defendants in the case are scheduled for trial starting on Sept. 14, 2020, before the Honorable Robert E. Wier of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Three others are fugitives.

In addition to pleading guilty in this case, on Jan. 13, 2020, Adrian Mitan pleaded guilty in a related money laundering conspiracy, arising from online schemes, including a credit card phishing and brute-force attack scheme, designed to steal money from Americans. According to court documents, Mitan phished for payment card information of U.S. customers, hacked into the electronic systems of American businesses, and then conducted a brute-force attack on their point-of-sale systems for the purpose of stealing the remaining payment card information. Mitan then directed American money launderers to create clone payment cards with the stolen information, which were used to extract money from the customers’ accounts. These fraudulent proceeds were then returned to Mitan in the form of Bitcoin.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service, Kentucky State Police, Lexington Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and supported by the Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2). Assistance was provided by the Romanian National Police (Service for Combating Cybercrime) and the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (Agency for Prosecuting Organized Crime). The Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section provided significant support and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant support in securing and coordinating the arrests and extraditions from Romania of more than a dozen defendants.

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Timothy C. Flowers and Senior Counsel Frank H. Lin of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn M. Anderson and Kenneth R. Taylor of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Individuals believing they may be victims of the advanced fee and online auction fraud or brute-force attack schemes described herein are encouraged to visit the following website to obtain more information: https://justice.gov/usao-edky/information-victims-large-cases.

Tips to avoid becoming a victim of online auction fraud can be found here on the U.S. Secret Service’s website.

Justice.gov (June 2020) Fifteen Defendants Plead Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy in International Cyber Fraud Scheme

Increased Use of Mobile Banking Apps Could Lead to Exploitation

As the public increases its use of mobile banking apps, partially due to increased time at home, the FBI anticipates cyber actors will exploit these platforms.

Americans are increasingly using their mobile devices to conduct banking activities such as cashing checks and transferring funds. US financial technology providers estimate more than 75 percent of Americans used mobile banking in some form in 2019.

Studies of US financial data indicate a 50 percent surge in mobile banking since the beginning of 2020.

Additionally, studies indicate 36 percent of Americans plan to use mobile tools to conduct banking activities, and 20 percent plan to visit branch locations less often.

With city, state, and local governments urging or mandating social distancing, Americans have become more willing to use mobile banking as an alternative to physically visiting branch locations.

The FBI expects cyber actors to attempt to exploit new mobile banking customers using a variety of techniques, including app-based banking trojans and fake banking apps.

App-Based Banking Trojans

The FBI advises the public to be cautious when downloading apps on smartphones and tablets, as some could be concealing malicious intent. Cyber actors target banking information using banking trojans, which are malicious programs that disguise themselves as other apps, such as games or tools. When the user launches a legitimate banking app, it triggers the previously downloaded trojan that has been lying dormant on their device. The trojan creates a false version of the bank’s login page and overlays it on top of the legitimate app. Once the user enters their credentials into the false login page, the trojan passes the user to the real banking app login page so they do not realize they have been compromised.

Fake Banking Apps

Actors also create fraudulent apps designed to impersonate the real apps of major financial institutions, with the intent of tricking users into entering their login credentials. These apps provide an error message after the attempted login and will use smartphone permission requests to obtain and bypass security codes texted to users. US security research organizations report that in 2018, nearly 65,000 fake apps were detected on major app stores, making this one of the fastest growing sectors of smartphone-based fraud.

TIPS TO PROTECT YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION

Obtain Apps from Trusted Sources

Private sector companies manage app stores for smartphones and actively vet these apps for malicious content. Additionally, most major US banks will provide a link to their mobile app on their website. The FBI recommends only obtaining smartphone apps from trusted sources like official app stores or directly from bank websites.

Use Two-Factor Authentication

Since 2016, surveys of application and website users have identified that a majority of users do not enable two-factor authentication when prompted. These users cite inconvenience as the major reason to avoid the use of this technology. Cybersecurity experts have stressed that two-factor authentication is a highly effective tool to secure accounts against compromise, and enabling any form of two-factor authentication will be to the user’s advantage

Do:

Enable two-factor or multi-factor authentication on devices and accounts to protect them from malicious compromise.
Use strong two-factor authentication if possible via biometrics, hardware tokens, or authentication apps.
Use multiple types of authentication for accounts if possible. Layering different authentication standards is a stronger security option
Monitor where your Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is stored and only share the most necessary information with financial institutions.

Don’t:

Click links in e-mails or text messages; ensure these messages come from the financial institution by double-checking e-mail details. Many criminals use legitimate-looking messages to trick users into giving up login details.
Give two-factor passcodes to anyone over the phone or via text. Financial institutions will not ask you for these codes over the phone.

Use Strong Passwords and Good Password Security

Cyber actors regularly exploit users who reuse passwords or use common or insecure passwords. The FBI recommends creating strong, unique passwords to mitigate these attacks. The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s most recent guidance encourages users to make passwords or passphrases that are 15 characters or longer.

Do:

Use passwords that contain upper case letters, lower case letters, and symbols.
Use a minimum of eight characters per password.
Create unique passwords for banking apps.
Use a password manager or password management service.

Don’t:

Use common passwords or phrases, such as “Password1!” or “123456.”
Reuse the same passwords for multiple accounts.
Store passwords in written form or in an insecure phone app like a notepad.
Give your password to anyone. Financial institutions will not ask you for this information over the phone or text message.

If a Banking App Appears Suspicious, Call the Bank

If you encounter an app that appears suspicious, exercise caution and contact that financial institution. Major financial institutions may ask for a banking PIN number, but will never ask for your username and password over the phone. Check your bank’s policies regarding online and app account security. If the phone call seems suspicious, hang up and call the bank back at the customer service number posted on their website.

FBI.gov (June 2020) INCREASED USE OF MOBILE BANKING APPS COULD LEAD TO EXPLOITATION

White House Report Recommends Multi-Pronged Approach to Counter China

The Defense Department has a role to play in countering China, but it is only one part of the effort. The National Defense Strategy highlights the threat.

China is using government, military, economic, diplomatic and information levers to change the well-tested and beneficial international order, and the United States must have a similar strategy to combat these efforts, according to a White House report.

The White House addressed the whole-of-government approach to counter China — a great power competitor — in a report published last month titled “The United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China.”

The Defense Department has a role to play in countering China, but it is only one part of the effort. The National Defense Strategy highlights the threat.

“China is leveraging military modernization, influence operations and predatory economics to coerce neighboring countries to reorder the Indo-Pacific region to their advantage,” the unclassified strategy report said. “As China continues its economic and military ascendance, asserting power through an all-of-nation, long-term strategy, it will continue to pursue a military modernization program that seeks Indo-Pacific regional hegemony in the near-term and displacement of the United States to achieve global preeminence in the future.”

According to the report, China is the prime country that has benefited from the existing international order, noting that it has made tremendous progress economically since moving to a market economy. U.S. officials had anticipated that the iron rule of the Chinese Communist Party would loosen as prosperity became more widespread in the nation of more than 1.5 billion people.

But the party maintained — and even tightened — its grip. “Over the past two decades, reforms have slowed, stalled or reversed,” the White House report says. “The PRC’s rapid economic development and increased engagement with the world did not lead to convergence with the citizen-centric, free and open order as the United States had hoped.”

When the United Kingdom handed over Hong Kong to China, Hong Kong was guaranteed semi-autonomous status at least through 2047. The Chinese are backing out of the “One Nation, Two Systems” agreement. China is also building and militarizing islands in the South China Sea and East China Sea in an attempt to assert sovereignty over international sea lanes of communication.

The United States and partner nations in the region and internationally are sailing and flying through these areas in freedom of navigation operations, the report says.

The Chinese have massed troops and missiles across the Strait of Taiwan and continually threaten military action and have tied their new-found economic power and diplomacy together in their “One Belt One Road” initiative, which the report calls an umbrella term describing initiatives designed “to reshape international norms, standards, and networks to advance Beijing’s global interests and vision, while also serving China’s domestic economic requirements.”

The “One Belt One Road” projects frequently are “characterized by poor quality, corruption, environmental degradation, a lack of public oversight or community involvement, opaque loans, and contracts generating or exacerbating governance and fiscal problems in host nations,” the report says.

Beijing will probably use these projects to exert undue political influence and gain military access, the report says. “Beijing uses a combination of threat and inducement to pressure governments, elites, corporations, think tanks and others — often in an opaque manner — to toe the CCP line and censor free expression,” it states.

The response to this effort is not solely military. Rather, the report says, it has to be a whole-of-government approach that combines diplomacy, economic leverage, information operations and military partnerships.

China is working to undermine U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific region, and “One Belt One Road” is just an arrow in the quiver aimed at subverting American influence in the region, the report says.

Meanwhile, it states, the Chinese Communist Party has no compunction about using economic, political and military power to pressure nations to follow their lead — often to the detriment of their citizens. With no visible opposition, the Chinese Communist Party can be patient, and Chinese leaders look at the competition with capitalist powers as a generational struggle, according to the report.

Capitalist nations have also engaged in generational struggles. The Cold War was a generational struggle against the Soviet Union. U.S. administrations of both political parties agreed to the overall need to confront the old Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and they followed a long-term strategy against the existential threat the Soviets posed.

It was also a whole-of-government approach, even if it wasn’t called that at the time. It wasn’t enough for troops to just confront the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact at the Fulda Gap between West Germany and East Germany. Intelligence agencies had to stay ahead of the Soviets. Diplomats had to negotiate with them. The people of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations had to see what life was really like in the West.

The result was the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Now, the formerly captive Warsaw Pact nations are members of NATO.

The National Security Strategy recognizes there has been a return to an era of great power competition, and that China is a competitor. It lays out a U.S. whole-of-government approach that it says must be taken to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to overturn the international order.

“The United States is responding to the [Chinese Communist Party’s] direct challenge by acknowledging that we are in a strategic competition and protecting our interests appropriately,” the White House report says. “The principles of the United States’ approach to China are articulated both in the [National Security Strategy] and our vision for the Indo-Pacific region — sovereignty, freedom, openness, rule of law, fairness, and reciprocity.”

While China is the main competitor, U.S.-Chinese relations do not determine America’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific region. U.S.-China relations are just part of the overall strategy in the region, the report says.

“By the same token, our vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region does not exclude China,” according to the report. “The United States holds the [People’s Republic of China] government to the same standards and principles that apply to all nations.”

Defense.gov (June 2020) White House Report Recommends Multi-Pronged Approach to Counter China