Guilty Plea to Theft of West Haven City Funds & Covid Relief, by State Representative & Employee, DiMassa, illustrates the Insider Threat

Tuesday, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut New Haven Division announced that Michael DiMassa, 31, of West Haven, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges stemming from his involvement in schemes that resulted in the theft of more than $1.2 million dollars in COVID relief funds and other funds from the City of West Haven. We often say that a security professional's worse nightmare is insiders like DiMassa, who have motive, where motive can be money, power, jealousy, revenge, and so on. 

Insiders like DiMassa have #MOM - Motive, Opportunity and Means to commit any crime, including voter fraud. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency(CISA)  defines Insider Threats as " the potential for an insider to use their authorized access or understanding of an organization to harm that organization. This harm can include malicious, complacent, or unintentional acts that negatively affect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the organization, its data, personnel, or facilities."  Depending on the experts, 70-90% of organizations have been victim of an Inside Threat.  DiMassa's case is an excellent illustration: For example, fraud prevention 101 in accounting involves accounts payable and accounts receivable. Accounts receivable (AR)  is considered an asset because the company is counting on receiving that money within the timeline defined when the sale was initiated, whereas accounts payable (AP) is considered a liability because the company needs to pay out that amount within a certain timeline.  These two functions need to remain strictly separate, in the hands of different departments or personnel. In fact, the American Institute of CPAs considers the separation of duties a fundamental accounting principle and essential internal control for every business, primarily to reduce the risk of fraud. 

Insiders like DeMassa use schemes to get around the AP/AR obstacle, often use plausible deniability and the most sophisticated is the use of new or modified algorithms.  Why it is said that a design, such as vote counting systems, says more about the designers (or Insiders) than the users.  Plausible deniability  is the ability of people, typically senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command, to deny knowledge of or responsibility for any damnable actions committed by members of their organizational hierarchy. They may do so because of a lack or absence of evidence that can confirm their participation, even if they were personally involved in or at least willfully ignorant of the actions. If illegal or otherwise disreputable and unpopular activities become public, high-ranking officials may deny any awareness of such acts to insulate themselves and shift the blame onto the agents who carried out the acts, as they are confident that their doubters will be unable to prove otherwise. The lack of evidence to the contrary ostensibly makes the denial plausible (credible), but sometimes, it makes any accusations only unactionable. Worse: 

The Insider at West Haven

DiMassa did not rely on plausible deniability, such as Uber’s former Chief Security Officer, or the more sophisticated use of algorithm, but simply get around the Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable obstacle

The Elegance of Simplicity - 

According to court records DiMassa was a Connecticut State Representative who was also employed by the City of West Haven, serving as the Administrative Assistant to the City Council. In April 2020, the State of Connecticut was allocated money by the U.S. Department of the Treasury through the Coronavirus Relief Fund (“CRF”), which was established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) for the purpose of helping local governments pay costs incurred in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. From July 2020 through September 2021, the City of West Haven received approximately $1,150,257 in financial assistance from this fund. DiMassa, who was authorized to approve the designated relief funds for the reimbursement of COVID-related expenditures incurred by West Haven, conspired with others to steal these funds and other West Haven funds through the submission of fraudulent invoices, and subsequent payment, for COVID relief goods and services that were never provided.

Scheme One: Bypassing the AP/AR Obstacle

In one scheme, DiMassa conspired with John Bernardo, who was employed by the City of West Haven as a Housing Specialist in the office of Community Development Administration. In January 2021, DiMassa and Bernardo formed Compass Investment Group, LLC. Beginning in February 2021, Compass Investment Group LLC fraudulently billed the City of West Haven and its “COVID-19 Grant Department” for consulting services purportedly provided to the West Haven Health Department that were not performed. From February 2021 through September 2021, the City of West Haven paid Compass Investment Group a total of $636,783.70 DiMassa made several large cash withdrawals from the Compass Investment Group LLC bank account.

Scheme Two:  Use Family to do the Laundry

DiMassa also conspired with his wife, Lauren DiMassa, through the submission of numerous fraudulent invoices to West Haven for services related to a Youth Violence Prevention Program and for Youth Violence COVID-19 Associated Expenses. These invoices listed charges for in-home counseling, cleaning supplies, special needs hourly service, wi-fi assistance for low/moderate income families, counseling services, license fees, a fall youth clinic, meals, support group supplies, equipment rental, and youth clinic support group. West Haven made at least 16 payments totaling approximately $147,776.10 to Lauren DiMassa, who never provided any services to the City of West Haven.

Scheme Three: Use Friends to do the Laundry

In a third scheme, DiMassa conspired with another individual through the submission of fraudulent invoices from companies, which were controlled by DiMassa’s co-conspirator, to West Haven for goods and services, including thousands of units of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), HVAC maintenance at multiple municipal locations, COVID supplies for the Board of Education, and cleaning services for various municipal and school buildings, including one school building that had been vacant and abandoned for several years. The co-conspirator’s companies received approximately $431,982 through this scheme. DiMassa has agreed to pay restitution of $1,216,541.80.

So, you still think that voter fraud by Insiders is not possible?

Ho, Hum, US charges 13 CCP agents in three espionage cases: Nothing New

In three separate cases in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey, the Justice Department has charged 13 individuals, including members of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) security and intelligence apparatus and their agents, for alleged efforts to unlawfully exert influence in the United States for the benefit of the government of the PRC.

In the Eastern District of New York, an eight-count indictment was unsealed on Oct. 20 charging seven PRC nationals – two of whom were arrested on Oct. 20 in New York – with participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States. The defendants are accused of conducting surveillance of and engaging in a campaign to harass and coerce a U.S. resident to return to the PRC as part of an international extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt, " which has been going on for years.  Our last report on Operation Fox Hunt was in April.  Also on April of this year FBI Director Christopher Wray finally called out China as an Inside Threat 

You might recall Eric Swalwell and Fang Fang. Or as Fox's Michael Ruiz puts it: Democrats' China connections keep piling up, including representative Eric Swalwell and Barbara Boxer. Senator Ted Cruz told Sunday Morning Futures Maria Bartiromo ” ‘The Democratic Party today is funded by Big Tech and giant corporations which are in bed with Chinese communists’”

In February of this year, FBI Director Christopher Wray felt compelled to call out LinkedIn when discussing the Chinese threat: “Now, as an aside, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that we see an awful lot of Chinese intelligence outreach on social media, especially on LinkedIn." In March five defendants were charged with various crimes related to efforts by the Chinese secret police to stalk, harass and spy on Chinese nationals residing in Queens, New York, and elsewhere in the United States. On April 27, 2022, FBI Director Christopher Wray illustrated the extent of the Chinese threat, saying that of the 56 field offices the FBI has across the country, every single one has cases on the Chinese government’s attempts to steal U.S.-based information and technology, use intelligence officers, hackers, front companies, seemingly benign joint ventures or research partnerships and recruiting employees who use their legitimate access to steal corporate secrets, what we all refer to as “insider threats. in May Chemist Dr. Xiaorong You for conspiracy to steal trade secrets, economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, and wire fraud and five indicted on charges related to CCP spying on Chinese nationals in US and abroad

But if you believe Mainstream Media, This is due to a Biden initiative. According to Politico "The Biden administration is intensifying its efforts to put the spotlight on alleged covert operations by the Chinese government in the United States, unveiling a trio of criminal cases on Monday that included one in which Chinese operatives were accused of attempting to pay bribes for inside information about the high-profile prosecution of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei." This story, like the mainstream media pouncing on the Election Integrity narrative with vanilla headlines and without asking a single question looks more like PR:  While we have been urging the FBI to address the insidious Inside Threat for years, both mainstream media and law enforcement seem to ignore it.

Back to today's news:  criminal complaint was unsealed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn charging two People’s PRC intelligence officers with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of New York. The defendants remain at large.

In the District of New Jersey, an indictment was unsealed today charging four Chinese nationals, including three Ministry of State Security (MSS) intelligence officers, in connection with a long-running intelligence campaign targeting individuals in the United States to act as agents of the PRC

United States v. Quanzhong An, et al., Eastern District of New York

An eight-count indictment was unsealed on Oct. 20 in Brooklyn charging a total of seven nationals of the PRC – Quanzhong An, 55, of Roslyn, New York; Guangyang An, 34, of Roslyn, New York; Tian Peng, 38, of the PRC; Chenghua Chen of the PRC; Chunde Ming of the PRC; Xuexin Hou, 52, of the PRC; and Weidong Yuan, 55, of the PRC – with participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States. The lead defendant, Quanzhong An, allegedly acted at the direction and under the control of various officials with the PRC’s government’s Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection (Provincial Commission) – including Peng, Chen, Ming, and Hou – to conduct surveillance of and engage in a campaign to harass and coerce a U.S. resident to return to the PRC as part of an international extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”

Quanzhong An and Guangyang An were arrested on Thursday and were arraigned that afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr. The remaining defendants remain at large.

As alleged in the indictment, the defendants participated in an international campaign to threaten and intimidate John Doe-1, a resident of United States, and his family to force John Doe-1 to return to the PRC. These efforts were part of “Operation Fox Hunt,” an initiative by the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security to locate and repatriate alleged fugitives who flee to foreign countries, including the United States. The PRC government has targeted these alleged fugitives and their families to compel cooperation with the PRC government and self-repatriation to the PRC. The PRC government has taken such law enforcement actions on U.S. soil in a unilateral manner without approval, of or coordination with the U.S. government.

Quanzhong An, who is a businessman operating in Queens, New York, and the majority shareholder of a hotel in Flushing, acted as the primary U.S.-based liaison for the Provincial Commission’s targeting of John Doe-1 and his family members, including his son, John Doe-2, both in the United States and in the PRC. As part of the scheme, various PRC-based conspirators forced a relative in the PRC (John Doe-3) to travel from the PRC to the United States in September 2018 to meet with John Doe-2 and convey threats that were intended to coerce John Doe-1’s return to the PRC. Yuan – John Doe-3’s superior at the PRC’s State Administration of Taxation – escorted John Doe-3 from the PRC to the United States, under the guise of a visit with a tour group.

PRC-based defendants and coconspirators also engaged in a pattern of harassment targeting John Doe-1’s family members. In November 2017, Hou wrote John Doe-2 warning him that “coming back and turning yourself in is the only way out.” Hou further threatened that “avoidance and wishful thinking will only result in severe legal punishments.” The PRC government also harassed John Doe-1 and John Doe-2 through the filing of a lawsuit in New York State court, alleging that John Doe-1 had stolen funds from his former PRC based employer and that John Doe-2 had knowledge of and benefitted from his father’s scheme.

In a series of recorded meetings in 2020, 2021, and 2022, Quanzhong An repeatedly met with John Doe-2 and attempted to persuade John Doe-2 to cause the return of John Doe-1 to the PRC. In these meetings, Quanzhong An acknowledged that he is a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which enforces the rules and regulations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) abroad. At various times, he attributed his instructions to Chen, Ming, and Peng and acknowledged that the Fox Hunt operation was motivated by the PRC government’s need to “save their faces” and repatriate as many fugitives as possible.

Quanzhong An admitted that he was acting as an agent of the Provincial Commission to increase his standing in the PRC. During his meetings with John Doe-2, Quanzhong An repeatedly transmitted threats on behalf of the PRC government. If John Doe-1 did not return, the PRC government would “keep pestering you, [and] make your daily life uncomfortable,” in addition to actions to “target and monitor” John Doe-1’s relatives in the PRC. On another occasion, he stated that “they will definitely find new ways to bother you” and “it is definitely true that all of your relatives will be involved.”

As set forth in the detention memorandum, Quanzhong An met with John Doe-2 again on Sept. 29, 2022. During this meeting, Quanzhong An pressed for John Doe-1 to execute an agreement to return to the PRC in advance of the CCP’s 20th National Congress, which began on Oct. 16, 2022. As part

United States v. Dong He, et al., Eastern District of New York

A criminal complaint was unsealed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn charging two People’s Republic of China (PRC) intelligence officers with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of New York. The defendants remain at large.

According to court documents, Dong He, aka Guochun He and aka Jacky He, and Zheng Wang, aka Zen Wang, allegedly orchestrated a scheme to steal files and other information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to the ongoing federal criminal investigation and prosecution of a global telecommunications company (Company-1) based in the PRC, including by paying a $41,000 Bitcoin bribe to a U.S. government employee who the defendants believed had been recruited to work for the PRC, but who in fact was a double agent working on behalf of the FBI.

Dong He and Zheng Wang are charged with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution of Company-1 in federal district court in the Eastern District of New York. Defendant He also is charged with money laundering based upon a bribe payment of $41,000 in Bitcoin made in furtherance of the scheme.

According to the complaint, the defendants are PRC intelligence officers conducting foreign intelligence operations targeting the United States, on behalf of the PRC government and for the benefit of Company-1. Starting in 2019, they directed an employee at a U.S. government law enforcement agency (GE-1), whom they believed they had recruited as an asset, to steal confidential information about the criminal prosecution of Company-1 in order to interfere with that prosecution. In actuality, GE-1 was working as a double agent on behalf of the FBI.

In September 2021, the defendants tasked GE-1 with reporting about meetings that GE-1 was purportedly having with prosecutors in Brooklyn at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. In written communications, the defendants said they were particularly interested in knowing which Company-1 employees had been interviewed by the government and in obtaining a description of the prosecutors’ evidence, witness list and trial strategy.

In October 2021, GE-1 used an encrypted messaging program to send the defendants a single page from a purported internal strategy memorandum from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York regarding the Company-1 case. The document appeared to be classified as “SECRET” and to discuss a plan to charge and arrest two current Company-1 employees living in the PRC. Dong He responded that the document was “exactly what I am waiting for” and that he was “waiting for the feedback from some guys” about whether there were any questions about the document. Dong He then paid GE-1 approximately $41,000 in Bitcoin for stealing that document.

GE-1 also asked the defendants for any feedback about the “SECRET” document. In November 2021, Dong He stated that “[Company-1] didn’t give me specifically feedback now yet, but they are obviously interested in it, and my boss and they need further information.” Dong He further told GE-1 that “[Company-1] obviously will be interested” in GE-1 stealing another part of the strategy memorandum, and “maybe will offer more” for that information. In December 2021, in response to a further request by GE-1 for feedback or guidance from Company-1 about “what they want me to get,” Dong He explained that “they didn’t give me any positive feedback yet and demanded to communicate with you directly.” Dong He said that he refused Company-1’s request to speak directly to GE-1 because “it’s too dangerous.

United States v. Wang Lin et al., District of New Jersey

A federal indictment was unsealed Monday charging four Chinese nationals, including three Ministry of State Security (MSS) intelligence officers, in connection with a long-running intelligence campaign targeting individuals in the United States to act as agents of the PRC.

As alleged in the indictment, from at least 2008 to 2018, Wang Lin, 59; Bi Hongwei, age unknown; Dong Ting, aka Chelsea Dong, 40; Wang Qiang, 55, and others engaged in a wide-ranging and systematic effort to target and recruit individuals to act on behalf of the PRC in the United States with requests to provide information, materials, equipment, and assistance to the Chinese government in ways that would further China’s intelligence objectives. These recruitment efforts included targeting professors at universities, a former federal law enforcement and state homeland security official, and others to act on behalf of, and as agents of, the Chinese government.

As part of the conspiracy, MSS intelligence officers Wang Lin, Dong Ting, and others used a purported academic institute at Ocean University of China – referred to as the Institute for International Studies (IIS) – as cover for their clandestine intelligence activities. Acting under cover as the purported director of the IIS, Wang Lin, in coordination with other MSS operatives operating under the guise of academics at the IIS, targeted professors at American universities and others in the United States with access to sensitive information and equipment.

According to the indictment unsealed today, MSS intelligence officers Wang Lin, Bi, Dong, and others, acting for and on behalf of the MSS and the Chinese government, systematically targeted United States persons, including but not limited to a coconspirator who was a resident of the state of New Jersey and a second individual who was a former federal law enforcement officer and state homeland security official and a professor at an American university.

Among other things, the conspiracy targeted the second individual by inviting the individual in 2008 and 2018 on all-expenses-paid trips to China sponsored by the IIS. During those trips, Wang Lin, Dong, and others sought to recruit this individual as a human source, requesting that the individual provide sensitive fingerprint technology, information, and assistance with stopping planned protests along the 2008 Olympic Games torch route in the United States, which the conspirators expressed would be “embarrassing” to China. The individual also was requested to sign a contract for purported consulting services with a Chinese company whose “core value” was the “national interest and national security” of China, with an objective to “protect the national interest and Chinese enterprises’ overseas interest[s]” and to “build sources and channels to collect security information.” Recognizing Wang Lin, Dong, and others as Chinese intelligence officers, the individual refused these requests and reported them to law enforcement.

The conspiracy also targeted the coconspirator in New Jersey by tasking the coconspirator to take specific action in the United States in furtherance of the MSS’ intelligence objective. Wang Qiang coordinated a meeting in 2016 between the coconspirator, Wang Lin, and Bi Hongwei in the Bahamas, at which time MSS intelligence officers Wang Lin and Bi directed the coconspirator to obtain U.S. currency and provide it to a designated individual in New Jersey. The coconspirator returned to New Jersey and did as Wang Lin and BI instructed. Wang Qiang then visited the coconspirator in New Jersey, at which time Wang Qiang and the coconspirator discussed in detail their and others’ activities taken on behalf of the Chinese government in the United States.

Lin, Bi, Dong and Qiang, all are nationals and residents of the People’s Republic of China. They each are charged in the indictment with conspiracy to act in the United States as agents of a foreign government, namely, the People’s Republic of China, without prior notification to the Attorney General of the United States, as required by law, and to direct such unlawful action by others in the United States. The conspiracy charge carries a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000

The DOJ/FBI Expands the Election Integrity Narrative With 2022 Election Day Program - Inside Threat Not Addressed

 You might recall that last week, the FBI warned, and mainstream media quickly jumped on it,  about threats against election workers, volunteers & officials, because according to the FBI, free and fair elections are the cornerstone of American democracy. Individuals who oversee and participate in the administration of elections, including poll workers, volunteers, and election officers, help safeguard the integrity of the democratic process.  Specific examples of election workers identified by the DOJ in the warning, it includes:

• A Secretary of State or someone in their staff
• An employee of a state or county’s board of elections
• An individual volunteering at polling stations
• Clerks handling and counting casted ballots

And according to the Department of Justice, the DOJ in close partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, established the Threats to Election Workers Task Force (Task Force) to identify, mitigate, and investigate reports of threats targeting election workers. The Task Force receives and assesses reports of threats targeting election workers to determine next steps, in consultation with the Department of Justice.  

While the mainstream media pounced on the Election Integrity narrative with vanilla headlines and without asking a single question.  At first it appeared there were no takers.  As the day progressed, the media did pick up the story with the headlines designed to provide what their audience wanted to hear:  Like WVNCTV “Program ready to stop Fraud, protect rights.” Or KCRG’s “Election Day Program Seeks to Thwart Voting Discrimination and Intimidation.”  On closer examination, we noticed that the press releases coming from the Department of Justice announcing the Election Day Program all had similar headlines: United States Attorney Announces Election Day Program, except that the one coming out from the Southern District of West Virginia reads as follows: United States Attorney's Office Implements Election Day Program to Stop Fraud and Protect Voting Rights. Why only Virginia?

 We faulted last week’s FBI's  warnings for not addressing the higher risk vulnerability:  The Inside Threat

Vanilla Headlines

Today’s 2022 Election Day Program advances the narrative, and still falls short. as it states that the DOJ  has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud.  The Department will address these violations wherever they occur.  The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process. Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice.  

Election Day Program Headlines

As the DOJ seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process, we get the news that no one involved on the Dirty Russia Dossie designed to interfere with the 2016 elections has been held to account. Just yesterday, IgorDanchenko accused of lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of the dossier was acquired. The third case brought by Special Counsel John Durham as part of his probe into how the FBI conducted its own investigation into allegations of collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Recall the FBI offered Christopher Steele $1 million to prove the dossier claims. Then there is the FBI's tone deaf Trust In Me Public Service Announcement.

 “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson.  He added  “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy,” Thompson said. “We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.  In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA Goes will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at

In case of a crime of violence or intimidation, you are advised to call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

As we like to say often, A Security professional’s worse nightmare is Insiders with Motive. Insiders with Motive have #MOM – Motive, Opportunity & Means to commit any crime, including voter fraud, A motive can be money, power, revenge, jealousy, political partisanship and so on. Earlier this year the FBI issued a warning titled “Mitigating Threats Posed by Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Actors’ Exploitation of Default Multifactor Authentication Protocol and “PrintNightmare” Vulnerability” encouraging all organizations to take enable, enforce, and properly configure MFA as well as prioritize patching of known exploited vulnerabilities. Yet Dr. Anna Gabrielian, Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, and Major Jamie Lee Henry, US Army, Fort Bragg, NC., were indicted for trying to provide medical information about U.S. military members to the Russian Federation.  The takeaway is that anyone in the election process, from United Postal Service Workers to, IT workers, Electoral Registration Forms Officials, if not monitored properly, can create the most damage and we do not see the DOJ/FBI actively protect against this threat.

 

 Related

Exhibit A:  Corporate Greed & Inside Threat


US software gives #China its hypersonic edge

Investigative report shows how US software firms put profit before security by selling China #hypersonicweapon test tools


https://asiatimes.com/2022/10/us-software-gives-china-its-hypersonic-edge/
Exhibit A: Inside Threat The Agency’s carelessness in protecting its own agents reveals the cynicism of the US government’s treatment of whistleblowers



https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/10/18/the-cias-hypocrisy-on-sources-and-methods/

It’s been two years since 51 intelligence agents interfered with an election — they still won’t apologize



https://nypost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/nypost.com/2022/10/19/its-been-two-years-since-51-intelligence-agents-interfered-with-an-election-they-still-wont-apologize/amp/

Director of Islamic Center (ITMIC) pleaded guilty to embezzlement

Ahmed A. Sh. Ahmed, 43, of Gahanna, former director of a local Islamic center pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to embezzling funds from the mosque, defrauding public housing, and filing for fraudulent COVID assistance funds. Ahmed admitted in federal court today to committing wire fraud, submitting a false statement and making a false statement.

From 2009 until March 2019, Ahmed was employed as the Director of the Ibn Taymiyah Masjid and Islamic Center (ITMIC) on Mock Road in Columbus.  During this period, Ahmed used his position of trust - the Inside Threat - to embezzle funds from the religious organization: Ahmed wrote unauthorized checks from ITMIC’s accounts to himself. Each year from 2015 through 2018.


Ahmed also defrauded the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority’s housing choice voucher program. From 2014 until at least 2020, Ahmed submitted false claims to obtain housing subsidies he would not otherwise qualify.


Ahmed falsely claimed his personal income was $18,000 annually and did not report any household assets. In reality, Ahmed and his wife deposited more than $235,000 into their bank accounts from 2014 through 2018.


Ahmed fraudulently applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance nine times from August until October 2020. During that same time frame, Ahmed generated at least $4,000 in revenue by producing and posting approximately 126 YouTube videos to his YouTube channel.

As part of his plea, Ahmed will pay more than $37,400 in restitution to the Islamic center. 

FBI Warns about Election Workers - Ignores Inside Threat

The FBI Cautions About Threats to Election Workers Ahead of the November 2022 Midterm Elections, as well it should and mainstream media eats it up line, hook and sinker without asking a single question

Output from simple Google search

According to the FBI, free and fair elections are the cornerstone of American democracy. Individuals who oversee and participate in the administration of elections to include poll workers, volunteers, and election officers, help safeguard the integrity of the democratic process. The FBI continues to prioritize identifying, mitigating, and investigating threats targeting election workers and provides the following information to assist the public in reporting threats of violence against election workers, While we applaud the FBI's concern, we argue the FBI is not prioritizing the number one vulnerability in the Democratic process: The Inside Threat. A Security professionals worse nightmare is Insiders with Motive. Insiders with Motive have #MOM - Motive, Opportunity & Means to commit any crime, including voter fraud, A motive can be money, power, revenge, jealousy, political partisanship and so on. Earlier this year the FBI issued a warning titled “Mitigating Threats Posed by Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Actors’ Exploitation of Default Multifactor Authentication Protocol and “PrintNightmare” Vulnerability” encouraging all organizations to take enable, enforce, and properly configure MFA as well as prioritize patching of known exploited vulnerabilities. Yet Dr. Anna Gabrielian, Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, and Major Jamie Lee Henry, US Army, Fort Bragg, NC., were indicted for trying to provide medical information about U.S. military members to the Russian Federation.

Also earlier this year Chenyan Wu and Lianchun Chen, a married couple who worked as research scientists for a major American pharmaceutical company, pleaded guilty to criminal charges stemming from their efforts to gather confidential mRNA research from that company to advance the husband’s competing laboratory research in China. Yet another example of the Inside Threat. In April 2021, a federal jury convicted Chemist Dr. Xiaorong You of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage, and wire fraud in a classic case of an insider Job.

You may recall that In 2013, Snowden was hired by an NSA contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, after previous Snowden says he gradually became disillusioned with the programs with which he was involved, and that he tried to raise his ethical concerns through internal channels but was ignored. When Edward Snowden stole the crown jewels of the National Security Agency, all he needed, was a few thumb drives and the willingness to exploit a gaping hole in an antiquated security system to rummage at will through the NSA’s servers and take 20,000 documents without leaving a trace. And earlier this year Mark Robert Unkenholz of Hanover Maryland was indicted for willful transmission and retention of National Defense Information (NDI).

Most recently the conviction of Joseph Sullivan, Uber’s Chief Security Officer illustrates the inside threat as well as the proposed cyber paradigm change: The higher the trust level, the lower the trust. Within days of being hired, Sullivan was involved in a data breach cover up.

On April 27, 2022 FBI Director Christopher Wray illustrated the extent of the Chinese threat, Wray says that of the 56 field offices the FBI has across the country, every single one has cases on the Chinese government’s attempts to steal U.S.-based information and technology, use intelligence officers, hackers, front companies, seemingly benign joint ventures or research partnerships and recruiting employees who use their legitimate access to steal corporate secrets, what we all refer to as “insider threats.” While we have been urging the FBI to address the insidious Inside Threat for years, this is the first time we see Director Wray address it - indirectly. For instance, Inside Threat was conspicuously absent in the FBI 2021 Internet Crime, even though Rachel Rojas, heads up the Bureau’s Insider Threat Office

The old proverb applies to elections integrity:  It does not matter who votes, but who counts the votes. By this time, a cynic might ask, given all these indictment, if there were any insiders committing fraud, wouldn't they have been outed by now?  Perhaps, but now its my turn to be skeptical.  Remind me again which prominent progressive (redacted)  has been held to account for the voting irregularities, Russia Hoax, Ukraine Hoax, corruption or any other trespass? Like destroying email server and smart phones, withholding Hunter Biden's PC evidence. To date, not a single John in Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell's black book has either been leaked to the press or raided by the FBI  When considering that even the SCOTUS' Roe v Wade Decision was leaked do you really believe that the Insider Threat is not a threat to the democratic process?

Uber’s Chief Security Officer Convicted: A Cyber Teaching Moment

Joseph Sullivan, the former Chief Security Officer of Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”), was convicted on Wednesday October 5, 2022 on charges of covering up data breach.  According to court records Sullivan’s wad involved in two separate hacks of Uber’s databases.  While Sullivan was hired as Uber’s Chief Security Officer (“CSO”) in April 2015 he was involved in two hacks: one in 2014 and another in 2016.  When Sullivan was hired, Uber disclosed to the FTC that it had been the victim of a data breach in 2014 and that the breach was related to the unauthorized access of approximately 50,000 consumers’ personal information, including their names and driver’s license numbers.

In May 2015, the month after Sullivan was hired, the FTC served a detailed Civil Investigative Demand on Uber demanding  extensive information about any other instances of unauthorized access to user personal information, and information regarding Uber’s broader data security program and practices.  In his new role as CSO, Sullivan supervised Uber’s responses to the FTC’s questions, participated in a presentation to the FTC in March 2016, and testified under oath, at length, to the FTC on November 4, 2016, regarding Uber’s data security practices. Sullivan’s testimony included specific representations about steps he claimed Uber had taken to keep customer data secure. 

Ten days after his FTC testimony, Sullivan learned that Uber had been hacked again. The hackers reached out to Sullivan directly, via email, on November 14, 2016. The hackers informed Sullivan and others at Uber that they had stolen a significant amount of Uber user data, and they demanded a large ransom payment from Uber in exchange for their deletion of that data. Employees working for Sullivan verified the accuracy of these claims and the massive theft of user data, which included records on approximately 57 million Uber users and 600,000 driver license numbers.

After learning the extent of the 2016 breach and rather than reporting it to the FTC, any other authorities,, Sullivan told a subordinate that they “can’t let this get out,” instructed them that the information needed to be “tightly controlled,” and that the story outside of the security group was to be that “this investigation does not exist.” Sullivan then arranged to pay off the hackers in exchange for them signing non-disclosure agreements in which the hackers promised not to reveal the hack to anyone, and also contained the false representation that the hackers did not take or store any data in their hack. Uber paid the hackers $100,000 in bitcoin in December 2016, despite the fact that the hackers had refused to provide their true names. Uber was ultimately able to identify the two hackers in January of 2017 and required them to execute new copies of the non-disclosure agreements in their true names and emphasized that they were not allowed to talk about the hack to anyone else. Sullivan orchestrated these acts despite knowing that the hackers were hacking and extorting other companies as well as Uber, and that the hackers had obtained data from at least some of those other companies.

Despite knowing that Uber had suffered another data breach directly responsive to the FTC’s inquiry, Sullivan continued to work with the Uber lawyers handling or overseeing that inquiry, including the General Counsel of Uber, and never mentioned the incident to them. Instead, he touted the work that he and his team had done on data security. Uber ultimately entered into a preliminary settlement with the FTC in summer 2016, supported fully by Sullivan, without disclosing the 2016 data breach to the FTC.

In Fall 2017, Uber’s new management began investigating facts surrounding the 2016 data breach. At the time Sullivan lied, falsely telling the new CEO that the hackers had only been paid after they were identified and deleting from a draft summary prepared by one of his reports that the hack had involved personally identifying information and a very large quantity of user data. Sullivan lied again to Uber’s outside lawyers conducting an investigation into the incident. Nonetheless, the truth about the breach was ultimately discovered by Uber’s new management, which disclosed the breach publicly, and to the FTC, in November 2017. 

In finding Sullivan guilty, the jury concluded he obstructed justice, and that he knew that a federal felony had been committed and took affirmative steps to conceal that felony.

 

A Teaching Moment. I often argue that a security professional’s worse nightmare is the Inside Threat:  Insiders with motive have Motive, Means and Opportunity (MOM) to commit a crime.  In Sullivan’s case, the Inside Threat is a second order effect and not too bright:  He brought his subordinates on board with not visible incentive, other than the implicit threat of being fired. Yesterday, the FBI Boston Office released a “Trust In Me”  public service announcement. During the announcement, Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division said “The first step towards protecting yourself from cyber incidents is to develop a relationship with the FBI. Doing so enables you to identify who to call in the event you do suffer a cyber incident, granting quick and efficient access to our rich network of resources. Cybersecurity is national security, and by working together and reporting these incidents to us, you are working to help prevent these bad actors from victimizing others, and potentially from re-victimizing you.”  I disagreed with Mr. Bonavolonta then and now.  With all due respect to Special Agent Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the first step towards protecting yourself from cyber incidents is not to develop a relationship with the FBI.  While a relationship with the FBI is important, given the trust and competency issues: . For example, The FBI’s Cyber Guardian system “rather than a beacon of trust, as the moniker implies, an audit report from the Justice Department’s internal watchdog paints a picture of a guardian that is not dependable, given to simple errors and late with needed information.”    The FBI’s email servers was previously  hacked, resulting in spam emails being sent to the public that appeared to be from the agency and the Department of Homeland Security.  Instead, we first recommend a review of the $1.00 fence for the $1,000 horse.  There are two types of businesses;  Those who know they have been victims of security breaches and those that don’t.  Why it is important to identify and prioritize the stored information aka as intellectual property.  We also suggest a paradigm change:  The higher the trust level in your computer, the least trust.  The people you trust the most, are the most dangerous.  This is known as the Inside Threat, which we have been preaching for years, but the FBI often leaves out: In remarks prepared April 27, 2022 for delivery to the Domestic Security Alliance Council, FBI Director Christopher Wray finally referred to the Inside Threat and  made it clear the counterintelligence threat posed by China is top of mind and " nothing presents a broader, more severe threat to our ideas, our innovation, and our economic security than the People’s Republic of China.". 

 

 Number three, develop a relationship with the FBI.  In the Uber case, bringing in Mr. Sullivan to Uber at the highest level of trust, management should have treated him with the least trust. The accounting issue should have been a big red flag for management as Uber paid the hackers $100,000 in bitcoin in December 2016.  Who signed off on the payment?  Where were the lawyers.

 

 

 

 

FBI Releases Tone Deaf "Trust in Me" PSA, as it Partners with Moderna

In a seemingly tone deaf public service announcement  (PSA) released yesterday the FBI Boston highlighted the need for a strong, bilateral relationship in guarding against multi-faceted cyber criminal syndicates and nation state actors, as it announced a team-up with Moderna

“The first step towards protecting yourself from cyber incidents is to develop a relationship with the FBI. Doing so enables you to identify who to call in the event you do suffer a cyber incident, granting quick and efficient access to our rich network of resources. Cybersecurity is national security, and by working together and reporting these incidents to us, you are working to help prevent these bad actors from victimizing others, and potentially from re-victimizing you.”  said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division.

The Trust Issue

The PSA comes hours the FBI released its 2021 Statistics from the National Crime Data Collection,  with only 63% of the nation’s more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies submitting data for 2021, the lowest level of participation the FBI has reported since 1979, that CNN Priya Krishnakumar says: The FBI released its crime report for 2021 - but it tells us less about the overall state of crime in the US than ever" The FBI attributes the low participation rate on a  change to NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System), the data collection system used by the agency.  While the low participation rate is a major concern, the agency has decided to compensate the participation rate with estimates.  Since participation is voluntary  the biggest police departments in the country, including the LAPD and NYPD, did not submit any data at all to the FBI last year, which means the FBI estimates will normalize high crime rates. But trust is a major issue. 

According to Marjorie Green trust is a major issue: “The lack of transparency and political bias at the top echelon of the FBI, that is unfolding in the public eye, is deepening the public’s mistrust of the Federal Bureau of Investigations. With the recent news that the FBI somehow “lost” five months’ worth of text messages between FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, the public is in an uproar and severely in unbelief as to how these messages were supposedly lost. Sadly, it is stories such as these that deepen negative public perception of those in law enforcement who strive to serve the public and do a good job

FBI Dallas Celebrated Oct 3rd as Hate Crime Awareness Day.  In the fall of 2021, the FBI launched a national media campaign with billboards, ads, and radio spots that built public awareness of hate crimes and encouraged crime reporting to law enforcement. According to FBI Dallas Public Affairs Officers Melinda Urbina and Katie Chaumont, Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI’s civil rights program because of the devastating impact they have on families and communities. As part of its responsibility to uphold the civil rights of the American people, the FBI takes a number of steps to combat hate crimes including investigative activity, law enforcement support, training, and public outreach. Yet he DOJ's civil rights division, headed by Kristine Clarke is the same one that days after President Joe Biden’s divisive speech to the nation and the FBI designating patriotic symbology as indicative of domestic terrorism,  dispatched more than 20 FBI agents in full SWAT gear to arrest pro-life Catholic husband and father Mark Houck.

 

You may recall Senator Cotton opposed Ms Clarke's nomination  because "She is extremely partisan. She called Senator Murkowski ``shameful.'' She accused Senator Manchin of being disingenuous. And she casually slandered 200-- 200--sitting, Senate-confirmed judges as ``white male extremists.'..

On August 4, 2022, the FBI's Director Wray submitted a 42,000+ word statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee holding up the exemplary work the Bureau is doing addressing its top priorities, which the Federalist's Jordan Boyd  characterizes as  FBI Director Sets New Record For Lies, Dodges, And Obfuscations To Avoid Slight Attempts At Congressional Oversight: Wray told the committee in part:  "It is important to note that we have also recently seen an increase in fatal domestic violent attacks perpetrated by anti-government or anti-authority violent extremists, specifically militia violent extremists and anarchist violent extremists" and apparent reference to the January 6, 2020 Capitol breach.  Wray dismisses the riots, looting and violence across America, Mainstream Media characterizes as mostly peaceful protests by ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter. Would you trust this agency?  

Not convinced yet? “The FBI has long been a political tool of Presidents and the Deep-State. My esteemed readers, I will review for you the corruption, the acts of cowardice and failures of the Federal Bureau of Matters, cough, Investigation.” Writes Mark Pullen, Published by Chief Editor, Sammy Campbell.  Not to mention the Department of Justice sending the FBI to raid former President Trump’s private home in Florida or dispatching the FBI to school board meetings to reign in parents the president of the National School Boards Association characterized as domestic terrorism and hate crimes

 According to Senator Chuck Grassley:  “Simply put, these two [DOJ Internal Report] documents show a systemic failure within the Justice Department and FBI to protect female employees from sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace and a failure to sufficiently punish employees for that same misconduct. FBI employees should not have to suffer under daily abuse and misconduct by their colleagues and supervisors.” Holding confidence and trust in the DOJ & FBI has never been more difficult given their egregious abuse of power inside and outside of these government agencies.

FBI Director Christopher Wray was spot on when he held a listening session and told the nation’s Police Chiefs : “While the FBI works to address a variety of threats, our bread-and-butter is fighting violent crime and being effective partners to state and local law enforcement.” Being an effective partner requires trust and the FBI has a mountain to climb before Americans can see the bureau as trustworthy.

The Big Pharma Issue

The Moderna partnership does not add trust, quite the opposite: it detracts from it. From the outset of the pandemic, the mainstream medical establishment, government bureaucracy, MSM & Big Tech were aligned behind a lockdown-at-all-costs strategy going as far as censoring contrarian views. Even today, the same players continue to promote the COVID vaccine not only for adults, but also children:  Tuesday, November 2, 2020 CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine. “CDC now expands vaccine recommendations to about 28 million children in the United States in this age group and allows providers to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible.”  As the Biden administration makes a major push to get Americans to take the updated COVID-19 vaccine, NPR reports that Disease experts hope that the new shot, which targets the latest COVID variants, will prevent a surge in fall and winter cases as seen in previous years." The New York Times reports that the Biden push aligns him with the vaccinated silent majority.  The NIH has even launched a misinformation campaign supported by MSM and Big Tech – LinkedIn has censored my posts critical of the NIH:  Vaccine skepticism " - has existed since the advent of the technology itself. However, the mass uptake of social media is blamed for the significant traction recently gained by the ‘anti-vax’ movement. A recent report found that 400 anti-vax social media accounts contain 58 million followers based primarily in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.1 Misinformation campaigns such as these have contributed to the decline in routine childhood vaccination uptake,2 infection outbreaks stripping numerous European countries of their ‘measles-free’ status3 and the World Health Organization naming vaccine hesitancy as a top ten threat to global public health.4 Vaccinated”

 

As to misinformation, you may know that on Twitter, Lijian Zhao,  @zlj517, a Chinese Spokesperson  on Twitter, blamed the CIA for planting the Wuhan Virus, at the time, China shut down all domestic travel, but it allowed international travel to continue. As mentioned before, from the outset of the pandemic, the mainstream medical establishment, government bureaucracy, MSM & Big Tech were aligned behind a lockdown-at-all-costs strategy.  Twitter banned all those expressing a contrarian view, including  myself, President Trump and others. But allowed Lijian Zhao, Dr Faucci and Dr Tedros to stay on Twitter. 

Pfizer has taken it to a different level using a piece in IFLScience titled Working At The Speed Of Science And Why You Should Be Excited, by Dr. Beccy Corkill to apparently put Pfizer’s customers’ minds at ease.  Dr. Corkill uses the Doubling of Knowledge Curve to explain why medical breakthroughs are possible – and apparently we should not be afraid of side effects.  I have been accusing of being anti-vaxx.  Im not.  I have a biodmedical engineering degree and believe in the scientific process.  Whi I argue to not follow the science.  Instead, follow the money, there you will find the science:  There is a pantheon of thousands, perhaps millions of products once deemed safe to use., like asbestos and DDT – years later, they were found to be hazardous to our health.  Just earlier this year, scientists found that Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and aspirin are widely used to treat pain and inflammation. But even at similar doses, different NSAIDs can have unexpected and unexplained effects on many diseases, including heart disease and cancer. If 50 years after DDT was banned, it's legacy is alive, imagine what we are going to find out about COVID Vaccine side effects 10 years from now! Can you imagine how much Big Pharma & the government would have to pay out if the Covid Vaccine was released with the same standards as Roundup or DDT?

 

Then there is Cybersecurity

With all due respect to Special Agent Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the first step towards protecting yourself from cyber incidents is not to develop a relationship with the FBI.  While a relationship with the FBI is important, given the trust and competency issues: . For example, The FBI’s Cyber Guardian system

“rather than a beacon of trust, as the moniker implies, an audit report from the Justice Department’s internal watchdog paints a picture of a guardian that is not dependable, given to simple errors and late with needed information.”    The FBI’s email servers was previously  hacked, resulting in spam emails being sent to the public that appeared to be from the agency and the Department of Homeland Security.  Instead, we first recommend a review of the $1.00 fence for the $1,000 horse.  There are two types of businesses;  Those who know they have been victims of security breaches and those that don’t.  Why it is important to identify and prioritize the stored information aka as intellectual property.  We also suggest a paradigm change:  The higher the trust level in your computer, the least trust.  The people you trust the most, are the most dangerous.  This is known as the Inside Threat, which we have been preaching for years, but the FBI often leaves out. As number three, develop a  relationship with the FBI.