FBI: October Is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

The FBI released the below information:

Internet-enabled crimes and cyber intrusions are becoming increasingly sophisticated and preventing them requires each and every user of a connected device to be aware and on guard.

“It’s no longer enough to be on the lookout for something in your inbox that appears suspicious,” said FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Matt Gorham. “As criminals have grown savvier and their efforts more targeted, individuals and organizations need to scrutinize messages and requests that appear legitimate.”

Some of the most common and damaging Internet-enabled crimes begin with an employee clicking a link in an email that appears to be from a colleague, following the instructions in a message that looks like it came from a supervisor, or opening an account link or invoice that seems to be from a trusted vendor.

“These routine actions can be what exposes a computer or an entire network to a ransomware attack, data breach, or another crime,” said Gorham. “As we mark National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, our hope is to focus attention on the efforts required to safeguard individual computers and accounts and secure and protect critical data and infrastructure.”

Now in its 16th year, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is hosted every October by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance. Multiple agencies and organizations, including the FBI, collaborate to raise awareness about cybersecurity and stress the collective effort needed to stop cyber intrusions and online thefts and scams.

“Today’s cyber threat is bigger than any one government agency—frankly, bigger than government itself,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a cybersecurity conference in March. “But I think no agency brings the same combination of scope and scale, experience, tools, and relationships that the FBI has.”

The FBI works in close coordination with the private sector as well as with state, local, and international partners to understand and anticipate cyber threats and pursue cyber criminals.

During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the FBI joins in asking every user of a connected device to Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.

“We look to the public and to organizations to engage by understanding these threats, taking preventive action, and reporting cyber crimes when they occur,” said Gorham.

Cyber Safety Tips

All computer users should keep systems and software up to date and use a good anti-virus program. These programs are not foolproof, however, and computer users themselves often help cybercriminals get through these safeguards. To avoid inadvertently downloading malicious code that can harm your network or giving a criminal money or valuable information, the FBI recommends these tips:

• Examine the email address and URLs in all correspondence. Scammers often mimic a legitimate site or email address by using a slight variation in spelling.
• If an unsolicited text message or email asks you to update, check, or verify your account information, do not follow the link provided in the message itself or call the phone numbers provided in the message. Go to the company’s website to log into your account or call the phone number listed on the official website to see if something does in fact need your attention.
• Do not open any attachments unless you are expecting the file, document, or invoice and have verified the sender’s email address.
• Carefully scrutinize all electronic requests for a payment or transfer of funds.
• Be extra suspicious of any message that urges immediate action.
• Confirm requests for wire transfers or payment in person or over the phone as part of a two-factor authentication process. Do not verify these requests using the phone number listed in the request for payment.

Own IT

Understand Your Digital Profile

Internet-based devices are present in every aspect of our lives: at home, school, work, and on the go. Constant connection provides opportunities for innovation and modernization, but also presents opportunities for potential cybersecurity threats that can compromise your most important personal information. Understand the devices and applications you use every day to help keep you and your information safe and secure.

Secure IT

Secure Your Digital Profile

Cybercriminals are very good at getting personal information from unsuspecting victims, and the methods are getting more sophisticated as technology evolves. Protect against cyber threats by learning about security features available on the equipment and software you use. Apply additional layers of security to your devices—like multi-factor authentication—to better protect your personal information.

Protect IT

Maintain Your Digital Profile

Every click, share, send, and post you make creates a digital trail that can be exploited by cybercriminals. To protect yourself from becoming a victim, you must understand, secure, and maintain your digital profile. Be familiar with and routinely check privacy settings to help protect your privacy and limit Internet-enabled crimes.

A Little Humor: The Lawyer's Dog

A lawyer’s dog was running around the neighborhood unleashed and he entered a butcher shop and stole a roast. 

The butcher went to the lawyer’s office and asked the lawyer, “If a dog is running unleashed and steals a piece of meat from my shop, do I have a right to demand payment for the meat from the dog’s owner?”

The lawyer answers, “Absolutely.”

“Then you owe me $8.50,” the butcher said, thinking he was clever and outwitted the lawyer. “Your dog was loose today and stole a roast from me today.”

Without a word, the lawyer wrote the butcher a check for $8.50.

Later that week, the butcher received a letter. He opened the letter and found an invoice from the lawyer. 

The invoice was in the amount of $25 due for a consultation.

Note: The above photo is of the late, great comic Groucho Marx in character as crooked lawyer Waldorf T. Flywheel, of the law firm Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel.  

Mobsters Are Still Quoting ‘The Godfather,’ Wiretapped Calls Show

Tamar Lapin at the New York Post offers a piece on how modern day mob guys are still quoting The Godfather film after all these years.

Mobsters are still quoting “The Godfather” nearly 50 years after the Mafia masterpiece came out, according to reputed Colombo capo Joseph Amato’s wiretapped phone calls.

Amato, 60, was allegedly giving a soon-to-be associate a heads up about his upcoming induction ceremony into the crime family, and suggested he dress as well as Emilio Barzini, the 1972 film’s antagonist, according to a transcript of the call, included court documents filed Thursday in Brooklyn federal court.

“You should go to bed early. Did you press your clothes?” Amato asked the pal, identified only as “CC1,” during their Dec. 10, 2018 call.

The pal was going to be “made,” or inducted into the crime family, the next day, the feds allege.

 “You’re gonna look like Barzini or what?” Amato asked of the big occasion, referring to Vito Corleone’s sleekly-dressed nemesis in the movie. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link: 

https://nypost.com/2019/10/03/mobsters-are-still-quoting-the-godfather-wiretapped-calls-show/

You can also read my Washington Times review of The Godfather, 50^th Anniversary Edition, via the below link:

www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2019/04/my-washington-times-review-of-mario.html

Note: The top photo shows Marlon Brando has the Godfather, Vito Corleone, and the below photo shows Richard Conte as Barzini in The Godfather. 

National Vodka Day: How The Spirit Rose To Popularity, And Why James Bond Might Prefer It In His Martinis

I’ve been a vodka drinker since I was a teenager serving in the U.S. Navy.

I was drawn to vodka by my childhood hero, Ian Fleming’s iconic character James Bond, who favored the beverage.

Although I’ll drink an occasional vodka martini, my preferred drink is Stolichnaya vodka on the rocks, with a slice of lime.

As today is National Vodka Day, Emily DeCiccio at Fonews.com offers a piece on vodka.

Experts, like mixologist Miguel Aranda of New York City's Osteria 57, weigh in on where vodka came from, how it gained popularity in the US, and how it is made.

Whether you like your vodka cocktails shaken, stirred, dry, or dirty, there’s a lot to learn about this clear spirit. So in honor of National Vodka Day, Fox News consulted a range of experts to deliver some insights — and recipes — regarding one of America's preferred spirits.

Bob Nolet, the vice president of marketing and the master distiller at Nolet Spirits, the producers of Ketel One, tells Fox News the drink has been "popular in the U.S. for a very long time," but credits the "cocktail mania" of the '80s for inspiring his own mother — among other spirit innovators — to develop their brands suited to new tastes.

After long and careful consideration, he's pretty confident that 007's preferred martini was made with vodka as opposed to gin.

"James Bond's preferred martini is a vodka martini, judging by how often he orders them in his novels," Nolet says. "He orders 19 vodka martinis, 16 gin martinis and one Vesper martini, made with both." (The website VinePair also credits 1962 film adaptation of "Dr. No" with popularizing the notion of a vodka martini, after Bond is provided with one at his request.) 

(Bond also specifically ordered a vodka martini in the film version of "Dr. No.") 

And not only is Bond fond of vodka —so are Americans. In the United States, vodka commands about 33 percent of the market share (by volume) among all spirits categories, and it ranks as the largest spirits category in the U.S., by volume, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/vodka-rose-to-popularity-james-bond-preferred-martini

Note: The above photo is of Sean Connery as James Bond in Dr. No. 

Philadelphia Man Sentenced To 27 Years For Sex Trafficking Of Children And For Training Others to Engage in Sex Trafficking

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania released the below information:

PHILADELPHIA – First Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Collin Cowell, a/k/a “Tyson,” 29, was sentenced to 324 months’ incarceration and 20 years’ supervised release by United States District Court Judge J. Curtis Joyner for his scheme to organize and manage a trafficking venture with ‘employees’ whom he trained to sell young girls into forced sexual conduct.  The defendant is also required to register as a sex offender.

The defendant was convicted in March 2018 of sex trafficking and aiding and abetting the sex trafficking of three minor children, two of whom were only 15 years old, in Philadelphia and elsewhere.  He was also convicted of the distribution of child pornography for posting a sexually explicit image of two of the young girls on backpage.com, a website Cowell and his co-defendants used to advertise the minors for commercial sex acts with sex buyers, which financially benefited him directly.  The defendant not only led the trafficking operation, he trained those working under him to engage in sex trafficking.

“Cowell’s crimes were devastating to his minor victims,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Williams. “Today’s sentence of almost three decades incarceration reflects the seriousness of his crimes and the irrevocable damage he caused, all in pursuit of financial gain. We will continue to work collectively to investigate these destructive crimes against vulnerable children.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melanie Babb Wilmoth.

A Little Humor: Religious Burial Service For A Dog

A man lived alone in South Philly with only his dog as a companion.

When the dog died, the man visited his parish priest and asked, “Father, my dog is dead. Could ya’ say a mass for my best friend, the poor creature?”

“I’m afraid not; we cannot have services for an animal in the church,” the Father replied. “But there is a Baptist church a couple of blocks north of here. Who knows what they believe in, so perhaps they’ll perform a service for your dog.”

“OK, thanks Father,” the man said. “Do ya’ think $5,000 is enough to donate to them for the service?”

“Sweet Mary and Jesus!” the Father exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me the dog was baptized Catholic?"

Note: The photo above is of Jimmy Cagney and Patrick O’Brian from Angels With Dirty Faces.   

Northern California Resident Charged With Acting As An Illegal Agent For Communist China

The Justice Department released the below information:

The Department of Justice unsealed charges today in a criminal complaint charging Xuehua Peng, also known as Edward Peng, 56, for acting as an illegal foreign agent in delivering classified United States national security information to officials of the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).

“According to the allegations, Peng conducted numerous dead drops here in the United States on behalf of Chinese intelligence officers and delivered classified information to them in China.  His arrest exposes and disrupts an operation by those Chinese intelligence officers to collect such information without having to step foot in this country,” said Assistant Attorney General of National Security John C. Demers.  “Coming on top of our many recent Chinese espionage cases—involving both national defense and intellectual property information—this case illustrates the seriousness of Chinese espionage efforts and the determination of the United States to thwart them.”

“The conduct charged in this case alleges a combination of age-old spycraft and modern technology,” said U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson for the Northern District of California.  “Defendant Xuehua (Edward) Peng is charged with executing dead drops, delivering payments, and personally carrying to Beijing, China, secure digital cards containing classified information related to the national security of the United States.”  U.S. Attorney Anderson further stated, “The charges announced today provide a rare glimpse into the secret efforts of the People’s Republic of China to obtain classified national security information from the United States and the battle being waged by our intelligence and law-enforcement communities to protect our people, our ideas, and our national defense.”

"The FBI, along with our partners, will aggressively pursue foreign agents operating illegally in the United States attempting to steal our country's most sensitive information." said Assistant Director John Brown of the Counterintelligence Division. "This case should serve as a warning to the government of China as well as any other foreign adversary looking to replicate this activity. The FBI, and our intelligence and law enforcement partners, will not waiver.  We will bring all of our resources to bear to defeat hostile foreign intelligence services and protect our nation's security. I would like to thank FBI counterintelligence personnel throughout the country who tirelessly worked this investigation over the course of many years, particularly those personnel in our Counterintelligence and San Francisco Divisions."

“Putting an end to Mr. Peng’s alleged actions are an important and significant step in dismantling the PRC’s overall efforts against our country,” said Special Agent in Charge Bennett of the FBI San Francisco Division.  "Our message is clear: the FBI, along with our intelligence community partners, will pursue foreign adversaries -at any level of an operation- and disrupt their malicious activity when it is detected."

According to the complaint filed Sept. 24, 2019, and unsealed this morning, Peng, 56, a U.S. citizen living in Hayward, California, acted at the direction and under the control of MSS officials in China in retrieving classified information passed to him by a confidential human source (the source), leaving money behind for the source, or both.  His activities included one dry run and at least five successful “dead drops” between October 2015 and July 2018.  The dead drops occurred in the Bay Area and in Columbus, Georgia.  

The table below summarizes the allegations in the complaint about each successful dead drop, including the date of the dead drop, the location of the dead drop, what Peng left in the hotel room, and what Peng retrieved from the hotel:

Date	Location	Peng Left in the Hotel	Peng Retrieved from the Hotel
6/23/2015	Newark, CA	n/a	Empty package (dry run)
10/24/2015	Newark, CA	n/a	SD card
4/23/2016	Oakland, CA	$20,000	SD card
7/1/2017	Columbus, GA	$20,000	n/a
9/9/2017	Columbus, GA	$10,000	SD card
6/30/2018	Columbus, GA	$20,000	SD card

In the June 23, 2015, “dry run,” no information or money was exchanged.  Instead, an empty package was left by the source for Peng at the front desk of a hotel, and Peng later retrieved it.  In the first successful dead drop, Peng retrieved a package containing an SD card from the front desk of a hotel.  In each of the other four successful dead drops, Peng booked hotel rooms and left a room key to be picked up by the source.  Peng then left envelopes of cash in the room, retrieved a secure digital card left there by the source, or both.

In each instance in which he retrieved an SD card from the hotel room, Peng then traveled to Beijing, China, shortly thereafter.  The complaint further alleges that Peng was told by an MSS handler, in coded language, where and when to conduct the dead drops, how much money to leave in exchange for the SD cards, and when to return to China to deliver them.  As alleged in the Complaint, the FBI secretly filmed Peng conducting some of the dead drops, and intercepted Peng’s telephone conversations with his MSS handlers in China. 

On Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, Peng was arrested at his residence in Hayward and made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero. Magistrate Judge Spero ordered Peng held without bond pending further proceedings. Peng’s next hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 2, 2019, at 10:30 am before the Honorable Jacqueline Corley, 450 Golden Gate Ave., 15th Floor, for a detention hearing and identification of counsel.

A complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Peng faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, and a fine of $250,000 for acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the United States Attorney General in violation of 18 U.S.C. §  951.  However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. 

This case is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the Department of Justice, National Security Division.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.