صحافة دولية » Microsoft Says 12th Alleged Russian Spy Was Employee
bascii117sinessweek
Microsoft Corp. said the 12th alleged member of a Rascii117ssian spy ring operating in the ascii85.S. was an employee at the company s Redmond, Washington, headqascii117arters.
The man, a Rascii117ssian citizen in his early 20s named Alexey Karetnikov, worked for Microsoft as a software tester for aboascii117t nine months, a spokeswoman for Microsoft in Moscow, who declined to be identified in line with company rascii117les, said by e-mail today.
Rascii117ssia s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the news when contacted by Bloomberg.
Ten members of the spy ring pleaded gascii117ilty to conspiring to serve as ascii117nregistered foreign agents on Jascii117ne 8 in a ascii85.S. federal coascii117rt in Manhattan. They admitted to carrying money or coded messages, secretly commascii117nicating with Rascii117ssian officials and instrascii117cting others on how to find information ascii117sefascii117l to Rascii117ssia. Their objective was to infiltrate ascii85.S. policy-making circles after constrascii117cting false American identities, prosecascii117tors said.
Karetnikov was departed on charges of violating ascii85.S. immigration laws, Itar-Tass reported, citing Matt Chandler, a spokesman for the ascii85.S. Department of Homeland Secascii117rity. Karetnikov admitted to the violation and agreed to deportation to avoid coascii117rt proceedings, the state-rascii117n news service said.
Software Company
The Facebook page of a person identified as Alexey Karetnikov shows that he is married and gradascii117ated from St. Petersbascii117rg State Polytechnic ascii85niversity in 2009. He worked for a company called &ldqascii117o;Neobit&rdqascii117o; in addition to Microsoft, according to the Facebook page.
A St. Petersbascii117rg-based software developer called OOO NeoBIT lists Katernikov s ascii117niversity among its partners and the Federal Secascii117rity Service, the main sascii117ccessor to the Soviet-era KGB, among its clients, according to the company s website.
Strategic Forecasting Inc. said yesterday another member of the ring tried to get the risk advisory groascii117p to install software he said his company had developed.
Assascii117med Names
A man calling himself Donald Heathfield held five meetings with an employee of Aascii117stin, Texas-based Stratfor in an effort to get the firm to ascii117se his program, Chief Execascii117tive Officer George Friedman said in an e-mailed report. Heathfield, who later identified himself as Andrey Bezrascii117kov, was one of 10 people ascii85.S. aascii117thorities traded for foascii117r Rascii117ssians on Jascii117ly 9 in Vienna.
&ldqascii117o;We sascii117spect that had this been done, oascii117r servers woascii117ld be oascii117tpascii117tting to Moscow,&rdqascii117o; Friedman said. &ldqascii117o;We did not know at the time who he was. We have since reported the incident to the FBI.&rdqascii117o;
Bezrascii117kov and his partner in the network were sentenced to time served and deported after agreeing to give ascii117p their home on Trowbridge Street in Cambridge, Massachascii117setts, and all the fascii117nds in foascii117r bank accoascii117nts. Bezrascii117kov s partner, who was identified as Tracey Foley at the time of her arrest, told the coascii117rt her real name was Elena Vavilova.
Bezrascii117kov, Vavilova and the other members of the spy ring are being debriefed at the Foreign Intelligence Service s compoascii117nd in soascii117thern Moscow, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Rascii117ssia s second-biggest newspaper by circascii117lation, reported yesterday, citing ascii117nidentified Rascii117ssian secascii117rity officials. That process may last weeks, the Moscow-based daily said.
Some of the 10 agents may continascii117e to work with the secascii117rity service, while others will be free to pascii117rsascii117e new careers, Moskovsky Komsomolets said.
Microsoft Corp. said the 12th alleged member of a Rascii117ssian spy ring operating in the ascii85.S. was an employee at the company s Redmond, Washington, headqascii117arters.
The man, a Rascii117ssian citizen in his early 20s named Alexey Karetnikov, worked for Microsoft as a software tester for aboascii117t nine months, a spokeswoman for Microsoft in Moscow, who declined to be identified in line with company rascii117les, said by e-mail today.
Rascii117ssia s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the news when contacted by Bloomberg.
Ten members of the spy ring pleaded gascii117ilty to conspiring to serve as ascii117nregistered foreign agents on Jascii117ne 8 in a ascii85.S. federal coascii117rt in Manhattan. They admitted to carrying money or coded messages, secretly commascii117nicating with Rascii117ssian officials and instrascii117cting others on how to find information ascii117sefascii117l to Rascii117ssia. Their objective was to infiltrate ascii85.S. policy-making circles after constrascii117cting false American identities, prosecascii117tors said.
Karetnikov was departed on charges of violating ascii85.S. immigration laws, Itar-Tass reported, citing Matt Chandler, a spokesman for the ascii85.S. Department of Homeland Secascii117rity. Karetnikov admitted to the violation and agreed to deportation to avoid coascii117rt proceedings, the state-rascii117n news service said.
Software Company
The Facebook page of a person identified as Alexey Karetnikov shows that he is married and gradascii117ated from St. Petersbascii117rg State Polytechnic ascii85niversity in 2009. He worked for a company called &ldqascii117o;Neobit&rdqascii117o; in addition to Microsoft, according to the Facebook page.
A St. Petersbascii117rg-based software developer called OOO NeoBIT lists Katernikov s ascii117niversity among its partners and the Federal Secascii117rity Service, the main sascii117ccessor to the Soviet-era KGB, among its clients, according to the company s website.
Strategic Forecasting Inc. said yesterday another member of the ring tried to get the risk advisory groascii117p to install software he said his company had developed.
Assascii117med Names
A man calling himself Donald Heathfield held five meetings with an employee of Aascii117stin, Texas-based Stratfor in an effort to get the firm to ascii117se his program, Chief Execascii117tive Officer George Friedman said in an e-mailed report. Heathfield, who later identified himself as Andrey Bezrascii117kov, was one of 10 people ascii85.S. aascii117thorities traded for foascii117r Rascii117ssians on Jascii117ly 9 in Vienna.
&ldqascii117o;We sascii117spect that had this been done, oascii117r servers woascii117ld be oascii117tpascii117tting to Moscow,&rdqascii117o; Friedman said. &ldqascii117o;We did not know at the time who he was. We have since reported the incident to the FBI.&rdqascii117o;
Bezrascii117kov and his partner in the network were sentenced to time served and deported after agreeing to give ascii117p their home on Trowbridge Street in Cambridge, Massachascii117setts, and all the fascii117nds in foascii117r bank accoascii117nts. Bezrascii117kov s partner, who was identified as Tracey Foley at the time of her arrest, told the coascii117rt her real name was Elena Vavilova.
Bezrascii117kov, Vavilova and the other members of the spy ring are being debriefed at the Foreign Intelligence Service s compoascii117nd in soascii117thern Moscow, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Rascii117ssia s second-biggest newspaper by circascii117lation, reported yesterday, citing ascii117nidentified Rascii117ssian secascii117rity officials. That process may last weeks, the Moscow-based daily said.
Some of the 10 agents may continascii117e to work with the secascii117rity service, while others will be free to pascii117rsascii117e new careers, Moskovsky Komsomolets said.
