The Sunday Times reports:
""Agents hijack army website"
Adam Nathan, Defence Correspondent
TWO disgruntled former army intelligence agents have caused a security alert after hijacking a military website. The men were able to take control of the site’s e-mailing facility shortly before Christmas after the Intelligence Corps apparently failed to renew its subscription."
This story was originally reported on the Cryptome website on 27th December, and followed up by the Irish News edition of the 31st December.
Currently, there do not seem to be any MX records for the domain intelligencecorps.co.uk i.e. no internet email servers, and the domain appears to be simply parked with a domain name registrar in the USA.
Paying money for the use of a commercial .co.uk domain name whose registration has lapsed does not constitute "hijacking" and is not illegal.
"When recruits send e-mails inquiring about jobs with the corps via its website, the men send back messages claiming that the unit is "responsible for the murder of innocent civilians and the direction of terrorism".
The men, Kevin Fulton (a pseudonym) and Sam Rosenfeld, formerly worked for the Force Research Unit (FRU), a covert branch of the Intelligence Corps set up to infiltrate Northern Ireland paramilitary groups. The FRU, later renamed the Joint Services Group (JSG), has been linked to murders by loyalist terrorists.
Both men claimed last week that they had been abandoned by their military intelligence handlers and that their lives were in danger from republican terrorists seeking revenge. They said the reason for hijacking the website was to draw attention to their treatment by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The ministry said: "It looks as if the e-mail address . . . has been allowed to lapse and has been taken over. We are investigating how this happened." It said the website was owned and operated by the Intelligence Corps but its contents were being transferred to the main MoD site."
So why are the two pages which give career information contact details for Soldiers and Officers still showing the .intelligencecorps.co.uk email adresses ?
There should be an investigation into why exactly the so called Intelligence Corps of the British Army was using anything other than an official .mod.uk or .gov.uk domain name in the first place. At least if the registration of these had lapsed, they could not be so easily snapped up by third parties. The investigation should also hunt down any other offical Ministry of Defence websites and email systems which have security weaknesses in their technical set ups or, at least as importantly, in their managerial procedures.
"The Intelligence Corps uses the website to attract potential recruits. More than a dozen applicants have used the e-mail facility on the site — usite.army.mod.uk/intcorps — since Rosenfeld and Fulton hijacked it. Instead of careers information they have received messages from the former agents."
How dim do you have to be to send your personal details via unencrypted email, over the insecure Internet when enquiring about or applying for a job with an intelligence agency ?
We would automatically fail candidates who applied this way ! Even the new Intelligence Corps website on the main MOD web site complex, still publishes an unencrypted, non-MOD email address.
We welcomed the introduction of a Secure Sockets Layer encrypted contact webpage for the Security Service MI5, and believe that all careers contacts for the British Armed Forces should take similar precautions.
What happens when a successful recruit is stationed overseas and finds that the local foreign intelligence agencies or terrorists have copies of his curricuklum vitae , and his home address which he applied from whilst still at school or university, i.e. in all likelyhood what is still the home address of his parents or relatives, obtained from unencrypted internet traffic monitoring ?
There is no excuse for treating this sort of information, even from unsuccessful potential recruits, many of whom are technically still children under the age of 16, who also deserve to have their details kept confidential under normal and well understood Data Protection principles, with less online security than for a paltry online credit card transaction.
Obvious;y the former Intelligence Corps agents seem to be more au fait with internet propaganda and public relations than the Ministry of Defence - this is not acceptable in 21st century "network centric" warfare.
its kalpesh i am living in uk now i want to join here as a spy
@ kalpesh - spying for whom, exactly ?
Classic !!
what a bunch of muppets !!!
dear sir,
my name is benson from nigeria who has the dream of becoming the british special army combat force. i contact the army they told me that i can only apply when i have friend or relative who is permanent residency in u.k, and i told then i don,t have friend or relative residency in u.k that i should keep searching.pls sir, i need your help to stand for me, i want you to be my sponsor, i know it will be very diffciult for you to help me, because you don,t know me.pls sir, i want my dream of becoming the british special army combat force to come through. and also want to used this opportunty to wish you happy new year and your family. hope to hear from you.
thanks for your co-operation
@ benson - most people reading this will, assume, with good reason, that any emails or web postings from anyone in Nigeria are proably a trick by "419" advanced fee fraudsters, trying to get hold of people's personal name, address and bank account details.
Even if the Nigerian government cracked down on such frauds, which they have not, it would take many years before the damage to Nigeria's international reputation would start to be repaired..
The whole thing is a farce.
my name is Osei i want to join the British Army I need a sponsor i need help
Your "Intelligence Service" posts always cheer up my breakfast time :)
迫切的希望能加入你们,我想我将是一个优秀的间谍!
my name is daniel kotei i need help into the british army please helpme out
What exactly is this British Special Combat Force? I can see no record of it in the official orbat or even the ruperts Army List. Is it a unit specially formed to wage economic and financial warfare on our far flung enemies? Does it comprise sorely of west african buffoons who sit behind computers all day long sending spamming messages to jam up the defence computer networks and incription services of our enemies with begging letters perporting to be bank managers, government ministers, widow women and such like offering one riches beyond your wildest dreams if only they will send then a fiver and your personal bank account and personal address details,(to be treated in the strictest confidence of course). Only every fraudster in west africa will get a copy for a fee. Yes perhaps Geoff Buffhoon did some good in his otherwise useless tenure of office dismantling a proud and elite army, by forming this elite unit of dark skinned internet sabateurs.
There are no spies in the Intelligence Corps. If you want to be a spy join your own countries espionage services kelpesh. I here Osama Bin Laden is looking for a spymaster to operate from the Al Jeseira television network liasing directly with Sir David Frost.
Dear Osei,
Take a tip from me and go to Francaise. I hear the Armee de Terre is looking for a few good men for its elite multi national Legion Etrangere. The pay is fantastic if you get posted to Jibouti. You get 45 days leave a year after2 years. 15 in the first year and 30 in the second year. You get free food and lodgings and also you dont pay any income tax unless you foolishly apply for to become a citizen francaise. You can earn around £700 a month as a Legionaire 2em class in metropolitan france. You get promoted to legionaire 1er class after 10 months and could make Caporal in 3 to 4 years. But Jibouti is the place to be 4000 europs a month tax free. But you work long hours 6 days a week and dont get leave for 2 years so accumulate 90 days plus their bank holidays at the end of the tour. Usually they dont take anyone straight from the 4em Regiment Etranger basic training at Castelnaudery. But the French are always on the lookout for men of your character and intellect to form the corps de elite of the Armee Francasise. Why join the British Army and pay tax and only get 30 days leave plus bank holidays when you can learn to speak french and join the elite? Tke my tip Osei, the French are desperate for men of your high calibre.
my name is patrick.and i am from africa.all i want is the information on how i am going to join the u,s,a army.thanks
my name is jimah.and i am from GHANA.all i want is the information on how i am going to join the u,s,a army.thanks
I just want to know if i can apply for the British Army on line.I am a student and a native of Ghana but have always dreamt of be coming a force combat of the British Army.How can i go by this?
DEAR SIR,
AM WRITING FROM CAMEROON .MY NAME IS EHOYI CELESTINE EHUNYI.I APPLIED ABOUT 8MONTHS AGO TO JOIN THE BRITISH ARMY I ALREADY HAVE A SPONSOR IN THE U.K BUT THE PROBLEM AM FACING IS THE OUTCOME OF MY APPLICATION WHICH SAYS THE APPLICATION PACK ARRIVE OUT OF THE TIME LIMIT AND THAT MY PASSPORT DOES NOT MEET MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.
SIR,
ON THE LETTER SENT TO ME IT WAS STATED THAT THE APPLICATION WAS ASSESED.PLEASE SIR I NEED YOUR HELP TO CALL FOR A REVIEW OF MY APPLICATION MY PASSPORT IS A VALID TRAVELING DOCUMENT AND IS VALID FOR FIVE YEARS IT WAS MADE ON THE 23 OF DECEMBER LAST YEAR PRIOR TO THIS APPLICATION AND IT WILL EXPIRE ON THE 23 DECEMBER 2013.IN THE APPLICATION GUIDE IT WAS STATED THAT MINIMUM SHOULD BE 4 AND A HALF SO I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE MEANT BY MY PASSPORT DID NOT MEET MINIMUM STANDARD.
PLEASE SIR HELP ME OUT .THE REASON WHY I NEED HELP IS NOT JUST BECAUSE I HAVE SPENT AOT OF MONEY ON THIS PROGRAMME BUT ALSO FOR THE FACT THAT I HAVE LOVE THE BRITISH ARMY SINCE I WAS 12 PLEASE HELP ME GET ENROLLMENT INTHE ARMY I LOVE.I WAS ADVICE BY AN ARMY DTAFF TO GET A VISA AND COME OVER TO THE U.K BUT WHEN I TRIED TO GET I WAS TOLD IT CAN BE POSSIBLE BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE AN INVITATION LETTER FROM THE ARMY .
THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING I HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON
YOURS SINCERELY
EHOYI CELESTINE EHUNYI