Very interesting "Get Smart" story here - I thought this stuff was the makings of movie/spy fiction.
U.S. Defense Workers Warned About Spy Coins. Coins With Transmitters Planted On Contractors.
POSTED: 8:21 pm EST January 10, 2007
UPDATED: 8:27 pm EST January 10, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is warning its American contractors of a new spy threat.
Canadian coins with tiny radio transmitters hidden inside were found planted on contractors with classified security clearances on at least three occasions, a government report said.
The incidents occurred between October 2005 and January of last year after the contractors traveled through Canada.
The report doesn't suggest who might be tracking the defense contractors or why.
Other unanswered questions include how the Pentagon discovered the ruse, how the transmitters might function and what type of coin contained the them.
The Defense Security Service said the report has been "sanitized" and further details are secret.
Canadian intelligence said it knows nothing about the coins.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.
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USA Today January 11, 2007 Pg. 5
Pentagon Warns Workers Of Canadian 'Spy Coins'
By Paul Leavitt
A Defense Department report warns U.S. contract employees of an espionage tactic that uses Canadian coins with tiny radio-frequency transmitters hidden inside. On at least three occasions, the coins were found on contractors who traveled through Canada.
The report doesn't suggest who might be tracking the Pentagon contractors or why. Details were secret, but the incidents happened and the risk is genuine, Defense Security Service spokeswoman Martha Deutscher said. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it knew nothing about the coins.
--With wire reports
U.S. Defense Workers Warned About Spy Coins. Coins With Transmitters Planted On Contractors.
POSTED: 8:21 pm EST January 10, 2007
UPDATED: 8:27 pm EST January 10, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is warning its American contractors of a new spy threat.
Canadian coins with tiny radio transmitters hidden inside were found planted on contractors with classified security clearances on at least three occasions, a government report said.
The incidents occurred between October 2005 and January of last year after the contractors traveled through Canada.
The report doesn't suggest who might be tracking the defense contractors or why.
Other unanswered questions include how the Pentagon discovered the ruse, how the transmitters might function and what type of coin contained the them.
The Defense Security Service said the report has been "sanitized" and further details are secret.
Canadian intelligence said it knows nothing about the coins.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.
-------
USA Today January 11, 2007 Pg. 5
Pentagon Warns Workers Of Canadian 'Spy Coins'
By Paul Leavitt
A Defense Department report warns U.S. contract employees of an espionage tactic that uses Canadian coins with tiny radio-frequency transmitters hidden inside. On at least three occasions, the coins were found on contractors who traveled through Canada.
The report doesn't suggest who might be tracking the Pentagon contractors or why. Details were secret, but the incidents happened and the risk is genuine, Defense Security Service spokeswoman Martha Deutscher said. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it knew nothing about the coins.
--With wire reports
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