Thread: CHINA MYSTERY AT MAR GROWING SECURITY CONCERNS Chinese spying at Mar-a-Lago

CHINA MYSTERY AT MAR
GROWING SECURITY CONCERNS
LADY AND THE MALWARE

Timing of Chinese spy arrested at Mar-a-Lago

April 4, 2019

China's spies are getting bold.

Feds Investigating Whether Chinese 'Spy' At Mar-A-Lago Connected To Cindy Yang



"Once she got inside, Zhang changed her story"

Thu, 04/04/2019 - 18:25
23 SHARES

A federal counterintelligence investigation is looking into possible Chinese intelligence operations targeting President Trump, after Secret Service agents arrested a Chinese woman, Yujing Zhang, who infiltrated Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Zhang gave employees differing accounts of why she was there, and was found with four cell phones, two passports, electronic devices and a thumb-drive containing malware.
What's more, the Miami Herald reports that federal investigators are looking into possible connections between Zhang and South Florida massage parlor entrepreneur Li "Cindy" Yang - who has been accused of selling access to President Trump. Of note, Yang previously owned the Jupiter, FL day spa where authorities conducted a high-profile prostitution bust which netted New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

The ongoing investigation has also recently focused on Li “Cindy” Yang, the sources told the Herald. Yang is a South Florida massage parlor entrepreneur who has promoted events at Mar-a-Lago with ads targeting Chinese business executives hoping to gain access to Trump and his family. The investigation — spearheaded by the FBI — began before the Herald revealed Yang’s business of selling access last month and focused on other Chinese nationals doing business in the region.
Before her arrest, Zhang was unknown to federal authorities. Now, investigators with the FBI Counterintelligence Division in South Florida are trying to figure out who Zhang is, whether she is involved in a possible Chinese intelligence mission and whether there are links to Yang’s social events at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. -Miami Herald

Zhang initially told a Mar-a-Lago employee that she was a member who simply wanted to use the pool - and was admitted amid confusion over whether she was a member's daughter.
Once she got inside, Zhang changed her story - telling a front desk receptionist that she was there to attend the United Nations Chinese Friendship Association event scheduled for that evening, which had been promoted by Cindy Yang, only to be cancelled.
Li ‘Cindy’ Yang posted a card on Facebook sent to her by President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, above left. Yang’s Super Bowl selfie with Trump, above right. Zhang, born in 1986 according to court documents, has not been charged with any crimes related to espionage, according to The Herald. Yang, meanwhile, said in a Wednesday statement that she has no ties to China's government, and says she doesn't personally know or sell access to President Trump.
Congressional Democrats have sounded the alarm over Zhang's ability to penetrate Trump's Florida club.
"The apparent ease with which Ms. Zhang gained access to the facility during the president’s weekend visit raises concerns about the system for screening visitors, including the reliance on determinations made by Mar-a-Lago employees," reads a joint letter from Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner (D-VA), Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
"As the White House Communications Agency and Secret Service continue to establish several secure areas at Mar-a-Lago for handling classified information when the president travels there, these potential vulnerabilities have serious national security implications," continues the letter - which requests that the FBI and Director of National Intelligence coordinate with Secret Service to establish what needs to be done to "As the White House Communications Agency and Secret Service continue to establish several secure areas at Mar-a-Lago for handling classified information when the president travels there, these potential vulnerabilities have serious national security implications."

The Democrats also requested an immediate response to a previous letter, dated March 15, that called for a counterintelligence investigation into Yang’s connections to Chinese government officials and the risks her activities could pose to U.S. national security interests.
Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said it’s too early for Congress to consider specific action in response to Zhang’s arrest at Mar-a-Lago.
“The FBI will be looking into it, that’s their job, that’s it,” Rubio said. “But I would hate to speculate based on what we know so far.”
Rubio, who has criticized Chinese telecom company Huawei over concerns that its equipment could be used for Chinese government surveillance, said Zhang’s arrest is a piece of a larger threat posed by foreign nationals to all executive and legislative branch employees, as well as defense contractors.
“That’s always a threat, but I don’t know enough about this person or this case to make a bold pronouncement on what happened here or what this is about,” Rubio said. -Miami Herald

In a Wednesday CNN interview, President Trump said he's not worried about Chinese espionage at Mar-a-Lago, saying "I think that was just a fluke situation."

Josh Campbell ✔ @joshscampbell

Video at the tweet

President Trump, asked if he's concerned the Chinese are trying to spy on his Mar-a-Lago resort: "No, I'm not concerned at all."

409
6:30 PM - Apr 3, 2019

580 people are talking about this

Possible connection to Yang...
As The Herald reports, Zhang traveled from Shanghai, China to South Floida for a "United Nations Friendship Event," as a guest of a person known only as "Charles." An associate of Yang named Charles Lee, meanwhile, pushed out advertisements on Chinese social media for various events. He's also the founder of the for-profit United Nations Chinese Friendship Association.



Cindy Yang (center left) poses outside Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 26, 2018, with Safari Night organizer Terry Bomar (left), Elizabeth Trump Grau (center right) and Cliff Li (right) Courtesy Asian GOP

Although authorities pointed out there was no event occurring by that exact name, Yang had previously been promoting two Mar-a-Lago events that day: an “International Leaders Elite Forum,” and a Safari Night gala, a fundraiser for a youth charity. The events were canceled after intense news coverage of Yang and her activities, something Zhang might not have realized.
Yang pitched the combination of March 30 events as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for overseas Chinese clients to meet members of the Trump family and other top politicians in her Chinese-language ads targeting overseas buyers.
An associate of Yang named Charles Lee also pushed out the advertisements on Chinese social media. -Miami Herald

Read the rest of the Herald's report, which includes their extensive research on Yang and the alleged access scheme, here.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...ted-cindy-yang

CHINA MAR MYSTERY DEEPENS...

DETAILS...

Federal agent installed malware on own computer, corruption chaos ensued...

Many electronic devices, signal detector, cash...

TRUMP FIRES SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR...

foxnews.com

Secret Service under fire after agent testifies agency inserted malicious thumb drive into computer

Video at the page link

By Lukas Mikelionis | Fox News

The Secret Service is under fire after one of its members testified a fellow agent inserted a malicious thumb drive, found in the possession of a Chinese woman arrested at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club last month, into an agency computer -- that then began installing unwanted files.
Monday's revelation about the embattled protection unit came the same day its director, Randolph "Tex" Alles, was reported to have been ousted as part of a larger shakeup at the Department of Homeland Security, the government arm to which the Secret Service reports.
Alles departure reportedly was not related to the March 30 incident at Mar-a-Lago in which Yujing Zhang, 32, was arrested and charged with unlawfully entering a restricted area and making false statements to federal law enforcement officers. Prosecutors said she isn’t accused of spying at this time, but noted there are "a lot of questions that remain to be answered."
WOMAN ARRESTED AT MAR-A-LAGO HAD CASH, SIGNAL DETECTOR IN HOTEL ROOM, PROSECUTORS SAY
She had $8,000 in U.S. and Chinese currency in her hotel room in addition to a signal detector meant to spot hidden cameras, a federal prosecutor in Florida said Monday. Zhang also had in her possession four cellphones, an external hard drive and a thumb drive with computer malware loaded into it.
The malicious thumb drive proved to be a particularly troubling piece of evidence.
Secret Service agent Samuel Ivanovich testified in court that another agent inserted the thumb drive into his computer in an effort to analyze it, prompting the drive to install files without the agent's consent and corrupt other files on the computer.

Yujing Zhang being led into federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday. (William Hennessy Jr. / CourtroomArt.com)

“That was something that had never happened before," Ivanovich told the judge, adding the agent, who was not identified, then shut down the computer to avoid further damage.
Security experts scolded the Secret Service for failing to follow one of the first rules of cybersecurity.
“Sounds like an agent trying to crack the case before the cyber team got there,” Eric O’Neill, a former FBI surveillance expert, tweeted.
SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR TO STEP DOWN ON HEELS OF NIELSEN RESIGNATION
“You don’t put an unknown USB into your computer,” Chris Wysopal, chief technology officer at Veracode, told the Daily Beast. “That’s in all the training everyone gets, even in your dumb corporate training. You even tell your mom that.”

“You don’t put an unknown USB into your computer. That’s in all the training everyone gets, even in your dumb corporate training. You even tell your mom that.”
— Chris Wysopal, chief technology officer at Veracode

The Secret Service declined to comment to Fox News on Tuesday morning, citing the ongoing investigation.
But a source with knowledge of the investigation told Fox News that the court testimony did not accurately reflect the incident.
The source said the thumb drive’s forensic analysis was conducted on a standalone computer in accordance with protocol and added the Secret Service's network was never at risk of malware introduction, as the computer wasn’t connected to the network.
But some experts questioned this explanation, noting there would have been no reason to stop the spread of malware by shutting down the computer if the drive had been analyzed in accordance with protocol. Instead, letting the malware continue to spread on the standalone computer would have allowed analysts to gather more information about it.
Zhang is currently being held until her bond hearing resumes April 15 in West Palm Beach federal court. Prosecutors said the woman would present a "serious risk of flight" if she was released.
Officials say Zhang approached a checkpoint at Mar-a-Lago and told a Secret Service agent she wanted to use the pool, even though she was not wearing a bathing suit. She was carrying two Chinese passports, which she showed as identification.
Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain, John Roberts and Ivonne Amor and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/secret-se...x5vHkGQc3g7Yxc