Russian diplomats lingering near fiber optic cables

[jared at puck.nether.net (Jared Mauch)]

> On Jun 1, 2017, at 2:02 PM, Sean Donelan <sean at donelan.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> There must be a perfectly logical explanation....  Yes, people in the industry know where the choke points are. But the choke points aren't always the most obvious places. Its kinda a weird for diplomats to show up there.
> 
> On the other hand, I've been a fiber optic tourist.  I've visited many critical choke points in the USA and other countries, and even took selfies :-)
> 
> 
> http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/01/russia-spies-espionage-trump-239003
> 
> In the throes of the 2016 campaign, the FBI found itself with an escalating problem: Russian diplomats, whose travel was supposed to be tracked by the State Department, were going missing.
> 
> The diplomats, widely assumed to be intelligence operatives, would eventually turn up in odd places, often in middle-of-nowhere USA. One was found on a beach, nowhere near where he was supposed to be. In one particularly bizarre case, relayed by a U.S. intelligence official, another turned up wandering around in the middle of the desert. Interestingly, both seemed to be lingering where underground fiber-optic cables tend to run.
> 
> According to another U.S. intelligence official, ?They find these guys driving around in circles in Kansas. It?s a pretty aggressive effort.?
> 
> It?s a trend that has led intelligence officials to conclude that the Kremlin is waging a quiet effort to map the United States? telecommunications infrastructure, perhaps preparing for an opportunity to disrupt it.

Seems it would be easier to just pay for a subscription to a service like FiberLocator or similar.

They could just dial 811 as well and request the locates happen.

- Jared