Hi all,

The following is from the June 30, 2000 edition of _Science_
(<http://www.sciencemag.org>):

  Foreign spies apparently find traveling U.S. nuclear scientists
  irresistable. A congressional report released this week details
  dozens of sometimes clumsy attempts by foreign agents to obtain
  nuclear secrets, from offering scientists prostitutes to prying
  off the backs of their laptop computers. ...

  ... There were... reports of tampering with personal equipment,
  including riffling through and then locking a previously un-
  locked briefcase, turning on a previously shut-down copmputer,
  and trying to pry open the back of a laptop.

  Some of the incidents were almost comical. One researcher who
  telephoned his wife and chatted about her upcoming plans to
  play the game bingo at a social gathering was later asked in
  the hotel bar about those plans. The next day, a host asked
  him, "What is Bingo?" Some researchers even used the suspected
  eavesdropping to their advantage. After talking to the hotel
  walls about the desire for an extra roll of toilet paper or
  a television set, two scientists were pleasantly surprised to
  see the items appear within hours. Other episodes included
  "maids" interrupting a meeting to move potted plants closer
  to visiting U.S. scientists, and a technician who entered
  a conference room to change the tape in recorders previously
  hidden behind a wall. ...

There's more in the article, and still more, apparently, in the GAO
report, but it's too racy for a serious and family-oriented technical
mailing list like this one. It should suffice to summarize the material
by noting that Henry Kissinger was apparently correct when he stated that
power is the best aphrodisiac.

-- Bruce


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