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Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

nytimes.com

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Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#11

Post by mikeyouse »

Why again did we decide that it's okay for our President to spend every weekend at his private, unsecured, for-profit clubs? The Secret Service has already said they can't and won't keep a log of all guests to Mar-a-Lago. Can you imagine the number of bugs/listening devices that are already there?

Dozens of foreign nationals already work there on H2B visas[1], they have open-air national security crisis response meetings in front of random Palm Beach socialites[2], he's personally profiting off of the club's increased membership fees[3] and Secret Service expenses[4], existing members included several people with criminal backgrounds and most recently the proprietor of the 'massage parlors' that ensnared Robert Kraft[5] and she was already caught selling access[6] and illegally bundling contributions[7] -- This seems like a security risk approaching the level of all the Russian weirdness.

[1] - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-mar-a-lago-cl...

[2] - https://twitter.com/i/moments/831212884675981313?lang=en

[3] - https://www.thedailybeast.com/mar-a-lago-membership-fee-doub...

[4] - https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/405407-trumps-go...

[5] - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/former-spa-owner-and...

[6] - https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/a-florida-massa...

[7] - https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/a-florida-massa...

Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#12

Post by United857 »

> She was allowed to enter by Secret Service agents stationed outside the resort after the Mar-a-Lago security manager on duty verified that her last name matched the surname of a member of the club,

Zhang is the third most common last name in the world (source: https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-most-common-last-name-on-Ear...).

Definitely a bit lax on the part of security/Secret Service to just do a last name check... I wouldn't be surprised if Chinese intelligence have exploited similar holes before.

Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#13

Post by elliekelly »

Reading the article I was immediately concerned the cellphones and/or malware were used as probable cause for her arrest. Four cellphones is definitely excessive but not illegal (at one point I had three for work + a personal) and malware on a USB stick could happen to anyone. From the complaint[1] it looks like she's being charged for knowingly making false statements to gain access to a restricted area and (thankfully) not for having the phones/malware.

[1] https://www.scribd.com/document/404159332/USA-v-Zhang-Compla...

Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#14

Post by mxcrossb »

gcb0 wrote: post #8

so, in summary for the article: journalists found that her story checks out. and it's related to an event organized by a prostitution entrepreneur who claims to have access to Trump, and the secret service filled in a report saying they have no idea of such event?

I think the human trafficking angle is most likely. Someone was trying to introduce her to this Ms. Yang to get her in to her business, but wasn’t aware that the event was cancelled.

Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#15

Post by JumpCrisscross »

mikeyouse wrote: post #11

Why again did we decide that it's okay for our President to spend every weekend at his private, unsecured, for-profit clubs? The Secret Service has already said they can't and won't keep a log of all guests to Mar-a-Lago. Can you imagine the number of bugs/listening devices that are already there? Dozens of foreign nationals already work there on H2B visas[1], they have open-air national security crisis response meet…

> Why again did we decide that it's okay for our President to spend every weekend at his private, unsecured, for-profit clubs?

We elected him. Presidents get this purview. If this pisses you off, register to vote, volunteer for campaigns and join your local political club.

Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#16

Post by [deleted] »

darkpuma wrote: post #5
dmix wrote: post #2

The 4 cell phones thing and her sketchy story is suspicious. But anyone could have malware on a USB stick. Especially from China. That said this sounds way too sloppy for state espionage. Maybe it’s private? Or they are recruiting way too many people and let some bad ones in.

Her story is completely nonsensical, she's an awful liar. Or, is pretending to be an awful liar. Perhaps she's clever and is pretending to be a hapless rube, in an effort to diminish her perceived culpability. With spy shit like this, either is a possibility.

[deleted]

Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#17

Post by jpatokal »

gcb0 wrote: post #10
prototyperaptor wrote: post #6

The NYT article either leaves out that the woman was carrying Republic of China passports, or is erroneously conflating RoC and PRC.

it says "passaports". Do people from RoC must now have a PRC passport too after the recent occupation? I have no idea how passports work for people under the Taiwan political mess.

> after the recent occupation

???

Taiwan citizens can get two flavors of PRC passport-equivalents for travel to the PRC:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Travel_Document

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainland_Travel_Permit_for_Tai...

PRC nationals going to Taiwan need an almost-visa, but can use their PRC passport:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_%26_Entry_Permit

Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#18

Post by mikeyouse »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #15
mikeyouse wrote: post #11

Why again did we decide that it's okay for our President to spend every weekend at his private, unsecured, for-profit clubs? The Secret Service has already said they can't and won't keep a log of all guests to Mar-a-Lago. Can you imagine the number of bugs/listening devices that are already there? Dozens of foreign nationals already work there on H2B visas[1], they have open-air national security crisis response meet…

> Why again did we decide that it's okay for our President to spend every weekend at his private, unsecured, for-profit clubs? We elected him. Presidents get this purview. If this pisses you off, register to vote, volunteer for campaigns and join your local political club.

My point is more -- Why this President?

It would never been acceptable at any point in prior history. Jimmy Carter famously had to sell his family's peanut farm to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest. In the same election that Trump won, it was a huge campaign issue that people seeking influence donated to The Clinton Foundation -- a Foundation that the Clinton's did not, and could not financially benefit from. Yet it's okay that unelected Mar-a-Lago members that are currently putting money in the President's pocket can run a hundred billion dollar government organization from the shadows and steer its funds?[1]

What changed in the American psyche? Why did we collectively assent to let this President break all of the norms that constrained previous administrations?

[1] - https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/26/mar-a-lago-trump-i...

Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#19

Post by zip1234 »

dmix wrote: post #2

The 4 cell phones thing and her sketchy story is suspicious. But anyone could have malware on a USB stick. Especially from China. That said this sounds way too sloppy for state espionage. Maybe it’s private? Or they are recruiting way too many people and let some bad ones in.

Too sloppy for state espionage? In my experience, the level of competence in government varied widely. This is entirely plausible as state espionage.

Re: Woman from China Carrying Malware Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago

#20

Post by willsr »

bredren wrote: post #3
dmix wrote: post #2

The 4 cell phones thing and her sketchy story is suspicious. But anyone could have malware on a USB stick. Especially from China. That said this sounds way too sloppy for state espionage. Maybe it’s private? Or they are recruiting way too many people and let some bad ones in.

It does seem like a sloppy attempt at espionage. But perhaps it worked in the past.

Testing the waters maybe..
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