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Burner phones and lead-lined bags: a history of UK security tactics in China

Starmer’s team is wary of spies but such fears are not new – with Theresa May once warned to get dressed under a duvet

When prime ministers travel to China, heightened security arrangements are a given – as is the quiet game of cat and mouse that takes place behind the scenes as each country tests out each other’s tradecraft and capabilities.

Keir Starmer’s team has been issued with burner phones and fresh sim cards, and is using temporary email addresses, to prevent devices being loaded with spyware or UK government servers being hacked into.

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Β© Photograph: Simon Dawson/Simon Dawson/10 Downing Street

Β© Photograph: Simon Dawson/Simon Dawson/10 Downing Street

Β© Photograph: Simon Dawson/Simon Dawson/10 Downing Street

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β€˜All brakes are off’: Russia’s attempt to rein in illicit market for leaked data backfires

Russian state has tolerated parallel probiv market for its convenience but now Ukrainian spies are exploiting it

Russia is scrambling to rein in the country’s sprawling illicit market for leaked personal data, a shadowy ecosystem long exploited by investigative journalists, police and criminal groups.

For more than a decade, Russia’s so-called probiv market – a term derived from the verb β€œto pierce” or β€œto punch into a search bar” – has operated as a parallel information economy built on a network of corrupt officials, traffic police, bank employees and low-level security staff willing to sell access to restricted government or corporate databases.

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Β© Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Β© Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Β© Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

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