http://www.sundaylife.co.uk/news/article2725811.ece By Nicola Tallant July 01, 2007 A former top CIA agent has claimed Belfast and Dublin are world centres of industrial espionage where top corporations can buy secret information on their rivals. Bob Baer, whose life inspired the spy movie Syriana starring George Clooney, said Ireland was "just like Berlin during the Cold War". In an interview for RTE radio documentary Highway 101, Baer says Dublin is now the place where firms go if they need solutions to problems with the Russian Mafia. "When I was in the CIA, Ireland was never a target, but, since then, I know that it has become a centre for commercial spying, which is very interesting," said Baer "There is also a lot of data available in Northern Ireland. I don't know why that is, but I know it is going on. "If I want to know about you, if I want cellphone records for example, I get your landline and do a data search to get your cell number in Ireland very easily. If I want to know everyone you have talked to in the last six months, there is a service in Dublin where I can buy that information. "Every time you make a phonecall, it is registered in this service. It is just like Berlin during the Cold War, Dublin, because you have Russians coming through Dublin and the police sort of turn a blind eye. "This is post-CIA stuff that I know about because ex-colleagues work there. This is the real espionage now when the big corporations do it. "There is also a lot of telephone data available in Northern Ireland. You can check out people worldwide through Dublin and Northern Ireland." * Highway 101 will be broadcast on RTE Radio 1 next Saturday 9.10am. _____________________________________________________ Attend Black Hat USA, July 28-August 2 in Las Vegas, the world's premier technical event for ICT security experts. Featuring 30 hands-on training courses and 90 Briefings presentations with lots of new content and new tools. Network with 4,000 delegates from 70 nations. Visit product displays by 30 top sponsors in a relaxed setting. Rates increase on June 1 so register today. http://www.blackhat.com
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