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Why wouldn't an intelligence agency just intercept it quietly? If I were sufficiently motivated and had global assets willing to do my bidding I could probably

Why wouldn't an intelligence agency just intercept it quietly? If I were sufficiently motivated and had global assets willing to do my bidding I could probably have found a way to intercept it at a sorting facility or en route or by sending in an "inspector" or social engineering or something. Why on earth would they do something so obvious to leave such a paper trail when you know they could pull this off quietly?

bandushrew 7y ago
Because they want to be able to do it at scale? The ideal approach would be to have packages of the "interesting" kind automatically diverted to a scanning location, and then continue on their way... Dont think of it as them being interested in a single package. They are interested in setting up a mechanism by which ALL packages of interest can be diverted with only very small effort on their part.
- stickfigure 7y ago
  If they were doing it at scale this wouldn't be the first time we are reading about it on HN.
  - grrowl 7y ago
    It isn't.
    - pdabbadabba 7y ago
      I know there are other accounts of packages being intercepted, but is there a previous example where Fedex's tracking information openly states that a package was diverted to the U.S.? My impression from the prior accounts was that the interception was far more clandestine.
      - Scoundreller 7y ago
        My guess is that they blocked display of the scans of the intercepted item, but forgot to account for scans of the crate that the package is in?
    - wybiral 7y ago
      It also wouldn't be the first time a shipping/logistics error caused a package to be misrouted. The obvious and most probable answer is usually the right answer unless you have evidence otherwise. Not every weird incident is part of some conspiracy.
      - fqye 7y ago
        Four packages... And Huawei called Fedex Vietnam customer service. They explicitly said the package was reouted on request from Fedex U.S. Check this: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/28/huawei-says-fedex-diverted-packages-to-the-us.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/28/huawei-says-fedex-diverted-p... According to FedEx’s website, the status “exception” means an unexpected event is preventing delivery of a package, for example a customs delay, a holiday, or no one being available to accept delivery. FedEx declined to give details on what the exception was in this case. According to Huawei, a FedEx customer service representative in Vietnam replied to their inquiry on May 22 when two expected packages did not arrive on time, saying: “Please be informed that FDX SG received notification from FDX US to hold and return the package to US. Hence, the shipment is not deliver to consignee and now being hold at FDX station and under process to RTS it (return to sender),” the representative wrote in broken English, according to an email Huawei showed to Reuters.
  - computerex 7y ago
    https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-nsa-upgrade-factory-show-cisco-router-getting-implant/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-nsa...
grrowl 7y ago
Probably easier to make the re-routing seem legitimate/boring so the handlers don't think something is amiss. More subtle than a G-Man telling you "when package #ABC-123 is scanned put it in the other pile, and tell no one", or workers noticing their co-worker is putting packages in the wrong pile.
Arnt 7y ago
Maybe you don't have global assets? In this age of fingerprints and occasional iris checks, sending intelligence personnel through foreign airports is risky.

bandushrew 7y ago

Because they want to be able to do it at scale? The ideal approach would be to have packages of the "interesting" kind automatically diverted to a scanning location, and then continue on their way... Dont think of it as them being interested in a single package. They are interested in setting up a mechanism by which ALL packages of interest can be diverted with only very small effort on their part.

stickfigure 7y ago
If they were doing it at scale this wouldn't be the first time we are reading about it on HN.
- grrowl 7y ago
  It isn't.
  - pdabbadabba 7y ago
    I know there are other accounts of packages being intercepted, but is there a previous example where Fedex's tracking information openly states that a package was diverted to the U.S.? My impression from the prior accounts was that the interception was far more clandestine.
    - Scoundreller 7y ago
      My guess is that they blocked display of the scans of the intercepted item, but forgot to account for scans of the crate that the package is in?
  - wybiral 7y ago
    It also wouldn't be the first time a shipping/logistics error caused a package to be misrouted. The obvious and most probable answer is usually the right answer unless you have evidence otherwise. Not every weird incident is part of some conspiracy.
    - fqye 7y ago
      Four packages... And Huawei called Fedex Vietnam customer service. They explicitly said the package was reouted on request from Fedex U.S. Check this: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/28/huawei-says-fedex-diverted-packages-to-the-us.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/28/huawei-says-fedex-diverted-p... According to FedEx’s website, the status “exception” means an unexpected event is preventing delivery of a package, for example a customs delay, a holiday, or no one being available to accept delivery. FedEx declined to give details on what the exception was in this case. According to Huawei, a FedEx customer service representative in Vietnam replied to their inquiry on May 22 when two expected packages did not arrive on time, saying: “Please be informed that FDX SG received notification from FDX US to hold and return the package to US. Hence, the shipment is not deliver to consignee and now being hold at FDX station and under process to RTS it (return to sender),” the representative wrote in broken English, according to an email Huawei showed to Reuters.
- computerex 7y ago
  https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-nsa-upgrade-factory-show-cisco-router-getting-implant/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-nsa...

grrowl 7y ago

Probably easier to make the re-routing seem legitimate/boring so the handlers don't think something is amiss. More subtle than a G-Man telling you "when package #ABC-123 is scanned put it in the other pile, and tell no one", or workers noticing their co-worker is putting packages in the wrong pile.

Arnt 7y ago

Maybe you don't have global assets? In this age of fingerprints and occasional iris checks, sending intelligence personnel through foreign airports is risky.