Carter Page consulted with the FBI and the CIA — NSA EternalBlue used as WannaCry ransomware — Deputy FBI Director Andrew G. McCabe will report any foul play — 2018 budget for the Shin Bet and the Mossad

Carter Page, Once Linked to Trump Campaign, Russians, Claims Multiple FBI, CIA Contacts — NBCnews

Carter Page, the energy industry consultant who was linked last year to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and was the subject of an FBI investigation, said Thursday night that he has consulted with the FBI and the CIA many times over the years.

“I’ve helped both the FBI and CIA on other things in the past,” he said when asked about his past dealings with the FBI. “We’ve had tens of hours of discussions.”

Page said only that the agencies occasionally asked him for background on “things that are happening around the world,” which he wouldn’t detail.

Two months ago on the same show, Page confirmed to Hayes that he’d met with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. at last July’s Republican National Convention.

He confirmed last month that he is also the unnamed man identified in a federal complaint against an undercover Russian agent as having met with the man four years ago.

An NSA Cyber Weapon Might Be Behind A Massive Global Ransomware Outbreak — Forbes

It’s been a matter of weeks since a shady hacker crew called Shadow Brokers dumped a load of tools believed to belong to the National Security Agency (NSA). It now appears one leaked NSA tool, an exploit of Microsoft Windows called EternalBlue, is being used as one method for rapidly spreading a ransomware variant called WannaCry across the world.

The ransomware has hit UK hospitals hard, with multiple sources reporting closures of entire wards, patients being turned away and some National Health Service (NHS) staff being sent home. Barts Health, a central London NHS trust, advised patients to look for assistance elsewhere and said ambulances were being diverted elsewhere, while another NHS organization said it had to turn away outpatients and limit its radiology services. In the Essex town of Colchester, the hospital decided to close much of its A&E department to accept only those in “critical or life-threatening situations.”

Acting FBI chief McCabe says he’ll report any interference in Russia probe — UPI

The interim leader of the Federal Bureau of Investigation told a Senate committee Thursday that he will report any effort to undermine the Justice Department’s investigation into Russia’s alleged election interference.

Deputy FBI Director Andrew G. McCabe made the remarks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing related to its investigation of Kremlin electoral efforts.

McCabe, 48, the bureau’s second-in-command, assumed control of the agency on Tuesday after President Donald Trump fired James Comey

Israeli spy agencies’ budget has doubled in ten years — IntelNews

The combined budget of the two primary intelligence agencies of Israel, the Mossad and the Shin Bet, has doubled in the past decade, according to a report issued by the Israeli Ministry of Finance.

Shin Bet is Israel’s domestic intelligence service, and is primarily responsible for counterterrorism and counterintelligence.

The Mossad is Israel’s primary intelligence service, which means that it collects intelligence from foreign targets. The secretive agency also conducts covert and clandestine operations when authorized to do so by Israel’s government.

The two agencies tend to work together with varying degrees of success, but have distinct budgets.

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INTEL TODAY DIARY — May 13 2017