Saturday, December 13, 2008

SpyCam Story #500 - 500 Failures & Counting

Welcome to the SpyCam Story 500 milestone.
Here, we feature news stories about video spying.

This Scrapbook feature started when a security director asked me, "How can I show my boss electronic eavesdropping is real and I am not just being paranoid?" Interesting problem. There are no 'illegal eavesdropping statistics' to quote.

Keep in mind,
the media only reports spying failures; the one's who got caught. Successful spying is totally invisible. Like commercial airline stories; you never read about the successful landings.

The solution
to the security director's conundrum...
• Track sales of eavesdropping devices.
• Track eavesdropping failures as reported by the media.
• Factor in... Most spycam, bug and wiretap failures are handled privately. They never make it to the lawsuit level, and media attention.
• Factor in... Not all media stories make it to my attention.
• Fac
tor in... Many spycam stories are in such bad taste I exclude them.
Now, we see the tip of the spyberg.

Security directors use this proof to substantiate their Eavesdropping Detection Audit budgets.

And now
(drum roll)...
SpyCam Story #500
Extortionography - From Winehouse to the Big House
UK - The man who sold video footage to a London tabloid showing Amy Winehouse engaged in what appeared to be drug use was sentenced to jail on Friday... Johnny Blagrove, and his girlfriend, Cara Burton, had filmed Ms. Winehouse, without her knowledge and sold the footage to The Sun for about $75,000. Mr. Blagrove and Ms. Burton admitted that they had offered to supply drugs to Ms. Winehouse and other celebrities. The police said that the couple had kept a list of celebrities they planned to record taking drugs. A judge sentenced Mr. Blagrove to two years in prison; Ms. Burton was ordered to perform two years’ community service. (more