The CIA Shares How to Travel Like a Spy

Staying in a high-rise hotel on vacation this summer? ... The CIA is offering these tips and more to Americans... “Call it travel tradecraft,” the agency said, publishing the new advice on its website. 

“Whether you’re off to a bustling city or a secluded getaway this summer, we hope these CIA ‘travel tips’ help you journey with more confidence and safety.” 

Some of the guidance is standard practice for seasoned travelers... But some of their advice is more spook savvy...

“Don’t look like an easy target,” the guidance reads... “You’ll want to be alert and maintain situational awareness, especially in an unfamiliar country.”

Once you have arrived at your destination, the CIA suggests familiarizing yourself with the emergency escape routes. more  The CIA Tips

Arrested for Gifting Women Make-up Mirrors with Built-in Spycams

A man in China has been arrested after a small vanity mirror he gifted to a female coworker was discovered to have a hidden spycam built into it.

The man, whose surname is Zhang, is the owner of an online hidden camera store, and has reportedly sold over 200 similar spycam devices as the one he had gifted.

The female coworker, surnamed Li, stated that Zhang had told her to keep the mirror on for 24 hours a day, otherwise the circuit board would catch on fire...

A suspicious Li contacted the seller of the make-up mirror, who then told her to check for cameras. When she did, she found four high-definition pinhole cameras and five 32 GB memory cards inside.

“One of the recordings on a memory card was marked ‘2019’ so I realized I was probably not the first victim,” Li wrote... more  more

50 Spy Movies That’ll Keep You On The Edge Of Your Seat

As kids, all of us loved play-pretend games, and though there's a myriad of variations, one theme that was by far the most thrilling of them all - playing spies on a secret mission. 

Such secrecy and importance sure seemed thrilling, and emulating the super cool tricks we saw on the cinema screens felt like the best thing in the world. Naturally, most of us grew out of these play-pretend frolics, but the infatuation with everything spies hasn't gone anywhere. And what's a better way to relive these thrilling fantasies than by watching some of the best spy movies ever made? 

So, here we are with our list that'll cater to even the pickiest spy movie connoisseur and give you some pretty decent choices for your next adventurous viewing... more

I Would be Shocked if I am Not Being Spied On: Elon Musk

On the micro-blogging site Twitter, Musk posted a picture, which reads "Does anyone else feel like they are being watched?".

While replying to that, a user wrote "you are 24/7 on all your devices and online services, including your own Starlink. In your case it is not just mass surveillance. You are a priority target".

"I would be shocked if I am not being spied on haha. My only ask is that anyone spying on me please not affect call quality too much or I cannot hear what is being said!" Musk said in a reply to the user. more

Corporate Espionage is Entering a New Era

Companies need to take it more seriously...

In May a jury awarded Appian, whose headquarters are in McLean, Virginia, a whopping $2bn in damages after it had accused Massachusetts-based Pegasystems of illegally snooping on it to gain a competitive edge.

The trial revealed that Pegasystems executives had referred to a contractor hired to obtain some of the ingredients of Appian’s secret sauce as “our spy” in internal documents, and had dubbed the overall spying effort “Project Crush”...

The episode illustrates how interest in business espionage, and learning how to foil it, has broadened. Snooping is no longer mostly centred on a few “sensitive” industries that have long been vulnerable, such as defence and pharmaceuticals. It is increasingly used to target smaller companies in surprising sectors, including education and agriculture. It has, in short, become more of a general business risk. more

‘American Idol’ Winner Accused of Bugging LSU Student’s Dorm

American Idol winner Laine Hardy has been accused of bugging his ex-girlfriend’s dorm room at Louisiana State University so he could listen in on her conversations, according to a warrant obtained by WBRZ. 

The 21-year-old country singer was arrested Friday on charges of interception and disclosure of wire, electronic or oral communication. Investigators allegedly found several recordings on the device, including some of Hardy’s “very distinguishable” voice. 

In a vague Twitter post, Hardy acknowledged on Thursday that he’d received a warrant over “allegations” and was “cooperating” with the cops. “I humbly ask for privacy at this time,” he wrote. more

The Associated Press reported that Hardy’s ex-girlfriend and her roommate found the alleged listening device, which looked like a phone charger, in their dorm room on April 6. She reported it to LSUPD the next day, and officers noted in a police affidavit acquired by the AP that they found recordings from a 10-day span in February. more

New Countermeasure Against Unwanted Wireless Surveillance

Smart devices are supposed to make our everyday lives easier. At the same time, however, they are a gateway for passive eavesdropping. 

To prevent possible surveillance of the movement profile within one’s home, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy, the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the Cologne University of Applied Sciences have developed a novel system for protecting privacy in wireless communication.

Almost all Internet-of-Things devices, such as voice assistants, locks and cameras, rely on wireless connections based on high-frequency radio signals... passive eavesdroppers can still exploit sensitive information from intercepted radio frequency signals... Attackers can perceive such effects from a distance and, by applying simple statistical methods, conclude, for example, that a person is currently moving in the monitored room... this method known as “adversarial wireless sensing”...

With their approach, the researchers are the first in the world to propose IRS as a practical countermeasure against passive wireless eavesdropping attacks. more

Why Casinos Are Spying on Their Ultra-Rich Clients

An integral part of how the casino lavishes services on its members is by monitoring their movements on the premises — with the help of facial-recognition cameras in recent years.

Of the 400 cameras in the building, 10 are linked to a face-scanning system. Whenever a member enters the building or one of its private gambling rooms, staff get pinged on their phones.

Clients, for their part, accept this Orwellian scrutiny as necessary to enhance their experience. “It’s the expectation,” says Ryan Best, the surveillance and security manager at the casino who set up its facial-recognition system up in 2018. 

Several luxury hotels in nearby Mayfair have recently introduced similar systems to alert everyone to arriving VIPs, he says. more

Researchers Developing Anti-Eavesdropping Quantum Network

While quantum computers offer many novel possibilities, they also pose a threat to internet security since these supercomputers make common encryption methods vulnerable. Based on the so-called quantum key distribution, researchers at TU Darmstadt have developed a new, tap-proof communication network.

The new system is used to exchange symmetric keys between parties in order to encrypt messages so that they cannot be read by third parties. In cooperation with Deutsche Telekom, the researchers led by physics professor Thomas Walther succeeded in operating a quantum network that is scalable in terms of the number of users and at the same time robust without the need for trusted nodes. 

In the future, such systems could protect critical infrastructure from the growing danger of cyberattacks. In addition, tap-proof connections could be installed between different government sites in larger cities. more

Series: Types of Industrial Espionage

Industrial espionage refers to various activities performed to gain an unfair competitive advantage, rather than for national security purposes. As we discussed in a previous article, the ways in which industrial espionage can affect a company are numerous and include theft of trade secrets and disruption to operation.

Section 1832 of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (the “Act”) criminalizes the theft of trade secrets “intended for use in interstate or foreign commerce, to the economic benefit of anyone other than the owner.” The trade secret owner is required to take “reasonable measures” to keep the information secret. 

For individuals, convictions in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832 can result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years or a monetary penalty, or both. For organizations, the fine may be “not more than the greater of $5,000,000 or 3 times the value of the stolen trade secret . . . including expenses for research and design and other costs of reproducing the trade secret.” Section 1832 requires that the products be “produced for” or “placed in” interstate or foreign commerce. more

One excellent reasonable measure is the Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) inspection, conducted periodically. 

Ex-Coca-Cola Chemist Sentenced for Stealing $120 Million Trade Secret

A Chinese chemical engineer was sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing trade secrets on drink can coatings to establish a Chinese company backed by the Chinese government.

Xiaorong “Shannon” You, 59, was sentenced on Monday by a federal judge in Greeneville, Tennessee, on the charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage and wire fraud. In addition, she is ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release.

“Stealing technology isn’t just a crime against a company,” Acting Assistant Director Bradley S. Benavides of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said in a release. “It’s a crime against American workers whose jobs and livelihoods are impacted.” more

Extra Credit...
How to Turn a Coke Can Into an Eavesdropping Device

U.S. Spy Chief Reiterates ‘Overclassification’ Concerns

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told senators Tuesday that the overclassification of data is a national security concern—a sentiment the nation’s top spy previously voiced in a January memo.

“Overclassification is a national security problem,” said Haines, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee alongside Defense Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier.

“This is a challenge as you ideate from a democratic perspective but also a challenge from the national security perspective,” Haines continued in an exchange with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “It’s a very challenging issue.” more

Chinese CCTV Cameras on British Streets Contain Hidden Microphones

Chinese-made surveillance cameras in Britain are made by companies linked to human rights atrocities and can pick up sound with hidden microphones, with this capability able to be activated remotely, according to the British government’s “snooping tsar”. more

We're shocked... that Brit techs didn't clip the microphones out before installing them.

Things Often Mistaken for Eavesdropping Bugs

“Is this a bug?” is a question we are often asked.

Usually the answer is, “I understand why you are asking is this a bug. Some bugs do look similar to this. But, here is what you actually found.”

Real electronic eavesdropping devices are getting smaller. So are lots of other little electronic bits which are part of our everyday lives. Distinguishing between the two can be tricky. 

If the object you found makes you think, is this a bug, keep reading. You stand a good chance of finding your answer here...  more

The Colorful Side of Eavesdropping & Wiretaps

Russian fighters have been sharing tips with one another about how to deliberately damage their own equipment and hamper Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war plans in Ukraine, according to recordings of alleged Russian troops’ phone calls that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) intercepted...

In one regiment, one Russian soldier allegedly said they’ve been pouring sand into the tanks’ fuel systems to clog them up.

“I don't follow stupid orders, I simply refuse,” one fighter can be heard telling a comrade. “The motherf*cker sent me to tanks, motherf*cking piece of shit. I f*cked it up and that's it.”

When the fellow Russian soldier on the other end of the line heard the unit wasn’t punished for the insubordination, he indicated he might repeat the tactic later in his own unit...

Inspired by the Russians’ intercepted phone calls, Ukraine’s government encouraged other Russian troops to disobey orders and refuse to attack, echoing earlier calls to surrender and abandon the war path. more

KeyTap3 Exploit Knows What You Type Keyboard Eavesdropping

A new KeyTap3 exploit might explain how some websites are able to track and offer recommendations for an item you just searched for. 

Programmer Georgi Gerganov doesn’t use any Bluetooth, WiFi, or RF-based methods to eavesdrop on your keyboards, but rather a normal microphone. That’s right, it essentially captures audio of you typing before using that information to generate a cluster map of clicks with similar sounds.

It then analyzes those clusters and utilizes statistical information about the frequency of the letter n-grams in the supposed language of the text. 

The algorithm realizes that some of these letter combinations are used more frequently in certain languages, like English, and then begins guessing. 

Try it out here if you have a clicky mechanical keyboard. This exploit would most likely not fare well against Samsung’s SelfieType, an AI-powered keyboard. more

Air Force Officer Spycam'ed Kids in Family Member’s Bathroom

An Air Force officer is going to prison after federal prosecutors say he used a hidden spy camera to record children using the bathroom and bathing at his family member’s home, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland...

In October 2020, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in New York was notified by an adult woman, who has not been named, that Ort put a round, “black spy camera in (her) bedroom while visiting (her) home,” the news release said. Ort visited this adult’s home in Syracuse to visit her family, according to the plea agreement. 

This woman found the hidden camera with an SD card, and after reviewing the card, she “discovered a video of a minor female using the bathroom... Then, Ort was seen “entering the bathroom and adjusting the camera.” more

Your Password-less Future

Apple, Google, and Microsoft announce support for passwordless sign-in...

In celebration of 2022 Word Password Day, Apple, Google and Microsoft announced plans to expand support for a sign-in standard from the FIDO alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that aims to eliminate passwords altogether.

The passwordless sign-in involves the use of a FIDO credential called passkey, which is stored on a phone. When signing into a website, users would need to have their phone nearby, as they will have to unlock it for access.

“Once you’ve done this, you won’t need your phone again and you can sign in by just unlocking your computer. Even if you lose your phone, your passkeys will securely sync to your new phone from cloud backup, allowing you to pick up right where your old device left off,” Google explains. more