Claim Your Free 2025 Spy Wall Calendar

Key Features of the Shinobi Enterprises 2025 Wall Calendar:
• Facts You Can Use
• Each month features an overview of a recent case of espionage, economic espionage, covert action, or illegal technology export.
• Espionage Tradecraft. Espionage tradecraft is highlighted in each case.

Perfect for your office or home. Just download and print.

Check Before Opening Encrypted Microsoft Word Documents Emailed to You

Threat intelligence analysts have now reported a surge in the activity of the Paper Werewolf cluster, also known as GOFFEE, which uses infected Microsoft Windows Word documents to launch mostly espionage-driven, credential-compromising attacks.

Like so many other attack campaigns, Paper Werewolf uses phishing emails and brand impersonation to distribute its malicious payload. These messages contain an encrypted Microsoft Word document that prompts the recipient to enable macros in order to read it. If they do this, then the content of the document is decrypted, and the malicious program is installed on their device. The threat intelligence analysts said that, in some instances, they observed the use of PowerRAT, a remote access trojan, enabling the attackers to execute commands and carry out reconnaissance. more

Russian Tanker Suspected of Baltic Sea Sabotage was ‘Loaded with Spy Equipment’

A Russia-linked tanker suspected of cutting Baltic Sea cables has been tugged to port amid reports it was loaded with “spy equipment”.

The vessel is said to have been kitted out with special transmitting and receiving devices that monitor all naval activity, according to shipping journal Lloyd’s List citing a source with direct involvement in the ship. ...The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the vessel was loaded with “huge portable suitcases” and “many laptops”... 

Those on board the ship would have been aware of the spying activities but would have been “threatened with their life, so everybody kept quiet”, the source told the journal. more

This Week in Spy News

• US citizen sentenced to 15 years by Moscow court on espionage charges, Russian media says

• A 9th telecoms firm has been hit by a massive Chinese espionage campaign, the White House says

• Aerial and Drone Surveillance: 2024 in Review
  

• EFF Wins Legal Battle Over Police License Plate Reader Data Sharing in 2024

• Documents Found After the Fall of Assad Show Syrian Intelligence Spying on Journalists

• Frying or spying? These air fryers may be harvesting your data, experts say

• At last MI5 sees the funny side of spying

• Chinese spies arrested in California

Officials Deny Approving Sale of Israeli Spyware Firm to US Investors

Officials in the United States and Israel have denied reports their countries had signed off on the sale of Israeli spyware maker Paragon to Florida-based AE Industrial Partners... 

"The U.S. government never 'approved' this sale. This is a private transaction," the official said. "There wasn't some sort of green light given for this sale." The Israeli military also denied the reports... more

How Pigeons, Cats, Whales, Robotic Catfish Acted as Spies

The death of a spy is rarely newsworthy, due to the secrecy surrounding it. But when a white beluga whale suspected of spying for Moscow was found dead in Norwegian waters in September, the animal soon became a minor celebrity....

The US ran similar experiments with animals, some dating back to the 1960s. One of the CIA’s more unusual attempts to use animals as spies was Operation Acoustic Kitty...

The idea was to implant a microphone and antenna into the cat and use it to eavesdrop on potentially interesting conversations. The test of the “prototype” went horribly wrong... more

Smart Home Cameras Spying

According to a study conducted by Surfshark, outdoor security camera apps are some of the top offenders when it comes to collecting user data. These apps gather 12 data points on average, including sensitive details like email addresses, phone numbers, payment information and precise location. That’s 50% more than what other smart home devices typically collect.
Which apps collect the most data?
Among the apps that collect the most data, Deep Sentinel and Lorex stand out for outdoor security cameras, each collecting 18 out of a possible 32 data points. Nest Labs, which leads the pack for indoor cameras, collects 17 data points, with Ring and Arlo each gathering 15. more

The Spy Cam Lunch Box

From our, "You can't make this shxt up," file...

Security Director Alert: Latest Electronic Surveillance of Corporate Executives

What is going on at Boohoo?
• Espionage claims arise as boardroom battle continues.

• Cautionary tale.

The past few months have been turbulent for Boohoo, to say the least. Yet, last week, things seemed to come to a head when claims of espionage arose at the fast fashion giant.

According to a report by The Times, three current and former executives of Boohoo are believed to be the victims of stalking and surveillance. The alleged espionage is said to have been committed against Boohoo’s co-founder and executive chair Mahmud Kamani, chief executive Dan Finley and former CEO, John Lyttle.

The allegations were brought to light after the company informed the Information Commissioner’s Office (IOC) of a related incident taking place outside of its Manchester headquarters. The report was confirmed by the IOC in a statement to the press, which read: “We can confirm that Boohoo Group has made us aware of concerns regarding the discovery of surveillance equipment outside its head office.”

In a more recent update, the Times has now reported that police in Manchester and Kent are investigating the claims, with Greater Manchester Police stating to the media outlet that it was looking into allegations “involving serious distress”. No arrests have been made, so far. more

Spybuster Tip # 675

Prior to any attack (physical, information theft) some form of surveillance tradecraft (audio, video, data or visual surveillance) will be used. 

If you are a business executive don't ignore this. 

More tips here.

TSCM Tech: Another Step Closer to the Holy Grail - Visualizing RF

Holo-Scan: 3D Scanner with Augmented Reality (AR) Headset
The Holo-Scan is a 3D electromagnetic field mapping system in augmented reality (AR) compatible with various laboratory equipment such as spectrum analyzers, vector network analyzers (VNA) or specific probes (Narda, Wavecontrol…). Unlimited frequency band depending on the instruments used.  The data is then exported in .lxd format and directly analyzed in the online viewer. more

Looking forward to the day this can be direct coupled to an SDR and my Vision Pro. ~Kevin

Who Needs TSCM... China’s top court vows to combat eavesdropping, illegal recordings...

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Wednesday released several cases regarding the prosecution of crimes related to the illegal production, sale, and use of eavesdropping and surreptitious recording equipment, showing a clear stance on cracking down on the underground industrial chain behind such activities.

The SPC revealed that some offenders installed eavesdropping and recording devices in hotels, guesthouses, and other locations to spy on unknowing guests and patrons. In some cases, they provided internet links for others to view these recordings in real time or produced images, audio, and videos for sale and distribution, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Others used such devices for illegal activities such as unauthorized investigations, blackmail, and cheating in gambling, seriously infringing upon people's information security and privacy. Additionally, some offenders had illegally manufactured and sold these devices, fueling their proliferation in society and exacerbating the issue of illegal recording, the SPC said. more

Shocking! One wonders if this will stop the exports, and will there be a run on eBay and amazon spy merch.

Research Finds that Cellular Walkie Talkies Put Americans at Risk of Chinese Spying

Haloid Solutions, a leading provider of wireless communications equipment, is warning all business and government agencies about foreign espionage and business disruption risks from China-manufactured cellular two-way radios. These devices were sold in the United States from "pop up companies" that claimed the devices were private.

For the past year, we've researched and investigated the radio over cellular space, also known as Push-to-Talk Over Cellular, or PoC. We've encountered dozens of "pop up" U.S. companies selling China engineered, manufactured, and hosted devices for extremely low prices.

The devices are advertised as encrypted and marketed and sold to businesses and government agencies. 

We estimate millions of these devices are currently in operation. From our research, we've found that many of these companies' claims are misleading or false. For example, one Chinese manufacturer white labels its products under numerous U.S. names, and claims that the servers hosting its radios are on Amazon servers in the U.S. In reality, they are hosted by Alibaba, the Chinese tech conglomerate and are vulnerable to Chinese spying by sending back user data to China. more

Google Warns Millions Of Android Users—These Apps Are Spying On You

Google is narrowing the gap to iPhone on the security and privacy front with Android 15. A raft of welcome changes will better protect users, their devices and their data, including live threat detection to quickly flag malware and permission abuse, cellular network defense, and tighter controls of what apps are doing behind the scenes.

When we talk about permission abuse, we clearly mean the grey area between apps behaving well and outright spyware—of which there’s still plenty on Android. While Apple led the charge to restrict location tracking and access to sensitive phone functions like messaging, cameras and contacts, Google has followed. more

10 High-Octane Spy Movies That Can Compete With James Bond

Skip the Hallmark Channel this season with this hit list...

10
The Bourne Identity (2002)
The James Bond Franchise's American Twin

9 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
A Timeless Film With Quieter Thrills

8 

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Everything That's Great About James Bond Cranked Up To 11

7 

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Ethan Hunt Is A Great James Bond Rival

6 

Atomic Blonde (2017)
A Unique Spy Movie That Stands On Its Own Against Hits Like James Bond

5 

Sicario (2015)
Trades The Glamor Of James Bond For A Grim Spy Story

4 

Tenet (2020)
Bond For Physics Enthusiasts

3 

Argo (2012)

2 

Bridge of Spies (2015)

1 

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

Then,  for stress relief...

Top Secret! (1984)

Cautionary Tale for Traveling Executives - A Case of Spy Tradecraft...

A Bulgarian espionage ring working on behalf of Russia in the UK used video-recording spyglasses and honey traps to gather information on journalists and dissidents...

...five Bulgarian nationals who are accused of spying in Britain as part of a ring co-ordinated by Jan Marsalek, the former chief operating officer of Wirecard. 

London’s Old Bailey heard the group targeted journalists Christo Grozev and Roman Dobrokhotov, as well as Kazakh dissident Bergey Ryskaliyev, tracking them variously on flights and across European cities during 2021 and 2022. 

One member of the group, Katrin Ivanova, 33, used specially-designed glasses to record images and videos to watch Grozev on a flight from Vienna to Montenegro in June 2022, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said. The group had accessed an airline industry database called “Amadeus” through another Bulgarian contact to ascertain the flight details and seat numbers of their targets, the court heard. 

Ivanova also sat nearby Dobrokhotov on a flight in November 2021 and memorised his phone pin code, reporting it back to her handlers, Morgan added. “That was a correct capture and showed the tradecraft of Miss Ivanova,” Morgan told the court. 

The group also discussed bribing hotel staff, employing pickpockets and infiltrating a target’s home by hiring Bulgarian and Romanian cleaning teams, the court heard. more

Bulgarian national Katrin Ivanova (Elizabeth Cook/PA)

and... Russian agent discussed deploying a “true sexy bitch” in a “honeytrap” spy plot against an award-winning journalist, a court has heard...Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told jurors that, as well as trying to “befriend” Mr Gozev, Gaberova had been engaged in capturing surveillance images of him at the conference...

She said: “These images were extremely important as they showed Christo Grozev together with others of interest to Russia, Eliot Higgins. 

“Roussev would later seek to use face recognition software to check that the image did show Christo Grozev with Higgins together.”...

She showed off her “tradecraft” by relaying images, using covert recording equipment and capturing Mr Dobrokhotov’s iPhone PIN number, Mr Morgan said. more

TSCM Tech - Coating Hides Temp Changes from IR Cameras

An ultrathin coating developed by University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers upends a ubiquitous physics phenomenon of materials related to thermal radiation: The hotter an object gets, the brighter it glows.

The new coating — engineered from samarium nickel oxide, a unique tunable material — employs a bit of temperature trickery.

“This is the first time temperature and thermal light emission have been decoupled in a solid object. We built a coating that ‘breaks’ the relationship between temperature and thermal radiation in a very particular way,” says Mikhail Kats, a UW–Madison professor of electrical and computer engineering. more

Using a Device to Track medical data?

Are you using a device to track medical data? Here’s who else might be watching...
Wearable technology—smartwatches, smart rings, fitness trackers and the like—monitors body-centric data such as your heart rate, steps taken and calories burned, and may record where you go along the way. Like Santa Claus, it knows when you are sleeping (and how well), it knows when you're awake, it knows when you've been idle or exercising, and it keeps track of all of it...

Health information has become a prime target for hackers seeking to extort health care agencies and individuals after accessing sensitive patient data...

The report "From Skin to Screen: Bodily Integrity in the Digital Age" recommends that existing data protection laws be clarified to encompass all forms of bodily data. It also calls for expanding national health privacy laws to cover health-related information collected from health apps and fitness trackers and making it easier for users to opt out of body-centric data collections. more

3 Charged in Theft of Shoes from Train

Three men have been charged with breaking into a BNSF train and stealing more than $300,000 in Nike merchandise while the train was parked in the Mojave Desert and then transporting the stolen goods to Anaheim....

In an effort to prevent theft, Nike placed a GPS tracker in the shipment of Air Jordan 11 Retro shoes...

Investigators with the California Highway Patrol tracked the GPS tracker to a U-Haul truck in an Anaheim parking lot and found 1,278 Air Jordan 11 Retro shoes valued at $311,832 inside the rental truck. more

‘Prison yard’ Surveillance | Lawsuit Alleges Apple Spies on Employee's iPhones

An Apple worker has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging it spies on its employee’s personal iCloud accounts and iPhones.

As reported by Semafor, the lawsuit filed Sunday claims Apple says it can “engage in physical, video and electronic surveillance” of employees, including accessing data on personal iPhones it “actively encourages” staff to work.

Apple refutes the claims of the lawsuit, which alleges several other employment law violations including free speech suppression and illegal clawback policies. more

New Eavesdropping Technology Reveals Vulnerabilities in Underwater Communications

Researchers from Princeton and MIT have uncovered a method for intercepting underwater communications...

...challenging long-standing assumptions about the security of sonar transmissions. By using radar to detect the tiny surface vibrations caused by underwater acoustic signals, the team has demonstrated how these signals can be decoded from the air, offering significant security implications for sensitive data transmitted underwater.

The team detailed their findings in a paper presented at the ACM MobiCom conference on November 20. According to TechXplore, they explained how their device can pick up vibrations on the water’s surface, allowing it to eavesdrop on underwater messages. This technique could also potentially identify the location of the transmitting underwater device, making it a powerful tool for intelligence gathering or adversarial actions. more

Canadian Coach Implicated in Drone-Spying Scandal Resigns Abruptly

John Herdman, the former Canada coach who was implicated in the drone-spying scandal, has abruptly resigned as manager of MLS side Toronto FC.

His reputation has been tarnished somewhat after he was caught up in the investigation into a Canada Soccer staffer spying on their New Zealand opponents with a drone at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The scandal saw head coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi all handed a one-year FIFA ban.Emma Hayes fulfills national anthem promise before USWNT vs. England friendly.

Herman denied any wrongdoing in the scandal given his previous role as head coach. He declined to publicly address allegations of a link to a culture of spying within Canada Soccer but maintained his record was clean at the Olympics and World Cups. more

China’s Anti-Espionage Law Could Impact Pharmaceutical Supply Chains

The pharmaceutical industry is facing another challenge as China seems to strengthen its Anti-Espionage Law, which introduces uncertainties that could disrupt the global supply of essential drug ingredients. With drug shortages already a significant concern, this development adds further pressure on the industry to navigate a rapidly changing landscape and secure its supply chains...

The last version of China’s Anti-Espionage Law, which came into force on 1st July 2023, significantly expands the definition of espionage to include the handling or sharing of information that could be seen as a threat to national security. This broad definition puts foreign life sciences companies operating in China at risk, as routine business activities could now be interpreted as a threat to national security. This law also grants extensive powers to the Chinese authorities to implement national security measures, including arrests.

One immediate consequence of this law is that three German states recently suspended the travel of their inspectors responsible for monitoring pharmaceutical facilities in China, due to the risk of the inspectors being arrested, prompting the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond on 19th August 2024 that "China is a country ruled by law". more

AI CCTV - Creating a Surveillance Society

Premiering in New York City in June 2002, Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed film Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, depicted a society where police use psychic mutants to predict and prevent murderers from committing their crimes. Now, South Korean company Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) is using AI to make it a reality. 

Aptly named ‘Dejaview,’ ETRI’s high-tech platform blends AI with real-time CCTV to predict crimes before they transpire. But whereas the Pre-Crime department Tom Cruise heads in Minority Report focused on criminal intention, Dejaview is instead concerned with probability. 

ETRI says the platform can discern patterns and anomalies in real-time scenarios, allowing it to predict incidents from petty offences to drug trafficking with a sci-fi-esque 82% accuracy rate. more

Fry Spy: What's Done in an Air Fryer Doesn't Stay in an Air Fryer

UK consumer champion Which? wants you to know that your air fryer might be spying on you and sharing your data with third parties for marketing purposes.

The perhaps not-so-surprising findings from the buyer's friend are that smart devices in general are engaged in surveillance of their owners, and that data collection often goes "well beyond" what is necessary for the functioning of the product...

Testing out products across four categories, the outfit discovered that all three air fryers it looked at wanted permission to record audio on the user's phone, for no specified reason.

One wanted to know gender and date of birth when setting up an owner account, while the Xiaomi app linked to its air fryer was found to be connected with trackers from Facebook, Pangle (the ad network of TikTok for Business), and Chinese tech giant Tencent.

Air fryers from brands Aigostar and Xiaomi both sent the owner's personal data to servers in China – although this was flagged in the privacy notice, for what it's worth. more

Giambattista della Porta (1535 – 1615): The Egg-cryption Man

Della Porta invented a method which allowed him to write secret messages on the inside of eggs. 

Some of his friends were imprisoned by the Inquisition. At the gate of the prison, everything was checked except for eggs. Della Porta wrote messages on the eggshell using a mixture made of plant pigments and alum. The ink penetrated the eggshell which is semi-porous. When the eggshell was dry, he boiled the egg in hot water and the ink on the outside of the egg was washed away. 

When the recipient in prison peeled off the shell, the message was revealed once again on the egg white. - Philalethe Reveal'd Vol. 2 B/W

Man Destroys Dental Clinic Claimed Dentist Implanted Eavesdropping Chip

... in wife's tooth.

A woman and her husband have justified their decision to damage a Brazilian dental clinic after they strangely claimed the dentist secretly placed a chip in her mouth three years ago to eavesdrop on their family's conversations.

The shocking incident was recorded from the Belo Horizonte office when 27-year-old Kenia Aparecida and her 31-year-old partner came and asked to see the dentist on Wednesday, the Telegraph reports.

"They pulled out two of my teeth and without my authorization, they put a chip in my mouth and listened to my conversations. But my husband saw that it was in (the mouth) and the dentist does not want to take it out". more with video

Runaway 'Spy Whale' Fled Russian Military Training

The mystery as to why a beluga whale appeared off the coast of Norway wearing a harness may finally have been solved.

The tame white whale, which locals named Hvaldimir, made headlines five years ago amidst widespread speculation that it was a Russian spy.

Now an expert in the species says she believes the whale did indeed belong to the military and escaped from a naval base in the Arctic Circle.

But Dr Olga Shpak does not believe it was a spy. She believes the beluga was being trained to guard the base and fled because it was a "hooligan". more

The Last Thing I Wanted to See...

In the parking lot,
after completing a TSCM bug sweep...

Chinese Spooks Hacking US Mobile Users in Real Time

Millions of US mobile users could be vulnerable to Chinese government spooks who are apparently desperate to know when they are picking up their snowflakes from school and where they order their pizza...

The US intelligence community briefed six current or former senior US officials about the attack. The Chinese hackers believed to be linked to Beijing's Ministry of State Security, have infiltrated the private wiretapping and surveillance system that American telecom companies built exclusively for US federal law enforcement agencies.

The US government believes the hackers likely still have access to the system. Since the breach was first detected in August, the US government and the telecom companies involved have said very little publicly, leaving the public to rely on details trickling out through leaks.

The lawful-access system breached by the Salt Typhoon hackers was established by telecom carriers after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It allows federal law enforcement officials to execute legal warrants for records of Americans' phone activity or to wiretap them in real-time, depending on the warrant.

Many of these cases are authorised under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which investigates foreign spying involving contact with US citizens. The system is also used for legal wiretaps related to domestic crimes. more

Global Surveillance Free-for-All in Mobile Ad Data

Excellent (long) article on services that track and sell your movements. Via Kreb's on Security

Not long ago, the ability to digitally track someone’s daily movements just by knowing their home address, employer, or place of worship was considered a dangerous power that should remain only within the purview of nation states. But a new lawsuit in a likely constitutional battle over a New Jersey privacy law shows that anyone can now access this capability, thanks to a proliferation of commercial services that hoover up the digital exhaust emitted by widely-used mobile apps and websites.

Delaware-based Atlas Data Privacy Corp. helps its users remove their personal information from the clutches of consumer data brokers, and from people-search services online. Backed by millions of dollars in litigation financing, Atlas so far this year has sued 151 consumer data brokers on behalf of a class that includes more than 20,000 New Jersey law enforcement officers who are signed up for Atlas services...

Babel Street’s LocateX platform also allows customers to track individual mobile users by their Mobile Advertising ID or MAID, a unique, alphanumeric identifier built into all Google Android and Apple mobile devices.

One unique feature of Babel Street is the ability to toggle a “night” mode, which makes it relatively easy to determine within a few meters where a target typically lays their head each night (because their phone is usually not far away). more

Student Finds 'Hacker-like' Approach to Bypass Cell Phone Security

Forensic investigators face significant challenges in securing crucial data from criminals' phones. University of Amsterdam PhD candidate Aya Fukami has identified hardware vulnerabilities in phones to bypass the security of modern devices, allowing her to extract data from phones in a way that was previously not possible...

"Traditional methods of hacking or scraping data from phones still often yield only encrypted data. Researchers then face great difficulty making that encrypted data usable," Fukami says. "It's a process that also takes a long time and doesn't always result in usable evidence."

To overcome this, Fukami explored ways to bypass vulnerabilities in phone system security. And she succeeded. more

Pakistani Journalist Finds his Car Bugged...

... mocks spy agency's old tech!
The relationship between journalists and state surveillance is as old as the profession itself, though surveillance methods have evolved with advancing technology. In Pakistan, however, veteran journalist Azaz Syed recently revealed that while the government may be keen on surveillance, the technology remains as outdated as the economic challenges facing the nation. 

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Syed shared that his mechanic, while installing a new number plate, found a tracking device secretly attached to his vehicle...

Syed poked fun at Pakistan’s intelligence agency for using "old technology." He pointed out that while modern GPS devices are compact and lightweight, the device he encountered was large and cumbersome. Sarcastically, he remarked, “I expect Pakistan’s intelligence agencies to be smart enough so at least I don’t catch your spying devices.” more

Spies Can Eavesdrop on Phone Calls by...

 ... sensing vibrations with radar.

An off-the-shelf millimetre wave sensor can pick out the tiny vibrations made by a smartphone's speaker, enabling an AI model to transcribe the conversation, even at a distance in a noisy room.

Spies can eavesdrop on conversations by using radar to detect tiny vibrations in smartphones and employing artificial intelligence to accurately transcribe them. The trick even works in noisy rooms, as the radar homes in on the phone’s movement and is entirely unaffected by background hubbub.

Millimetre wave sensing is a form of radar that can measure movements of less than 1 mm by transmitting pulses of electromagnetic wave energy and detecting the reflected beams.

Suryoday Basak at Pennsylvania State University and his colleagues used a commercially available sensor operating between 77 and 81 gigahertz to pick up the tiny vibrations in a Samsung Galaxy S20 earpiece speaker playing audio clips. They then converted the signal to audio and passed it through an AI speech recognition model, which transcribed the speech. more$

Former School Counselor Hid Cameras in Boys’ Bathroom

A former counselor at a private school in Riverside County pleaded guilty today to possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and placing a hidden camera inside bathrooms to film boys using the toilet and showers.

Matthew Daniel Johnson, 34, of Bryan, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He was remanded into federal custody after he pleaded guilty...

During the search of his residence, Johnson admitted to law enforcement that he had hidden a pen-shaped recording device in a toilet paper holder inside of a school bathroom, across the hall from his office as a school counselor at La Sierra Academy in Riverside. more

NB: Spycam Detection Training is available.

Matt Damon’s Funniest Comedy Flips the Spy Genre on Its Head

By Liam Gaughan

Published 2 days ago

Damon gave the single greatest comedic performance of his career in Steven Soderbergh’s dark comedy The Informant!

The Informant! was released during a time in Damon’s career in which he could certainly afford to be a little bit more experimental...

While it’s understandable why he may have wanted to step outside his comfort zone and try something new, The Informant! is a brilliant deconstruction of espionage thrillers that examines the complexity of American masculinity. more trailer

...and it is a true story!

Corporate Espionage: Executives Exploiting Their Roles

In a concerning trend across the corporate world, cases of internal misconduct and corporate espionage are becoming increasingly prevalent, posing significant threats to businesses. 

Internal disputes and personal agendas can undermine corporate governance and harm a company’s competitive edge...

Recent events involving senior executives at a Pune-based company, Artur Schade Steel Products India Pvt. Ltd., highlight how internal betrayal and data theft can cause substantial financial damage and disrupt operations. more

Landlord's Son Plants Spycam - Gets Door Lock Code from Building Camera

According to court documents, the man was accused of attempting to, or successfully entering, a woman’s apartment on 64 occasions... The victim, a woman in her 20s, lived in a one-room apartment owned by the perpetrator's father.

The man tried to break into the apartment by entering random number combinations into the apartment’s electronic lock 26 times. After these failed attempts, he discovered the passcode by watching CCTV footage from the building. He then entered the victim’s home 38 times and installed a spycam to film the victim for sexual purposes...

An appeals court upheld a two-year and six-month prison term, suspended for four years, for a 48-year-old man convicted of illegally breaking into a woman’s apartment numerous times and installing a spy camera for sexual purposes. more

How a Cold War Spy Test Boosts Fitness and Sharpness

A novel training approach could help older adults stay mentally sharp and physically fit even when fatigued, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Extremadura in Spain investigated the effects of Brain Endurance Training (BET) on cognitive and physical performance in sedentary older women. The research, led by Jesús Díaz-García and colleagues, compared BET to standard exercise training and a control group over an 8-week period.

One example of BET is the Stroop task, a cognitive test where participants must name the color of a word, while the word itself spells out a different color (e.g., the word "red" printed in blue ink)...

During the Cold War, U.S, intelligence agencies used the Stroop task to identify potential Russian spies by presenting them with a color-word test in Russian, where a native Russian speaker would slow down when encountering incongruent color-word combinations, revealing their ability to read Russian and potentially their true identity as a spy; whereas a non-Russian speaker would not experience the same delay because the words would be meaningless to them. more

Meanwhile, at my local restaurant...

GOP primary loser, and loser’s wife charged with secretly recording political rival...

NJ - Two women, including an unsuccessful candidate for Township Committee and the wife of another unsuccessful candidate, were charged Monday in what could be Readington's version of Watergate.

Jacqueline Hindle, 49, who lost in June's hotly contested Republican primary for two Township Committee seats, and Christina Albrecht, 45, the wife of the other unsuccessful candidate, Ben Smith, have been charged by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office with an alleged scheme to record a private conversation between Mayor Adam Mueller and Deputy Mayor Vincent Panico at The Rail restaurant in Whitehouse Station.

According to a report from Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renee Robeson, Readington Township Police received notification July 8 that an audio recording device was found on the metal fence surrounding the patio at The Rail at Readington.

The two were charged with violating sections of the New Jersey Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act. more

Ford Has a Better Idea: Patent In-Vehicle Eavesdropping

There was a time when people had to whisper to avoid being heard by the wrong ears. Now, in the era of smart devices, we’ve also got to worry about our smartphones listening to our conversations for advertising purposes.

But the eavesdropping situation seems to be reaching new heights with Ford’s recently published patent, which shows “systems and methods” that assist with showing more targeted ads.

The document also discloses that to achieve this goal, the new technology would listen to conversations that take place among people in the vehicle. more

Vodafone Fined €2.25 mil. - Poor Wiretap Security

The National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate (RDI) has fined Vodafone 2.25 million euros for not properly securing its wiretapping system. 

According to the Dutch regulator, Vodafone’s security of this system, which could contain state secrets or criminal information, did not meet the legal requirements in several areas...

Telecom companies must properly secure the physical space in which their wiretapping system is located, secure access to the system, and prevent information from the system from reaching unauthorized persons.

According to the RDI, Vodafone’s security plan did not meet the requirements. The telecom provider also did not properly screen the personnel who had access to the system. “A large number of them lacked an adequate job description, a signed confidentiality statement, and a certificate of good conduct,” the inspectorate said. The physical security of the system itself was also inadequate, making it vulnerable to unauthorized access, the RDI said. more

Spy Camera Sign Seen in My Travels

 

Hobart, Tasmania

Trade Secrets Audits: Strengthening Your Company’s IP Protection

via Sefarth Shaw, LLP...

In a world where corporate espionage and data breaches are increasingly common, protecting your company’s intellectual property is more vital than ever. 

Recent developments surrounding the FTC’s Non-Compete Ban, currently stalled in litigation, highlight the need for proactive measures. This webinar will help you navigate these regulatory shifts and strengthen your IP protection strategies.

Join Lauren Leipold, Eddy Salcedo, and James Yu for the next installments of Seyfarth Shaw’s 2024 Trade Secrets Webinar Series. This webinar offers crucial insights into enhancing your IP defenses and preparing for future regulatory changes.

Webinar Recap! Trade Secrets Audits: Strengthening Your Company’s IP Protection

In our recent webinar, “Trade Secrets Audits: Strengthening Your Company’s IP Protection,” Seyfarth’s Intellectual Property Partner, Lauren Leipold, along with Trade Secret Attorneys Eddy Salcedo and James Yu, shared essential strategies for enhancing IP protection in today’s complex landscape. 

As corporate espionage and data breaches become increasingly prevalent, the session provided valuable insights on effective methods for safeguarding your company’s intellectual assets. Notably, recent developments surrounding the FTC’s Non-Compete Ban—currently stalled in litigation—highlight the pressing need for proactive measures to secure your business against emerging threats.

Key Insights from the Webinar... more

Recent Spy News

• Colombia Head Coach Accuses Bolivia of Spying Ahead of World Cup Qualifier

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• Kanye West sued after ‘spying’ on wife Bianca Censori and Kardashians

• Double Agent Rates 12 Spy Scenes In Movies And TV

• Lebanon arrests 2 foreigners suspected of spying for Israel

• Soldier accused of spying for Iran posed for selfies to disguise handler meeting

• CAA Sues Peter Micelli's Range Media Partners for Spying on 'Confidential' Meeting

• Playtech sues Games Global for IP infringement after spying claims

• Tánaiste 'never told' there was spy in the Oireachtas, Dáil hears

• US Cybersecurity Exec Slams Russian Oligarch Claim

• Germany to beef up security checks amid spying fears

• Russians changing focus from cyberattacks to espionage against Ukraine

• China Detains Four Taiwanese Employees at Apple’s ‘iPhone City’

• Ex-chief of staff to public safety minister denies stalling spy warrant approval

• Philippines: Detained spy holds key

Private Investigator Answers PI Questions

Private investigator Mike LaCorte joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about the profession of private investigator. 

How often are the people they're hired to watch cheating on their partner? 

What are PI's allowed and not allowed to do on the job, legally? 

Has anyone ever caught him investigating them? more

Amazing AI - Imagine Alternate Espionage Uses

via The Neuron...

AI generated image to video sizzle reel. And, more...

Want to see hear what the future sounds like? Check out these 10 examples:

Camera bot: Dr. Bobby Gomez-Reino engineered a voice controlled tour of his virtual data center, where he changes camera angles by chatting with his bot.  Browser whisperer: Sawyer Hood built a voice-controlled web browser. “Google, show me cat videos" just got a whole lot easier.  Speech to Picasso: Jordan Singer splashed together a voice-controlled painting app.  PDF mind reader: Marcus Schiesser created a voice chat for documents. “Hey term paper, what's your main argument?” Yes, please. 5-minute assistant: Pietro Schirano whipped up a voice assistant with Claude in “one shot.”  Interview prep pal: Kenn Ejima prepared an AI interviewer to conduct a 2 minute mock interview, quizzing you on your resume experience.  Smart voice agent: LangChain, an AI agent developer, crafted a voice assistant that can use tools like a calculator (code).  Website dialogue: Nicolas Camara made it possible to chat with anywebsite (like get the latest headlines from Hacker News, for example).  Stock tracking assistant: Willy Douhard made a voice assistant that can chart the price movements of multiple stocks with only your voice.  Real time animated friend: Bryan Pratte shared how to combine OpenAI’s voice AI with ExpressionEngine to bring his animated characters to life.