2378 Cybersecurity Tools and Resources

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Chinese Drone Photographer Charged Under US Espionage Act

While on leave from his graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, Fengyun Shi flew to Virginia on January 5, 2024. While in Virginia, he rented a car and drove to a shipyard where United States military personnel build nuclear submarines. 

An affidavit filed later in January by FBI special agent Sara Shalowitz claims that a shipyard security officer saw Shi and told the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Shalowitz alleges that on January 6, Shi was flying his drone in poor conditions, and it got stuck in a tree on a neighboring property.

Shi approached the property owner, requesting help retrieving his drone...The unnamed individual captured images of Shi, his rental car’s license plate, and Shi’s identification. They then called the police.

When law enforcement arrived on the scene, Shi was understandably “very nervous,” and failed to provide a reasonable explanation for why he was there and flying a drone. The police explained to Shi that the fire department would need to retrieve the drone and that Shi should stay there until they arrived. Instead, Shi left the area entirely, abandoning his drone in the process. more

Cybersecurity Labeling for Smart Devices

Consumer labels designed to help Americans pick smart devices that are less vulnerable to hacking could begin appearing on products before the holiday shopping season, federal officials said Wednesday.

Under the new U.S. Cyber Trust Mark Initiative, manufacturers can affix the label on their products if they meet federal cybersecurity standards. The types of devices eligible for labels include baby monitors, home security cameras, fitness trackers, refrigerators and other internet-connected appliances. more

Spy Rock Mystery (probably) Solved.

Last week we reported on a mystery spy rock planted in a suburban neighborhood. No one knew why. This week, there is a likely solution. The same day, about 40 miles away...

On May 20, 2024, at approximately 10:31 p.m., the Glendale Police Department arrested four Colombian national burglary suspects in the Emerald Isle area of Glendale.

During the vehicle search, officers found a video surveillance device with a battery pack charging system camouflaged with leaves. This evidence, combined with the finding of freshly disturbed dirt in a planter in the cul-de-sac, led Glendale detectives to believe that the suspects had strategically placed the camera in the planter. 

This method allowed them to create a sophisticated method to gain a view of residences and know when homeowners would leave.

Officers also located a construction hard hat and a vest, which can be used as a ruse to approach homes with minimal suspicion...During that pursuit, the suspects discarded stolen items, including a WiFi signal jammer to disable home security systems. more

Florida Mother Finds Hidden Cameras After Ex-Boyfriend Moved Out

A concerned mother called the police because she found a small hidden camera in an electrical outlet in her young adult daughter's bathroom. According to the Ocala Police Department, an officer who went to the home to investigate took the small camera from behind the bathroom electrical outlet...Police added that the outlet was directly facing the shower and toilet.

Two days later, police were called to the home again because another camera had been found inside the residence. This time, police say the camera was disguised as a Wi-Fi repeater in the daughter's room.

The woman told police that the router was installed by her ex-boyfriend...who lived with the mother and daughter for a time. more

What TSCM techs know that police don't... "If you find one surveillance device, keep searching."

In other spy cam news...
The Gray's Creek Fire Department fire chief was arrested Thursday after allegedly placing a camera in the fire station's vent. more

A 39-year-old man has been arrested after officials with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office say he used a hidden camera disguised as a "phone charger" to spy live on an alleged victim. We’re told years went by before she noticed the live feed on his phone. “Perverts and sick people are going to be creative and try to find a way to invade your privacy,” Sheriff Marco Lopez said... He’s encouraging people to check for hidden cameras in their homes, vacation homes, and hotel rooms. more

Kid's Jewelry - Ankle Bracelet for the Wrist

Google announced the Fitbit Ace LTE, a surveillance-forward ("Know where your wild things are") smartwatch featuring all the features youngsters love, such as having their location and habits constantly under observation by adult customers of the world's largest advertising company. 

It's about 45mm across and a little over 13mm thick, comes with 4G LTE and GPS/GNSS, allows calling and messaging up to 20 contacts, and has NFC so yer littluns can buy stuff too. 16 or more hours of battery life is promised on a charge and there's an array of sensors. more

Recent Spycam News - Disturbing Trend

• Washougal man charged with voyeurism, accused of recording women in bathroom.
Police say he hid cellphone in home he was hired to clean. more

• A voyeurism suspect returned to court Monday after admitting to planting a phone inside a bathroom at a Northern Kentucky medical facility and secretly recording victims in bathrooms for “years” for the “thrill,” police records show. more

• Victoria police have released a surveillance photo of a man suspected of taking pictures or video of a woman using a change room at a downtown store Wednesday afternoon. The suspect, who fled when confronted by the staff member, is described as having thick black hair and wearing a plaid jacket with a red-and-yellow logo on the back. more

• Jail for serial voyeur who took upskirt photos, videos of over 100 women in 10 years. more

• Cruise Ship Worker Accused of Hiding Cameras in Bathrooms to Spy on Guests more

• A Traverse City restaurant owner accused of hiding a camera in the women's bathroom of his business has pleaded no contest to all charges against him, including three felonies...A Traverse City police officer got in touch with the employee, and she said she believed there was a potential spy camera installed in a wall outlet in the women's bathroom at the business. more

• Police arrested a Harrisburg man they said allegedly took videos of various people in bathrooms at Arkansas State University...Police said upon examination of the devices, officers were about to find digital evidence of video voyeurism recorded in restrooms at Arkansas State University with at least 34 victims being recorded. more

• A new report gives detail on an 18-year-old who was arrested on a video voyeurism charge Wednesday after a video went viral showing customers in a Jacksonville Marshalls store confronting the teen they said was recording women in the restroom...Titus McDonell, 18, told police while he was detained in the same shopping center where the incident occurred a week prior that he was "just bored that day." more

Notice a trend? ...bathrooms... You don't have to be a victim. Click here... Learn how to spot spycams.

A Tom Lehrer Gift

Tom Lehrer (96) gifted the world his brilliant satirical music. In his own words...

I, Tom Lehrer, individually and as trustee of the Tom Lehrer Trust, hereby grant the following permissions: All copyrights to lyrics or music written or composed by me have been permanently and irrevocably relinquished, and therefore such songs are now in the public domain....In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money.  

NOTICE: THIS WEBSITE WILL BE SHUT DOWN AT SOME DATE IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, SO IF YOU WANT TO DOWNLOAD ANYTHING, DON’T WAIT TOO LONG.
Tom Lehrer

You can download the recordings and lyrics here... https://tomlehrersongs.com/

or...

Q. OK, Kevin, so what does this have to do with spying?
A. Lehrer was drafted into the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957, working at the National Security Agency (NSA). Lehrer has stated that he invented the Jello shot during this time, as a means of circumventing a naval base's ban on alcoholic beverages.

Chinese Language Phone Keyboard Exploits Leave One Billion Users Exposed

We analyzed the security of cloud-based pinyin keyboard apps from nine vendors — Baidu, Honor, Huawei, iFlytek, OPPO, Samsung, Tencent, Vivo, and Xiaomi — and examined their transmission of users’ keystrokes for vulnerabilities.

Our analysis revealed critical vulnerabilities in keyboard apps from eight out of the nine vendors in which we could exploit that vulnerability to completely reveal the contents of users’ keystrokes in transit. Most of the vulnerable apps can be exploited by an entirely passive network eavesdropper...

Given the scope of these vulnerabilities, the sensitivity of what users type on their devices, the ease with which these vulnerabilities may have been discovered, and that the Five Eyes have previously exploited similar vulnerabilities in Chinese apps for surveillance, it is possible that such users’ keystrokes may have also been under mass surveillance.

Recommendation: We urge users to install the latest updates to their keyboard apps and that they keep their mobile operating systems up to date. We also recommend that at-risk users consider switching from a cloud-based keyboard app to one that operates entirely on-device. more

FutureWatch: New AI Headphones Have Spy Potential

Appear to be listening to music, while zeroing in on a particular person's conversation...

What if you only want to hear what a single person is saying in a room full of other people? The experts over at the University of Washington have developed an AI-driven kit for headphones that lets you look at a person for three to five seconds as a directional signal*, and the headphones will only allow their voice to pass through. The team calls it "Target Speech Hearing" and it works even if the listener is moving around and no longer sitting directly in front of the speaker.

"In this project, we develop AI to modify the auditory perception of anyone wearing headphones, given their preferences. With our devices you can now hear a single speaker clearly even if you are in a noisy environment with lots of other people talking," says Professor Shyam Gollakota from the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. more

* This could easily be adjusted so looking at the person is not necessary. Looking forward could signal AI to focus in on the person behind you, or any angle. ~Kevin

Spycam in Aircraft Toilet - Who's to Blame?

A law firm tried to blame a 9-year-old girl for not noticing an iPhone camera a former American Airlines flight attendant secretly taped to a toilet seat.

American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a 9-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.

The change in lawyers came after Wilson Elser said in a court document that any harm to the girl could be blamed on her “fault and negligence” for using the lavatory, “which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.” 

An airline spokesperson confirmed Friday that the Wilson Elser law firm is no longer defending American in a lawsuit filed by the girl’s family.

A former American flight attendant is accused of luring girls to use the lavatory after taping his iPhone to the toilet seat and explaining that the seat was broken. Estes Carter Thompson III, who was fired by American, pleaded not guilty this week to attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of images of child sexual abuse. more

Hikvision Takes A Hike

Chinese surveillance industry giant Hikvision has suspended operations in Russia, joining the ranks of over 1,000 companies that have scaled back business in the country since Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Hikvision's Russian website is currently offline, a development flagged by Russian security systems adviser Videoglaz on the social media platform Telegram last week. The precise date operations ceased is unclear...

Hikvision, along with its budget brand HiWatch, comprised some 30 percent of Russia's surveillance camera market in 2021, according to Russian media agency RSpectr. more

Subsea Espionage

In the depths of the world’s oceans, a murky game of espionage unfolds, with nations accusing each other of exploiting submarine cables for intelligence gathering and geopolitical maneuvering. The latest accusation comes from China.

“Submarine cables have in recent years become a tool for some countries to steal intelligence information and even seek geopolitical interests,” stated China’s Ministry of State Security. Although no country was explicitly named, the implication was clear: China was pointing the finger at the United States...

However, the United States has been no stranger to leveling similar accusations at China. In May 2024, the Biden administration reportedly warned Silicon Valley giants such as Meta and Google, who have invested in submarine cables, about the potential threat posed by Chinese cable repair ships.

US officials are concerned that China could sabotage or tap undersea communications cables, which carry 95 percent of the world’s online traffic, to siphon information, from personal data to intellectual property and classified military intelligence. more

NASCAR Radio Comms Hacked - “That Was Some Weird Sh*t”

Unwelcome Participant Eavesdropping on Bubba Wallace...

Remember the 2023 All-Star Race? The No. 23 team and specifically its driver, Bubba Wallace, experienced a bad situation. Somebody hacked into the team’s radio channel and delivered a derogatory message...Although NASCAR investigated the incident, the mysterious voice remained unknown.

A similar situation seems to have propped up at the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 race, but devoid of the hurtful comments. While Bubba Wallace was prying for the lead in stage 2, an unfamiliar voice popped in between his communication with his pit team. The 23XI Racing driver was surprised yet fascinated by this occurrence.

Earlier in 2024, the No. 23 team’s radio buffered during the race at Talladega Superspeedway. As it turned out, not only Bubba Wallace but also other drivers faced a similar problem. Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 driver Martin Truex Jr was audibly frustrated: “All our radios are f***ed up right now.”

Now another mysterious glitch has surfaced in Charlotte, with unfamiliar voices on Wallace’s radio. We can only wait till the end of the weather-delayed race to delve deeper into this curious matter. more

......

Care to eavesdrop yourself? "DOWNLOAD NASCAR MOBILE APP and click on Buy Premium link in the navigation to subscribe for full access on mobile devices." more 

Or... do what that mysterious voice did... Buy a cheap 2-way radio.

One Bugged Bugger

A husband who was fined BD50 for eavesdropping on his wife’s phone calls without her consent, bugging her house and sending the recordings to his siblings has lost his final appeal at the Cassation Court. 

Last July, the Public Prosecution issued an order fining the Arab man BD20 on eavesdropping charges, without referring the misdemeanour to court, but he objected to the ruling in the Lower Criminal Court. more

Who Paints Their Espionage Devices Bright Yellow?

China's Ministry of State Security is once again circulating claims it has discovered foreign espionage devices in its domestic waters.

In a note on its Wechat channel, the state security ministry said foreign intelligence agencies have been “using different methods to strengthen their monitoring of China's maritime areas, carrying out a series of intelligence gathering and technical espionage activities.” 

It has paid Chinese fishermen handsome rewards for their discovery of what they claimed were multiple spying devices caught in fishing nets inside of China’s exclusive economic zone. more

When Countering Espionage Becomes Counter-Productive

US-based Kingland Systems, specializing in data management and regulatory compliance for financial services, insurance, and agriculture, has announced the closure of its subsidiary office in China. The decision, which came as a shock to the local workforce, will result in the termination of all 151 employees.

Employees were informed of the closure on Wednesday....

This move comes in the wake of increasingly challenging economic conditions in China, coupled with rising geopolitical tensions. New regulations, such as stricter data-security laws and an anti-espionage law, have made operating in China more difficult for foreign businesses. more

The Yin & Yang of Wiretapping

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Philippines) over the weekend said he has ordered the investigation on the alleged wiretapping of a ranking Armed Forces of the Philippines official by the Chinese Embassy in Manila. more

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov ordered a halt on Tuesday to all criminal inquiries into allegations of a vast government wiretap operation, prompting the opposition to demand his resignation for a move it said amounted to a "coup d'etat". more

The Constitutional Court has ordered the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) to destroy the results of wiretapping in the Gorilla scandal. [The Gorilla scandal concerned alleged shady collusion between senior politicians and big business. - ed. note] more

A Spycam Rocks Her World

CA - A Chino Hills woman was disturbed to learn that a camera disguised as a rock had been planted outside of her home last week.

The camera was planted in the ground across the street from her house on Glen Ridge Drive, leaving her with fear that she's being watched by someone. 

"I think it's really strange. I think it's really scary, because you're supposed to feel safe in your own home and your neighborhood," the woman, who wished not to be identified, said. "But, something like that happens and you really don't know anymore, times have changed." more

Corporate Espionage as AI Sees It

A totally AI-created short video explaining corporate espionage.

Interesting, but also consider how AI will become a force-multiplier tool in the hands of people engaged in corporate espionage. Each tidbit of information about a business is just a puzzle piece. Dump them all in to your AI spymaster, et voilà!... instant full picture, with guidance on how best to take advantage.

Recent Spy Headlines

• Philippines seeks expulsion of Beijing’s diplomats over wiretapping as tensions explode more

• DX Group shares plunge after corporate espionage legal claim more

• Polish defector judge faces espionage charges more

• Russian diplomat to be expelled by UK for spying more
• U.S. Spy Agencies Adopt Rules for Purchasing Commercial Data on Americans more

• Is your car spying on you? more

• Canadian spy agency accuses India of espionage more

• US confronts China over Volt Typhoon cyber espionage more

• Public (in China) urged to be on lookout for marine espionage devices more

• Rival cryptocurrency CEOs courtroom showdown: a tale of innovation, espionage more

• New Book: The Spy Who Came in From the Circus more

• Former Equatorial Guinea Police Commissioner Arrested in Cameroon for Espionage more

• Oleg Gordievsky: the double agent who changed the course of the Cold War more

• China accuses Australia of ‘spying’ after navy flare-up more

• Australian Defence chief rejects China's spying accusation more

• Seeing spies everywhere - Yes the west is paranoid, but that doesn’t mean they’re not out to get us more

...and not to be outdone...
• China sees foreign threats ‘everywhere’ as powerful spy agency takes center stage... In a slick video marking the National Security Education Day, China’s top spy agency has a stern message for Chinese people: foreign spies are everywhere. more video

Recent Spycam News

• Hasbro Children’s Hospital Employee Arrested for Video Voyeurism... they said they found a hidden camera in an employee bathroom. more
• Anderson High School student arrested, charged with voyeurism more (video)

• Stuart landlord ordered to prison for installing hidden cameras to spy on 12-year-old girl... cameras they said he hid in the electric outlets of her bedroom more

• Man arrested for video voyeurism in Library West restroom more

• Man accused of secretly photographing woman in Fairfield Township Walmart more

• Jacksonville police seeking suspect who secretly recorded women in bathroom... store surveillance footage, along with video of the confrontation, provided a suspect description. more

• ‘Hidden Spy Camera’: Arizona High School Teacher Allegedly Recorded Students Changing Clothes... the teenager uncovered a charger plugged into the wall which was actually a “hidden spy camera,” Students went on to discover two more, one of which doubled as a clock on the wall. more

• Can you guess which of these everyday objects is actually a spy cam? Hidden spy cameras are still available all over Amazon despite the firm being sued over the gadgets. more

Microsoft Launches AI Chatbot for Spies

Microsoft has introduced a GPT-4-based generative AI model designed specifically for US intelligence agencies that operates disconnected from the Internet, according to a Bloomberg report. 

This reportedly marks the first time Microsoft has deployed a major language model in a secure setting, designed to allow spy agencies to analyze top-secret information without connectivity risks—and to allow secure conversations with a chatbot similar to ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.

But... it may also mislead officials if not used properly due to inherent design limitations of AI language models. more

New York to Dublin in Milliseconds

A new interactive art installation in New York City is allowing viewers to communicate with people 3,000 miles away in Dublin, Ireland.

The brainchild of Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys, “the Portal” was unveiled on Wednesday and allows people on either side of the Atlantic to interact with each other via a video link.

New Yorkers can head to Flatiron South Public Plaza at Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street, next to the Flatiron Building, to see people on Dublin’s O’Connell Street on the 24/7 visual livestream, according to a Wednesday press release. more
-----
From the Security Scrapbook... “Good artists copy, Great artists steal” files.
This isn't the first time an artist has connected New York City with Europe. You can read our May, 2008 post here. Links to the picture have evaporated, but the WSJ covered it as well...

UPDATE 3/15/24: The video portals connecting Dublin and NYC have been shut down to address inappropriate behavior, which apparently included flashing, showing porn, and mocking 9/11.

UPDATE 5/20/24: Dublin-New York portal reopens with set hours. A live video "portal" between Dublin and New York has reopened after it was temporarily closed due to "inappropriate behaviour".

Havana Syndrome Update - March 2024

CNN Update: Journalists tie Russian assassination unit to Havana Syndrome more

CBS 60 Minutes Update: Havana syndrome, which now goes by another name. 
5-year Havana Syndrome investigation finds new evidence of who might be responsible. more

Previously on Security Scrapbook

6 Ways Remote Workers Can Stop Bosses Spying on Them

1. Separate Personal Devices From Company Ones
2. Mouse Jigglers
3. Avoid Email and Social Account Monitoring
4. VPNs
5. Secure Browsers
6. Know Your Rights
Details here.

As seen on X this week…

As seen on X this week…

Book: Monroe affair with JFK Confirmed on Wiretap

For decades, Fred Otash was alleged to have kept the darkest secrets of Hollywood stars, including America’s most famous sex symbol.

Tinseltown’s most notorious private detective died in 1992 at age 70. The World War II Marine veteran is the subject of a new book, "The Fixer: Moguls, Mobsters, Movie Stars, and Marilyn."

It delves into shocking revelations from his never-before-seen investigative files.

For the book, co-author Manfred Westphal was given access to Otash’s archives with the blessing of his daughter Colleen. Westphal, who first met Colleen at Otash’s funeral, developed a close friendship with her over the years. more

Otash was notorious for bugging the homes, offices, and playpens of movie stars, kingmakers, and powerful politicians, employing then state-of-the-art methods of electronic surveillance and wiretapping for a who’s who list of clients for whom he’d do “anything short of murder.”

Pierce Brosnan Returns: In "A Spy's Guide to Survival"

If you love the modern James Bond-style spy movies, you can thank Pierce Brosnan that Hollywood keeps making them. If it weren't for the "Remington Steele" star's turn as 007 in the beloved 1995 film "GoldenEye," the Bond franchise might have ended up dead... 

Brosnan is returning to the spy game (at least, the on-screen spy game) in a new film from the creator of Netflix's "Warrior Nun" and "Ghost Wars." In "A Spy's Guide to Survival," 

Brosnan will play a retired undercover agent who tries to keep a low profile but is brought out of his reclusive life by a strange new neighbor with secrets of his own... 

"A Spy's Guide to Survival" does not yet have an official release date. Until then, viewers can and should catch "GoldenEye," streaming on Amazon. more

The Captured Spy Was an Animal

Dolphins are known to be smart animals, and one of them may have become an unwitting part of a heated regional conflict. 

Several media outlets are reporting that Hamas has detained a dolphin for allegedly spying on behalf of Israel. 

While the Islamic group has yet to officially confirm the capture, there are accounts of the incident that involve the animal having cameras and even a dart gun on it. more

His Nickname is Mikey

A New Jersey federal judge has agreed to vacate a $361,000 verdict against a law professor who a jury determined illegally wiretapped her former son-in-law and invaded his privacy. 

The court offered no reasoning for its decision. 

The law professor's former son-in-law, Andrew Burki, had argued that there was enough evidence presented at trial for jurors to determine that conversations between him and his son recorded on a secret device sewn into the boy's overalls by the law professor, Claire LaRoche, were not meant for public consumption and that he had an expectation of privacy regarding them. more