Better Idea: Prevent the Boardroom Leaks - Conduct TSCM Inspections

HP Studied Spying on Newsrooms: NY Times
Hewlett-Packard conducted feasibility studies on placing spies in news bureaus of two publications as part of an investigation into leaks from its board, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Hewlett-Packard could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Times cited an individual briefed on the company's review of the operation in its report. It is not clear whether the plan described in the documents, which were read to a reporter, was ever acted upon, The Times said.

The newspaper said the feasibility studies, referred to in a February 2 draft report for a briefing of senior management, were said to have included the possibility of placing investigators acting as clerical employees or cleaning crews in the San Francisco offices of technology news Web site CNET and The Wall Street Journal.

HP is under investigation by U.S. federal prosecutors and the California attorney general over the company's potentially illegal tactics in obtaining phone records in a bid to end boardroom leaks to the media. more 

The much better idea.

FutureWatch: "Proactive Eavesdropping"

Proactive eavesdropping in wireless communication systems is an emerging area of research that focuses on the interception of communications while minimizing the risk of detection. 

This involves the use of advanced techniques such as jamming and intelligent reflecting surfaces to enhance the eavesdropping capabilities of legitimate monitors. 

Recent studies have explored various scenarios where suspicious communications occur, and how legitimate monitors can optimize their strategies to maximize the success of eavesdropping while adhering to certain constraints. more

Note from website: This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is one of 30,000 created with generative AI and the cited references. We take care to ground generative text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process. We however cannot guarantee the accuracy of every summary and welcome feedback.

Seminar in Information Security & Cryptography

Seminar in Information Security & Cryptography
Zurich Switzerland, June 11−13, 2025
Lecturers: Prof. David Basin and Prof. Ueli Maurer, ETH Zurich

We are pleased to announce our seminar in Information Security and Cryptography. A full description of the seminar, including all topics covered, is available at
https://www.infsec.ch/#seminar. Early registration is until February 28th.

This seminar provides an in-depth coverage of Information Security and Cryptography. Concepts are explained in a way understandable to a wide audience, as well as mathematical, algorithmic, protocol-specific, and system-oriented aspects. The topics covered include cryptography and its foundations, system and network security, PKIs and key management, authentication and access control, privacy and data protection, and advanced topics in cryptography including blockchains and cryptocurrencies.

The seminar takes place in Zurich, Switzerland. The lectures and all course material are in English. Participants will receive certification for their attendance.

Spy Camp 2025

Spy Camp 2025
Week 1: July 14 – July 18 | Week 2: July 21 – July 25
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM Daily | Ages: 9 – 12
Price per child: $625 (Non-member) | $545 (Spy Museum Members) 

This isn’t your ordinary summer camp — this is Spy Camp! Somewhere deep inside the Museum, an elite group of recruits is lurking in the shadows preparing to take on top secret missions.

Aspiring KidSpy® recruits will hone their tradecraft, learn from real spies, and hit the streets of DC to run training missions. Develop a disguise for cover, make and break codes, discover escape and evasion techniques, create and use spy gadgets, and uncover the science behind spying – all of this and more awaits young recruits! more

Point One for the Chinese Cyber Spies

An investigation by a US federal advisory board into a sweeping digital espionage campaign, allegedly by Chinese cyber spies, has been shelved before it really got underway.

Members of the Cyber Safety Review Board are getting the boot as part of an early move by the Trump administration to dismiss participants in Department of Homeland Security advisory committees, according to multiple news reports and a person familiar with the matter.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. more

Stop Working for Russia, Britain Tells its Private Spies

The British government has warned the country’s burgeoning private intelligence and security industry to stop doing work for hostile states like Russia, China and Iran.

In new guidance for security professionals published this week, the U.K. Home Office said such work risks breaking tough new national security laws — and could even see pros sent to prison for up to 14 years...

It suggests companies should “strongly consider” turning down work if a potential client works for a foreign state’s public sector, fails to provide sufficient information about their identity, or asks them to gather sensitive information. more

Russian Spy Hoarded Surveillance Gadgets - Boasted: Like James Bond Q

A Russian spy was living in a "typical seaside hotel" on the English coast crammed full of electronic surveillance equipment, a court has heard.

Orlin Roussev boasted to his controller that he was becoming like the James Bond character "Q" as he prepared his spying "toys" for kidnap and surveillance operations across Europe...

The Old Bailey was told a "vast" amount of technical equipment for "intrusive surveillance" was found at Roussev's address in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, which he described in messages as his "Indiana Jones warehouse"... a "significant amount of IT and surveillance equipment". It was stacked up in two storage rooms and an office used by Roussev, the court was told. more

Recent Spycam News

• Paedo Scots actor who set up hidden cameras to film children undressing at theatre jailed more

• Des Moines photographer gets 30-year sentence for secret videos of underage girls changing more

• West Chester man with history of secretly recording women, teens going back to jail more

• Attorney who hid camera in South Carolina condo sued by alleged victim more

• Celebrity osteopath caught spying on changing university students 'agrees to cooperate with police more

• Palm Beach County Man Arrested After Hidden Cam Found In Room He Rented Out more

Senate Reintroduce Bill to Flag Eavesdropping Appliances

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., along with Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, reintroduced legislation this week that aims to protect Americans from their snooping appliances.

The Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act would require the Federal Trade Commission to create disclosure guidelines for products that have audio or visual recording components that are not obvious – such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, and dishwashers. more

New Hidden Camera Lawsuit Filed Against Royal Caribbean

A group of 12 cruise ship guests, all US citizens, have filed a new lawsuit against Royal Caribbean over a hidden camera case that saw a crew member jailed for 30 years. Aronfeld Trial Lawyers filed the suit in Miami on behalf of the 12 plaintiffs.

Filipino Arvin Joseph Mirasol, a former stateroom attendant on Symphony of the Seas, was convicted of placing hidden cameras in bathrooms and recording footage earlier this year. He pled guilty to video voyeurism and child abuse material charges.

“The fact that many victims we represent still do not know if and how their images have been used or circulated is incredibly disturbing. Some of the plaintiffs are children – and once an image is on the internet it is there forever,” said attorney Spencer Aronfeld who is handling the new complaint. more

Split Among U.S. Spy Agencies Over 'Havana syndrome'

The White House said the new findings reflect “a shift in key judgements,” calling for more research into injuries to American diplomats and intelligence officers stationed overseas.

A split has emerged among U.S. intelligence agencies over whether a foreign adversary may have been responsible for unexplained “Havana syndrome” injuries to American diplomats and intelligence officers stationed overseas.

A U.S. intelligence assessment released Friday revealed that two of seven spy agencies now say a foreign actor may have developed or deployed a weapon that caused the mysterious health incidents. Officials declined to reveal which intelligence services had shifted their view of the injuries, which first emerged in Havana, Cuba.

Five of seven intelligence agencies or departments echoed findings from 2023 and concluded that it was “very unlikely” that a foreign actor caused the medical symptoms that include vertigo, hearing loss, intense headaches, pain in the ears and blurred vision. Their conclusions were based in part on “sensitive intelligence reporting continuing to point away from foreign involvement,” according to the assessment. more

9th Circ. Upholds Ore. Ban On Secret Audio Recordings

A split en banc Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday upheld as constitutional an Oregon law prohibiting secret audio recordings of people's conversations, ruling in a published opinion that the statute was narrowly tailored to Oregon's significant interest in ensuring its residents know when their conversations are recorded, even in public. more

Someone Likely Used a Sophisticated Phone-Spying Device at the 2024 DNC

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has come to the conclusion that someone likely deployed a mobile phone surveillance system during the Democratic National Convention last summer, according to a new report from Wired. 

Evidence for that assertion comes from Cooper Quintin, a senior technologist at EFF, who has spent time investigating whether police technologies were deployed during the event from the event. Wired worked together with the EFF to conduct an analysis of wireless signal data. What they found was evidence that someone may have used a cell-site simulator to spy on devices. more

Swiss National Accused of Spying Died by Suicide in Iranian Prison

A Swiss national who was arrested and accused of spying in Iran died by suicide in prison on Thursday (Friday AEST), according to Mizan Online, a news agency affiliated with Iran's judiciary.

"All evidence and documents from the place where this person was being held have been reviewed, and according to the documents, it is clear that he committed suicide," the chief justice of Iran's Semnan province said, as cited by Mizan Online.

This Swiss citizen's case, whose identity has not been disclosed, "was being reviewed and processed" after he was arrested for espionage, according to Mizan Online. more

The National Museum of Eavesdropping

The national museum of eavesdropping "House with Leaves" in Tirana, Albania has published statistics on visitation during 2024, from which it appears that there was an increase of 58 percent of visitors, compared to 2023.

"During the year 2024, the Museum of Eavesdropping was visited by 77 people. The increase in visitation has consequently also brought an increase in income...

The National Wiretapping Museum was opened on May 23, 2017. It is one of the most special in Albania, which tries to tell young people and foreigners one of the darkest periods of the country's history, being the Central Headquarters of Service Wiretapping Secret, from 1944 – 1991. more

But not all eavesdropping is what it appears to be... MU researcher eavesdrops on bugs more