Spy Cam News: 2024 Singapore Slings

• 519 voyeurism cases were reported last year — a 9% rise. 

• Over 30% of the incidents occurred in victims' own homes.

• Physical crime cases in Singapore remained stable in 2024.

Most cases at residential premises (124 cases or 76.5%) were committed by perpetrators known to the victims (such as boyfriends/ex-boyfriends, household members or fellow tenants). Cases at shopping complexes and on the public transport network typically involved perpetrators not known to the victims.

At public transport nodes, the SPF has started initiatives to display advisory messages on voyeurism prominently on floor decals at selected MRT stations. Anti-voyeurism messages are also broadcast at all MRT stations during peak hours. The SPF has also collaborated with the Restroom Association (Singapore) to introduce security design guidelines, enhancing safety in public toilets. more

Mom Hears a Stranger Talking to Child Through WiFi Baby Monitor

The monitor's camera was positioned directly above the crib. “Of course, he was crying a little bit, so I opened the app and turned on the audio just to keep an eye on him,” says the OP (original poster on reddit.com). “As soon as I turned on the audio, I hear a woman’s voice go, ‘Hello?’”

The OP asked their husband if there was anything in the room that talks or if the camera made noise when turning the audio on. The answers were no and no. “I go back upstairs, and as I’m opening the door to my son’s room I hear the same woman talking to my son through the camera,” the OP writes. “She said, ‘Hi baby! It’s OK!’ 

“Consumer Reports found that most of these models have pretty lax security and privacy and didn't earn a recommendation in our ratings,” explains Allen St. John, the content manager for baby monitors of Consumer Reports. more

A Spymaster Sheikh Controls a $1.5 Trillion Fortune. He Wants to Use It to Dominate AI

His real name is Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan. A bearded, wiry figure who’s almost never seen without dark sunglasses.

Tahnoun is the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser—the intelligence chief to one of the world’s wealthiest and most surveillance-happy small nations. He’s also the younger brother of the country’s hereditary, autocratic president, Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan. But perhaps most important, and most bizarrely for a spymaster, Tahnoun wields official control over much of Abu Dhabi’s vast sovereign wealth. Bloomberg News reported last year that he directly oversees a $1.5 trillion empire—more cash than just about anyone on the planet...

But in recent years, a new quest has taken up much of Sheikh Tahnoun’s attention. His onetime chess and technology obsession has morphed into something far bigger: a hundred-billion-dollar campaign to turn Abu Dhabi into an AI superpower. And the teammate he’s set out to buy this time is the United States tech industry itself. more

An Extra Defense Against Keyless Car Theft

The rising amount of technology in our vehicles makes them increasingly vulnerable to hacking or theft. 

Battery Sleuth bypasses both the wireless communication that key fobs depend on and the standardized onboard communication network in today’s vehicles. Instead, it authenticates drivers by measuring voltage fluctuations in a vehicle’s electrical system. Drivers interact with it through a keypad device plugged into the auxiliary power outlet. Learn more in this video.

“The idea of measuring fluctuations in a car’s electrical system seems simple, but designing one device that can do it accurately on thousands of different vehicle models in varying environmental conditions gets quite complicated,” said Liang He , assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Colorado, Denver and a researcher on the project. “We’re working to design a system that’s smart enough to measure the parameters of the vehicle it’s installed on and then customize itself to work effectively on that vehicle.” more

Student Arrested for Placing Spy Cameras in Bathrooms

Police say a Temple University student was arrested and charged after hidden cameras were found inside the bathrooms of his off-campus residence.

Authorities say 21-year-old Michael Nguyen planted three cameras disguised as pens inside the bathrooms of a residence he shared with his now former Delta Chi Psi fraternity brothers on 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue...

They say he was expelled from the fraternity “without hesitation.” more 

Spy History: 1902 Corporate Espionage on the High Seas

Your Editor (not me) chanced upon the following in the library of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich last winter and it is reprinted here by kind permission of Stephen Rabson, Group Information Manager of P&O.

The document is in the form of a quasi-official report, written by one of P&O's traveling inspectors on two voyages in 1902, one from Southampton to New York, the other from Vancouver to Yokohama.

The writer (whose signature is, alas, indecipherable) was clearly more than a passenger, he was a benevolent spy, assessing conditions aboard the competition...

"I have the honor to report my arrival here yesterday. The following details of the steamers in which I have traveled may interest you..." more

This business spy tactic has been around forever. These days corporate espionage is enhanced with electronics (audio, video, and data). This is why businesses have added Technical Surveillance Countermeasures to their security precautions. If you have not, it is highly recommended you do so. Contact a professional TSCM information security consultant to begin protecting your company.