CISA Warning: Commercial Spyware & SS7

The long-held assumption among corporate executives and government officials that switching to encrypted messaging apps like Signal or WhatsApp guarantees immunity from surveillance is rapidly eroding...

CISA’s warning touches upon legacy vulnerabilities in the telecommunications infrastructure itself. The agency highlights the continued abuse of Signaling System 7 (SS7), the protocol suite used by phone networks globally to route calls and texts. Despite decades of warnings, SS7 remains vulnerable to interception and location tracking. Sophisticated attackers can exploit these network flaws to intercept the SMS verification codes used to register Signal or WhatsApp accounts. By “porting” the target’s number to a device controlled by the attacker, they can effectively hijack the victim’s identity on these platforms. While Signal has introduced features like Registration Lock to mitigate this, adoption remains low among general users. (more)

Extortionography: Leaked Tape Forces Outcome

Campbell’s said on Wednesday that it no longer employed an executive who was accused in a lawsuit of making offensive comments and disparaging the company’s food products.

An audiotape that was released this month reportedly featured the voice of Martin Bally, a vice president of information technology, saying Campbell’s made processed food for “poor people” and making racist remarks...

A former employee who leaked the tape to the news media, Robert Garza, did so in conjunction with a lawsuit he filed last week in Michigan against Mr. Bally and Campbell’s. The person on the audio also refers to Campbell’s canned soup containing a “piece of chicken that came from a 3-D printer.” (more)

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“What is corporate extortionography, and why is it important to me?”
Extortionography is a word coined to cover the use of audio, video, or photographic evidence for personal or monetary gain, or to force a desired result or outcome. (more)

See Cruise Headed to Court May Divert to Arbitration

A cruise ship crew member who planted a hidden camera to watch a young girl undress in her cabin may have spied on over 900 passengers, a class action lawsuit alleges. Lawyers who filed the civil lawsuit in a Miami federal court last October want each of those people to be able to hold the company accountable and receive damages. But Royal Caribbean, the world’s second-largest cruise ship company, has pushed back.

Background: Mirasol, a room attendant, regularly cleaned passenger rooms, restocked towels and changed sheets on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, a vessel that carries 5,518 passengers and 2,200 crew members. But that wasn’t all he did, according to court filings and the criminal complaint from the Broward County Sheriff’s office. Searching his electronic equipment including a USB stick device, law enforcement agents found “several videos of naked females undressing in their bathrooms.” One girl seemed to be 10 years old, they said. He’d planted small, secret cameras in passengers’ rooms.

Push Back: Royal Caribbean wrote in a court filing. “Plaintiffs agreed in their digitally signed ticket-contract that all claims for mental or emotional injury must be resolved through arbitration.” Arbitration is a secretive process often favored by companies. (more)

A Load of Code Hits the Road

A former engineering manager misappropriated millions of lines of proprietary source code during the transition period following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social media platform now known as X... The company reports that it did not become aware of the alleged code exfiltration until nearly two years later. Case Name: X Corp. v. Yue et al. Court Name: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Case Number: 4:25-cv-10423 (more)

Three security safeguards recommended: Recording in the Workplace Policy, Storage Media Policy, and Data Movement Monitoring.

Smart Dust Microscopic Spy Sensors...

... Nothing to sneeze at.

In a groundbreaking fusion of science fiction and reality, smart dust technology—tiny, wireless sensors capable of gathering vast amounts of data—promises to revolutionize industries from environmental monitoring to healthcare while raising significant ethical and privacy concerns.

The concept of “smart dust” might sound like something from a science fiction tale, but it’s gradually becoming an integral part of modern technology. Originating as a theoretical proposal for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), smart dust has evolved into a promising tool for various industries. From environmental monitoring to intelligence gathering, these microscopic sensors offer a wide range of applications. As they continue to develop, the potential to revolutionize data collection and interaction with our environments becomes increasingly apparent. This article delves into the origins, current developments, and future implications of smart dust technology. (more)

Potty Cam, or Dr. Crapper makes a house call.

Kohler's toilet camera takes things to a new level. The company, which has been developing toilet tech for years, dropped the Dekoda, which aims a camera at the water (and everything else in it) to get various health-related readings...

Once you install the Dekoda and you're ready to use the toilet, you need to sign in. You can do this on the app or you can put your finger on the optional fingerprint scanner. After you use the toilet, the system gets to work on scanning your waste. It develops data related to your gut health and hydration and also detects blood, which can be important to know about...

Of course, it's 2025 and everything has a subscription. To get a look at all of the Dekoda's "insights" and data about your poop on the Kohler Health app, you'll pay a monthly fee. The app is going for $6.99 per month for an individual, or you can play $12.99 a month for the family plan. (more)

Furbo The Robo - Pet Surveillance Camera

Robots don't have to look humanoid. Your pet doesn't care, especially if it tosses treats. Just hope it is not catnip for hackers...

• FULL HD CAMERA WITH 360° ROTATING VIEW 
• REAL-TIME 2-WAY AUDIO & COLOR NIGHT VISION
• FUN ADJUSTABLE TREAT TOSSING
• INSTANT SMART ALERTS
• BARKING SENSOR (Yes, there is a cat version.)
• EASY SETUP, SECURE CONNECTION
• SUBSCRIPTION (wait, what?!?!)

When you can't remote work, remote pet? Next up, a robot that solves the remote walking issue. (more)

10 Years Ago this Month - From the Security Scrapbook

Excellent camera installation. (more)

BTW, infrequent Security Scrapbook posts recently due to working on another project. All ok here.