Beginner's Guide to Small Business Cyber Security

Cyber Essentials is a guide for leaders of small businesses as well as leaders of small and local government agencies to develop an actionable understanding of where to start implementing organizational cybersecurity practices.

Consistent with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and other standards, the Cyber Essentials are the starting point to cyber readiness...

Managing cyber risks requires building a Culture of Cyber Readiness. The Culture of Cyber Readiness has six Essential Elements... more

FREE: "Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security" GCHQ Exhibit in London

Historic gadgets used by British spies will be revealed for the first time later this week, as one of the country's intelligence agencies steps out the shadows to mark its centenary -- and to educate people about the risks of cyber-attacks.

The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) will hold an unprecedented exhibition at London's Science Museum, taking visitors through 100 years of secret conversations and eavesdropping...

A prototype of the Enigma cipher machine used by the Germans will be on display. But the standout exhibit at this new exhibition is the 5-UCO machine developed in 1943 to send decrypted German messages to officers in the field...

"Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security" opens to the public on Wednesday and runs until February 2020. more

FREE but must book ahead: Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD  ~Kevin

Security Message Screen Savers for Business Computers and Laptops (FREE)

Three stock Security Message Screen Savers to choose from. Five rotating screens with the top five information security best practices employees can implement themselves.

• Reminders work.
• Put your idle computer screens to work as your security helpers.
• Three backgrounds to choose from, or commission custom screens.

Click link to see these information security screensavers in action.

FREE to use as-is with "Logo goes here" removed, or can be customized with your business logo.
Need to customize? Contact us for details and cost.

Your Tax Dollars at Work - An NSA Freebee!

The US National Security Agency will release a free reverse engineering tool at the upcoming RSA security conference that will be held at the start of March, in San Francisco.

The software's name is GHIDRA and in technical terms, is a disassembler, a piece of software that breaks down executable files into assembly code that can then be analyzed by humans.

The NSA developed GHIDRA at the start of the 2000s, and for the past few years, it's been sharing it with other US government agencies that have cyber teams who need to look at the inner workings of malware strains or suspicious software...

In total, the NSA has open-sourced 32 projects as part of its Technology Transfer Program (TTP) so far, and has most recently even opened an official GitHub account. more

Macbook Anti-Spyware App - Reveals Video & Audio Spying

After reading about how hackers have taken control of a MacBook's iSight camera to spy on the person sitting in front of it, you might start to get a feeling that someone is watching you... Making matters worse, hackers have been able to spy on people without triggering the little green light that tells you your iSight camera is active...
...monitor your iSight camera so you know when it's being used. MacOS doesn't let you do this natively, so you'll need to turn to a third-party app: OverSight.

OverSight is a free app that installs quickly and places an icon in your menu bar to let you know it's running. more  Other security apps from the same developer.

Mark Zuckerberg Tapes Over His Laptop Camera - You can do better!

Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most powerful men in the world...

On Tuesday, observers were reminded that Mr. Zuckerberg, 32, is not just a normal guy... his laptop camera and microphone jack appeared to be covered with tape...

The taped-over camera... usually a signal that someone is concerned... about hackers’ gaining access to his or her devices by using remote-access trojans — a process called “ratting.” (Remote access is not limited to ratters: According to a cache of National Security Agency documents leaked by Edward J. Snowden, at least two government-designed programs were devised to take over computer cameras and microphones.)

Security experts supported the taping, for a few good reasons... more
---
Murray Associates provided our clients with a more elegant solution—a year ago. 
(free)

Spybuster Tip #812 
Protect your privacy with just two disk magnets.

1. Affix one magnet to your laptop—adjacent to the camera lens.
2. Let the second magnet attach itself to the first one. It will orbit the first magnet.
3. Orbit the second magnet over the camera lens to eclipse the view.
4. Rotate it out of the way to use the camera.

Simple. Elegant. Effective.
Tape is tawdry.

You are now very cool! More cool than Zuck with his yuck tape.

Our ahead-of-the-curve mailing to our clients. Consider becoming one.

Spy Agency Few Know Gets Free Land for HQ

A US spy agency's new $1.7 billion western headquarters will be constructed in St Louis, Missouri...

NGA Campus East, the headquarters of the agency

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) hopes to build its new western HQ in north St Louis, where it was offered free land...

So what exactly is the NGA?

The NGA is part of the Department of Defense and works with the CIA and the Air Force to provide intelligence that is largely geographical in nature...

According to the NGA, "anyone who sails a U.S. ship, flies a U.S. aircraft, makes national policy decisions, fights wars, locates targets, responds to natural disasters, or even navigates with a cellphone relies on NGA." more

Surveillance Self-Defense 101: A teach-in for activists

On Sunday, April 3, 

EFF will co-host a free workshop on surveillance self-defense with local grassroots groups in New York and Brooklyn. The workshop will be open to the public, though particularly structured for activists supporting social movements.

Participants need not wield technical expertise to attend this session, which is geared towards regular smartphone and laptop users. EFF's Shahid Buttar will facilitate a teach-in and skill-share on surveillance, some immediate and practical steps you can take to protect your communications, and how to work with neighbors to inform surveillance policy at the state and local level. An EFF staff technologist will remotely join for a question & answer session. more

The Best Spy Museum You will Never See... except for the parts on-line

The CIA Museum's collection includes artifacts associated with the CIA's predecessor, the Office of Strategic Services; foreign intelligence organizations; and the CIA itself.

The collection includes clothing, equipment, weapons, insignia and other memorabilia that serve as tangible testimony to the Agency's history. Many of the objects the Museum holds were designed, manufactured and used specifically for intelligence operations.

CIA used the “Belly Buster” drill during the late 1950s and early 1960s to drill holes into masonry for implanting audio devices. After assembly, the base of the drill was held firmly against the stomach while the handle was cranked manually. This kit came with several drill bits and accessories.
52.5 cm x 22.5 cm x 5 cm
(L x W x H)

All artifacts displayed in the museum's exhibits have been declassified by the appropriate Agency officials. Please note that because the Museum is located on the CIA compound, it is not open to the public for tours. Take the on-line tour.

Down Under News - Spy Camera Found in Toilet at Shopping Center

Australia - Detectives are investigating how a small camera came to be hidden inside a smoke alarm in a public toilet at a suburban Perth shopping centre.

Its discovery by a worker, understood to be an electrician, on Friday prompted management at Belmont Forum to conduct a “thorough sweep” of all its facilities to ensure there were no other devices.

WA Police are examining the contents on the camera.

A man posted on Facebook on Friday that he was working at Belmont Forum and when he went to the toilet he noticed the smoke alarm flashing. He said he pulled the smoke alarm cover off the ceiling and found a cordless camera inside.

The man said the discovery made him feel sick. He urged people to be vigilant about anything “dodgy” and to check for “domestic battery-operated smoke alarms” in public toilets.

Images posted on Facebook of what looks like a hidden camera, discovered in a smoke detector.

A spokeswoman for Belmont Forum said: “The device was immediately handed into centre management and subsequently turned over to WA Police.

“Belmont Forum is assisting WA Police with the investigation and has conducted a thorough sweep of all the facilities in the shopping centre. No further devices have been found.” more 

Interesting... This is the same camera I featured in the Basic Cameras chapter of my on-line Spycam Detection training course. Even more interesting... the camera also transmits a wireless signal directly to a smartphone. You can preview the Basic Cameras chapter for FREE. https://www.udemy.com/spycam-detection/ (scroll down to Basic Cameras)

FREE - Enemy-of-the-State Spyware Detection Tool

via eff.org...
"Detekt is an easy-to-use, open source tool that allows users to check their Windows PCs for signs of infection by surveillance malware that we know is being used by government to spy on activists and journalists.

Some of the software used by states against innocent citizens is widely available on the Internet, while more sophisticated alternatives are made and sold by private companies and sold to governments everywhere from the United States and Europe to Ethiopia and Vietnam.

Detekt makes it easy for at-risk users to check their PCs for possible infection by this spyware, which often goes undetected by existing commercial anti-virus products." (more)

Rainy Weekend Fun - Make a Paper Boomerang for Indoor Throwing

via futilitycloset.com 
Mathematician Yutaka Nishiyama of the Osaka University of Economics has designed a nifty paper boomerang that you can use indoors. A free PDF template (with instructions in 70 languages!) is here.

 

Hold it vertically, like a paper airplane, and throw it straight ahead at eye level, snapping your wrist as you release it. The greater the spin, the better the performance. It should travel 3-4 meters in a circle and return in 1-2 seconds. Catch it between your palms.

PI Tip #251 - Clean Up Your Crummy Surveillance Videos - FREE

VideoCleaner is FREE professional open-source video enhancement software. With VideoCleaner, you can brighten poorly lit scenes, increase detail clarity, correct the viewing perspective, reverse lens distortion, repairs VHS recordings, improve color contrast, isolate channels, and so much more.

VideoCleaner makes faint movements, distant traffic signal color changes, and small details obvious. You can annotate on-screen with text and highlighting, correct playback speed, provide sweeping or adjacent before-after views, and extract stills.

Being open-source means that you can customize VideoCleaner to fit your needs and delve deep into the science. Everything is free, even the support.
VideoCleaner is free without any purchase price, support or update fees. You are welcome to use VideoCleaner and its components for any legal purpose, personal or commercial, without any requirements or obligations beyond the open-source General Public License (GPL) of its components. You are free to redistribute this software in accordance with its associated GPL. (more)

Security Scrapbook Post #5000 - FREE SpyWarn™ Announcement

Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed and contributed to Kevin's Security Scrapbook over the years. 5000 is a milestone, and a good time for you to dig into the archives. Enjoy!

It is also a good time to let my clients (and potential clients) know about a new benefit of using Murray Associates services...

FREE SMARTPHONE SECURITY PROTECTION 

1. Free Cell Phone MicSpike™ with Carry Container
    Prevents phones from being turned into bugging devices.

2. Free Anti-Spyware Kit for Smartphones
    Includes the MicSpike™ and more security items.
    SpyWarn™ security kit works for all types of phones.
    It is not available elsewhere. (patent pending)
    Details and free smartphone security tips at...
    https://counterespionage.com/sw.html

3. Free SpyWarn™ Android app.
    A forensic evaluation for discovering spyware
    infections on smartphones.
    Details at... http://www.spywarn.com

4. Free book, "Is My Cell Phone Bugged?" 
    Amazon rated...
    

 

EXCLUSIVE
Available only to clients and those whose offices we inspect.

LIMITED TIME OFFER
This is the perfect time to add our Information
Security / TSCM* services to your security program.
*Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (aka, a bug sweep)

Download our introductory booklet.
http://www.counterespionage.com/download.html

Have questions? Need an estimate?
Just call me... from a "safe" phone.
+1-908-832-7900

Best regards,
Kevin D. Murray, CPP, CISM, CFE, MPSC
"Hey, what's your TSCM provider doing for you?"

Santa App Lets You Spy Back

A new app is letting family spy on Santa and his friendly elves. The free app, created by two Michigan entrepreneurs, is called Santa Spy Cam.

What do Elves pass, if not gas?

Santa Spy Cam uses magic only found at the North Pole to help parents get video of St. Nick and his friendly elves when they visit your house.

Now, what's fun about the app is it captures these special moments when kids are asleep.
How does it work? Well, the Santa Spy Cam has a built in sensor that flips on in your own home when Santa or his elves are nearby. 

"Fully approved by The North Pole Clandestine Services Bureau (NPCSB) to capture live-action video of Elves as they visit your home during the holiday season. And of course, the big visit, by the big man on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus." (more)

I just tested it. 
Works remarkable well. 
You get three free scenes; others at 99 cents each. 
~Kevin

Double-Edged Sword Zone - Protect Your Office with iSpy (FREE)

iSpy (64-bit) uses your webcams and microphones to detect and record movement or sound and provides security, surveillance, monitoring and alerting services. You can Control cameras with PTZ, one-click or auto upload to YouTube, auto FTP to any servers, Listen to and monitor audio live over the network, connect and monitor as many cameras and microphones as you like, import and export object lists to share with colleagues, connect multiple computers in a group and manage over the web. FREE Download. (free warning sticker - download and print)


Of course, you can see how this could be used against you, and there is no free lunch. The software download is free, but there are $ enhancements ~Kevin

Free Webinar - Corporate Espionage via Mobile Device

Corporate Espionage via Mobile Device
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
02:00 PM Eastern DT (11:00 AM Pacific)
Duration: 45 Min

We discuss the topic of mobile risk and espionage via compromised mobile device. viaForensics' Director of R&D Thomas Cannon recently demonstrated "Corporate Espionage via a Mobile Device" as a proof of concept attack. In this demonstration, an innocent application is leveraged to harbor malware and exfiltrate data from a mobile device. The attacker is able to remotely activate phone features such as the camera and microphone, and the device can be used to bypass corporate defenses and infiltrate a corporate network. (Register)

FREE - BYOD Policy Guidebook

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policy Guidebook 

This policy guidebook was created to help guide you through the questions to ask and provide some best practices to consider when establishing your own BYOD policies. 

Your employees want to use their own mobile devices for work. This represents a tremendous opportunity for you to extend the benefits of mobile technology to all employees. As more companies embrace the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model, many questions arise. 

Offered Free by: SAP  (more)

StopAStalker App ($5.00) - FREE for next 24 Hours

Spybusters Alert: StopAStalker (mentioned here) is FREE until 5/24 at the iTunes store. Normal selling price $5.00.

CONTEST (ENDED) - Who Is This Man?

We have a winner! Congratulations!!
Answer below.

Clues...
• Born 1897.
• Died 1973.
• Expert wiretapper. 
• Good high speed driver. 
• Sharpshooter.
• Last known occupation: Security Officer, National Airlines, Miami, FL.
• Initials: PWR
• Co-author of a book about the part of his career for which he is famous. Claimed his boss was portrayed on TV as too flattering.

Excellent prize of our choice from the Spybusters Countermeasures Compound vault. ~Kevin 

This is Paul Wenzel Robsky, the last of The Untouchables.

Birth: Oct. 16, 1897, Illinois, USA
Death: Nov. 1, 1973, Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA
 

Paul was the only child of Theodore and Martha (Ellis) Robsky. He grew up in Galesburg, Illinois. Martha died when Paul was just a child. He married Louise B Bargeron and they had a daughter, Ena. Paul and Louise were later divorced and he married Helene R. Frame in Jan 1956.
 
Paul served in the military from Nov 7, 1917 until March 22, 1927. By 1928, he was a Prohibition Agent hunting bootleggers in the hills around Greenville, South Carolina. He was well known for his fast driving and sharpshooting skills. He made such an impression that in 1930, he was handpicked to join a band of lawmen in Chicago who became known as The Untouchables. He was an expert at wire-tapping and Elliot Ness called him "a good man to have around when more than ordinary courage was needed." Paul spent his last years in Florida and was the last living of The Untouchables.

His news photo, shown above, is available here...
http://www.tribunephotos.com/HJS-617-BS-Photo-Robsky-Wire-Tapping-Expert/dp/B00CD5URR6

His book, The Last of the Untouchables is also still available, as is the 1957 edition of The Untouchables, by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley.