Forensically Find Fake Photos Fast

Fourandsix Technologies, Inc. has introduced their first product, FourMatch, which instantly distinguishes unmodified digital camera files from those that may have been edited. 

Fourandsix Technologies was co-founded last year by Kevin Connor, a 15-year veteran of the Adobe Photoshop team, and Hany Farid, a pioneering scientist in image forensics. Dr. Farid’s extensive research led to the development of FourMatch software, which provides compelling evidence for the authenticity of an image, while also serving as an efficient triage step for identifying photos that may require closer scrutiny.

...Increasingly, photographic evidence has been challenged in court as being unreliable. Similarly, media companies have faced embarrassment when running news photos that later were revealed to be falsified. (more)

Really interesting... Their Photo Tampering throughout History page. 
Example...

What's wrong with this picture?

An App that Zaps Crime?

via the app maker...
"If there’s one thing that scares criminals above all else, it’s a witness to their actions. And that’s exactly why IWITNESS is the perfect crime deterrent.

With IWITNESS on your smartphone:
Record. Capture audio and video of any incident.
Send. Transmit what you’ve captured to a secure server accessible to law enforcement – an action no perpetrator can reverse.
Alert. Automatically call 911. Plus, send your exact location and an instant notification to friends or family members. 

IWITNESS features:
• Audio and video recording
  (Check your local laws about audio recording. You don't want the criminal to sue you.)
• Real-time tracking of location via GPS
• Data sent to a secure off-premises server location
• Automatically dials 911
• Notifies trusted contacts when you feel endangered
• Emits flashing light and sounds an alarm
(Note: This is not a free app.)

Secrets for Sale — Premieres Thursday, August 23rd 9p | 12a ET

on CNBC Thursday, August 23rd 9p | 12a ET
“CRIME INC #9 - SECRETS FOR SALE”
 
Spying is an ever-present threat in the workplace.

Kevin D. Murray discusses business espionage prevention with Carl Quintanilla.

From the coworker in the next cubicle to foreign governments, the faces of corporate espionage are all around us. Boeing, Intel and Coca-Cola have all been targets. The losses - estimated by the FBI to be more than 13 billion dollars a year in the United States - can go undetected for years despite sophisticated security. Crime Inc. follows cases where livelihoods are threatened, reputations ruined and trade secrets are bought and sold. (more)

The New York City Police Department now has "The most advanced and technological counter-terrorism bureau that anyone has ever seen."

NY - A new crime-tracking system designed jointly by the New York Police Department and Microsoft Corp. will pool existing data from cameras, 911 calls and other technologies to provide crime fighters with a comprehensive view of threats and criminal activity, as well as provide the city with a new revenue source.

The Domain Awareness System will be able to map suspects' movements and provide NYPD investigators and analysts with real-time crime alerts.

...the system will allow NYPD personnel to track a suspect's car, and find out where it's been located in the past days or weeks synthesizing archived video footage and license plate reader data. Other potential uses include mapping criminal history geospatially and chronologically to reveal patterns, and the ability to instantly see suspect arrest records, 911 calls associated with the suspect and related crimes occurring in the area. (more) (60 Minutes video) 
This afternoon the NYPD debuted their "all-seeing" Domain Awareness System, which syncs the city's 3,000 closed circuit camera feeds in Lower Manhattan, Midtown, and near bridges and tunnels with arrest records, 911 calls, license plate recognition technology, and even radiation detectors. Mayor Bloomberg dismissed concerns that this represented the most glaring example of Big Brother-style policing. "What you're seeing is what the private sector has used for a long time," Bloomberg said. "If you walk around with a cell phone, the cell phone company knows where you are…We're not your mom and pop's police department anymore."

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly stated that the system, which is currently operational out of the department's Lower Manhattan Security Commission HQ, was developed with a "state of the art privacy policy" and "working with the privacy community," but did not offer specifics. DAS does not have facial recognition technology at this time, but "it's something that's very close to being developed," the mayor said.  

The system was developed with Microsoft and paid for by the city for $30 to $40 million, and has already been in use for six months. The feeds compiled by the system are kept for thirty days, then erased.

The City will receive 30% on the profits Microsoft will make selling it to other cities, although Mayor Bloomberg declined to say if that money would go back into the NYPD. "Maybe we'll even make a few bucks." (more)

FutureWatch - The End of Privacy, Contraband & Cancer?!?!

via gizmodo.com...
Hidden Government Scanners Will Instantly Know Everything About You From 164 Feet Away

Within the next year or two, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will instantly know everything about your body, clothes, and luggage with a new laser-based molecular scanner fired from 164 feet (50 meters) away. From traces of drugs or gun powder on your clothes to what you had for breakfast to the adrenaline level in your body—agents will be able to get any information they want without even touching you.

And without you knowing it. The technology is so incredibly effective that...

...But the machine can sniff out a lot more than just explosives, chemicals and bioweapons. The company that invented it, Genia Photonics, says that its laser scanner technology is able to "penetrate clothing and many other organic materials and offers spectroscopic information, especially for materials that impact safety such as explosives and pharmacological substances."

...Genia Photonics has 30 patents on this technology, claiming incredible biomedical and industrial applications—from identifying individual cancer cells in a real-time scan of a patient, to detecting trace amounts of harmful chemicals in sensitive manufacturing processes. (more)

The Incredible Tale of the Spying Broken Heart Surgeon

A Connecticut heart surgeon has been ordered by a civil jury to pay $2 million to his ex-girlfriend after admitting to planting cameras in her home.

"And this year's award goes to..."

Dr. William V. Martinez, a divorced father of nine, admitted to planting surveillance cameras in the home of D'Anna Welsh, a physician's assistant at Hartford Hospital. He also said he planted a tracking device in her car.

The Hartford Courant reported Welsh and Martinez dated from sometime in 2001 to February 2007, when Martinez broke up with Welsh.

Later that year, a plumber discovered "suspicious" equipment embedded in a crawl space beneath the floor of Welsh's home. She first called the police. Then she called Martinez, who admitted to planting the equipment in her home.

"Martinez further admitted to [her] that he had been viewing video of her bedroom and that he had also been eavesdropping from his car via audio devices he installed in her home," says the civil complaint.

At the time Welsh did not press charges. However a year later, Martinez mentioned details of Welsh's life to her that he had no way of knowing about, leading her to believe he was still spying on her, the newspaper said.

Martinez was charged in criminal court with eavesdropping and voyeurism in 2008, and agreed to two years of accelerated rehabilitation.

Welsh, still uneasy, hired a security firm to sweep her home in January 2010, the newspaper said. She filed a civil suit against Martinez in July 2010 after the firm discovered a camera hidden inside her TV. (more)

Interesting: Radar Tracks Your Sleep, Then Wakes You Up

via Robert E. Calem, techlicious.com
...there's a new alarm clock available that was designed to help you avoid sleep inertia by monitoring your sleep cycles—without a wearable sensor—and waking you up only when you're sleeping most lightly. It's called the Renew SleepClock by Gear4 ($199.95 on gear4.com) and combines a motion sensing iOS-device docking station-clock radio with a dedicated app that both wakes you and tracks your sleep habits over time. 

The hardware transmits two channels of 10GHz radio frequency signals in a 45-degree beam. These signals bounce off your body and are received back at the device by a sensor, which then processes them and passes the data to the app. 

The app uses the data to discern your breathing pattern and monitor your movements. Based on these interpretations, the app knows when you've fallen asleep, how long you've slept, when you're sleeping lightly or deeply, and when your sleep has been interrupted (for example, when you get out of bed for a 2 AM bathroom break). 

In the morning, the app uses all the captured data to determine the best time to wake you up within a one-hour time slot that you've preset in one of two built-in alarms. (more)

GPS Jammer Crackdown Begins

UK - The illegal use of Global Positioning System (GPS) jammers in the UK has been revealed in a groundbreaking study. 

GPS jammers are believed to be mostly used by people driving vehicles fitted with tracking devices in order to mask their whereabouts. In one location the Sentinel study recorded more than 60 GPS jamming incidents in six months...

In 2009 Newark Airport in the US found some of its GPS based systems were suffering repeated interference. The problem was eventually traced back to a truck driver using a GPS jammer. (more) 

How easy is it to purchase GPS jammers? (jammers)

FutureWatch: Expect the crackdown to expand.

Could Facial Recognition Become the Next Emergency Broadcast System

The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), a communications system which allows the government to commandeer radio and television broadcasting outlets to distribute emergency messages quickly, was tested this past week. The EBS started in 1963, and was preceded by a similar service called, CONELRAD. Electronic eminent domain has been around a long time. Hold that thought.

Today, The New York Times reports Face Recognition Makes the Leap From Sci-Fi.

"SceneTap, a new app for smart phones, uses cameras with facial detection software to scout bar scenes. Without identifying specific bar patrons, it posts information like the average age of a crowd and the ratio of men to women, helping bar-hoppers decide where to go. More than 50 bars in Chicago participate... The spread of such technology — essentially, the democratization of surveillance — may herald the end of anonymity. 

Those endeavors pale next to the photo-tagging suggestion tool introduced by Facebook this year... “Millions of people are using it to add hundreds of millions of tags,” says Simon Axten, a Facebook spokesman. Other well-known programs like Picasa, the photo editing software from Google, and third-party apps like PhotoTagger, from face.com, work similarly. 

And this technology is spreading. Immersive Labs, a company in Manhattan, has developed software for digital billboards using cameras to gauge the age range, sex and attention level of a passer-by.

Using off-the-shelf facial recognition software, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University were recently able to identify about a third of college students who had volunteered to be photographed for a study — just by comparing photos of those anonymous students to images publicly available on Facebook."

Have you connected the dots yet? 

Here is another clue...  

CALEA, a law passed in 1994, "To amend title 18, United States Code, to make clear a telecommunications carrier's duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for Law Enforcement purposes, and for other purposes." Telecommunications yet another type of mass communications device which may now be commandeered by government.

Internet connected, facial recognition systems are rapidly becoming mainstream mass communications technology, just like radio, TV and telephones. It only makes sense that this too will be commandeered. The question is, will it be commandeered like EBS to broadcast emergency messages, or will it be commandeered like CALEA to be used for surveillance? Both, perhaps?

So far, the benefits of letting government commandeer mass communications (verses the abuse potential) make the gambit worthwhile. For this, we thank our legal system. It is time for them to walk the high wire again. Please, get us through this technical conundrum with grace and balance one more time.

The noose tightens... "You can run, but you can't hide." 

Should this all come to pass (it will), there may be some interesting social outcomes. Just as mass communications pulls society closer together, mass surveillance capabilities like CALEA, license plate readers, and the multitude of facial recognition surveillance systems may push people apart. Imagine a world where the density of: commercial video billboards and kiosks; business surveillance cameras; and government street/toll booth cameras, in urban areas, squeezes criminals into the suburbs and beyond.

How best to take advantage of the changes in our brave new world? 

I have a career tip for you.

~ Kevin

The End of Anonymous SpyCam'ing Has Arrived

Click to enlarge

Australia - The owner of a mobile phone that contains footage of women undressing in a Sydney clothing store is wanted by police for questioning.

The discovery has prompted a warning for people to be on the lookout for any recording devices when they use change rooms in retail shops.

Police have released sections of the footage that also depicts a young man they have failed to identify during their two-month investigation. Police have examined the phone and found video recordings of three women undressing and trying on clothes in a change room.

Superintendent Philip Flogel, commander of the Hills Local Area Command, said his detectives have exhausted all means to determine who owns the phone and are now asking for help from the public. "We're hoping the public will come forward; it is very clear footage." (more)

Philip, allow me to introduce you to associate professor Alessandro Acquisti from Carnegie Mellon University, in the next posting. I think he can help you. ~Kevin 

All kidding aside, the "Acquisti ID Technique" is the next big thing in the world of policing tools. 

Note to bad guys... If you're on The Net, you're in The Net.

The End of Anonymous On-Line Dating Has Arrived

Science fiction writers have long imagined a future in which facial recognition technology makes anonymity in public obsolete. A research study at Carnegie Mellon University suggests that this Minority Report future has already arrived, thanks to facial recognition products now commercially available, combined with the 750-million-person identity database called Facebook.

A CMU research team led by associate professor Alessandro Acquisti took candid photos of 93 random students on campus using a $35 webcam. Within seconds the researchers were able to determine the identities of a third of their photogenic guinea pigs, using off-the-shelf facial recognition software from PittPatt, a software company recently acquired by Google, and publicly available profile photos from Facebook. The researchers had an even higher rate of success using the same technology to identify more than 100,000 Pittsburgh singles with otherwise pseudonymous accounts on a dating site, adding yet more complexity to the world of online dating. (more)

From the Land of Paladin, Have Antidote, Will Travel

Google's search engine is now fighting against a strain of malware that secretly intercepts Web browser activity on Windows PCs. FREE

Infected users will see a big yellow box at the top of search results, directing them to a Google Web page that explains how to remove the malware. That page urges users to download or update their antivirus software, and also provides manual instructions for removing the malware from Windows computers. (To see if you're infected, run any search on Google.com and look for the yellow box.) (more)

Click to enlarge.

Changing Times: Video Vigilantes see through Mob Anonymity

...Nathan Kotylak... When his beloved Vancouver Canucks lost the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship on June 15, Nathan...joined a gang of rioters in downtown Vancouver, who did what rioters everywhere always do: break shop windows, burn cars, and fight the power. Police managed to arrest a few of the worst (or slowest) offenders on the spot, but rioters have always been able to take advantage of the anonymity afforded by the mob.

Until now.

The upstanding citizenry of Vancouver, shocked and embarrassed that their city had become synonymous with hooliganism (which is not a Canadian virtue), called for something to be done about this outbreak of anarchy.

Within a few hours, one of those citizens had set up a blog, the Vancouver 2011 Riot Criminal List, where they solicited all of the imagery captured during the riots - photographs from newspaper reporters, video footage from television helicopters, even images snapped on mobiles, uploaded to the web.

Vancouverites set to work, digging up an enormous wealth of material...

We're coming into the 'Era of Omniscience'. Anything that depends on limited knowledge - or, as the strategists term it, 'informational asymmetry' - has begun to fall apart. Whether you're a rioter or a vigilante, a cop or a criminal, a resident or an alien... (more) (sing-a-long)

Beware the Long Arm of Social Notworking

Tip - Police and prosecutors are quickly learning that online postings can offer useful clues to a suspect's location, motives and acquaintances. (more)

Fark - On-line framing.

5 Ways to Tell if the Person on the Phone is Lying

via landlinephoneservice.net...

1. Listen for the patterns in their speech. 
   Is their speech erratic sounding? Do they repeat what they’ve already said to cover up something else?  Do they pause for a second or two before answering you? Many liars if confronted with a potential lie they told or if they are about to lie, need a second to gather together their facts.
2. Do they often try to change the subject?
   Feeling backed in a corner, they may even end the call. Many times a liar will do anything to avoid the topic or change topics manically if you keep bringing the conversation back to the topic they want to avoid.
3. Liars often get defensive.
   Getting defensive is a common tactic for liars. By getting angry or emotional, it helps the accused liar diffuse the topic and an effective way to get them “off the hook.” When talking to someone you think may be lying, make sure to stay at ease and calmly keep the conversation going.
4. A liar will often create confusion in their comments.
   Do they repeat information several times? Do they go back and forth with their answers, giving inconsistent comments to the questions you asked?
5. Do they find a way to abruptly get off the phone?
   If they don’t redirect the conversation to another topic, a liar will classically tell you they have to go, or find any other excuse to leave. Try to keep them on the phone by offering conversation of another topic and before hanging up, you can readdress your question. See if you get a consistent answer from the last time they answered it.
   (more)

TSCM Sweep Featured on the Discovery Channel

The Daily Planet, a popular Canadian show on the Discovery Channel, interviewed the Murray Associates technicians while they conducted an electronic eavesdropping detection audit. The video clip shows them conducting spectrum analysis, non-linear junction detection, infrared detection, a wi-fi security and compliance audit and more. If you ever wanted to look over the shoulder of a bug sweep team in action here is your chance. (video) Note: A short Discovery Channel promo comes first, followed by a promo for the show, followed by the sweep.

Kevin's FREE Counterespionage Consulting Day

Let's solve some common counterespionage problems...

1. "How can I stop shoulder surfers from reading my computer screen? The polarized screen thing makes me look like a paranoid dork."

Kevin says... Funny you should ask. I recently purchased some computer screen security software for testing, PrivateEyes from Oculis Labs. It works eerily well. All you need is a computer screen with a video camera and Windows. 

During the simple setup, the software learns who you are by looking at your face. From that point on, the screen automatically blurs unless you are looking directly at it. Turn to answer a phone call, or talk to someone nearby – BLURRR goes the screen. 

"What if someone sneaks up behind me?" I hear you say. No problem. When it sees an extra set of eyes – BLURRR.

Pro: The BLURRR effect changes quickly.

Con: Doesn't work as well in a high contrast environment.

PrivateEyes would also make an awesome IT guy gag. "I don't know. Your computer screen looks sharp and clear to me. Maybe you should get your eyes checked."

FREE 30-day trial.

2. "How can I document the identity of who enters my sensitive secure areas like: the executive suite, computer center, phone closets, elevators and boardroom? Card keys and pin codes don't do this. Biometric and CCTV solutions are not always cost-effective."

Kevin says... Consider installing a high-sensitivity digital surveillance camera that can capture high-resolution color images in low light conditions when motion is detected within its field of view. Images are stored on a removable memory card for easy viewing on your computer. The camera can also be started by a door opening or other trigger, and it can be configured to capture images on a time-lapse basis.

'Set and forget’ operation... Most cameras of this type can store up to 65,000 images and will optionally overwrite the oldest images when the memory card is full. (Example)
 

2. "Our corporate aircraft flies internationally and parks unattended for long periods of time. How can I tell if foreign nationals have boarded the plane to plant bugging devices? Murray Associates inspects the plane for us upon return, of course, but can't more can be done?"

Kevin says... Yes. Consider installing a covert digital surveillance camera – similar to the above camera's specs – in the cockpit, and at either end of the passenger compartment. Raw board cameras are small, battery powered (6-9 months!) and can be place covertly behind panels or within normally seen objects. Easy and cost-effective! (Example)

3. We have some remote locations we need to keep an eye on but it is not cost-effective to send a guard unless there is a problem. What can we do?

Kevin says... Send pictures to the guard on his cell phone! Digital surveillance cameras come in a variety of styles including outdoor mounting and solar-powered. Photos may be sent time lapse, upon being triggered by movement or an alarm, or upon demand. The guard is alerted immediately, and only when necessary. (Example)


Full Disclosure: I do not sell security hardware, or accept commissions when a purchase is made. My income comes solely from my clients when they hire me for independent consulting. My recommendations usually come with several security hardware choices. Clients do not need to "mention my name" when they make a purchase.

Bonus... 

Clients know my recommendations are based solely upon their needs. ~Kevin

My thanks to Barry Bouyer, of Moreton Bay Systems Pty Ltd. for the use of his photos.

Can you zoom in on that license plate?

The recent video enhancement post sparked additional interest in the subject. Upon doing some more research, it became clear that enhancing is only part of the picture. (Geez, I am starting to sound like Mr. Peabody.) 

Even more important is investing in technology which works in the first place. For example, the video surveillance system required in a small store is not what works best for surveying a parking lot.

The following explanation at Jim Hoerricks' blog is really insightful and educational...

Can you zoom in on that license plate? Can you zoom in on his face? Why can't you make this image clearer. These are questions that many forensic video analysts deal with on a daily basis. To illustrate the answer to these questions, let's consider this image:

This Monitoring image comes from an Avigilon system's 16 megapixel camera.

With the above image in mind, let's consider the outstanding advice from the UK's Home Office Scientific Development Branch:

To judge the quality of images that will be necessary, you will need to take into account the purpose for which CCTV is used and the level of quality that will be necessary to achieve the purpose. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) recommends identifying the needs of a CCTV system by using four categories:

1. Monitoring: to watch the flow of traffic or the movement of people where you do not need to pick out individual figures.
2. Detecting: to detect the presence of a person in the image, without needing to see their face.
3. Recognising: to recognise somebody you know, or determine that somebody is not known to you.
4. Identifying: to record high quality facial images which can be used in court to prove someone’s identity beyond reasonable doubt.

Take a look at the picture above. Can you make out faces or license plates? No. So, if your purpose is to identify these items, that picture view just won't do. 

With Photoshop, we can zoom in. Let's see what happens.

This Detecting view comes from zooming in a 16 megapixel image.

We can now see the people and vehicles more clearly. We can gain a general awareness of types of vehicles. We are closer to identifying them, but we don't have anything yet that will help us to prove identity beyond a reasonable doubt. We can zoom in further to see if we can Recognise anyone.

This Recognising view comes from zooming in a 16 megapixel image.

 At this level of magnification, someone who knows this person or car should be able to say, "that's him" or "that's not the man/car you are looking for." At this point, we can begin to accurately describe the individual in the scene. Let's zoom in some more to see if we can positively identify this man and the car.

This Identifying view comes from zooming in a 16 megapixel image.

With a 16 megapixel image, we can even zoom in closer than this image. But notice what's happened along the way. We've sacrificed field of view for detail. No longer are we looking at the whole parking lot (monitoring). We can't see the other people who are walking around (detecting). In order to identify this individual, we've had to zoom in so far that we've excluded much of this scene from our view. A CCTV Installer might position a camera/lens combination at a choke point specifically to get facial recognition whilst installing other cameras around the area to monitor and detect movement of unauthorised persons.

But what about real life. The good folks at Avigilon have a small piece of a very large market. What if that same monitoring image was only 4CIF or 2CIF. Could we still zoom in and identify the individuals in the scene? You be the judge.

The image from Avigilon contains 15,824,256 pixels and can come in a lossless RAW format.

This image contains only 426,400 pixels and is compressed. 

With an almost 97% reduction in the amount of available pixels and the additional compression, the results speak for themselves.

The result of zooming in on a low pixel count image.

So, the answer to "can you zoom in on that license plate" is ... it depends on the quality of the image and the number of available pixels. ~Jim Hoerricks - author of Forensic Photoshop, a comprehensive imaging workflow for forensic professionals

via wsj.com...

David Norris wants to collect the digital equivalent of fingerprints from every computer, cellphone and TV set-top box in the world.

He's off to a good start. So far, Mr. Norris's start-up company, BlueCava Inc., has identified 200 million devices. By the end of next year, BlueCava says it expects to have cataloged one billion of the world's estimated 10 billion devices.

Advertisers no longer want to just buy ads. They want to buy access to specific people. So, Mr. Norris is building a "credit bureau for devices" in which every computer or cellphone will have a "reputation" based on its user's online behavior, shopping habits and demographics. He plans to sell this information to advertisers willing to pay top dollar for granular data about people's interests and activities.

Device fingerprinting is a powerful emerging tool in this trade. It's "the next generation of online advertising," Mr. Norris says. (more)

What the report doesn't highlight are the fraud-fighting capabilities of a technology like this, not to mention government and law enforcement interests.

SmartWater - "I've been slimed!"

Here is a theft deterrent idea... 

What if you could spray your valuables with an invisible DNA-like identifier, unique to you. What if this brilliant agua could also be used to link a suspect to the scene of the crime. What if this water could only be seen using ultra-violet light. You would probably say, "That's smart water." (knock, knock) Excuse me. (whisper, whisper)

Right, well then... apparently this has already been done.

"SmartWater delivers proven crime reduction strategies customised to the needs of your business. Widely used within intelligence-led policing operations, and proven to deter criminals on a sustained basis, SmartWater is now available to the commercial sector." (video)