Have Xfinity? Your Wi-Fi is Scared

"In addition to saying “Help” into your Voice Remote, you can directly ask for what you need.  For example, say “What’s my WiFi password?” and your WiFi network name and password will show up on the tv screen.

Keep exploring your WiFi information and you will find different ways to manage your network, including viewing WiFi usage across devices in your home. You can also do this on-the-go with the Xfinty xFi app." more

Wi-Fi security is important, especially if you are using it in a business environment. ~Kevin

How Everyone (in the world) Could Vote in a U.S. Election

Remote-access software and modems on election equipment 'is the worst decision for security short of leaving ballot boxes on a Moscow street corner.'

The nation's top voting machine maker has admitted in a letter to a federal lawmaker that the company installed remote-access software on election-management systems it sold over a period of six years, raising questions about the security of those systems and the integrity of elections that were conducted with them. more

Older News (July 30, 2017)...
Several hackers reportedly managed to hack into multiple United States voting machines in a relatively short period—in some cases within minutes, and in other within a few hours—at Def Con cybersecurity conference held in Las Vegas this week.

Voting Machine Village provided 30 different pieces of voting equipment used in American elections in a room, which included Sequoia AVC Edge, ES&S iVotronic, AccuVote TSX, WinVote, and Diebold Expresspoll 4000 voting machines. more

No Formal Process for Protecting a Trade Secret in Canada ?!?!

Canada - At the annual Uniform Law Conference of Canada in 1989, there was proposed legislation drafted that was called the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

It provided for potential civil remedies against anyone who acquired a trade secret improperly, including through commercial espionage or electronic means. Courts could grant injunctions, award damages and determine who could make future use of the trade secret.

The proposed legislation was put forward one year after the Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling in R. v. Stewart on the issue of whether “confidential information” can be the subject of theft under the Criminal Code. The court, in a unanimous decision, concluded that it could not, since confidential information on its own is not property...

Three decades later, there are still no criminal offences specific to this area and the Uniform Trade Secrets Act was never enacted into law by any province. In fact, the current website of the federal Canadian Intellectual Property Office states flatly that there is “no formal process” for protecting a trade secret. more

Meanwhile... Australia has passed new laws to get tough on spying. more

The Kid is Recording with His Cell Phone - Quick, Call the Cops!

A sad Middle School Civics Lesson...

One of Illinois' most-abused laws continues to be abused. For years, cops used the state's eavesdropping laws to arrest citizens who attempted to record them. This practice finally stopped when three consecutive courts -- including a federal appeals court -- ruled the law was unconstitutional when applied to target citizens recording public servants.

This may have led to the end of bullshit arrests from cops who didn't like being observed while they worked, but it's still being used by government officials to punish people they don't like. Illinois Policy reports a 13-year-old student is facing felony charges for recording a meeting between him and two school administrators.

On Feb. 16, 2018, [Paul] Boron was called to the principal’s office at Manteno Middle School after failing to attend a number of detentions. Before meeting Principal David Conrad and Assistant Principal Nathan Short, he began recording audio on his cellphone.

Boron said he argued with Conrad and Short for approximately 10 minutes in the reception area of the school secretary’s office, with the door open to the hallway. When Boron told Conrad and Short he was recording, Conrad allegedly told Boron he was committing a felony and promptly ended the conversation.

Principal Conrad sure knows his local statutes. He turned Boron in to law enforcement, which apparently decided to go ahead and process the paperwork, rather than tell Conrad to stop acting like a child. This led to prosecutors being just as unwilling to be the adults in the room.

For a 13-year-old, this is a huge problem. This places his recording of his conversation with school officials on the same level as aggravated assault and stalking. It comes with a minimum prison sentence of one year. more 

Murray's Surreptitious Workplace Recording — and what to do about it

Peeps - The New Fake Surveillance Cameras

via Boing Boing...
As if the Elf on a Shelf wasn't creepy enough, now they've put Peeps in the faux-surveillance game.

A new book and plush Peep sold together as Peep on a Perch is encouraging parents to start a new "Easter family tradition":

The soft plush Easter Peep included in the set can be perched anywhere throughout the home. Children will be proud to have the Easter Peep watch them being good all day as they get ready for bed without making a fuss, help out around the house, and use good manners. And the more kindness the Easter Peep sees, the happier the Easter Peep gets! PEEPS® fans of all ages will love to make this a new Easter family tradition.

One Amazon reviewer (who gave the product five stars) writes, "The book encourages children to help, share and be kind as the Peep reports directly to the Easter Bunny." No, just no. more

Rango - Spy Mission in Iran

A former high-ranking Iranian military leader recently claimed that Israel used lizard spies that "attract atomic waves" in order to identify the location of Iranian uranium mines.

The remarks, by Hassan Firuzabadi, a military advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were made in response to the recent arrest of local environmentalists, The Times of Israel reported.

"We found out that their skin attracts atomic waves and that they were nuclear spies who wanted to find out where inside the Islamic Republic of Iran we have uranium mines and where we are engaged in atomic activities," Firuzabadi told the Iranian Labour News Agency...

...the bizarre claim is ridiculous, two reptile experts told Live Science.  more

Hawaiian Emergency Management - Passwords on Post-it Notes on Computer Screens

The Hawaii Emergency Management false alarm mess was not caused by pressing the wrong button. It was caused by poor design.

Ever select the wrong thing from a drop-down menu? Sure, it happens all the time.

The Washington Post reports...

The menu, which triggers alerts, contains a jumble of options, ranging from Amber alerts to Tsunami warnings to road closures. Some of them, such as “High Surf Warning North Shores,” are in plain English.

Others, including the one for a missile attack, “PACOM (CDW)-STATE ONLY,” use shorthand initials. (PACOM refers to the United States Pacific Command based in Hawaii.)

And the menu contained no ballistic missile defense false alarm option — which has now been added at the top of the image, marked up by officials for explanatory purposes. more

 Suggestions: 
1. Separate the messages into smaller groups: Routine Tests | Advisories | Life Threatening
2. Drop the jargon. Say what you mean, clearly.
3. Do not use instant-select dropdown menus.
4. Use radio buttons to select the message, plus a CONFIRMATION and CANCEL button to activate the selected alert, or not. Two extra seconds of thought can prevent a lot of mistakes.

If you need help with design, call on the master, John McWade. He can teach you.

And, what's with posting the passwords to an emergency management computer screen?!?!
If the personnel can't memorize a password as lame as this, they shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a keyboard. more

Password: Warningpoint2

DIY PI - What could possibly go wrong?

PI - Two school employees in Monroe County could face wiretapping charges.

A grand jury is recommending charges against Joshua Krebs and Alex Sterenchok.

Krebs is the supervisor of support staff and Sterenchok is the technology supervisor for the Pleasant Valley School District.

Both are accused of setting up a camera in April of 2016 in a break room at Pleasant Valley Elementary School to see if they could catch a janitor not doing his job.
Teachers and other staff members argue their privacy was being violated. more

Not So Covert Video Cam Sunglasses

Today is probably the only day a spy could get away with these...

Dorkier than Google Glass? You decide. more

USB Stick Security, or God Save the Queen

UK - Heathrow Airport officials have launched an internal investigation into how a USB memory stick containing the airport's security information was allegedly found on a London street...

The USB stick, which apparently held details such as the route which the Queen takes when using the airport and maps pin-pointing CCTV cameras and a network of tunnels and escape routes, was not given to police but instead was handed to a national newspaper, the Sunday Mirror.

The Sunday Mirror reported that an unemployed man said he was on the way to the library to search the internet for jobs when he found the USB stick in the leaves... he plugged the USB stick into a library computer a few days later and was amazed at what he found... more

Take away security tips...
• Encrypt information you put on a USB memory stick. Assume it will be lost or stolen.
• If you find a USB stick, don't plug it in. It may contain a virus. Dropping virus laden sticks in company parking lots is a simple spy trick.

Corporate Espionage Fail - WeWork Staffers Caught

NYC - The battle in the red-hot co-working space business is heating up.

WeWork, the No. 1 player in the sector, allegedly sent two spies to infiltrate rival Knotel — to steal info and some customers, Knotel claimed.

The spies showed up at seven Knotel properties in Manhattan last month in a “systematic attempt to pilfer Knotel’s proprietary information and trade secrets,” according to a cease-and-desist letter the smaller company sent to WeWork...

The corporate espionage rookies might have pulled off the caper — except, in a totally random happening, a Knotel employee recognized one of them as a friend of a friend, according to sources close to Knotel.

While the pair used fake names to gain entry, according to the letter, a call to the Knotel worker’s pal got the spy’s real name — and a couple of social media inquiries turned up the fact that he worked for rival WeWork, sources said. more

The Good News, Bad News VPN Joke

In January this year, China announced a 14-month campaign to crack down on VPNs in a bid to tighten online surveillance
ahead of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China which opens in October....

Unlike individual users, multinational firms operating in China are still permitted to use VPNs in what amounts to something of a legal grey area, but it is likely that this usage will be restricted to software approved by the government, which will presumably have backdoors installed to allow eavesdropping, raising fears of an increase in industrial espionage activities. more

Spycam Darwin Award of the Week - The Creepy Kid

Jeremy Gabrysch put up a camera in their living room because his kid kept getting up in the middle of the night to watch TV.


The kid was not to be deterred, even if he didn't quite understand how a wide-angle lens works. more

Things We See - The Anemic Posted Password

Spycam News: A Darwin Award to Another Spy Who Shot Himself

OH - Judge Robert Peeler sentenced a former Deerfield Township maintenance man to four years in prison, for putting hidden cameras in women's apartments. 

Gerald Rowe will also have to register as a Tier 1 sex offender. Rowe worked at the Steeplechase Apartments in Deerfield Township. A woman called police after finding one of his hidden cameras in the vent of her bathroom in May 2016, according to Prosecutor David Fornshell.

Warren County Sheriff's Office detectives found videos from four other apartments from February through May.

Rowe mounted the cameras to get video of the women undressed. One of the videos shows Rowe's face while installing the camera. more

Workplace Eavesdropping - Time to Consider a Recording in the Workplace Policy

PA - A Fayetteville man is accused of secretly recording a conversation regarding a workplace dispute and posting the recording on Facebook.

John Frederick Richards III, 54, is charged with felony intercepting communications and "disclose intercepted communications," according to court documents. more

A Spycam Detection Program & Recording in the Workplace Policy is available here.

P.S. If you are going to break eavesdropping laws,  don't post the evidence on Facebook. ~Kevin

This Month's SpyCam Darwin Award - Shot While Spycaming

NY - An Erie County man has been arrested after spying on his neighbors with his cell phone.

Investigators said David Schindley's phone had more than 50 videos held closely to the windows of bedrooms, bathrooms or other rooms. The videos go back to this past October.

Schindley was taken into custody on Sunday after he was shot by a homeowner on the 500 block of Bald Eagle Drive. Deputies said the homeowner heard a noise and thought Schindley was trying to break into his home.

Schindley was shot in the leg, the homeowner who shot the suspect was not charged. more

How to be a Spy

Are you cut out for 00 status?

Rule #1 - Don't look goofy.

In America, spies in trench coats are usually bugging your office and listening in on your phone calls. In Britain, her majesty’s secret servants are busy code breaking between rounds of cricket.

In Vienna, instead, you just spend a day at the coffee house and, if you listen carefully, you will soon be up-to-date about the latest rumors of this city that loves secrets – and even more, to gossip about them on the sly...

Luckily, the city offers everything you need to live the high life of a spy. more

Idiocracy (2017) - Man Tries Burglarizing a Spy Shop

FL - Police say an attempted burglar chose an odd target which was a spy shop that sells, of all things, surveillance equipment. 

According to the manager of Spy Spot Investigations Spy Store in Deerfield Beach, the would-be burglar was, no shocker here, caught on camera.

Tannenbaum said suspect was caught on one of the surveillance specialty store's many cameras as he picked up a rock and headed straight for the store's front door. more with video

Flying Tom's Last Peep

UAE - A 28-year-old man died after falling from a high rise building in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, 
while spying on ladies living in the opposite building. The witness told police that the deceased fell due to imbalance while standing and looking into the rooms of the ladies.

Sharjah Police said that they received a call about the incident at the operation room and soon arrived at the site. The man was found dead in a pool of blood. He was rushed to Al Kuwaiti Hospital and then to forensic laboratory. more