A Self-Licking TSCM Ice Cream Cone?

(Note: Garda = Police)

Ireland - The British consultancy firm which carried out a security sweep of the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission's headquarters offered to sell gardai equipment similar to one of the devices at the centre of the 'bugging' saga.

Officials from the Verrimus firm met garda technical experts while they were in Dublin for the sweep.

They brought with them the "international mobile subscriber identifier (IMSI) catcher" device which, in an ironic twist, was similar to one that created the third and most "credible threat" to the security of the Ombudsman's offices. (more)

Security Director Alert - Toss Away Bugs - Now $21.97 on eBay

Want to know if eavesdropping has occurred in your organization? 
These days, your chances of knowing has skyrocketed. Here's why...

Electronic eavesdropping devices have become:
• so inexpensive, 
• so easily available, 
that they are now throw-away objects. 

Eavesdroppers don't have to risk discovery by replacing batteries or retrieving them. Just toss one behind the bookcase, or into a lighting cove once a week.

Bonus For You - Since many of today's eavesdropping devices are not being serviced or retrieved, the evidence is left there waiting for you (or me) to find it! Knowing you are having your pockets picked is valuable knowledge, and the first step in putting an end to it.

Example of a bug being sold on eBay today... ($21.97 - FREE shipping)

TINY SPY BUG
"With 2 FREE batteries!!  

Each battery should give you around 40 hours of use!
 
This IS the smallest bug on ebay measuring just 22mm diameter (plus a little extra for the protruding microphone and rear) x only 11mm thick and THIS IS WITH A BATTERY INSTALLED!!! This tiny transmitter runs off a small coin cell and the measurements given above include the cell holder!
 
The quality small electret microphone will pick up the smallest of sounds and transmit them to your radio with crystal clear reproduction. Only quality surface mount components have been used on a professionally designed circuit board. The copper of the board has been coated to prevent corrosion - this is NOT a cheap homemade item like others are offering!" (more)

P.S. We have the technology to find these bugs even after the battery is depleted.

TSCM Find - Police Ombudsman Headquarters' Conference Room & Wi-Fi Bugged

Ireland - The headquarters of the Garda Ombudsman Commission has reportedly been targeted by a secret bugging operation. 

According to a report in today's Sunday Times, the watchdog's phone and internet were compromised in a highly sophisticated hacking incident...

The spying operation was uncovered when the Ombudsman hired security consultants to investigate whether its office had been bugged.
The investigation found that a phone in a meeting room had been rigged to eavesdrop on confidential conversations.

The room was used to hold case conferences related to investigations being carried out by the commission.

The Wi-Fi network at the Garda Ombudsman office had also been hacked - allowing emails and confidential material to be intercepted. (more)

UPDATE:
Mr Shatter has asked the Commission for a report on its decision to hire a British Security company last year to investigate if it had been placed under electronic surveillance.

A source within GSOC has confirmed to RTÉ that the company told it that it had found evidence of electronic surveillance in one of its meeting rooms and that its wi-fi system may have been compromised. (more)

Conflicting Reports About the Turkish President's Bug

Turkey - The Supreme Court of Appeals denied a report saying that an apparatus used to reflect signals from a bugging device found in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's office in Ankara in 2012 was found that same year on the roof of the top court's headquarters.

The Milliyet daily reported that the signal from a bugging device found in Erdoğan's office was found to be reflected by an apparatus installed on the roof of the Supreme Court of Appeals' headquarters, which is very close to the former Prime Ministry Office in Ankara, during technical inspections of the court's headquarters soon after the bugging devices were found. (more)
  
Coincidentally... 

Turkish gov't to increase penalties for illegal wiretapping
The penalties for illegal wiretapping are to be strengthened in a government-led draft law which has stirred reactions from the opposition for increasing the justice minister’s power on the judiciary.

The draft law, on which the government is currently working, will increase the penalties for illegal wiretapping as well as limiting the wiretapping done by the permission of Turkey’s Directorate of Telecommunication (TİB), which is the sole authority over all of the wiretapping and surveillance activities of security units.

The penalties for those who leaked the wiretappings will be increased. The penalties for the officials, who used their authority to wiretap illegally, will also be regulated with the draft law. The use of wiretapping and audio surveillance as part of the investigations will be limited. (more)

Spy bugs found in Australia and Asia

An Australian surveillance executive whose firm was contracted by several clients to sweep for hidden mobile interceptors and other spying devices in Australia and Asia has found dozens of them.

Les Goldsmith, chief executive of ESD Group, told Fairfax Media his company found about 20 physical bugs when conducting sweeps in Australian business and local government offices, and another 68 in Asia between 2005 and 2011...

"All governments are falling victim to surveillance and some governments are falling victim to it but not saying anything," he said...

Mr Goldsmith’s remarks come as officers from Australia’s domestic spy agency ASIO raided the office of a lawyer who claimed spies bugged the cabinet room of East Timor’s government during negotiations over oil and gas deposits. It also follows news that Ecuador found a bug in its London embassy, where Julian Assange is (sic) staying...

Michael Dever, of Dever Clark + Associates, which conducts bug sweeps for government agencies, said Mr Goldsmith’s numbers were not surprising.

"Australia’s culture is pretty naive about these matters," Mr Dever said. "There’s a prevailing attitude ... among businesses that this is Australia, that this sort of stuff only happens elsewhere. But that’s not the case at all." (can be applied to most businesses in the free world)

Despite this, Mr Dever revealed that his firm had not found any bugs in Australia "in years", but said that this was likely because areas he swept were "generally secure" government or private sector facilities.

"That doesn’t mean that we’re incompetent," Mr Dever said.

"It just means that the types of places [where] we do this work ... are already low-risk anyway because of their security." (more)

A good security recipe has bug detection inspections (TSCM) as a key ingredient. Not only is TSCM a proven deterrent, it is also checks the freshness and effectiveness the other security ingredients. Cook this up right, and like Mr Dever said, your risk will be low.

Business Espionage: Eavesdropping Discovery at Nortel - Update

The Department of National Defence will have to decide whether it is still worth the risk to move into the former Nortel campus after the discovery of listening devices at the facility, say security analysts.

The DND is not releasing details about where exactly the electronic eavesdropping devices were found or whether they were left over from an industrial espionage operation when Nortel occupied the complex in Ottawa’s west end.

Nortel was the target of a number of spy and computer hacking operations, with the main culprits suspected of being associated with China.

But security analysts say other listening devices could remain in the sprawling campus at 3500 Carling Ave. The question is whether they can all be found and whether they are still active...

Sources say the bugs are believed to have been planted when Nortel occupied the campus. (more)

12 Detained After Bugging Device Found

After it was revealed in the media on Sept. 17 that two listening devices had been found in the office of the Prime Ministry's Overseas Turks Agency (YTB), police have detained 12 suspects in simultaneous operations in the provinces of Ankara, İstanbul and Ardahan, linked to the investigation, Turkish news agencies reported on Monday.

On Sept. 17, the Türkiye daily claimed that two female co-founders and current members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) were spying for Iran, reportedly gathering intelligence for Tehran by planting listening devices in the office of the YTB, although the claim was at least partly denied by Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ later that day. (more)

Business Espionage: Eavesdropping Devices Found at Nortel Complex

Canada - Workers preparing the former Nortel complex as the new home for the Department of National Defence have discovered electronic eavesdropping devices, prompting new fears about the security of the facility.

It’s not clear whether the devices were recently planted or left over from an industrial espionage operation when Nortel occupied the complex...

Recently released DND documents indicate that concerns about the security surrounding the former Nortel campus at 3500 Carling Ave. were raised last year...
 
Last year it was also revealed that Nortel had been the target of industrial espionage for almost a decade... (more)

Note: Nortel Networks Corporation was once a major data networking and multinational telecommunications company. The company filed for protection from creditors on January 14, 2009 and later shut its doors.

Business Espionage - Bra Biz Ops Man Bugged

Michelle Mone's firm bugged director's office amid fears he was about to jump ship to ex-husband's new company, tribunal hears 

MICHELLE MONE monitored recordings from a bug in a director’s office amid fears he was about quit for a job work with her ex, her new business partner claimed yesterday.

Eliaz Poleg told an employment tribunal he came up with the idea of bugging Scott Kilday’s plant pot.

Poleg – the chairman of the company formed from the sale of Michelle’s MJM firm – said he made the move as he had “extreme concerns” over Kilday’s loyalty to the troubled bra business.

Kilday now works for Michelle’s ex-husband Michael, who was bought out of MJM two days before the sale to MAS Holdings. Kilday walked out on MJM after finding the bug.

Poleg told the tribunal in Glasgow: “I know there was stuff on it because Michelle said she was listening and replacing the machine tapes. (more)

Spybusters Tip #948 - Android Device Manager Allows Remote Locate, Signal & Erase Security for Android Devices

Access the settings by opening the Google Settings app from your Android app drawer and tapping the option for Android Device Manager.

From there you can choose whether to enable remote location or wiping. This lets you login to the Android Device Manager website and find your phone on a map, cause your device to ring so you can find it if it’s in your other pants pocket or lost in couch cushions, or perform a factory reset if the phone’s been lost or stolen. (more)

Man Bugs his Ex's Home for Over Three Years

UK - A woman has been left terrified in her home and was turned against her closest friends after her ex-partner bugged her house for three and a half years, a court has heard.

The victim said she suspected her ex had planted a listening device in her Darlington home after he started talking about things which she did not believe he should know...

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said he installed the device to check on his young daughter.

As near as we can tell from the report, the bug looked like this one.

The device, which the man bought in London for £180 ($280.00), was installed behind a plug socket in the living room in November 2009, and could be accessed through his mobile phone...

In a statement read to the court by Ms Milson, the victim said she had nearly suffered a mental breakdown after finding out she had been bugged.

She said: “I feel sick to the pit of my stomach that he has been listening to me for over three years, he has always known too much about my life.

“He made me question myself and used what he heard against me. I am scared every single day, I am totally distraught and it has left me feeling differently about my home.” (more)

The price on these has dropped since 2009. 
The one shown above is now $79.95. 
The economy of scale, perhaps?

Bug Found in Office of Berlusconi's Judge

An electronic bug was found in the offices of the Italian judges due to hear a final appeal this month by former premier Silvio Berlusconi against a tax fraud conviction, news reports said Friday.

An employee of the Court of Cassation discovered a device used to record or intercept conversations and alerted police Thursday afternoon, the Rome-based Il Tempo newspaper said.

The bug, which was removed by police, did not have any batteries, the daily said. (more)

The Surveillance Group Ltd Denies Bugging the Ecuadorian Embassy

British security firm Surveillance Group Ltd has denied bugging the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

"We have this morning heard an accusation the source of which is apparently Ricardo Patino, the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister suggesting that we have bugged the Ecuadorian Embassy.
This is completely untrue. The Surveillance Group do not and have never been engaged in any activities of this nature.
We have not been contacted by any member of the Ecuadorian Government and our first notification about this incident was via the press this morning.
This is a wholly untrue assertion."

– Timothy Young, CEO, Surveillance Group Ltd. (Press Release - 04/07/2013)

We are waiting see if the embassy produces some substantial evidence to support their claim. After all, "What is in a name?" R&J (II, ii, 1-2)

Hidden Microphone Found at Embassy Where Julian Assange Resides

A hidden microphone has been found inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is holed up, according to the country's foreign minister.

Ricardo Patiño said the device had been discovered a fortnight ago inside the office of the Ecuadorean ambassador, Ana Alban, while he was in the UK to meet Assange and discuss the whistleblower's plight with the British foreign secretary, William Hague.

"We regret to inform you that in our embassy in London we have found a hidden microphone," Patiño told a news conference in Quito on Tuesday.

"I didn't report this at the time because we didn't want the theme of our visit to London to be confused with this matter," he said.

"Furthermore, we first wanted to ascertain with precision the origin of this interception device in the office of our ambassador." (more)

Good luck.

In other news...
French company Spotter has developed an analytics tool that claims to have up to 80% accuracy in identifying sarcastic comments posted online.

Spotter says its clients include the Home Office, EU Commission and Dubai Courts. (more)

We retract the last comment.

Laser Beam Eavesdropping - The Trinidad and Tobago Case

Trinidad and Tobago ‎- At the height of the Section 34 controversy, a sophisticated laser spying device was discovered in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Roger Gaspard, SC. T&T Guardian (newspaper) investigations revealed the device was detected in November last year inside the conference room of the DPP’s office at the Winsure Building, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain. Gaspard offered no comment on the matter when contacted by the T&T Guardian on Wednesday. Investigations revealed the device was detected after a search was carried out by both foreign and local information technology (IT) experts on the fifth floor of the building.

The T&T Guardian learned that an invisible infrared beam that is used to transmit conversations was found in the conference room, which is where the DPP normally holds briefings on various high-level cases involving past and former government officials and other matters such as the Calder Hart probe and the Clico enquiry. The conference room is also used when the advice of the DPP is sought by police officers on homicides and other criminal offences. On Monday, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, during debate of a no-confidence motion laid by him against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her Government, revealed 31 e-mails, one of which referred to a plan to spy on the DPP during the Section 34 debacle and to offer him a judgeship so as to be able to replace him in the office...

The bug at the DPP’s office was discovered after Gaspard received a tip-off and arranged for his office to be swept for spying and bugging devices by highly-qualified IT experts. The IT experts detected beams that showed a laser was being used to spy on the DPP’s conversations. One of the IT specialists who was part of the exercise revealed, “They detected certain rays that showed a laser was being used to spy on the DPP. “Someone can stay from the Port-of-Spain International Waterfront Centre and once they have a straight line of sight, and using the laser device, the conversations of the DPP can be heard.” The T&T Guardian understands the find sent shockwaves through the DPP’s office and steps have been taken since then to conduct frequent independent security sweeps of the building to ensure it is clean of such devices.

...there have been calls for an independent investigation. (more)

Even though the details are sketchy, I can think of about four good reasons why this particular "find" might be baloney. Laser listening systems have been built and patented, however, physics still makes this type of eavesdropping very difficult in the field. Read up on laser beam eavesdropping here. ~Kevin

FutureWatch: Trojan Horse Wi-Fi's and More - In Your Mail

This promotion is legitimate.
But, imagine this small, inexpensive technology as an espionage tool...

Microsoft is putting in real WiFi hardware hotspots inside some copies of the latest issue of Forbes magazine. The unique Office 365 promotion was revealed in a post on the Slickdeals.net message board. The WiFi router, when activated, offers 15 days of free WiFi service via T-Mobile's network on up to five devices at once.


In any case, if you get one of these Forbes magazine ads, keep in mind that the router still needs to be charged; it apparently lasts up to three hours on a single charge. (more)

BTW, for your techie types, it uses a Mediatek chip (RT5350), "The world's smallest wireless router-on-a-chip."

Hiding electronic gadgets in the mail is not a new idea. 

Many years ago, a company hollowed out a book, planted a computer mouse inside, and mailed it to top executives. 

We detected one of these books during a weekend sweep. It was on an executive's desk, in the unopened mail.  

Was it a bug?  
Was it a bomb? 

No, just a insensitive marketing gag. 

Apparently, the company is no longer in business.

FutureWatch: This will happen again, but next time it might be a bug ...or, a bomb. 

Regularly scheduled TSCM inspections can find these things lurking in your office.

The Suspected Fly on the Wall was a Horse

 Not a horse-fly, a real horse. 
 My friend and colleague, Tim Johnson, relates the tail tale...

"I was contacted to do a debugging sweep of a company executive area and an executive residence in a midwestern state. Having concluded the examination of the offices without finding anything I proceeded to the residence where I repeated the process. 

During the radio frequency examination I detected a radio frequency that I noted for additional analysis. In doing a further examination of the signal it was determined to be originating from outside the residence. This was done by moving my receiver to different locations and checking the signal strength. 

There was a barn located in the general direction of the signal path so I went out and did a further check." (more)

(Foal Alert Transmitter)

Turkish PM: Five Electronic Surveillance Devices Found

Turkey - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan revealed that four unauthorized wiretapping devices had been detected in his parliamentary office and government car.

A subsequent report from the Office of the Prime Minister on December 25 said that one more device had been found in Mr. Erdoğan’s home-office at this residence in Turkish capital Ankara. (more)

SpyCam Story #663 - This Month In SpyCam News

SpyCam stories have become commonplace and the techniques used, repetitive. We continue to keep lose track of the subject for statistical purposes, but won't bore you with too many details. Links supplied.

School Daze...

NJ - Locker room spycam defense?!?! - it never endangered the welfare of any child. 

VA - Registrar's Office spycam defense - hormone imbalance.

OH - School teacher charged - spycam'ing two female teachers in teachers-only bathroom.

WA - High School sleepover spycam'er pleads guilty.

CA - U of T - iPhone spotted in bathroom stall - man charged with voyeurism and mischief.

Charges Laid...

CT - Busted - bedroom spycam'er filmed four female partners.

CA - Dusted - House guest finds video camera recording in a powder room.

LA -  Trusted - Bedroom cam & bathroom cam transmitted wireless to recorder.

MT - Adjusted - Former jailer who spycam'ed a pool changing room charged with burglary.

UK - Lusted - Ex-council member charged - leisure centres, holiday camp and dance studio. 

Men at Work...
UK - Employee used a camera disguised as a pen to film female staff in the toilets.

WA - Playhouse dressing room spycam - closing argument - not for sexual gratification.

GA - Judge finds 'peeping preacher' guilty on 13 counts of video voyeurism.

FL - Mirror ripped from the fitting room wall reveals two hidden cameras, one still recording. 

ID - Man charged - iPhone, recording, hidden in a tissue box in the employee restroom. 

CA - Owner placed camera in his hardware store staff washroom.

CT - Subway employee placed under sink camera in unisex bathroom. 

LA - Gynecologist charged - secretly photographedthe genitals of his patients... 186 times

Only You Can Pervert...

FL - Park employee kept eye on bathroom with iPhone - victim chases, snags plate, nailed.

WA - Park employee arrested, accused of recording a teenage girl in a park restroom. 

Darwin Awards to...

CT - Man admits to 4 photos of woman in next shower... 2 turned out to be of his own hand.

UK - Man uses USB stick camera to film woman - proof - shot himself while setting it up.

IN - Man hides iPod in girlfriend's bathroom - proof - shot himself while hiding it.

UT - Wife finds upskirt pix on husband's cell - calls cops - proof - shot himself while filming.

OH - Spycam'er uses clock radio, camera hidden within - poof - shot himself... with a gun!

The Tanning Guys...

AR - 16-year-old boy was arrested - cam'ed a woman after she got out of a tanning bed. 

AR - Man charged - cam'ing girls using his tanning bed, then tampering with the evidence.

AR - Tanning salon manager booked on suspicion of voyeurism.

(Arkansas and tanning salon pervs. Weird.)

IN - Fox in henhouse - Stephan Fox pleaded guilty to taping women in tanning salon.

Eavesdropping Find: Bandera City Hall Bugged

TX - No accusations were made last week at a budget workshop but evidence was brought to light that city security may be at risk... 

Bandera City Hall was checked for breaches recently, reported Mayor Pro Tem Maggie Schumacher during the city's Aug. 9 budget meeting. An unnamed security company scanned City Hall for listening “bugs” and other devices.

“There is no doubt by the (security) firm that offices had been bugged,” Schumacher said. “There were wires going into the police department.” The firm also found “cameras in the city secretary's office.”

“The report said there was so much evidence that [the City Hall] side of the building had been compromised,” Schumacher said...

Security at City Hall has been considered a potential problem since last year when former Bandera City Police Lt. Neil McLean allegedly told Schumacher that nothing was private in city offices, Councilmember John Hegemier told the Bulletin Monday.

Hegemier said Schumacher interpreted McLean's statement as meaning the offices had been bugged, though former City Police Chief Jim Eigner said they were not. (more)