When Business Espionage Doesn't Work the Next Step is Sabotage

Real News or Business Sabotage? You decide...

The following "news story" was found in Yahoo News. It is filled with anonymous quotes, no proof, no substance, no follow-up with the side being attacked.

“Apple’s new operating system is making me nauseous and giving me a headache - just like when you try to read in the car,” says one user.

Others complain of “vertigo” when apps “zoom” in and out - and say that using iOS 7 devices has left them feeling ill for days.

Apple’s new iOS 7 operating system has been downloaded 200 million times - and some users are complaining that the animations make them seasick - or worse. (more)

To our clients... In addition to your TSCM bug sweeps and our other business espionage reductions, keep an eye out for business sabotage. Document it. Go after it.

Alps Slayings Could be Linked to Industrial Espionage - Prosecutor

French authorities said Friday they were investigating the possibility that the British family shot dead while on holidays in the Alps a year ago was executed over industrial espionage. (more)

FutureWatch: On the Road to The Corporate State

Tech Companies and Government May Soon Go to War Over Surveillance

via Patrick Gray, wired.com...
On the very day the media dropped detailed documents on the NSA’s X-Keyscore collection program, the Facebook engineering team published a blog post stating that all access to Facebook via apps and web browsers was now SSL encrypted. Given X-Keyscore was a program primarily designed to intercept unencrypted internet traffic, you could be forgiven for interpreting Facebook’s post as a middle finger pointed in NSA’s direction...

You don't need a Weatherman to know...

You want us to execute that warrant for you? Ok, sure, but the user will get a nice big popup warning telling them that their messages are likely being intercepted!

There are new interception hurdles everywhere you look. Even plain old SSL encryption is becoming more difficult to snoop on. Previously, governments could rely on complicit or compromised certificate authorities to provide them with the means to intercept encrypted traffic. Thanks to the Iranian government’s overly enthusiastic use of this technique, Google made changes to the Chrome browser to neuter the practice. Similar updates are expected soon in Internet Explorer. There goes another interception technique for law enforcement!

And it’s only going to get worse for the poor ole G-Men. Technology companies are enabling security features that make certain types of government surveillance extremely difficult, and it’s a trend that’s set to continue. That’s why the U.S. government has long wanted laws that force tech companies to make their products wiretap friendly. (more)

"Knowledge is power." Whoever holds the knowledge, holds the power. (sing-a-long)

Britain’s Fraud Agency Admits to Loss of Data and Audio Tapes

The Serious Fraud Office has admitted accidentally sending a huge cache of confidential documents from an investigation into Britain's biggest arms firm, BAE, to the wrong person.
It did not realise for up to a year that it had misplaced the material which comprised 32,000 pages of documents, 81 audio tapes and computer files.

The material had originally been given to the SFO by 59 sources that helped the agency during one of its most high-profile investigations.

The SFO is not identifying at the moment the individual who inadvertently received the documents, nor did it spell out what they contained. (more)

If someone dumped 32,000 pages of documents, 81 audio tapes and computer files on you - "by accident" - wouldn't you immediately call the sender and say, "What do I look like, a freakin' warehouse?!?!"

Time to call in the Monty Python Very Very Serious Fraud Office to investigate.

Not a joke. Click to enlarge.

New Video Game Steeped in Surveillance, Wiretapping and SpyCaming

One of several surveillance-related games at E3, "Watch Dogs" casts players as Aiden Pearce, a vigilante who can tap into security cameras and listen in on phone calls across a virtual rendition of an automated Chicago...

The timing of "Watch Dogs" is remarkable in light of recent revelations about the National Security Agency's controversial data-collection programs. They were revealed in media stories by The Guardian and The Washington Post, leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. 

Is "Watch Dogs" a case of a video game imitating life — or the other way around? (more)

Patent Wars - VoIP Wiretaps

After Microsoft acquired Skype, we looked at a Microsoft patent called "Legal Intercept" meant for monitoring and recording VoIP communications. At that time, there were questions about if Microsoft would ruin Skype by making a backdoor for easy spy and pry government and law enforcement access. But a California-based company called VoIP-Pal already had such a surveillance patent that is meant to "allow government agencies to 'silently record' VoIP communications."

The Microsoft patent was filed in December 2009, but a company called Digifonica (International) Limited had filed a similar wiretapping VoIP patent in 2007. Then, in May 2012, VoIP-Pal attained five VoIP patents from the acquisition of Digifonica Gibraltar. One of the five patents is called "Lawful Intercept" and is meant for "intercepting VoIP and other data communications." (more)

2012 China Report Released... no surprises.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission was created by Congress to report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China.

"This Report conveys our findings from the past year, along with providing recommendations to Congress about how best to respond to some of the problems we have identified."
2012 REPORT TO CONGRESS
 
Excerpts:
"Travelers to China sometimes report Chinese officials tampering with their electronic devices upon entry or exit. Customs or border enforcement entities may perform or enable such activities."

"Some corporate entities in China may engage in, support, or benefit from cyber espionage. The prevalence of stste-owned or -controlled enterprises in the telecommunications and IT sectorsin China mean that such activities would often constitute state sponsorship."

Just coincidence?

 

Industrial Espionage? You decide...

Just coincidence? There are many car designers in the world, but how many could independently come up designs this similar for 2012-2013?
 

Click to enlarge.

"Ford puts a great deal of emphasis on styling with the new Mondeo, saying that its sports coupe profile provides “visual lightness.” The lines are more angular than previous versions with a sharper crease along the side breaking the lines and providing a bit of visual flair. Up front, there’s a trapezoidal grille like something stolen off an Aston Martin..." (more)

Click to enlarge.

Could they be right? 
You decide.

While you're deciding, think about this. What are you doing to protect your bright ideas, business strategies and private conversations? Help is available. Give Murray Associates a call.

Create Your Own Headline For This One...

Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Ltd. has issued a report on cybersecurity that includes a pledge never to cooperate with spying in a fresh effort to allay concerns in the United States and elsewhere that threaten to hamper its expansion.

The report, written by a Huawei executive who is a former British official, calls for global efforts to create legal and technical security standards. It makes no recommendations for what standards to adopt but says current laws are inconsistent or fail to address important threats.

Huawei, founded by a former Chinese military engineer in 1987, has grown to become the world's second-largest supplier of telecoms network gear after Sweden's LM Ericsson. 

Suspicions that Huawei might be controlled by China's Communist Party or military have slowed its expansion in the United States and it was barred from bidding to take part in an Australian broadband project.

The company denies it is a security threat. (more)

The USB Stick-it-to-ya - Bad Practical Joke or Brilliant Security?

Imagine this...
You come into the possession of a USB memory stick. You think it has valuable information on it. Not your information, but valuable nonetheless.

You're smart enough to know it might contain spyware so you plug it into an isolated computer where spyware can do no harm. Then... Fab-a-dab-a-ZAP! Fizzle. Smoke. WTF?!?!

Your USB port is fried.

You inspect the stick more closely and pop open the cover. Someone has soldered all four of the output pins together! Grrr, a 100% short circuit. 

Bad practical joke or brilliant security? You decide.

Did the owner safeguard the information (the solder can be removed quite easily) in case of accidental loss, or did the owner just set you up for a nasty surprise?

Removing the solder and analyzing the information on the stick might yield the answer.

Why do I mention this? 

1. It is another reason to avoid USB sticks from untrusted or unknown sources.

2. It's a true story.

~Kevin

Was Skype reworked by Microsoft to make it easier to wiretap?

Skype supernodes are being centralized by Microsoft, but they deny wiretapping. But there's this patent they have to intercept VoIP phone calls...
 
Back in May, skype-open-source reported Skype, owned by Microsoft, had replaced user-hosted P2P supernodes with Linux grsec systems hosted by Microsoft. The shock wasn't that Microsoft is hosing Skype on Linux servers, but that centralization makes it possible to wiretap Skype communications. One big advantage of Skype has always been the decentralized and encrypted service was secure from eavesdropping.

Microsoft denies this, but the company applied for a patent on a technology called Legal Intercept to monitor and record Skype calls. Applied for before they purchased Skype, Microsoft specifically mentions intercepting calls on that service in the patent application. Conspiracy theorists now say they understand why Microsoft paid what seemed to be an unusually high price for Skype. (more)

iSnitch, ilLumiaNaughty & RIMshot Cell Out

India - Apple, Nokia and Research In Motion (RIM) gave Indian intelligence agencies secret access to encrypted smartphone communications as the price of doing business in the country, according to what appear to be leaked Indian government documents.

The purported documents, if they are real, indicate that the smartphone giants gave India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Indian military intelligence "backdoor" tools that would let the Indian agencies read encrypted emails sent to and from RIM's BlackBerrys, Apple's iPhones and Nokia smartphones...

A "decision was made earlier this year to sign an agreement with mobile manufacturers (MM) in exchange for the Indian market presence," the military intelligence document reads. (more)

"Murdock, he wrote."

Image courtesy of Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes

UK - A TV show personally overseen by Rupert Murdoch allegedly bugged the rooms of celebrities, politicians and other guests, the show's musical director told a friend shortly before his death, it has been claimed. The allegations came in a 'frantic' phone call from respected BBC journalist and musician, George Webley, days before Webley's untimely death in May, his friend John Romano said. “I have literally never talked to someone so afraid”, Romano said.

“Before his death, George Webley alleged that a News Corp entity bugged dressing rooms of celebs and politicos as far back as 1990. The allegation, if true, would show that News Corp had a pattern of bugging and hacking over a long period of time that went far beyond a rogue editor or reporter for News of the World,” Romano claimed...

“Murdoch-owned papers bugged people all the time, long before the time frame that they are accused of”, Webley claimed, according to Romano. After remaining silent for many years Webley had in 2011 taken his allegations of illegal bugging activity to UK authorities investigating News Corp, Romano believed, and he now feared for his safety, believing his phone was tapped and he was being followed.

“I’ve pissed some really powerful people off”, Webley told Romano in April this year. The BBC journalist seemed so frightened that Romano asked him if he felt his life was in danger. “No, Murdoch’s game is to destroy your life, not end it”, he replied. One week later, Webley died at home, aged 53. Local authorities are yet to release a report on his death but have not described it as suspicious. (more)

In a strange twist of fate, a man is brought to court on wiretapping charges because of a law passed at his brother's urging, a brother often burned by electronic surveillance revelations in the media and currently engulfed in his own legal quagmire because of them.

Italy - A judge in the northern city of Milan on Friday sent Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's brother to trial for the illegal publication of a wiretapped phone conversation in conservative Italian daily Il Giornale. (more)

Two CyberWar Hacking Stories. Just Coincidence? You decide.

China has admitted for the first time that it had poured massive investment into the formation of a 30-strong commando unit of cyberwarriors - a team supposedly trained to protect the People's Liberation Army from outside assault on its networks.

While the unit, known as the "Blue Army", is nominally defensive, the revelation is likely to confirm the worst fears of governments across the globe who already suspect that their systems and secrets may come under regular and co-ordinated Chinese cyberattack.

In a chilling reminder of China's potential cyberwarfare capabilities, a former PLA general told The Times that the unit had been drawn from an exceptionally deep talent pool. "It is just like ping-pong. We have more people playing it, so we are very good at it," he said. (more)

Lockheed Martin Cyber Attack: Routine, a Warning or a Possible Act of War?

Last Thursday, Reuters ran a story that the US defense firm Lockheed Martin was experiencing a major disruption to its computer systems because of cyber attack.

The Reuters story said that the attack began the weekend before and indicated that it involved the company's SecurID tokens which allow Lockheed's 126,000 employees "... to access Lockheed's internal network from outside its firewall."

As a result of the attack, Lockheed reset all of its employees' passwords.

Thought Wall Stickers:
• "You have no idea how many people are freaked out right now [about the SecurID breach] ... TASC is no longer treating the RSA device as if it were as secure as it was beforehand."

• As one military official in the WSJ article stated it: "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks."

A while back, I visited the new Cyber-war exhibit at the Spy Museum in DC. It was about just this sort of thing, and the consequences of remotely destroying electrical generators using code. The outcome is very scary. Glad to see folks waking up and smelling the coffee.

The hackers have done us a favor, this time. ~Kevin

Business Espionage: Ex-NYPD Detective SciSpy?

John Cook, writing for The New York Observer, has a very interesting piece today that alleges John Connolly – a former NYPD detective turned journalist, who has written for Vanity Fair, Gawker, and The Daily Beast – is a paid informant for the Church of Scientology.

The claims come from two previously high ranking members (they both defected) of the church: Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder. Supposedly Connolly has been using his reporter credentials to pump other media members for information on anything they were going to write regarding Scientology. (more)

You Don't Have to be NASA to Throw Up a Spy Satellite

Upstart startup rocket company SpaceX, helmed and bankrolled by renowned internet nerdwealth tycoon Elon Musk, is already taking NASA business away from the established American rocketry industry. Musk now appears to be targeting the potentially much bigger market for launching secret US spy satellites. (more)

Just Coincidence?
Russians Lose Spy Satellite Hours After Launch

Russia has reportedly lost contact with its newest military satellite just hours after launching it into space today, according to Russian reports. The satellite, called Geo-IK-2, blasted off atop a three-stage Rockot booster from Russia's northern Plesetsk Cosmodrome at about 5 p.m. Moscow Time (9 a.m. EST, 1400 GMT). But just two hours after liftoff, the satellite went missing, according to Russia's Itar-Tass and Interfax news agencies. (more)

Massive eavesdropping in Bulgaria? You decide.

• Every third eavesdropping in Bulgaria illegal (more)

• Brussels Alarmed over Avalanche of Wiretaps in Bulgaria (more)

• It is not true millions of Bulgarians are being wiretapped: interior minister (more)

 

Espionagedottir in Iceland - Mysterious

Iceland - An unmarked computer found in a spare room of parliament, and connected directly to parliament's internet system, was most certainly planted there, a computer expert told the Grapevine. However, he says, the media has a few misconceptions about the matter.

The computer in question was found in a spare room shared by the Independence Party and The Movement last February. It was apparently connected directly to parliament's internet system.

The computer was disconnected and taken to the police. Any identifying serial numbers had been erased from the machine, nor were any fingerprints found, and its origins have not yet been traced. The police believed that the matter was the work of professionals. (more)

Backstory?

"The office had been used by substitute MPs from the Independence Party and The Movement, the Parliamentary group of Birgitta Jonsdottir, whose Twitter account was recently subpoenaed by US authorities. The Icelandic daily Morgunbladid, under the editorship of Mr David Oddsson, former Prime Minister and Central Bank chief, has suggested that this might be an operation run by Wikileaks. The reporter for the Reykjavik Grapevine, Mr Paul Nikolov is a former substitute MP, having taken seat in Parliament in 2007 and 2008." (more)

How Your Boss Knows Your XBox Habits

via windowsitpro.com

Q. I'm a boss who tricked my workers into adding me as Xbox Live friends. How can I spy on them when they're "working" from home to make sure they're not playing Xbox?

A. One of the great features of the Xbox and its online service is the integration with the xbox.com website. It lets you easily see all your Xbox friends. It can be abused by mean bosses to quickly, in table form, see the last time the friends were on XBOX and what they were doing. 

Just perform the following:
Go to www.xbox.com and select "Sign In" in the top right of the xbox.com site.
• Sign in with the Live ID associated with your XBox Live ID.
• Click on your own profile.
• Select View All Friends under Friends.
You can see who's online, who's offline, when they were last online, and what everyone is or was doing. (more)