Weird Science - Eavesdropping 3,000 miles away while underwater

1944 - Maurice Ewing and a team of American scientists... believed there may be a layer in the ocean where a combination of pressure and temperature create a narrow channel where certain low-frequency sounds would travel long distances.

In the deep waters of the Atlantic, researches dropped several explosives containing four pounds of dynamite, each timed to detonate at a different depth. Using an underwater microphone called a hydrophone, a second boat stationed 900 miles away successfully detected the sounds.

Subsequent tests picked up the signal at a distance of 3,000 miles.



The discovery of the SOFAR sound channel opened up a new way to study the world's oceans, as well as a unique tool in the nation's defense.
(more)

Snow Day Project - Make a Sneaky Snake Spycam for <$20.

It's snowing here in the Northeast United States. Tomorrow will be a down day. Need a spy project to combat cabin fever? This guy shows you how...

Get ready for a 'Mystery Science Theater' streaming marathon

Football schmootball. Instead of watching NFL teams throw the pigskin around this Thanksgiving, why not watch a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" marathon with new intros by the series creator? (more)

The Official Spybuster sticker is back!

Our beautiful, 4 inch, heavy vinyl Official Spybuster sticker is back! This was a limited edition give-a-way to our clients in 2011. Use it to let everyone know you support privacy.

4 inch, heavy vinyl

The printing experts at Stickermule now have it for sale in their Marketplace.

If spying by the NSA, FBI, CIA, TSA, GCHQ, MI5, MI6, other government spies, your significant other, or your parents concerns you, sticker it to them. 

If you are in Homeland Security, the NSA, FBI, CIA, GCHQ, MI5, MI6 – protecting us against spies (thank you) – sticker it to them. 

Either way, proudly declare, "I'm mad as Hell, and I am not going to take it anymore!"

Looks great on a white coffee cup.

Spy Bits

ISM Bugging Out
The revelation this week that the International Spy Museum would be once again hitting the pavement in search of a new home got us thinking: Where else in the District might work for the popular museum? (more)

ISIS Changing Name

During the premiere episode of the sixth season of Archer, FX’s outrageously funny animated spy series, spy matriarch Malory Archer is seen speaking on the phone with her juvenile, coddled son. In the background, you can see two movers rolling out a large, circular blue ISIS sign... for the past five seasons, ISIS (International Secret Intelligence Service) has been the name for the underground, non-government approved, New York City-based spy organization at the heart of the show. In light of recent events, however, creator Adam Reed along with executive producers Matt Thompson and Casey Willis—made a decision to quietly eliminate the acronym from their show. (more)

HHSC Wants Blimpies
Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Friday that he wants to redeploy U.S. military spy blimps in Afghanistan to America’s southern border. (more) Poop on them if they don't know about this. (more)

Former NSA Head Said 
“Our data’s in there (NSA databases), my data’s in there. If I talk to an Al Qaeda operative, the chances of my data being looked at is really good, so I try not to do that. If you don’t want to you shouldn’t either,” he told MIRcon delegates. (more)

Watch Out: Your Innkeeper is Spying on You and Other Confessions of a B&B Owner

Plenty of people dream about quitting their day job, buying that fixer-upper farmhouse, and opening a bed-and-breakfast. Those B&B owners seem so happy. Well, everything isn’t quite as idyllic as it seems. We got one set of innkeepers — “Bob and Emily” — to anonymously spill the beans on what really happens behind those perfectly painted shutters.

This week. Bob and Emliy reveal the sordid side of running an inn. Here are some things you probably don’t want to know the next time you check into that seemingly quaint country B&B.  (more)

Information Security Management - Distance Learning Course

Your information assets have never been more crucial, more valuable, or more at risk. This is why information security is becoming a crucial business priority in many organizations. Moreover, complying with (international) information standards and guidelines (such as the NIST Handbook, ISO 17799, CobiT, and ITIL Security Management) is becoming a hot issue worldwide.
This unique distance learning course provides you with vital information for developing or reviewing your information security management framework. The course will help you determine the levels of risk your organization is facing and the steps you will need to take to provide adequate protection.
 
The course will be of particular benefit to:

• CIOs, CISOs and anyone who has direct line responsibility for information security
• Business Continuity Planners, Asset Managers, Risk Managers
• Legal Advisors and Corporate Security Consultants
• Company Secretaries, Finance Directors and Auditors (more)

Coming Soon - The "Pssst. Don't go walking there alone" App

SketchFactor is a navigation app that shows the relative sketchiness of an area. It's focused on improving city exploration on foot. SketchFactor empowers users to report sketchy experiences, read sketchy incidents, and get directions to where they need to go in the least sketchy way possible.

What does sketchy mean?
Sketchy means a number of different things. To you, it may mean dangerous. To someone else, it may mean weird.
 
What can I report?
You can report any sketchy incident you see fit. (more)

FutureWatch: If this gains traction, like Yelp, it will become a whole lot more than just a personal app. Police, criminologists, city planners, security consultants, taxi cab companies and more will find use for the data this generates. Imagine a real-time SketchFactor overlay for Google maps.

From the 'Things are Tough All Over' Files - Scottish Espionage Bankrupt

A renowned four-floor Old Town nightclub has been put up for sale after its parent companies plunged into administration.

Dozens of jobs are at risk while the future of Espionage – based inside India Buildings in Victoria Street – is thrashed out. (more)

Russia Goes Retro with Cuban Spy Base

Russia is trying to reopen a Cold War-era spy base in Cuba.

During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Cuba earlier this month, Putin and Cuban officials reportedly reached a provisional agreement to reopen the signals intelligence facility in Lourdes, Cuba, south of Havana...

The Lourdes base was first opened in 1964 and was used to intercept communications in the U.S. and throughout the Western Hemisphere. Some estimate that as much as 50 percent of the radio-intercepted intelligence that the Soviet Union collected on the U.S. during the Cold War came from Lourdes. Putin closed the facility back in 2001, citing it as a “goodwill gesture” toward the U.S., which had long expressed concerns about the Russian spy station. However, many analysts believed the real reason behind the decision was the $200 million-a-year rent that Moscow was reportedly paying to Cuba to maintain the base.

According to The Guardian, “the Lourdes facility was the Soviet Union’s largest foreign base, a mere 155 miles from the U.S. coast. It employed up to 3,000 military and intelligence personnel to intercept a wide array of American telephone and radio communications.” (more)

Could Drones be the New Force Multiplier for Physical Security?

The use of drones for physical security is limited only by the imagination and battery life, says J. Patrick Murphy, president of LPT Security Consulting.

He envisions drones being used for security purposes in mall parking lots and at oil refineries and other big plants, at hospitals and schools.

Murphy recently had the opportunity to see what camera-mounted drones can offer. He was on an assignment for a Houston-based clinic/pharmaceutical chain, conducting a security assessment of their buildings. As part of that, he needed to do a light(ing) study.

“We went to the parking lot in one location and did a walk-around in the daytime,” Murphy told Security Director News.

Then, he contacted local drone manufacturer and pilot Michael Sclafani of West Fork Drones for a nighttime flyover. “It just blew me away because of the functionality and maneuverability,” Murphy said of the flyover... With the drone, he was able to see which trees were blocking certain lights and the shadows that resulted. “That’s a story told that I probably would have missed otherwise,” he said. (more)

Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE X) Conference - New York City, July 18-20

HOPE X will take place on July 18, 19, and 20, 2014 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. H.O.P.E. stands for Hackers On Planet Earth, one of the most creative and diverse hacker events in the world. It's been happening since 1994.

Three full days and nights of activities, including the provocative and enlightening speakers for which the HOPE conferences are known. In addition, there will be access to a massive amount of space to put together all sorts of hacker projects and assorted fun stuff.

Pre-register for HOPE X! Tickets are on sale at the 2600 store or can be purchased with Bitcoins! (more)

Translation: Make an Artificial Brain That Can Think Like a Spy.... then make us a zillion of them.

A secretive United States intelligence organization has organized a conference to find firms capable of creating computer algorithms that learn in a similar manner to the human brain...

The July 17 conference in College Park, Maryland, gives prospective companies time to deliver presentations and slide shows of their existing research.

IARPA says it is involved in "high-payoff research programs to tackle some of the most difficult challenges of the agencies and disciplines in the intelligence community".

It undertakes research for more than a dozen organizations, including the Pentagon, the CIA and the National Security Agency. (more)

Firstcall Chair - The New Cone of Silence

‘Firstcall’ chair is designed to keep your personal conversation from escaping out while its doughnut like backrest is inclined in such a way so as to hide your face.


Developed by Dutch designer Ruud van Wier in collaboration with manufacturer Easy NoiseControl, the ‘Firstcall’ chair is made in a recognizable shape of a classic old phone. It has sound-absorbing upholstery to block surrounding noise ensuring you can concentrate despite being surrounded by people.


The design of the First Call phone chair is directed to short calls. It is therefore not chosen an easy chair where you can doze or not to stand out. Suitable locations include offices, waiting rooms, showrooms, shops, and public places such as airports or scholarships.


The chair is available in 32 colors across the Firstcall retails at Easy NoiseControl for €2,900 (or around $3,970). (more) (more)

World's Slowest Surveillance Cameras Will Spy on Berlin for the Next 100 Years

The city of Berlin, currently undergoing the biggest real estate boom since German reunification, has been chosen to pilot a global initiative monitoring urban development and decay over the next century. Instigated by experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats in cooperation with the Berlin-based team titanic gallery, the unauthorized surveillance program will use ultra-long-exposure cameras to continuously document 100 years of municipal growth and decay for scrutiny and judgment by future generations.  

Camera in situ. Click to enlarge.

"The first people to see these photos will be children who haven't yet been conceived," says Mr. Keats. "They're impacted by every decision we make, but they're powerless. If anyone has the right to spy on us, it's our descendants."

To facilitate intergenerational surveillance in Berlin and other yet-to-be-disclosed cities, Mr. Keats has invented a new photographic system based on the traditional pinhole camera. "My photographic time capsules are extremely simple, since anything complicated is liable to break," says Mr. Keats. The cameras use sheets of black paper in place of ordinary film. The pinhole focuses light on the black paper sheet, such that the paper fades most where the light is brightest, very slowly creating a unique positive image of the scene in front of the camera. "The photograph not only shows a location, but also shows how the place changes over time," Mr. Keats explains. "For instance an old apartment building torn down after a quarter century will show up only faintly, as if it were a ghost haunting the skyscraper that replaces it." 

CenturyCamera will be released on 16 May 2014 from 7:00 PM until midnight at an opening reception organized by team titanic at Friedelstrasse 29 in Berlin-Neukölln. Jonathon Keats will be on hand to demonstrate the new technology. (more)

Coffee Table Fit for a Spy

via Cup of Zup...

The unique Kai Table is designed by Naoki Hirakoso and Takamitsu Kitahara and features an incredible amount of hidden compartments that allows you to stash away money, possessions and secrets. 

Now you don’t just have a regular coffee table but one heck of a awesome piece of furniture.

600,000 YEN – Ex-warehouse
(more)

An Extraordinary Collection of Spy Cameras

'Willie Feinberg was not a spy as far as we know," says Charles Leski of Mossgreen Auctions, "but he certainly understood their tradecraft."

Click to enlarge.

Evidence of this is his extraordinary collection of 225 miniature cameras, many designed especially for spying and espionage. These went on sale through Mossgreen in Melbourne on April 13, and sold well, fetching a total of $75,847 (including buyer's premiums, IBP). The average result was 10 per cent above estimates.

Click to enlarge.

Leski says there were about 50 people in the rooms and another 150 participating by phone, on the web and through prior bids. Foreign interest came from Germany, China and the United States.

There was strong interest in Feinberg's spy cameras, with some having the joke-shop quality of Get Smart. (more)

Click to enlarge.

Smartphone kill-switch could save consumers $2.6 billion per year...

...and why you will probably never see it.
Technology that remotely makes a stolen smartphone useless could save American consumers up to $2.6 billion per year if it is implemented widely and leads to a reduction in theft of phones, according to a new report...

Americans currently spend around $580 million replacing stolen phones each year and $4.8 billion paying for handset insurance... (more)

Do you really think phone and insurance companies are going to kill this goose?

In Washington, DC this Spring? Need Something Cool to Do?

Check out The International Spy Museum...

So, the question is not what's in your wallet, but what's on your key ring...

via Futility Closet...
After observing security measures at a number of organizations, University of California psychologist Robert Sommer reflected that a person’s status seems to be tied to his keyring:


S is a person’s status within the organization, D is the number of doors he must open to perform his job, and K is the number of keys he carries. A janitor who can open 20 doors but must carry 20 keys has a status of 1; he’s outranked by a secretary who can open only two doors but can do it with a single key. A staff scientist who can open six doors or cupboards using two keys has status 3, and the lab director might open 15 doors with three keys, giving him a status score of 5.

They’re all outranked by the president of the company, who never has to carry keys at all, since there’s always someone around to open doors for him. “With a K of zero and a high D,” Sommer concluded wryly, “his status rank in the company reaches infinity.”

(“Keys, Kings and Kompanies,” from The Worm Runner’s Digest, 3:1 [March 1961], 52-54)