The Rise of Workplace Spying

A growing number of companies are using technology to monitor their employees' emails, phone calls, and movements. Here's everything you need to know:

How are employees being tracked?
In almost every way...

When did companies start snooping?
Bosses have always kept a close eye on employees. Henry Ford famously paced the factory floor with a stopwatch, timing his workers' motions in a bid for greater efficiency. He also hired private investigators to spy on employees' home lives to make sure personal problems didn't interfere with their work performance...  

Does this boost efficiency?
Yes, according to the data...

Who does the actual monitoring?
It's all done automatically: Software programs scan employees' email accounts and computer files and alert supervisors to anything inappropriate...

What else are they looking for?
Some companies search for evidence that employees might be thinking about quitting...

Can employees stop this tracking?
Generally, no. Most employee contracts give management free rein to do what it wants with data gathered from office-issued equipment, but some surveilled workers are fighting back...

Listening in at the water cooler.
If you find the idea of your boss reading your emails creepy, how about having your location, tone of voice, and conversation length monitored throughout the working day? Boston-based analytics firm Sociometric Solutions has supplied some 20 companies with employee ID badges fitted with microphone, location sensor, and accelerometer... more

Let's YTRAP, mate!

A new kind of party craze has many Australians scrambling for invitations. 

Crypto parties, where people gather to learn online encryption, are attracting everyone from politicians, to business people, to activists.

Two years after US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents from the National Security Agency exposing mass global internet surveillance, there is rapidly growing interest in protecting online activity.

There have been crypto parties in Brazil, Germany and the UK, and more than a dozen have already been held in Australia.

Apps like Wickr, Confide and WhatsApp have taken encryption out of the geek lab and to the masses. more

Canadians Concerned About Bill C-51's Surveillance Powers

Canadians should be “spooked” by the enhanced powers spies are going to get, says a national security expert.

Agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service will not just be capable of eavesdropping and opening other people’s mail, according to Reg Whitaker.

The Vancouver Island-based academic and author of The End of Privacy: How Total Surveillance is Becoming a Reality said they’ll be able to do pretty much everything, short of murder, torture, sexual assault, and obstruction of justice.

That’s care of Bill C-51, the federal Liberal party-backed anti-terrorism bill introduced by the Conservatives in Parliament.

“The way that legislation is drawn up, anything,” Whitaker told the Straight in a phone interview. “I mean, it’s open ended. It’s a blank cheque.” more

Busman's Holiday, or Moonlighting Surveillance

Australia - A police officer installed a tracking device on a woman's car illegally to detail her movements, a magistrates court in Perth has been told.

The detective sergeant, who has been a police officer for more than 20 years, was on holiday at the time of the alleged offence with the woman's boyfriend, also a police officer.
(more)
(Sing-a-long)

Privacy Quote of the Week

"The age of information-sharing is brilliant, as long as you have no secrets."
~ Heather du Plessis-Allan

 

...your spoken words will be transmitted to a third party via Voice Recognition.

As the number of connected devices — aka the Internet of Things, aka the sensornet — proliferates so too does the number of devices leaning on voice recognition technology as an interface to allow for hands free control...

The potential privacy intrusion of voice-activated services is massive. Samsung, which makes a series of Internet connected TVs, has a supplementary privacy policy covering its Smart TVs which includes the following section on voice recognition:

You can control your SmartTV, and use many of its features, with voice commands... Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.

When all the objects in your home have networked ears that are fine-tuned for commercial intelligence gathering, where will you go to talk about “personal” or “sensitive” stuff?
(more)

Security Director Alert - DarkLeaks - The Espionage Bazaar

It looks like the days when concerned individuals share the inner secrets of corporations and governments only due to their nagging consciences are numbered, from here on in they will do so for nothing more than a fast buck. 

A new WikiLeaks-style website has recently been announced that will reward its contributors with Bitcoins in exchange for information.  

If the most valuable commodity is information then it is about to get its own hypermarket; DarkLeaks will allow uses to sell leaked data to the highest bidder in an anonymous blockchain-powered environment where anything goes.

DarkLeaks is being developed by unSystem who are behind DarkWallet, and DarkMarket an anonymous ebay-style marketplace which unlike Silk Road operates on the P2P model so that there is no central point of failure for law enforcement to take down.

The DarkLeaks system is so secure that it does not even allow communication between the seller and the buyer of information. Their website states: “The software uses bitcoin’s blockchain to encrypt files which are released when payment is claimed by the leaker. Files are split into segments and encrypted. These segments are unlocked only when the leaker reveals the key by claiming his bitcoins.”

There are also no limits on the type of content that can be bought and sold. Everything from evidence of corporate corruption to naked pictures of celebrities is up for grabs. UnSystem developer Amir Taaki has told CoinDesk that platforms like DarkLeaks provide a financial incentive for insiders to reveal information thereby “devaluing business models based around proprietary secrecy”.
(more)

This is going to be a BIG problem for corporations. 
Those without a counterespionage strategy will hurt first.

What Do These 3 Spy Tools Have in Common?

SPIKE MIC™
The Spike Mic Launcher is a remote listening device delivering audio surveillance. The Spike Mic dart has a built in microphone with two interchangeable tips: Sticky Dart and Suction Cup. Launch it or stick it to a surface and listen. With a live audio feed you’ll remain undetected as you hear conversations happening in far away locations. Digital transmission in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band.

TRI-OPTICS VIDEO WATCH™
Record up to 20 minutes of video using 3 unique lenses on the Tri-Optics Video Watch. Rotate the watch’s outer ring to switch between standard, wide or zoom lenses. Hide your watch in an unsuspecting location and let the internal motion detector auto-record video whenever it detects movement. Use the included USB cable to download your footage and charge the Tri-Optics Video Watch. Stream, record and capture live video and photos.

SPY WIRE MIC™
Spy Wire Mic lets you record conversations covertly! Attach the recording device to your belt and line your jacket with the wired microphone. Press the record button to activate audio recording and capture conversation.

ANSWERS
• Low price (between $9.99 and $39.99)
• Available at Walmart.
• Recommended for ages 8+

Building a generation of adults predisposed to snooping one birthday at a time.

Hacktivist Group Anonymous Finds a Worthy Target

Hacktivist group Anonymous has come out to avenge the attacks on the office of Paris-based magazine Charlie Hebdo in which 12 people were murdered.

The Belgian 'branch' of Anonymous posted a video message to YouTube describing a new campaign against jihadists, called #OpCharlieHebdo.

The video, which features someone wearing the Guy Fawkes mask and speaking with their voice obscured, explains (in French) that its members have decided to "declare war on you, the terrorists" - referring to Al-Qaeda and ISIS specifically.

"We will track you down - every last one - and will kill you,” the spokesman says. "You allowed yourselves to kill innocent people, we will therefore avenge their deaths."

The figure says that 'hacktivists' from around the world will track all of jihadist activities online and close down their accounts on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

"You will not impose your sharia law in our democracies, we will not let your stupidity kill our liberties and our freedom of expression. We have warned you; expect your destruction."
(more) “Je Suis Charlie”

Is it OK to spy on your kids? (CNN)

Whether you think spying on your kids is acceptable in today's digital age or a breach of trust seems to really depend on how you define "spying" in the first place.

In conversations over email with parents across the country, it's clear that people have dramatically different views about the definition and whether it's an appropriate behavior to help keep children safe.

"I don't call it spying. I call it parenting," said Amanda Rodriguez, a mom of three boys in Frederick, Maryland... On the other side are parents such as Lori Day, an educational psychologist and mom of a daughter in graduate school, who considers spying "an invasion or privacy and a violation of trust."
(more)

Elf on the Shelf - Naughty or nice – or maybe just creepy?

Since 2005, the Elf on the Shelf has been a holiday tradition in homes. Children love seeing the little elf pop up in unexpected places. But one Canadian professor says the doll is not all fun and games — it’s teaching children to accept people spying on them.

In her paper, published in the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives, Laura Pinto... argues that the children with an elf in their home, often cater to and try to always be on their best behavior for the doll, a fictional representation of power, instead of “engaging in and honing understandings of social relationships with peers, parents, teachers, and ‘real life’ others.”

The professor tells the Toronto Star, “If you grow up thinking it’s cool for the elves to watch me and report back to Santa, well, then it’s cool for the NSA to watch me and report back to the government.” (more)

Double Check Your Tech

via Bruce Schneier...
This is a creepy story. The FBI wanted access to a hotel guest's room without a warrant. So agents broke his Internet connection, and then posed as Internet technicians to gain access to his hotel room without a warrant.

From the motion to suppress:

The next time you call for assistance because the internet
service in your home is not working, the "technician" who comes
to your door may actually be an undercover government agent.
He will have secretly disconnected the service, knowing that
you will naturally call for help and -- when he shows up at
your door, impersonating a technician -- let him in. He will
walk through each room of your house, claiming to diagnose the
problem. Actually, he will be videotaping everything (and
everyone) inside. He will have no reason to suspect you have
broken the law, much less probable cause to obtain a search
warrant. But that makes no difference, because by letting him
in, you will have "consented" to an intrusive search of your
home.

Basically, the agents snooped around the hotel room, and gathered evidence that they submitted to a magistrate to get a warrant. Of course, they never told the judge that they had engineered the whole outage and planted the fake technicians. (more)

Covert Video Leaves Business Running Around Like a Chicken with its...

TN - Koch Foods on Wednesday denied its Chattanooga processing plant is inhumanely treating chickens by scalding the birds alive and shackling them upside-down before slicing open their throats, wings and chests while still conscious.

The allegations by animal protection group Mercy for Animals...
 

The Los Angeles-based group released covert video that it said was taken inside the Koch Chattanooga plant and another operation in Mississippi, complaining that workers are also cruelly throwing chickens and hiding cockroaches from federal inspectors.

The video, narrated by The Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon, demanded that Illinois-based Koch adopt new animal welfare standards to prevent future abuse. (more) 

P.S. Last year, Tennessee legislators enacted what critics dubbed an “ag-gag” bill they charged was intended to prevent investigations similar to the Mercy for Animals undercover operations as well as one that targeted Tennessee Walking Horse industry abuse.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed the bill after getting deluged with complaints, including a plea from country music star Carrie Underwood.

Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage

In this penetrating work of investigative and historical journalism, Eamon Javers explores the dangerous and combustible power spies hold over international business.

Today's global economy has a dark underbelly: the world of corporate espionage. Using cutting-edge technology, age-old techniques of deceit and manipulation, and sheer talent, spies act as the hidden puppeteers of globalized businesses... Readers meet the spies who conduct surveillance operations, satellite analysts who peer down on corporate targets from the skies, veteran CIA officers who work for hedge funds, and even a Soviet military intelligence officer who now sells his services to American companies.

Intelligence companies and the spies they employ are setting up fake Web sites to elicit information, trailing individuals and mirroring travel itineraries, dumpster-diving in household and corporate trash, using ultrasophisticated satellite surveillance to spy on facilities, acting as impostors to take jobs within companies or to gain access to corporations, concocting elaborate schemes of fraud and deceit, and hacking e-mail and secure computer networks.

This globalized industry is not a recent phenomenon, but rather a continuation of a fascinating history. The story begins with Allan Pinkerton, the nation's first true "private eye," and extends through the annals of a rich history that includes tycoons and playboys, presidents and FBI operatives, CEOs and accountants, Cold War veterans and military personnel. (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.

NJ's Top Court Proposes Change to Spousal Immunity

New Jersey's Supreme Court is proposing an exception to the law that keeps conversations between a husband and wife private...

The state's highest court sided with the appeals court that marital communication does not lose its privacy just because it's heard by wiretap. But the justices proposed that the Legislature create a crime-fraud exception when spouses are jointly involved in criminal activity. (more)

Proof the Surveillance Society is Making us Crazy - CV Dazzle

This is how bad things are getting...

"The NSA made me slather my face in make-up... I had slathered the paint on my face in order to hide from computers. The patterns in which I applied the paint were important: To the pixel-calculating machinations of facial recognition algorithms, they transformed my face into a mess of unremarkable pixels. In the computer’s vision, my face caused a momentary burst of confusion. That’s why the patterns are called computer vision dazzle (or CV dazzle). When it works, CV dazzle keeps facial-recognition algorithms from seeing a face...

...more unexpected was what CV dazzle taught me about the physical world. It reminded me of another tech experiment I’d undertaken: 

My phone’s Reminders app can tie a message to a specific place, it triggers an alert tone every time a user comes within 500 feet. I’d tried tying these reminders to a different kind of location—the 176 embassies and diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C. Whenever I got within a couple hundred feet of one, my phone sent me a little ping: “Iceland.” “Thailand.” “Equitorial New Guinea.”...

...here is the essence of CV dazzle’s strangeness: The very thing that makes you invisible to computers makes you glaringly obvious to other humans."  (more) (official site cvdazzle.com)


Blank Reg would have loved this.

The Trust But Verify App ..."text my other phone."

mCouple is something you can download on your Android and iOS devices to keep track of your partners.

So if someone thinks their significant other is cheating on them or if they’re anxious about who their partner is talking to and where he/she is going... (You get the idea.) It works in a two-way fashion, so both the partners need to have it installed on their devices in order to take advantage of it... 

...its key concept is that all the history from you device will be accessible on your partner’s device. This means, any call or message you get during your day will be accessible on your partner’s connected smartphone without any bounds.

The same applies for contact entries made by you as well. ...its GPS tracking attribute makes it possible to track every move your partner makes. Facebook hasn’t been kept out of mCouple’s purview as well, with partners having been given the option of viewing all the Facebook chats of their significant others. (more)

FutureWatch: An in-app purchase offer for the Instant Alibi upgrade feature :)

Surveilling Celebrities Does A 180º Turnabout

Facebook launched a new app on Thursday, but you can’t get it unless you’re famous. Seriously. Facebook mentions is a new tool that allows celebs to keep constant tabs on what you, your Aunt Helen, the dude who works at your coffee shop, and everyone else in the world are saying about them on Facebook all day in the form of a constantly updating RSS feed! (more)

Outrageous Phone Tap of the Month

via Techlicious...
If you’ve ever tried to cut the cable TV cord, then you know how difficult an experience it can be. Your cable company has customer retention specialists trained to do whatever it takes to keep you as a customer. Usually, this just means offering leaving customers better prices to entice them to stay. Usually.

Last week, AOL executive Ryan Block and his wife Veronica Belmont called up Comcast to close their account and switch to another cable provider. Their customer service rep would have none of it, however. After 10 minutes of unsuccessfully trying to end service via the worst customer service agent in the world, Belmont handed the phone over to Block, who had the foresight to start recording the conversation. (more)