Showing posts with label poll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poll. Show all posts

Friday, March 4, 2016

Top 20 Spy Gadgets from the Cold War

(More photos here.)
1. Dual cyanide gun: This gun fires a dual cyanide charge that can kill a person almost instantly. A KGB officer, Bogdan Stashinsky, assassinated two Ukrainian dissidents who were living in Germany by hiding the weapon inside a rolled-up newspaper.
2. Dead drop spy bolt: The dead drop spy bolt was hollow on the inside so that men and women could carry secret messages safely to others. If someone searched the pockets of these people no one would expect anything dangerous about a bolt.
3. Decoder lock picks: These lock picks were generally used for some of the tougher, more sophisticated locks. The devices proved to be real handy for those breaking into enemy quarters.
4. Lipstick gun: Women were some of the most successful spies during the war. They were able to carry around this little 4.5 millimeter single-shot gun in the 1960s. Like the spy bolt, it seemed harmless and was easy to conceal.
5.Telephone monitoring equipment: Spies carried this around and hacked into telephone conversations. The equipment includes a batter, stethoscope and rubber bands.
6. Disappearing ink pen: If someone needed to send a secret message, they would resort to writing it with the disappearing ink. That way, if they were caught with the message only a blank piece of paper would be seen. In order to reveal the hidden message on the paper, the recipient would’ve needed vinegar and a heat source.
7. Document photographing: If a spy found useful documents, they would photograph the papers for their records without actually removing them. The piece of equipment they used had two long lights on both sides and a cross member the camera screws on to for straight and steady photos.
8 .Glove pistol: Although the glove pistol was originally made by the United States Navy, it was eventually copied by the KGB. You had to push the plunger into the enemy’s body for it to shoot. The glove is inconspicuous, especially if a jacket covers the pistol part on top of the glove.
9. Key copying kit: This small kit came in a small, convenient tin with a brick of clay to be used for copying any key the soldiers or spies might need.
10. Hollow coin: Spies used hollowed-out coins to transfer film to others. If stopped, no one would suspect a coin to be useful in passing information from person to person.
11. Camera hidden in the coat jacket: The person wearing the jacket would have a little button on the inside of the pocket to click whenever they needed to take a photo.
12. Pen camera: All the spy needed to do was click the top of the ball point pen and they would take a photo. Once again, thanks to the item being so inconspicuous, it was easy to bring around without looking suspicious.
13. A gun case: A special kind of silver gun case was able to hide a larger gun such as the AK-47.
14. Cufflinks: These 1950s cufflinks had small holes in them for hiding microfilm.
15. Button compass: A majority of spies went to foreign countries during the time of the Cold War. These compasses were hidden in the buttons on their jackets in case they got lost or needed to go in a different direction.
16. Shoe transmitting device: The easiest way to keep track of spies was a transmitting device on the inside of a shoe heel. The men’s shoe heel was thick enough to hold all of the necessary parts of the device.
17.The passive bug:These bugs were planted on the inside of a large wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States. The Great Seal was given by the Soviets to the U.S. Ambassador to the USSR in 1945. The bug wasn’t discovered until eight years later.
18. Parachuting/civilian shoes: Spies had to parachute from planes, and they had to wear special boots. But they also had to blend into the crowd. This resulted in zip-off boot tops on regular civilian shoes. All the spies would have to do after jumping was zip off the boot part.
19. Steineck ABC wristwatch camera: The wristwatch was made in 1949 by the Germans but was used by the KGB for more than telling time.On the the bottom part of the watch there is a shutter and buttons for taking photos.
20. Poison dart umbrella: This umbrella was actually used to kill Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov in London in 1978. Markov was waiting for the bus to take him to work when was murdered with a sting in the back of his leg. He died three days later in the hospital of ricin poisoning. His autopsy showed a small hole in the back of his leg.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Spy equipment suppliers: Report exposes who sells surveillance tech to Colombia

A baby's car seat complete with audio and video recorder for covert surveillance...


Privacy International's investigative report reveals the companies selling surveillance tech to Columbia, despite that it may be used for unlawful spying. more 

Friday, March 28, 2014

Over 50% of Android Users Don't Use Passwords, Pins or Meaningful Swipes

An ad hoc survey conducted by Google's anti-abuse research lead Elie Bursztein has shown that over half of Android users don't lock their phones in any meaningful way. 
Click to enlarge.

After polling 1,500 users, he discovered that 52 percent of those users "open" their device with a simple slide or gesture, 25.5 percent have opted to locking their phones with drawing a pattern on a grid, and 15.1 percent are using a PIN.


Only 3.3 percent have opted for using a password, 2.3 percent for the option where the phone can recognize their face, and 1.8 percent are using other, 3rd party forms of authentication...
 
...no security is perfect. Both lock patterns and PIN codes can be vulnerable to smudge attacks, as a 2010 Usenix paper illustrates. So whether you use a PIN or a pattern you should change it from time to time. You might also want to go to your phone’s options screen and disable the display of the pattern so people can’t “shouldersurf” it. (more)

Friday, March 21, 2014

Leaving us to wonder what everyone else said...

Wireless surveillance (company) iWatchLife today released the results of a new poll indicating that nearly one in three people are completely comfortable with the idea of using electronic surveillance to watch over their elderly parents who live alone.

The poll, commissioned by iWatchLife and undertaken by Persona Research on March 16, 2014, surveyed 500 people. Respondents were asked if they would ever consider using electronic surveillance to ensure that their parents were safe. Over 30 percent said yes. (more)

Friday, April 26, 2013

Spouse Spying Increase Seen By 92% of Divorce Attorneys

In this new age of technology, spy gadgets are no longer just for actors in James Bond movies. Studies show more spouses are using spy equipment to catch the other red-handed.


The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says in the past three years 92 percent of divorce attorneys saw an increase in evidence from text messages, emails and GPS trackers. In fact in 2011, a Minnesota man was thrown in jail for installing a GPS on his wife's car as he searched for proof she was cheating.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Mobile Phones and Privacy

Mobile phones are a rich source of personal information about individuals. Both private and public sector actors seek to collect this information. 

Facebook, among other companies, recently ignited a controversy by collecting contact lists from users’ mobile phones via its mobile app. A recent Congressional investigation found that law enforcement agencies sought access to wireless phone records over one million times in 2011. As these developments receive greater attention in the media, a public policy debate has started concerning the collection and use of information by private and public actors.

To inform this debate and to better understand Americans’ attitudes towards privacy in data generated by or stored on mobile phones, we commissioned a nationwide, telephonic (both wireline and wireless) survey of 1,200 households focusing upon mobile privacy issues. (more) (download Mobile Phones and Privacy)

Monday, March 28, 2011

"Have you ever been the victim of..." poll results.

Click to enlarge.
Kevin's Security Scrapbook has been running this poll for several months now. It is a follow-up to a similar poll we ran a few years ago. Time to look at the results.

Not much has changed. No one surveillance tactic is more popular than another. People will use any tool or tactic that does the job.
This parallels our corporate counterespionage field experience.

Thanks to all who shared their experience with us. ~Kevin


Sunday, January 16, 2011

Thursday, September 16, 2010

"Hey, boss. Check your office lately?"

Monster Worldwide, Inc., recently polled its U.S. visitors to gauge their feelings towards bosses... The August poll also asked Americans that if they could spy or eavesdrop on their boss without getting caught, would they? 

More than half of the 2,153 respondents (57 percent) said they want to know what their bosses are saying about them behind closed doors. Only 12 percent say they would not eavesdrop on their boss because they are afraid of what they might hear. (more)

Funny, this mirrors our eavesdropping detection findings. About half of the corporate eavesdropping cases we solve are "inside jobs." 

If you haven't checked your office lately, give a call (from somewhere other than your office) to the person who hosts Kevin's Security Scrapbook in your area. These counterespionage specialists are friendly, smart and really good at solving this type of problem. You can also contact me directly.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Two Polls

This poll reflects the opinions of our Security Scrapbook readers.  

Which privacy invasions concern you the most? 
(Pick three.)

26% - Mobile Phone Spyware
18% - Computer Spyware
14% - Bugging
12% - GPS Tracking
11% - Covert Video (SpyCams)
6% - Wiretapping
6% - Covert Voice Recording
5% - Physical Eavesdropping
1% - Other (unspecified)

The following poll asked about smartphone security concerns. It was independently conducted by one of our Security Scrapbook readers. 

They placed their poll on two very different Web sites; one sports oriented, one more military oriented.

What's your approach to smartphone security? 
(Poll allowed users to check more than one.)
29.3% - I just don't do financial stuff with it.
15.5% - Whatever came with it is good enough. I hope.
13.7% - I added a special security program.
13.7% - OK, but who'd want to hack/eavesdrop on me?
12% - Haven't even thought about it.
10.3% - I double-check all apps before downloading.
5.0% - Not worried - Apple's got my back.

Granted, neither poll is scientifically sound or statistically significant, but the answers are interesting on an informal level. 

Thanks to all who participated. 

If you have any ideas for future Security Scrapbook polls please let me know. ~Kevin

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Poll: Is '21st Century Living' worth the privacy tradeoffs?

Kevin's Security Scrapbook Poll Results
"Is '21st Century Living' worth the privacy tradeoffs?"
56.25%  No, not at all!
31.25%  Yes, definitely!
12.5%  The tradeoffs balance it all out.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Poll Results - Would you sell your employer's secret information? (assume you would not be caught)

Apparently, our readership is pretty honest. Not surprising, you're not the typical employee. You have an interest in security.

However... considering the makeup of the group, the dishonest results are alarming — 29% admit they do, or might, commit espionage! 

Numbers lie. I suspect many who answered "Heck, I do that now" have a sense of humor like mine.

But what about that 8%? And, would that number be higher in the general (non-security minded) population? 

Thought... If your organization doesn't have a counterespionage strategy yet, you had better visit your local strategy shop.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Poll - Eavesdropping Law

Question: Which theory of eavesdropping law is better?

60% - One Party Consent... If you are part of a conversation, you can record it.

38% - Two Party Consent... Everyone in the conversation must agree to recording it.

1% - Other... (No reason or comment given.)

For more information on U.S. eavesdropping law... more  more

Friday, September 11, 2009

Poll Results - SpyCam'ers

The ratio of discovered spycam'ers to undiscovered is...
Nobody really knows. However, given the number of spycams we see being sold vs. the court cases being reported, your feel for it was...
1:5 -- 15%
1:10 -- 10%
1:100 -- 25%
1:500 -- 10%
1:1000 -- 45%!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Poll Results - Info at Work


The valuable information I handle at work is...
Not protected. 17%

Somewhat protected. 46%
Adequately protected. 21%
Over protected. 13%

Other 4%


According to this unscientific sampling, the employers of 79% of our respondents could use some help. ~Kevin

Monday, July 27, 2009

Poll: Workplace Bug Sweeps

In our latest poll, we asked our readership - mainly people with organizational security interests - "How often does your workplace conduct... "Bug Sweeps?"

17% responded that TSCM inspections are being conducted.
The frequency of these inspections are:
8% Monthly
3% Quarterly
3% Biannually
3% Yearly

3% "Don't know how often."

81% said, "They don't check."

No one indicated, "When problems arise," or "Other."

Security Directors: FREE Security White Paper - "Surreptitious Workplace Recording ...and what you can do about it."   

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Monthly Poll Results - "If legal, would you..."

...use a Cell Phone Jammer?"
71% YES
29% NO

Selected comments received...
"Perfect place to use them in conference rooms and Churches."

"The worst place for me is the bank, you're standing there, waiting, quiet (I have my phone on vibrate usually) and phone nearby you rings and someone cusses and argues or talks about idle crap while everyone else has to stand around and listen? Or in a diverse place, you might get a loudmouth in Spansih, another in Mandarian, or someone giving an idiotic opinion that doesn't make sense and then me and people in line start discussing and bickering cause that's all we can DO!!! I want to JAM em so bad right then and there. Legal or not. ;)"

Monday, May 18, 2009

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Monthly Poll Results - "Assuming You Wouldn't...

Assuming you wouldn't get caught,
what is the least payment
you would want
to plant an eavesdropping device at work,
just once?

(click chart to enlarge)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

"Holy Firewall, Splatman!"

New data shows businesses may be clueless about proxy abuse in their organizations...

Schools long have struggled with savvy students who run anonymous Web proxy tools to bypass Web filters and secretly access banned Websites and content. But the use of these potentially dangerous tools within the enterprise appears to be more widespread than was once thought.

A new study released today indicates that businesses may be clueless about the breadth of the problem: While 15 percent of IT managers report that Web filter bypass tools are in use in their organizations, it turns out that these tools are actually in use in three out of four organizations, according to FaceTime Communications, which polled both IT managers and its own customers on the topic.

"In some cases, the perception is not reality," says Frank Cabri, vice president of marketing and product management for FaceTime, whose customers provided the actual usage data in the study. "This doesn't surprise us -- but the difference [in perception and reality] is dramatic." (more)

"...employee use of Web 2.0 applications such as Instant Messaging, IPTV, VoIP and Social Networking on corporate networks exceeds IT estimates by up to 10 times." (more)

Why is all this important to you?
• Your IT folks are not seeing this end run. ($)
• You are probably paying your employees to surf, not work. ($$)
• It is an open back door to your intellectual property. ($$$)