It's Just Not Cricket

India

Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief N Srinivasan allegedly hired the services of a London firm to spy on BCCI officials, The Times of India reports...

According to reports, Srinivasan paid Rs 14 crore of BCCI's money to spy on his fellow board members and asked them to tap their phones and track their e-mails. It is expected that BCCI will investigate this matter further lead by new secretary Anurag Thakur. more "It's just not cricket"

Did Meanwell Mean Well, or... She Wanted the Cash, Man

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has more than just on-the-field problems... his alleged former mistress, Louise Meanwell, is filing a lawsuit against the Yanks' front office man. 

The suit says that Cashman not only hacked and spied on Meanwell's e-mails, but he also contacted the woman's mother in an attempt to have Meanwell committed in order to cover-up his affair... 


Cashman's mistress is currently in court going through her own legal battles after she was arrested for attempting to extort Cashman for $15,000, and she allegedly stalked him as well after what is believed to be a 10-month fling occurred with Cashman.

It was only after Meanwell found out Cashman had another mistress and had no intention of getting a divorce from his wife that she threatened to blow the lid off their relationship.

This one just keeps getting weirder and weirder by the day.
(more)

China Folk Counterespionage Manual

“On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” Or an American spy. Or a “hostile foreign force.” So says the “China Folk Counterespionage Manual,” a “how to spot a spy” guide circulating on the Internet. 

Click to enlarge.

The manual, whose origin is murky, first emerged several years ago and has recently enjoyed a renaissance in popularity on social media sites. It offers Chinese citizens tips on how to detect spies in their midst. It was even cited in Global Times, a state newspaper, in late August following the detention of Kevin and Julia Garratt, a Canadian couple who ran a cafe in Dandong, on the North Korean border, on suspicion of stealing military secrets. In an infographic, the newspaper described them as examples of possible foreign spies masquerading as “ordinary citizens.”

The manual might be something more suited for a James Bond movie if it weren’t for the government’s own new emphasis on rooting out “foreign spies,” demonstrated on Saturday when President Xi Jinping signed an updated national security law, named the Counterespionage Law. (more)

First a Drone. Now a Helicopter. World Cup Spying Continues.

A helicopter from TV Globo was caught spying on Chile’s practice just outside Belo Horizonte.

Chile coach, Jorge Sampaoli, brought the session to a temporary standstill until the helicopter was ushered away from local side Cruzerio’s training centre at Toca da Raposa. (more)

Leaked: 10 Months Of The Houston Astros' Internal Trade Talks

Two years ago, the Houston Astros constructed "Ground Control"—a built-from-scratch online database for the private use of the Astros front office.

It is by all accounts a marvel, an easy-to-use interface giving executives instant access to player statistics, video, and communications with other front offices around baseball.

All it needs, apparently, is a little better password protection.

Ground Control Failure

Documents purportedly taken from Ground Control and showing 10 months' worth of the Astros' internal trade chatter have been posted online at Anonbin, a site where users can anonymously share hacked or leaked information. (more)

Sports Espionage aka Business Espionage but All About the Money

UK - A spying scandal has rocked the English Premier League, with Cardiff City demanding its defeat against Crystal Palace earlier this month be wiped from the record.

The Welsh club has delivered a five-page letter to Premier League officials claiming that Palace manager Tony Pullis was given the exact starting line-up Cardiff would play several days before the teams met on April 5.

And Cardiff didn’t pull any punches in the letter, pointing the finger squarely at Palace sporting director Iain Moody as the man that obtained the team sheet...
 
How was it all uncovered? The BBC reports that Moody “accidentally” texted the line-up to Crystal Palace legend Dougie Freedman, who happens to be a friend of Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He called him to let him know that the opposition had received inside information. (more)

SpyCams Found in Leeds United Stadium Boardroom... and Toilets

UK - Police have begun an investigation at Leeds United after spy cameras were apparently found at the Elland Road stadium in a security sweep ordered by controversial new boss Massimo Cellino.

West Yorkshire Police would not confirm details of their inquiry but, according to reports, officers were called to the ground on Wednesday after surveillance equipment was found in the boardroom and toilets.

The police inquiry centered around an allegation of theft, relating to the club funds apparently used to buy the cameras. (more)

Sports Spying (aka business espionage): Spying on Earthquakes

Mexico's Deportivo Toluca has been handed a $5,000 fine by CONCACAF's disciplinary committee for spying on a San Jose Earthquakes training session.

San Jose Earthquakes claimed that Toluca had filmed, without authorization, parts of a closed training session on March 18 at Estadio Nemesio Diez, before the return leg of their Champions League quarter final...

The Mexican/US spygate scandal is not the first time one club has been caught illegally watching another's training session. 

In a slightly more light-hearted incident in Italy last year a coach from Genoa was caught "spying" on local rivals Sampdoria of their derby clash. The agent was dressed in Rambo-style camouflage and hiding in the training ground bushes.

Sampdoria said in a statement he was hiding "like Rambo" but "failed to overcome Sampdoria's intelligence and counter-intelligence operations". (more)

Moral: Have a counter-intelligence strategy. Professional counterespionage help here.

Audio & Video Eavesdropping on NASCAR

NASCAR fans can listen to an uncensored buffet of communication ranging from foul-mouthed rants to finish line screams of victory on FanVision controllers that provide access to live broadcast feeds, onboard cameras, official timing, data, statistics, instant replays and a digital radio scanner. 

At Daytona, the device rents for $59.99 for the weekend. (Or, it may be purchased, plus a per race subscription.) They have to be returned no later than 90 minutes after the race ends. (more)


Other NASCAR eavesdropping options...
• Sportstronics NASCAR Proscan 100 Scanner
• eBay

Athletes, Beware the Sochi Spy Games

The telecommunications, e-mail and social network presence of athletes and others attending the Olympics will be under intense scrutiny before, during and after the events. These communications will be exploited for competitive advantage, political-economic intelligence, hints of sedition, identity theft and manufacturing future access...

Obfuscation idea.

Athletes can expect to have been profiled from the moment they are named to a team... There may be attempts to entrap or break into a circle of trusted friends or groups. Athlete and their electronics will have already been exposed... Simply visiting Sochi-related websites may be enough to infect a computer with spyware.
During the Games, it is reasonable to assume that all phone calls, e-mail, texts, web browsing, online banking and access to voice mail will be intercepted and exploited. Athletes who hope to take home medals may be taking home something else on their laptop instead...

Strategy discussed in team dressing rooms or over the airwaves will be subject to eavesdropping, whereas team radio communications are also vulnerable to electronic warfare tactics: deception, spoofing, interference or jamming at critical moments during play...

Consider that Russian security services share a cozy relationship with organized crime, who stand to benefit from information collected from the state espionage infrastructure. Consequently, banking and identification information are at also at risk. (more)

The Patroits — Still Being Accused of Spying

Houston defensive end Antonio Smith questioned how New England knew what the Texans were going to do on defense after a 34-31 win by the Patriots on Sunday.

Smith told reporters after the game Houston had some new wrinkles in its defense this week and it was “miraculous” how the Patriots changed their offense to key on the defense.

“Either teams are spying on us or scouting us,” he said. “I don’t know what it is.”

The NFL fined New England coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and took away a first-round pick in the 2008 draft for videotaping New York Jets signals during a game on Sept. 9, 2007. Belichick said he thought that was allowed and apologized for what he said was a mistake in his interpretation of the rule prohibiting it. (more) (Why Is Sports Crime Different?)

Sports Spying - Italian Football

Italy - In a frankly bizarre twist, Sampdoria caught a Genoa scout dressed in camouflage gear spying on their training ahead of Sunday’s derby.

The two local rivals will face off at Marassi on Sunday.

It seems Genoa were hoping to gain an advantage, but were left red-faced when Primavera youth team goalkeeping Coach Luca De Prà was caught spying on Samp’s training session.

It was Sampdoria who revealed the strange story with a statement on their official website and photograph of the man dressed in full camouflage gear to hide in the bushes outside the Bogliasco camp. (more)

The Old Conference Call Trick Still Works

MA - Two Plymouth men who allegedly planned to line up professional sports tryouts are facing federal wiretapping charges for taping a phone conversation between two NFL general managers and sold the recording to a sports website.  

Joshua Barber, 20, and Nicholas Kaiser, 20, face up to five years in prison and a $500,000 fine if convicted of secretly recording a conference call they allegedly organized between Buffalo Bills General Manger Buddy Nix and Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Mark Dominik, according to federal procecutors.

The Boston Globe reports that Barber first called Nix posing as Dominik and then called Dominik and used the conference call function to link the calls for the conversation, recorded by Kaiser.

In a roughly six-minute call posted on Deadspin in March, Nix and Dominik discuss potential trades and complain about their lack of a franchise quarterback, according to the Boston Herald. (more)

Larry Ellison's Sailing Team Gets Caught Spying - Pay $15,000 Fine

Larry Ellison's Oracle Team has been found guilty of spying on the Italian team by an international jury of sailing experts, reports Julia Prodis Sulek at the Mercury News.

The penalty shouldn't hurt too much: they have to give up five days of practice and pay a $15,000 fine. That couch change for billionaire Ellison, one of the world's richest men with a net worth of about $41 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.  (more)

Spying Accusations Stoke America's Cup Rivalries

Spying is set to spark new battle lines in the America’s Cup as tempers fray on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. 

At odds are the €90m Italian team Luna Rossa, backed by the Prada luxury goods house, and the San Francisco-based, Lord knows how many millions Oracle team, holders of the cup and backed by computer software billionaire Larry Ellison.

Spying has been going on forever as rival teams assess the performance of their competitors – if Oracle is indeed spying on Luna Rossa it will also be spying on Team New Zealand (TNZ) and if it is not it would be astonishing. (more)

Sports World Business Espionage - Gladiator PI

Australia - The South Sydney patriarch George Piggins has accused the Rabbitohs co-owners Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court of sending private investigators to spy on him and search in the garbage bins of those opposed to their takeover of the club - and this is why Piggins now refuses to return to the fold.

In an open letter to South Sydney supporters, penned exclusively for The Sun-Herald, Piggins outlines his reasons for distancing himself from the club he saved from the brink of oblivion. In the letter, he states: ''Crowe and Holmes a Court used the services of Palladino and Sutherland, an American private investigation firm, to come to Australia to investigate us, as well as using other local investigators to secretly search garbage bins of those opposed to the takeover bid, and secretly photograph me, my family and friends.'' (more)

Sports Espionage at Euro 2012

England's challenge at Euro 2012 almost was drastically undermined after the team's tactics were leaked to rival Sweden by a snooping journalist.

Ola Billger, 40, used binoculars to spy on England coach Roy Hodgson as he outlined his defensive plan to his team at a Kiev hotel ahead of last Friday's Group D clash.

The Swedish hack watched for 40 minutes and compiled detailed notes... (more)

UK - A recording device that looks like a small piece of cardboard was planted at the home of a Premiership footballer to record details about his private life, MPs were told yesterday during an inquiry into the murky world of private investigators.

The transmitter was picked up during a security sweep of the player's house after he became suspicious about stories in the media, said Gerry Hall, managing director of security company IPS. He declined to name the footballer, who is still playing in the league.

RFID tags look similar and are often mistaken for bugs.

Mr Hall said the small square of cardboard had a transmitter embedded in it that worked at a range of up to 100 yards. "It could easily be dropped into a wastepaper basket and transmit for 30 hours," he told MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee...

Mr Hall said an investigator could easily persuade a company receptionist to let them in and would need just seconds to plant the device. He said his company had just found one in a chairman's office. (more)

Sports Quote of the Week

"In my 28 or 29 years in the NFL, I have never listened to an opposing team's communication," ... "I have never asked for the capability to listen to an opposing team's communications. I have never inquired as to the possibility of listening in on an opposing team's communications. And I have never been aware of any capability to listen in on an opposing team's communications at the Superdome or at any NFL stadium." New Orleans Saints, General Manager, Mickey Loomis responding to an ESPN report that accuses him of wiretapping the opposing coaches' booth in the Superdome during the 2002-04 seasons. (more)

A joint Louisiana state police and FBI task force is investigating allegations that the New Orleans Saints set up general manager Mickey Loomis' booth in the Superdome so he could listen in on opposing coaches.

State police Col. Mike Edmonson confirmed the joint effort today after discussing the matter with Dave Welker, special agent in charge at the FBI's New Orleans field office.

"I thought that was an excellent opportunity to share resources to see if federal or state wiretapping laws were in fact broken," Edmonson said by phone from Baton Rouge. (more)

"Yer out!" Baseball Spy Gets the Boot

AZ - A scout for the Los Angeles Angels who was watching San Francisco take infield practice Wednesday morning was ejected from Scottsdale Stadium at the request of Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

Media reports said Angels scout Jeff Schugel was taking notes during the Giants’ routine drills when he was told to leave the ballpark.

Earlier this spring, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson had scouts removed while they were watching drills at Arizona’s camp. (more)