Rare Spy vs. Spy Confession

A former Russian frogman has claimed that he killed a famed British diver, who vanished while spying on a Soviet warship more than 50 years ago.

Commander Lionel "Buster" Crabb disappeared after the vessel, which had brought Soviet leaders to Britain, docked in Portsmouth harbour in 1956.

Retired sailor Eduard Koltsov told a Russian documentary crew that he cut the Englishman's throat after catching him placing a mine. (more)

Football Spy Scotched - "Ooo, Behave!"

Scotland's preparations for the Hampden crunch with Italy were rocked by a sensational spying scandal.

Team boss Alex McLeish had to halt a closed door training session in Dumbarton when he spotted a mysterious onlooker on the roof of a white van using a camera to record his secret tactical workout.

McLeish had earlier been placed on alert by the Daily Record after we received a tip-off that an Italian would be trying to spy on the team at the Strathclyde Homes Stadium.

It was part of a sneaky attempt to uncover his match plan for Saturday's do-or-die European qualifier.

Daily Record photographer Phil Dye was also on the lookout for suspicious characters. "This really was a quite extraordinary set of events. It was like something out of Austin Powers. (more)

Probe of U.S. eavesdropping program on again

The Justice Department has reopened an inquiry into the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program after its investigators received security clearances that President Bush once blocked. (more)

Court rejects challenge to warrantless wiretaps

A federal appeals court in San Francisco today handed a major victory to the Bush administration, ruling that a lawsuit challenging the government's warrantless wiretapping program could not go forward because of the "state secrets" privilege. (more)

Things Are Tough All Over

OPEC SUMMIT Blunder lets media eavesdrop on ministers' meeting...

A blunder by organisers at an OPEC summit in Riyadh enabled journalists to watch a highly sensitive meeting of the foreign, finance and oil ministers from the 12 member countries of the cartel.

The gathering, during which the ministers discussed the agenda for a two-day summit of heads of state starting Saturday, was broadcast on close-circuit television in the media room for about 30 minutes.

It featured highly sensitive comments by the foreign ministers of Iran and US-ally Saudi Arabia, who differed sharply over whether to include an expression of concern over the falling US dollar in the summit's final declaration. (more)

Guest Consultant - Effective Security Management

Charles A. Sennewald, CMC, CPP, CPO, is the author of Effective Security Management. He has a genius for turning difficult into easy!

Here is his tip for disciplining subordinates...

Torture as Part of the Disciplinary Process
To discipline a subordinate is deemed by many a supervisor and manager as a personal ordeal or a form of torture. “Torture” in terms of being obliged to confront and criticize the performance, or lack of performance, of a fellow employee. We agonize over sitting down face-to-face to deal with the problem. Not a pleasant task! No one wants to do it.

BUT WAIT! We can take the torture out of the process if we understand three simple principles:
1. The word discipline is derived from the Latin discipulus which means learning. The word disciple comes from the same root, hence the disciples of Christ were students, hence discipline really means a learning process, not a punitive action.

2. This learning process, really a form of training, corrects, molds or strengthens an employee in the interests of achieving departmental or organizational goals.

3. Thus the effective disciplinary process condemns the wrongful act, not the employee, i.e. you’re okay but what you did is not okay. By focusing on the conduct and performance rather than the personality the whole process takes on a constructive dimension which is easy to handle and is acceptable by all.

Adios Torture.

Muchas gracias, Chuck!

iPhone = imBugged

The Scare... (from noheat.com)
"Its always been assumed that with some amount of hacking your simple phone can help locate you through GPS and help big brother zero in on your activities. ...watch the video and you will see a security consultant undress your iPhone so far even it blushes.

He even illustrates how a simple iPhone can record phone conversations, browsing habits, email, and even record the rooms ambient noises when it appears to be off.

Suddenly every office meeting is subject to recording, the arguments with your wife are fair game, and every word you utter could be recorded and used against you."

The Consultant Explains the Techie Stuff...
(Rik Farrow, UNIX specialist and consultant from Sedona, AZ)


Back to Reality...
"...Apple (which declined to comment), in its latest patch, inoculated the iPhone against the Metasploit that Farrow used." (more)

• 'Smart' phones intrinsically have bugging buddy capabilities.
• We're mere keystrokes away from the next eavesdropping hack.
• Protection requires detection.

Brilliant Prevarication or Wrong Occupation?

UK - A newly-appointed top British intelligence advisor raised eyebrows Friday after colourful and indiscreet details of his personal life were revealed -- on his own website.

Alex Allan's website gives details including his home address and his wife's mobile phone number.

Allan was appointed Thursday as chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, the body which provides senior ministers with the latest assessments from Britain's security services.

...on his website 56-year-old Allan details his love for the cult US band The Grateful Dead and reveals a picture of his former self in 1969 with microphone hair, flares and Paisley-print cravate strumming on a guitar.

And like a sketch from the hit British comedy series Monthy Python's Flying Circus, he is also pictured in a pinstripe suit and bowler hat, windsailing to work on the River Thames past parliament during a train strike in the 1980s.

The Daily Telegraph quoted one unnamed senior security official as saying the personal information and photos contained on the site was "a very serious breach". (more) (update)

US congressional body hits out at industrial spying

A congressional advisory panel said yesterday mainland spying in America represents the greatest threat to US technology and recommended lawmakers consider financing counterintelligence efforts meant to stop China from stealing manufacturing expertise.

The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission also said in its annual report to Congress that small and medium-sized US companies - which represent more than half the manufacturing jobs in America - "face the full brunt of China's unfair trade practices..."

Mainland officials have reacted to past reports by warning against outside interference in Chinese affairs.

The commission said mainland spies allow the country's firms to get new technology "without the necessity of investing time or money to perform research." The espionage was said to be putting a strain on US counterintelligence resources and helping China's military modernization. (more)

The Cautious Coachs of N.F.L. Football

The New York Times - The windows near the elevators on the 21st floor of the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel are fit for football espionage. The Giants’ practice field sits about a mile in the distance, past the maze of highway lanes and off-ramps, past the massive parking lots.

If a coach stands on that field and looks back at the hotel, all sorts of paranoid possibilities come to mind. Visions of men in disguises renting rooms, setting up telescopes and video cameras, and gleaning valuable information from the opposition. Over the years, Giants coaches were said to have sent security personnel to the hotel to conduct sweeps.* They were never reported to have found anything or anyone...

Murray Associates, a New Jersey company that provides eavesdropping protection, has been hired by several professional sports teams to ensure secure contract negotiations, said the company’s president, Kevin Murray. Three of the teams that hired Murray were N.F.L. teams — all within the past five years.

Murray said he believed espionage in sports was more prolific now, with so much money and fame at stake. And bugging an office “is easier now than at any time in history.” For example, Murray said, someone could stick a prepaid cellphone on the ceiling of an office, turn the ringer off and set the phone to auto-answer. Then that someone could listen from anywhere in the world.

“Some people sound on the paranoid side, but they’re really just normal people, following their instincts,” Murray said. “And usually, they’re correct. Coaches would be silly not to be checking.”

So coaches will continue to look for spies behind trees, in bushes, behind the wheel of the team bus. If you are not paranoid, they say, you are not paying attention.

The view from the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel demonstrates how spying is possible, if not far-fetched. And for N.F.L. coaches, that is enough. (more)
* These sweeps were not conducted by Murray Associates.

Year of the Spy at National Book Awards

With the United States fighting an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, stories of espionage and critiques of foreign policy were winners at the 58th annual National Book Awards. (more)

Winners...
Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke
Robert Hass' Time and Materials
Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

Spybuster's Tip #105 - CamoSecurity

Real books - converted into boxes. (more)

Hidden Door - limited only by your imagination. (more)

List of places to hide stuff. (more)
Prevent burglars from getting your valuables by using secret hiding places. (more)
Make A "Secret Container" out of a lighter (video)

Flower Pot Safe (more)

"The Chicago Crime Commission states that a burglar spends an average of 8 minutes in the victims home. Put the odds in your favor...hide your valuables in plain sight." (more)

Eavesdropping Becomes a Game Skill

Video game review: 'Assassin's Creed' smooth but repetitive...

"Assassin's” is terrific entertainment for perhaps the first couple hours, as you free-run frolic and notice sparkling little tweaks to generic third-person action.

You eavesdrop to find your targets and rescue locals who can aid post-assassination escapes..." (more)

From those wonderful folks who brought you Room 641A...

AT&T plans to introduce a nationwide program today that gives owners of small and medium-size businesses some of the same tools big security companies offer for monitoring employees, customers, and operations from remote locations.

Under AT&T's Remote Monitor program, a business owner could install adjustable cameras, door sensors, and other gadgets at up to five different company locations across the country.

Using a Java-enabled mobile device or a personal computer connected to the Internet, the owner would be able to view any of the images in real time, control room lighting, and track equipment temperatures remotely. All the images are recorded on digital video, which can be viewed for up to 30 days. (more) (641A)

Landladies ordered to pay students €115,000

Ireland - Two Dublin landladies have been ordered to pay damages totalling more than €115,000 to 10 students who were tenants in their house after the Circuit Court found they had kept the students under secret electronic surveillance.

The students became concerned in late 2004 that their conversations and activities were being monitored when the McKennas referred to details the students had discussed in private in the house. When they raised the issue with the McKennas, the students were evicted.

Judge Gerard Griffin yesterday found that the evidence in the case left him "in no doubt whatsoever that the defendants had kept these plaintiffs under electronic surveillance."

The judge said he could not say whether it was audio or video surveillance or both, but he was concerned that yellow wires found in the house were of the international standard used for video recording.

The wires were found during a search on December 3rd, 2004, when Ms Hegarty's solicitor and a garda (police officer) were called to the house on the back of a court order. (more)