Your Average Surveillance-Filled Day

Eye-opening article about a person's encounter with electronic surveillance technology during just one day... (more)

The spy in your home

Virtually everyone owns a mobile phone, but few of us realise that this innocent device can be turned into a hidden spy inside our own homes.

Inside Out shows how easy it is to turn your phone into a bugging device. ... Spyphone software can be installed on some mobile phones in well under a minute. ... the crime is almost impossible to detect… (more)

Hey, we told you so!

A statement in the 2006 Defense Security Service Technology Collection Trends in the U.S. Defense Industry report which claimed radio frequency transmitters were discovered embedded in Canadian coins is not true, according to DSS officials. (more)

Bill would alter N.H. wiretap statute

NH - A Nashua man’s arrest for recording detectives at his door last year has inspired a bill to let property owners record audio and video on their premises without notice.

Michael Gannon, 40, was arrested June 27, after his home security camera made video and audio recordings of detectives who had come to 26 Morgan St. looking for his teenage son.

Gannon was arrested on felony wiretapping charges after he brought the recordings to the police station to complain that a detective was rude to him. The case drew international ire, especially online, and police later opted to drop the charges. Police also concluded that Gannon’s complaint against the detective was justified.

Police later returned Gannon’s cameras and recording equipment, though he said the wiring was damaged when police pulled them from the mounts. Police refused to give back Gannon’s tapes, however, saying they were illegal recordings, and thus contraband. (more)

"Wiretapping VoIP Will Kill Innovation" - Vint Cerf

Building standardized wiretap backdoors into Internet telephone systems is a bad idea that will lead to increased cyber security concerns. At least that's the opinion of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA).

Responding fiercely to a Friday court decision upholding the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authority to impose traditional wiretap laws on Voice over IP companies, the ITAA Tuesday issued a report sharply critical of the ruling.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said VoIP calls are no different than traditional telephone service when it comes to wiretap laws.

At issue is the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), a 1994 law mandating traditional telephone companies build their technology in specific ways in order to make wiretapping easier for law enforcement officials. (more)

Gigabit Quantum Encryption - World's First!

Quantum cyptography company id Quantique SA (Geneva) has teamed with Australian cyptography company Senetas Corp. Ltd. (Melbourne) to create what the partners claim in the world's first 1- to 10-Gbit/s secure network that combines uncrackable quantum keys with classical encryption. ...

Quantum key distribution makes communications hack-proof by eliminating the possibility of eavesdropping—rather than depending on the length of an encryption key to scramble transmitted data. Quantum cryptography instead employs individual photon polarization to represent 1s and 0s in such a way that intrusions can be detected. The uncrackable codes rely on single-photon emitters and receivers that detect whether a hacker has viewed a polarized photon—flagging the intrusion by switching any bit that has been observed, thereby alerting the recipient to an eavesdropping attempt. (more)

The DIY Spy

from Technology Insight...
"Had an old Espion (sic) digicam with a broken LCD lying around. Removed the case, LCD and battery connections and found it fit perfectly in this tiny (<5cm> Connected via Skype and set to auto answer and send video when I call it. Shame about the USB cable sticking out the side (I may move it to the back)… and the fact I have nobody to spy on… " (more)

Korean Cell Phone Encryption

Korea’s three telecom companies are planning to unveil a subscription anti-wiretapping service for cell phone users this week. SK Telecom, KTF and LG Telecom said Sunday that they will offer the Private Long Code service, a digital encryption system, from this week.

Dubbed “Voice Private”, the service was developed to prevent eavesdropping on mobile phone calls. The technology uses a strong encryption code to make it difficult for unauthorized listeners to decode digitalized voice information.

Fees range from W1,500 to W2,000 ($1.60 - $2.13 USD). Customers can subscribe to the service without having to purchase a special phone. Telecom providers say they will begin the service as soon as the Ministry of Information and Communication approves it.

Customers are expected to include people who deal regularly with sensitive information, such as politicians, public officials, businesspeople and journalists. (more)

Teaching Eavesdropping in School ?!?!

UK - "This is an activity for students to practise reporting speech. ... You may have to explain the concept of eavesdropping (listening to someone else's conversation). With lower levels it may be easier to explain spying." ~ Marta Joyce Sabbadini, Teacher & Trainer, British Council, Cameroon (more)

...and you wonder where the adults come from who think that eavesdropping, spying and espionage are socially acceptable. ~Kevin (more)

Swedes favour more bugging

Sweden - A large majority of Swedes like the idea of additional surveillance to aid in the hunt for terrorists and serious criminals. A survey carried out by Statistics Sweden shows that a full 80 percent of Swedes favour increased surveillance.

But while the general public supports plans to keep a closer eye on the population, public bodies have been lining up to criticise defence minister Mikael Odenberg's proposal to permit the monitoring of ordinary citizens' phone calls and email.

Man-Roach Bugs House

OR - The Roseburg man who allegedly attacked his ex-wife last month at her townhouse had apparently been eavesdropping on her with recording equipment below her home for some time, according to police.

Police say Vincent Wayne Maneha, 41, broke into the woman’s Umpqua Street home with a gun Dec. 15 and choked her. She was able to escape with minor injuries...

In the crawl space beneath the residence, police found a cordless drill, a pry bar and a microcassette recorder. The recorder was attached to a corded microphone that had been placed in a hole drilled through the subfloor into the living room, according to the probable cause affidavit RPD filed in court upon the man’s arrest.

A set of earphones that fit the microrecorder were later found in Maneha’s coat. Police also found energy bars, water and extra clothing, according to the affidavit.

“There was definitely evidence that he’d been spending some time in the crawl space under the apartment,” Sgt. Aaron Dunbar said.

Guilty Plea in H-P Case Involving Bugging of Journalist

San Francisco - Federal prosecutors are poised to score their first victory in their investigation of Hewlett-Packard Co's ill-fated boardroom spying probe, after a private investigator agreed to plead guilty to identity theft and conspiracy charges.

Bryan Wagner, 29, of Littleton, Colo., will enter his plea during his scheduled arraignment hearing... (more)

Latvian police prosecuted for wiretapping

Riga – The Prosecutor General’s Office has launched a criminal case against four officers of the Latvian Finance Police over the wiretapping of journalists’ telephone conversations.

Spy transmitters in Canadian coins: Report

Canada – They say money talks, and a new report suggests Canadian currency is indeed chatting, at least electronically, on behalf of shadowy spies.

Canadian coins containing tiny transmitters have mysteriously turned up in the pockets of at least three American contractors who visited Canada, says a branch of the U.S. Defense Department.

Security experts believe the miniature devices could be used to track the movements of defense industry personnel dealing in sensitive military technology. (more)

There is something wrong with this story. It does not make sense - technically or practically. Transmitter... no. RFID tag... maybe. Purpose... ??? More likely, souvenir challenge coins were given as gifts to these contractors and someone joked that they were bugged. ~Kevin

Technical Surveillance to the Rescue!

Australia - The Queensland Opposition is calling for extra resources, like secret surveillance cameras, to help police find the offenders attacking women on Brisbane walkways and bike paths.

There have been 36 attacks in the past 12 months. ...

The Opposition's Mark McArdle says a helicopter would also be a valuable tool in the search for the attackers.

"I'm talking about modern technology on the helicopter - infrared cameras, infrared lights, covert lighting systems, also on board cameras capturing real time imagery, so this can be used at a later date and assessed," he said. (more)