Friday, January 19, 2007
Ghana: VP's Office Dismisses Bugging Rumor
Ghana - The alleged bugging of the vice president’s office is generating controversy. Aides to Vice President Aliu Mahama have dismissed the surveillance reports as false. But an article published in an independent newspaper claims the discovery of sophisticated bugging gadgets in the vice president’s office at the castle in Osu, a suburb of the capital Accra. (more)
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Espionage or Coincidence?
You decide...LG said on Thursday it will start selling next month a new mobile phone that incorporates a buttonless touch-screen resembling the much-hyped iPhone from Apple. (more)
PI Agency and Clients Convicted of Wiretapping
UK - 38 months jail time was handed down to employees and clients of a London private detective agency which illegally hacked into telephone lines.
Eight people connected with the agency, which cannot be named for legal reasons, variously admitted charges of conspiring to intercept communications unlawfully...
...authorities were first made aware of the agency when it was discovered that a serving police officer, who was on sick leave citing depression, was effectively working as a full-time private investigator...
...Green roadside junction boxes had been broken into and hundreds of private lines were compromised. The agency also hacked computer systems to order to access private banking and medical information... (more)
Eight people connected with the agency, which cannot be named for legal reasons, variously admitted charges of conspiring to intercept communications unlawfully...
...authorities were first made aware of the agency when it was discovered that a serving police officer, who was on sick leave citing depression, was effectively working as a full-time private investigator...
...Green roadside junction boxes had been broken into and hundreds of private lines were compromised. The agency also hacked computer systems to order to access private banking and medical information... (more)
U.S. ceases warrantless spy operation
In a surprising reversal, the White House said it would end the National Security Agency's controversial practice of domestic wiretapping without warrants – one year after the secret program was disclosed -- and agreed to give an independent court jurisdiction over such surveillance measures in the future. (more)
Cell Phone Operators Warned Against Eavesdropping
Thailand - The permanent secretary for Information and Communications Technology will Thursday summon all mobile phone service operators to warn them against eavesdropping.
ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said the warning would be given after Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, chairman of the Council for National Security, said his phone conversation was tapped and leaked to Singapore.
Sitthichai said the permanent secretary would warn the operators that their license could be terminated if they are found to have conducted electronic eavesdropping.
Sitthichai said he would also order an investigation to find out which agencies have phone tapping equipment in possession. (more)
ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said the warning would be given after Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, chairman of the Council for National Security, said his phone conversation was tapped and leaked to Singapore.
Sitthichai said the permanent secretary would warn the operators that their license could be terminated if they are found to have conducted electronic eavesdropping.
Sitthichai said he would also order an investigation to find out which agencies have phone tapping equipment in possession. (more)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Hide Your Computer Files
Free software to hide your private folders. Very useful to keep your personal data away from others. Others will not know where your personal files exist and they will not be able to accidentally view them. You can hide folders simply with a few mouse clicks. Free Hide Folder is protected by a password that you can change or remove at any time. Platform: Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 (download here)
An Interspousal Wiretapping Conundrum
The Glazner's divorce was pending in the late 1990s, but they were still living in the same house. James put a recording device on a telephone in their home, and it recorded a number of conversations between Elizabeth and third parties. She filed a lawsuit against her (soon-to-be-ex-) husband in federal court for violating a federal law that made wiretapping illegal.
The problem, as she discovered, was that a 1974 case, Simpson v. Simpson (no . . . not those Simpsons) that was still binding in the Eleventh Circuit, had created an "implied exception" to the federal law for "interspousal wiretapping." (The judges apparently thought that married folks might have good reasons to bug their spouses, so that they couldn't sue each other when the other party - like Elizabeth - found out.) The first three judges who heard the case in 2002 agreed and upheld the dismissal of Elizabeth's case.
But then a larger panel of the Eleventh Circuit took up the case again, , and decided to revisit that 1974 decision to decide whether it had been correct. This time, in 2003, a majority of the judges who heard the case decided that the 1974 case was wrong - the wiretapping law had no explicit exception for spouses, and they not only overruled that case, but also made their decision retroactive. This meant that even though what James had done hadn't been illegal (for a damages lawsuit) when he did the wiretapping, Elizabeth's case against him could go forward.
Three judges dissented... (more)
The problem, as she discovered, was that a 1974 case, Simpson v. Simpson (no . . . not those Simpsons) that was still binding in the Eleventh Circuit, had created an "implied exception" to the federal law for "interspousal wiretapping." (The judges apparently thought that married folks might have good reasons to bug their spouses, so that they couldn't sue each other when the other party - like Elizabeth - found out.) The first three judges who heard the case in 2002 agreed and upheld the dismissal of Elizabeth's case.
But then a larger panel of the Eleventh Circuit took up the case again, , and decided to revisit that 1974 decision to decide whether it had been correct. This time, in 2003, a majority of the judges who heard the case decided that the 1974 case was wrong - the wiretapping law had no explicit exception for spouses, and they not only overruled that case, but also made their decision retroactive. This meant that even though what James had done hadn't been illegal (for a damages lawsuit) when he did the wiretapping, Elizabeth's case against him could go forward.
Three judges dissented... (more)
The Tap Dance Continues
CA - Days after persuading a judge to let him represent himself at trial, indicted private investigator Anthony Pellicano is again poised to use private lawyers in his defense against federal charges of racketeering and wiretapping. (more)
And... there are rumors that in addition to re-hiring the attorney's, he is re-marrying his wife! (more)
And... there are rumors that in addition to re-hiring the attorney's, he is re-marrying his wife! (more)
Your Average Surveillance-Filled Day
Eye-opening article about a person's encounter with electronic surveillance technology during just one day... (more)
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
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)
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)
Monday, January 15, 2007
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)
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)
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)
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)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)