Contrary to popular belief, shotgun microphones do not pick up sounds over long distances. They are made to focus on a small area and reject unwanted sounds coming in from other angles. Holding a paper towel roll to you ear has a similar effect. The usual working distance for a shotgun microphone is 3-6 feet from the sound source. (more)
It is actually the parabolic microphone which is associated with eavesdropping. (more)
Some day we will have TESSbots (Technical Electroinc Surveillance Sensor robots); micro robots with the capability to detect electronic eavesdropping devices. Imagine armies of them auto-activating at the end of every work day; specifically tasked to find illegal and covert bugs and wiretaps within corporations and government agencies. Other bots will be doing other jobs as well, of course. This wall-climbing bot is getting the mechanics of scouring settled now. The sensor part will follow... (video)
You decide!Introducing...A Chinese version of the iPhone!?!?(via Dapreview.net)
Supposedly, Meizu has a new PMP in the works - the M8 - bearing a strong resemblance to the Apple iPhone in both form and function. The pics are probably nothing more than concept art, but then again, we wouldn't be surprised if they were close to the mark. Meizu has a history of borrowing design elements from Apple, as with the M6.
VoIP combines the worst security vulnerabilities of IP networks and voice networks. This article discusses vulnerabilities, challenges and countermeasures in securing a VoIP network from the application right down to the hardware. ...
Eavesdropping
Eavesdropping is the intercepting of conversations by unintended recipients. Eavesdropping in VoIP requires intercepting the signal and associated media streams of a conversation. No one argues that an attacker cannot access and install a tap on a telephone pair outside your house. That action, however, requires more visibility and explicit laws prohibit eavesdropping. IP eavesdropping can be accomplished from the comfort of a laptop as long as the tools and expertise exist to carry out the attack successfully.
Ethereal, Ettercap, Vomit represent just some of the software available that is used for media capture. Using the software is as simple as capturing and decoding RTP packets, analyzing sessions and then saving the the captured voice as an audio file (.au). This is based on the fundamental that every header of an RTP packet contains information about the codec used to encode voice samples. The codec used is generally a standard one, which allows the software to decode the RTP packet, and thus the audio data. Thus, an entire conversation can be tapped. (more)
(give us your best Elvis)
Ooh, ooh, ooh,I feel my temperature rising
Help me, I'm flaming
I must be a hundred n' nineBurning, burning, burning
And nothing can cool meI just might turn into smokeBut I feel fine (more) (video)
Mind reading, of course!
(from hack247.co.uk)
Hitachi Develops Mind Reading System Hitachi Electronics Advanced Research Labs have developed a system that can read peoples minds, albeit in a very primitive way.
It works by flooding the brain with near infra-red rays which are harmless but allow the system to measure blood flow in the frontal lobe areas. This blood flow changes in response to a persons thoughts and this change can be measured and interpreted as images which can in turn be used to trigger electrical devices.
They admit their ‘optical-topography’ system is in the early stages but hope to use it to develop remote control systems for disabled people, allowing them to control wheelchairs and other aids using only their minds.They plan to develop the system into a usable application by 2011. (more)
"Motion sensing digital camera enables you to capture those difficult close-up images of birds in their natural environment without disturbing their activities. [assuming this butt-ugly, Martian-ish bird box doesn't scare them to death] Images are easily stored on standard SD memory cards. Fully automatic digital camera designed especially for backyard birders. Great for capturing impromptu images of birds visiting bird feeders, bird houses and bird baths." [Ok modders, do your best.] (more)
A former Hewlett-Packard executive has cited the computer and printer giant's recent board-spying scandal in his suit against the company, claiming HP used similar fraudulent methods to obtain his private phone records in August 2005 after giving him a corporate espionage assignment to obtain trade secrets on rival Dell's printers. ...
Experts say corporate espionage has become common as competition rampages throughout industries, but there have been few cases made public.(more)
UK - A senior journalist on Britain's biggest-selling newspaper hacked into the mobile telephones of members of the royal household 'several hundred' times, a London court heard.The News of the World's royal affairs editor Clive Goodman listened to voice mail messages left for the press secretary of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and also for two officials who worked for his sons Princes William and Harry.Goodman, 49, and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, 36, could face jail after admitting last November to plotting to unlawfully intercept communications.Mulcaire also pleaded guilty to a further five charges of unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages. (more)
NCI Information Systems, Inc. (NCI), is a leading provider of information technology solutions in the Federal government arena.TSCM Instructor (149689-598)DescriptionThe duties and responsibilities of this position consist of, but are not limited to:Manage all aspects of security technology fundamentals training for Department of State Security Engineering Officers and Security Technical Specialists to include developing schedules and coordinating students, instructors, facilities, and classrooms... (more)
Mark Geragos – the lawyer who was secretly videotaped while accompanying his client Michael Jackson on a flight from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara to surrender to child molestation charges – is suing the jet company for an alleged invasion of privacy. ...Geragos testified this week that the secret videotaping was one of the worst experiences of his 24 years in legal work, and he now takes extreme measures to ensure that his private conversations with clients are not secretly recorded. He testified that he has met with some clients under freeway overpasses and in hotel rooms, and twice sent a colleague overseas to discuss a case rather than have them discuss it over the phone or by e-mail. (more)
GA - A Waffle House manager has been arrested after authorities say he secretly installed a camera the restaurant's bathroom.
Keith Robert Christman, 28, was arrested Tuesday on charges of felony eavesdropping and illegal surveillance after police found a wireless camera hidden in the women's restroom of the Waffle House where he worked, Villa Rica police Capt. Brian Camp said.
Camp said Christman would go into the restroom and hide a wireless camera, which was found facing the toilet, and save the images onto a computer.
The spying also took place at four other restaurants in the area, Camp said. Christman would sometimes watch a live feed of the restroom footage from his car, Camp said.
(more) (more)
The Information and Communication Technology Ministry has entered the wiretapping fray, and is to set up a special committee to probe eavesdropping claims against the Singapore-owned telecoms firm Shin Corp."I will today authorise the creation of a special committee chaired by the ICT ministry's permanent secretary to conduct an investigation into eavesdropping," said ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom.Council for National Security chairman Sonthi Boonyaratkalin last week claimed that Singapore could be listening in to confidential calls after Temasek Holdings purchased Shin Corp last year.Both the Singapore government and Shin Corp's mobile phone company AIS - headquartered in Thailand - have denied the allegations. (more)
UPDATE...
It is not possible to prevent eavesdropping on mobile phones because radio signals spread in the air and can be tapped anywhere, Information and Communication Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said today.
"No country in the world can prevent phone tapping," said Mr Sitthichai during an interview with Channel 11 Saturday morning. Nor is it possible to know whether one's phone is being tapped.
Mr Sitthichai suggested that government agencies encrypt conversations with so-called "voice scramblers", to prevent casual eavesdropping. (more)
Mr. Sitthichai, let me introduce you to some folks in Korea. ~ Kevin
"In 1984, George Orwell thought we'd be forced to behave because government cameras were always watching us. Instead, we'll have to behave because every person is a spycam operator. ... Cell-cam photos are the new autograph. See a celebrity, snap a picture and post it." (more)
There is a story that American Indians thought early photography was Spirit Capture, and didn't like it. Perhaps we are learning they were right. ~ Kevin
GA - Boynton Elementary School has strengthened security since a 66-year-old man was arrested last week after neighbors accused him of watching the campus through binoculars. Assistant Principal Jason Carter said Catoosa County Sheriff's officers told school officials that Johnny Thomas Bennett of the Boynton community was arrested on Jan. 18 and charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer, making false statements, carrying a concealed weapon and trespassing. (more)
Contrary to popular belief, shotgun microphones do not pick up sounds over long distances. They are made to focus on a small area and reject unwanted sounds coming in from other angles. Holding a paper towel roll to you ear has a similar effect. The usual working distance for a shotgun microphone is 3-6 feet from the sound source. (more)
You decide!
(give us your best Elvis)
"Motion sensing digital camera enables you to capture those difficult close-up images of birds in their natural environment without disturbing their activities. [assuming this butt-ugly, Martian-ish bird box doesn't scare them to death] Images are easily stored on standard SD memory cards. Fully automatic digital camera designed especially for backyard birders. Great for capturing impromptu images of birds visiting bird feeders, bird houses and bird baths." [Ok modders, do your best.] (more)
