As a top engineer at a major U.S. defense contractor, Chi Mak helped develop some of the most advanced and closely guarded naval technology in the world, including silent-running propulsion systems that can make submarines virtually undetectable.
Now, in a case that experts say could have serious implications for U.S. security, the Downey resident is accused of stealing those secrets for the Chinese. (more)
Monday, March 26, 2007
Ten dangerous claims about smart phone security
Many common assumptions about the security and privacy of smart phones or other handheld converged devices are off-base or just flat-out wrong.
For any high-value target -- whether that's a political candidate or an organization with valuable financial or personal data -- a little more thought ought to go into the process of selecting and deploying any device handling important data.
It makes sense, then, to challenge the more widespread assumptions, and consider how to handle oft-ignored risks. (highly summarized, more here)
1. It's just a phone with cool features, right?
No, it's not.
2. It's stable, just like any other purpose-built appliance.
No, it's not.
3. Communications are encrypted from end to end.
No, not entirely.
4. The connection's secure unless I use Wi-Fi in a café.
Guess, again.
5. E-mails and messages are secure from prying eyes.
Not if you're interesting.
6. Using a mobile phone constitutes out-of-band communication.
Who are you? No one knows for certain.
7. I trust the integrity of data and applications on a smart phone.
Not 100%, we hope.
8. Information deleted from a smart phone is gone, right?
No, just marked for overwrite.
9. Spying on my smart phone is hard.
I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
10. Abuse is minimal because the network and phones are constrained. :]
For any high-value target -- whether that's a political candidate or an organization with valuable financial or personal data -- a little more thought ought to go into the process of selecting and deploying any device handling important data.
It makes sense, then, to challenge the more widespread assumptions, and consider how to handle oft-ignored risks. (highly summarized, more here)
1. It's just a phone with cool features, right?
No, it's not.
2. It's stable, just like any other purpose-built appliance.
No, it's not.
3. Communications are encrypted from end to end.
No, not entirely.
4. The connection's secure unless I use Wi-Fi in a café.
Guess, again.
5. E-mails and messages are secure from prying eyes.
Not if you're interesting.
6. Using a mobile phone constitutes out-of-band communication.
Who are you? No one knows for certain.
7. I trust the integrity of data and applications on a smart phone.
Not 100%, we hope.
8. Information deleted from a smart phone is gone, right?
No, just marked for overwrite.
9. Spying on my smart phone is hard.
I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
10. Abuse is minimal because the network and phones are constrained. :]
Friday, March 23, 2007
Surprise Twist in Hollywood Wiretapping Case
Anthony Pellicano Set To Remarry Former Wife...
Ceremony will be held in courtroom where he is being tried for wiretapping. (more)
Ceremony will be held in courtroom where he is being tried for wiretapping. (more)
Judge withdraws from lawyer wiretap case
VT - A state judge has stepped down from handling a case in which she allowed police to record phone conversations with a defense lawyer to determine whether she was obstructing an investigation. (more)
Bullies With iPods
UK - Playground bullies are deploying iPods and social networking sites such as MySpace and MSN Messenger to wage increasingly hi-tech campaigns against victims, according to new research.
Academics studying the growth in so-called cyber-bullying discovered that youngsters, particularly girls, who were twice as likely to be affected as boys, ruthlessly exploited every new technological gadget.
Victims reported feeling more lonely, having fewer friends and being less liked. Among the findings was a growing trend to circulate video clips of young people getting changed after PE sessions. The images are captured on mobile phones and passed onto classmates' video iPods. They are often accompanied by sound tracks of critical comments from laughing bullies. Others found images of their abuse on the MySpace and Bebo sites, although the researchers said operators were quick to remove offensive entries. There was also evidence that that the instant messaging service MSN Messenger was emerging as a hurtful new weapon. (more)
Academics studying the growth in so-called cyber-bullying discovered that youngsters, particularly girls, who were twice as likely to be affected as boys, ruthlessly exploited every new technological gadget.
Victims reported feeling more lonely, having fewer friends and being less liked. Among the findings was a growing trend to circulate video clips of young people getting changed after PE sessions. The images are captured on mobile phones and passed onto classmates' video iPods. They are often accompanied by sound tracks of critical comments from laughing bullies. Others found images of their abuse on the MySpace and Bebo sites, although the researchers said operators were quick to remove offensive entries. There was also evidence that that the instant messaging service MSN Messenger was emerging as a hurtful new weapon. (more)
'Bugging device' found in Sheridan's car
Police in Scotland are investigating a complaint by the politician Tommy Sheridan that his car has been bugged.
A device was found in the Honda Civic belonging to the MSP in Edinburgh yesterday morning, and has now been removed by police.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We received a report of a device being found in a car at the Scottish Parliament. The device was located and we are making inquiries." (more) (more)
UPDATE
Politician Tommy Sheridan has cleared security services of any involvement in bugging his car.
He dismissed speculation that he was being monitored by the authorities as "garbage". The left-wing politician also disclosed that police believe the device found in his silver Honda Civic was wired for pictures as well as sound.
Mr Sheridan, leader of the Solidarity Party, called in police after a member of his staff found what they thought was a piece of eavesdropping equipment in the car. (more)
FURTHER UPDATE
Politician Tommy Sheridan has been told by police that a suspected bugging device found in his car was "viable". (more)
A device was found in the Honda Civic belonging to the MSP in Edinburgh yesterday morning, and has now been removed by police.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We received a report of a device being found in a car at the Scottish Parliament. The device was located and we are making inquiries." (more) (more)
UPDATE
Politician Tommy Sheridan has cleared security services of any involvement in bugging his car.
He dismissed speculation that he was being monitored by the authorities as "garbage". The left-wing politician also disclosed that police believe the device found in his silver Honda Civic was wired for pictures as well as sound.
Mr Sheridan, leader of the Solidarity Party, called in police after a member of his staff found what they thought was a piece of eavesdropping equipment in the car. (more)
FURTHER UPDATE
Politician Tommy Sheridan has been told by police that a suspected bugging device found in his car was "viable". (more)
Private eye avoids jail in spying scandal
CA - A Melbourne (Florida) private investigator implicated in a spying scandal at Hewlett-Packard Co. will avoid jail time after his lawyer tendered a "no contest" plea Wednesday to a misdemeanor charges in California.
Lawyers for the local investigator, Matthew DePante, manager of Action Research Group, and three other defendants in the case entered no contest pleas to misdemeanor charges of fraudulent wire communications in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
The judge dropped the charges against former Hewlett-Packard Co. board Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, who was accused of fraud in the company's boardroom spying scandal.
Like DePante, former Hewlett-Packard ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker and private investigator Ronald DeLia also will avoid jail time. (more)
Moral... Don't depend on the legal system to deter spies. Depend on your own proactive counterespionage efforts.
Lawyers for the local investigator, Matthew DePante, manager of Action Research Group, and three other defendants in the case entered no contest pleas to misdemeanor charges of fraudulent wire communications in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
The judge dropped the charges against former Hewlett-Packard Co. board Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, who was accused of fraud in the company's boardroom spying scandal.
Like DePante, former Hewlett-Packard ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker and private investigator Ronald DeLia also will avoid jail time. (more)
Moral... Don't depend on the legal system to deter spies. Depend on your own proactive counterespionage efforts.
Oracle's claims highlight more corporate spying
Oracle's newly-filed lawsuit against rival SAP is only the latest in a slew of recent allegations that make it seem that business leaders are still willing to seek out ways to circumvent technological security systems.
In its suit -- which accuses enterprise applications giant SAP of fraud legislation, unfair competition, and civil conspiracy, and charges the German company of "corporate theft on a grand scale" -- Oracle claims that SAP workers illegally accessed its own computerized customer support systems and stole "thousands of proprietary, copyrighted software products," as well as other confidential materials...
...the accusations follow a string of other instances where corporate leaders have intentionally bypassed systems meant to protect sensitive data. (more)
In its suit -- which accuses enterprise applications giant SAP of fraud legislation, unfair competition, and civil conspiracy, and charges the German company of "corporate theft on a grand scale" -- Oracle claims that SAP workers illegally accessed its own computerized customer support systems and stole "thousands of proprietary, copyrighted software products," as well as other confidential materials...
...the accusations follow a string of other instances where corporate leaders have intentionally bypassed systems meant to protect sensitive data. (more)
Yet Another SpyCam'er
CT - A man landed in hot water after police say he hid a tiny camera in a shampoo bottle to watch two of his female roommates as they took showers.
A male roommate, curious why the shampoo wasn't moved for some time, found wires protruding from the back of the bottle, then called police, authorities said.
The camera recorded through a pinhole, and the images were sent to Steven Thibodeau's television, police said. Thibodeau, 25, had placed the camera to record the women showering and made a video of one of them changing clothes, according to police.
Thibodeau was arraigned Wednesday on 15 counts of voyeurism and one count of evidence tampering, which alleges he tried to delete some images. ...
It wasn't yet known how long the shampoo had been wired. (more)
A male roommate, curious why the shampoo wasn't moved for some time, found wires protruding from the back of the bottle, then called police, authorities said.
The camera recorded through a pinhole, and the images were sent to Steven Thibodeau's television, police said. Thibodeau, 25, had placed the camera to record the women showering and made a video of one of them changing clothes, according to police.
Thibodeau was arraigned Wednesday on 15 counts of voyeurism and one count of evidence tampering, which alleges he tried to delete some images. ...
It wasn't yet known how long the shampoo had been wired. (more)
Thursday, March 22, 2007
When Sneaky Spy Tactics Fail...
...Use a Ray Gun.Dr. Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators, are a line of immensely dangerous yet simple to operate wave oscillation weapons.
Meticulously built to the exacting standards and plans of Dr. Grordbort, these weapons, bespangled in fine detail and with various (most likely quite dangerous) moving parts are the perfect addition to a gentleman's study or a deterring centerpiece for a lady's powder room or chiffonier.
Ammunition not supplied (Phlogiston and Compressed Aether phials may be ordered through the Doctor's upcoming Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory) (more)
Italy arrests 12 more in T.Italia wiretap case
Italian authorities have arrested 12 more people in connection with an investigation into illegal wiretapping by Telecom Italia... Magistrates accuse those arrested of illegally obtaining information through wiretapping and computer hacking. (more)
Vodacom 'spying' on workers
South Africa - A Vodacom worker's dismissal has raised questions about spying at the company.
The employee, Portia Sithole was dismissed last Friday after attending a union activity while on a doctor-mandated sick leave. ...
The company monitored her location using her mobile telephone.
"The company offers employees a phone as a company benefit. Now they are using it as a tracking device to see where one goes and when. I think it is a total invasion of privacy," said Sithole. (more)
The employee, Portia Sithole was dismissed last Friday after attending a union activity while on a doctor-mandated sick leave. ...
The company monitored her location using her mobile telephone.
"The company offers employees a phone as a company benefit. Now they are using it as a tracking device to see where one goes and when. I think it is a total invasion of privacy," said Sithole. (more)
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Our New Instrumentation Wins Multiple Awards
Tektronix, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, announced that its RSA6100A Series Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers received the Editor's Choice Award in Electronic Engineering Times-China (EE Times-China) Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards for the most significant technical solution in the past 12 months. ...The awards, sponsored by EE Times-China, received 224 entries from 83 companies. The editorial team of EE Times-China reviewed these entries to evaluate their impact on the electronics industry in China. Based on its unique capability and innovative features, the editors of EE-Times China selected Tektronix's RSA6100A real time spectrum analyzer for the Editor's Choice Award.
"The RSA6100A Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer stood out as the most significant technical solution in the last 12 months," said Yorbe Zhang, Editor in Chief of EE Times-China. "The RTSA's ability to visually display the live RF spectrum, showing the spectral activity in real-time, is a stunning engineering accomplishment... (more) (even more awards)
Murray Associates is the only private-sector TSCM firm to own an RSA6100A. A view of it's screen can be seen here.
In short... It lets us see bugs no one else can see.
Wiretap Service & DIY Wiretaps
New York based call recording company 2ReCall just recently launched their initial call recording product last week. The new service lets you record any US domestic outgoing call by first dialing into an 800 number and then number you want to call.The old fashioned way of recording calls consisted of Spy-vs-Spy type tape recorders and suction mics. VOIP changed that a bit, making it dead simple to grab the conversation as it passes through your phone client, although it leaves you chained to the desk.
2ReCall’s 800 number means you can record an outgoing call on any phone. Over the coming year the service will be able to record inbound calls as well, with the ultimate goal being a completely seamless solution that records all calls on the number. (more) DIY wiretap. (more)
FartCam Sniffs Out Trash Tippers
UK - A council is to hide cameras inside baked bean tins and brick walls to catch residents who put rubbish in the wrong bins. The covert surveillance has been ordered by Ealing council to target 'enviro-criminals' an Evening Standard investigation has found. (more)
UPDATE... EALING council was rubbished' in national and London press this week over its decision to use hidden cameras in bags of rubbish. ... (reply) "We make no apology for taking the toughest action against those few who continue to blight our borough without any thought of the impact on the majority of residents." (more)
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