via Pitch.com
Kansas - Assistant District Attorney Jacqie Spradling was fired by District Attorney Phill Kline on April 24, 2007.
Among the items creating friction between them was her allegation that her office had been bugged. (A person not affiliated with the District Attorney's Office told Spradling that a senior member of Kline's staff had revealed that surveillance equipment was set up in the District Attorney's Office.)
Spradling claimed that she scanned her office four times with a device that detects radio frequencies from wireless eavesdropping devices. Three times, she says, the sensor detected a radio frequency signal emitted by wireless eavesdropping devices.
---
Set aside the politics and names involved and assume the activity described is accurate. This is a real-life tale, that could happen to anyone, in any occupation. Consider only the actions taken when a person suspected their privacy was compromised.
• First, the target alerts the suspect. (In writing!)
• Next, the target alerts the media. (Via press conference.)
Remember, so far, there is no actual evidence of eavesdropping.
At this point, it would be reasonable to think the suspect would end the surveillance and cover their tracks.
The story now becomes murkier, and we are guessing here:
• The target, with no technical countermeasures experience, conducts their own sweep.
• The instrumentation used "detects radio frequencies from wireless eavesdropping devices."
When we hear this, it generally means that the DIY'er sweeper has gone to a "Spy Shop" or Internet site and purchased a low-cost blinky light box. The only thing these gadgets do (other than provide a false sense of security) is indicate the relative level of radio-frequency (RF) activity in an area.
Keep in mind:
• Not all eavesdropping is conducted using wireless microphones.
• A detector of this type can not verify eavesdropping; you can't listen to the signal you are detecting.
• An indication of RF may be caused by any number of things - intermittent 2-way radio transmissions from antennas on the roof a government building, for example.
It now becomes clear - this inspection methodology can not be relied upon to prove an electronic surveillance case. We are not saying that it didn't happen, just that this is not the way to make a case.
Let's go one step further with this autopsy:
• In three out of four tests, "the sensor detected a radio frequency signal emitted by wireless eavesdropping devices."
Inquiring minds want to know:
• Why wasn't the eavesdropping device searched for, found and treated as evidence of a crime - on the very first positive detection? (Eavesdropping is a criminal offense.)
• Given these preliminary findings, why wasn't an eavesdropping detection specialist (private or government) consulted?
• Why was confidential legal business allowed to continue in an office believed to be compromised with eavesdropping devices?
This is a real-life cautionary tale of how not to handle suspected eavesdropping. Don't turn your eavesdropping suspicions into front-page news. Call a specialist.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Robo Audry (cure for the summertime blues)
The fly catcher is an electronic fly-swatting device based on the idea of the Venus fly trap. The Fly Catcher is not just a talking point, it actually catches flies. (more)(movie)
Eavesdropping via Mind Reading - One Step Closer
Hitachi has developed a technology to allow users to control devices by thinking. The system is currently being used to move a toy train back and forth, but the company and other manufacturers see a future for it in TV remote controls, cars and artificial limbs. A key advantage to Hitachi's technology is that sensors don't have to physically enter the brain. (more)
More GSM Cellular Bugging Devices
Check out the latest state-of-the-art GSM bugging devices
Dial into a room and listen from anywhere in the world
These products look like ordinary household devices right?
(see slide show)
Wrong.
These new products all have built-in GSM, meaning you can dial in to them from anywhere in the world and listen in to room using the GSM cellular network.
The seemingly ordinary plug is actually a 13 amp adaptor with a GSM transmitter (£998.75). Simply slot a SIM card into the adaptor, phone in to the number and the internal microphone will be activated, totally silently, allowing you to hear everything that’s happening in the room. (more)
Dial into a room and listen from anywhere in the world
These products look like ordinary household devices right?
(see slide show)
Wrong.
These new products all have built-in GSM, meaning you can dial in to them from anywhere in the world and listen in to room using the GSM cellular network.
The seemingly ordinary plug is actually a 13 amp adaptor with a GSM transmitter (£998.75). Simply slot a SIM card into the adaptor, phone in to the number and the internal microphone will be activated, totally silently, allowing you to hear everything that’s happening in the room. (more)
GSM Bug Alert
If you're hearing this on your audio systems,
it might be this...
------
A GSM cellular bug.
• Sound activated
• Motion activated
• Covert
The central feature of the GSM-SAMS, is that it’s a sophisticated, totally concealed bugging device. It calls the eavesdropper and allows them to answer & hear what is going on in the vicinity of the GSM-SAMS without alerting anyone. They can also call it.
Features:
Ability to change the pre-selected number if required
Ability to turn off microphone while on standby for power saving
Ability to remotely reset the unit.
Ability to adjust sensitivity of the microphone
Ability to remotely place the unit in "Sleep" mode.
Ability to operate up to three consecutive days on batteries. (Standby)
Compact size, easy to hide, and without range limitation (Utilizing GSM technology)
Suitable for placement in the house, car or office, etc. convenient monitoring
Three-digit identification for each unit allowing multiple-units installation
1~6: Done through text messaging.
Power: 1 Lithium Ion Battery (Lasts up to two days).
It is also possible to use a mains (for homes, office, etc.) or connect the unit to an adapter for use in an automobile.
Options:
PIR Sensor for Motion Activation. Add $118.00
External Battery: Live Monitoring & 4-5 Days Stand-by. Add $100.00
(more)
(Need help finding one of these in your office? Click here.)
Mobile phones: tapping, hacking and eavesdropping
The humble mobile phone has stepped into the murky world of corporate espionage and phone tapping.
Tales of eavesdropping and voicemail manipulation have been hitting the headlines recently, and mobile phone users -- particularly those in business -- must begin to wonder just how secure is their mobile phone?
One chief executive of a leading Irish and international blue chip company who didn't wish to be named told ENN "I just assume my mobile is monitored... (more)
Tales of eavesdropping and voicemail manipulation have been hitting the headlines recently, and mobile phone users -- particularly those in business -- must begin to wonder just how secure is their mobile phone?
One chief executive of a leading Irish and international blue chip company who didn't wish to be named told ENN "I just assume my mobile is monitored... (more)
Friday, June 22, 2007
CIA Documents Released
DC - Little-known documents now being made public detail illegal and scandalous activities by the CIA more than 30 years ago: wiretapping of journalists, kidnappings, warrantless searches and more. (more)
SpyCam Story #363
NY - A Peeping Tom who was videotaping a 14-year-old girl through her bedroom window on Thursday was arrested in her backyard, police said.
A witness saw what was going on outside the girl's home around 2 a.m. and called Nassau County police, who said images on the peeper's video camera showed he had spied on the girl at least twice.
The man was charged with multiple counts of unlawful surveillance and eavesdropping.
His video camera was confiscated and was being kept as evidence. (more)
A witness saw what was going on outside the girl's home around 2 a.m. and called Nassau County police, who said images on the peeper's video camera showed he had spied on the girl at least twice.
The man was charged with multiple counts of unlawful surveillance and eavesdropping.
His video camera was confiscated and was being kept as evidence. (more)
Story of a Cold War Debugger
Jack Glass saw plenty of action during World War II and plenty more afterward...
His services also were rendered during the Cold War, searching U.S. embassies around the world for the hidden microphones and other surveillance equipment frequently planted by Soviet spies.His specialty was "audio countermeasures," meaning he was responsible for finding hidden listening devices, or "bugs," planted by other governments in U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic buildings overseas.
From 1962 to 1974, Glass was stationed at U.S. embassies in the Middle East, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and South America, serving two to three years at each location. His wife and daughters, Nancy and Jacki, traveled with him, with the children attending schools set up for diplomatic families.
From central headquarters, Glass and other security engineers would travel to U.S. diplomatic posts in surrounding countries.
"We got around pretty good," Glass said, noting that from Beirut, Lebanon, they would travel throughout the Middle East and the entire continent of Africa.
From Budapest, Hungary, they would span Eastern Europe, including Moscow and other cities in the Soviet Union. South America was covered from Buenos Aires, Argentina, while Frankfurt, Germany, was the base of operations for Western Europe.
Eastern Bloc nations, Glass said, were by far the most active.
"We found hidden microphones in all our embassies in Eastern Europe," he said, including Belgrade, Yugoslavia; Bucharest, Romania; Sofia, Bulgaria; Budapest, Hungary; Moscow and other Eastern European capitals.
"We tried to keep the embassies from being bugged," Glass said. "Sometimes we were successful, sometimes not. Whatever we could do, the Soviets could do as good or better, which they did, especially in Moscow."
Glass said hidden devices were usually found through "pick and shovel work" — physically taking apart telephones, office equipment and furniture, and even digging inside the walls, which could be up to 3 feet thick.
Glass once found a wireless transmitter inside a hollowed out piece of firewood in an ambassador's office.
A team of Navy Seabees also was assigned to assist the audio teams, since "anything we tore up we had to rebuild," Glass said. "They also helped us demolish certain things."
The searches were not a matter of paranoia — more than 130 microphones were discovered in the former U.S. embassy in Moscow, Glass said.
"It was renovated by the Russians and every office in the building was bugged," he said. "Some had been there so long the microphones didn't work."
Construction on a new embassy began in 1979 but was suspended several years later.
According to congressional documents, U.S. personnel discovered in 1984 that an unsecured shipment of typewriters for the Moscow Embassy had been bugged and had been transmitting intelligence data for years.
"In August 1985," the U.S. State Department said, "work was suspended on the partially completed (building) due to a security compromise of such consequence that there was serious doubt that the building, if completed, could be used for the purpose intended." (more)
His services also were rendered during the Cold War, searching U.S. embassies around the world for the hidden microphones and other surveillance equipment frequently planted by Soviet spies.His specialty was "audio countermeasures," meaning he was responsible for finding hidden listening devices, or "bugs," planted by other governments in U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic buildings overseas.
From 1962 to 1974, Glass was stationed at U.S. embassies in the Middle East, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and South America, serving two to three years at each location. His wife and daughters, Nancy and Jacki, traveled with him, with the children attending schools set up for diplomatic families.
From central headquarters, Glass and other security engineers would travel to U.S. diplomatic posts in surrounding countries.
"We got around pretty good," Glass said, noting that from Beirut, Lebanon, they would travel throughout the Middle East and the entire continent of Africa.
From Budapest, Hungary, they would span Eastern Europe, including Moscow and other cities in the Soviet Union. South America was covered from Buenos Aires, Argentina, while Frankfurt, Germany, was the base of operations for Western Europe.
Eastern Bloc nations, Glass said, were by far the most active.
"We found hidden microphones in all our embassies in Eastern Europe," he said, including Belgrade, Yugoslavia; Bucharest, Romania; Sofia, Bulgaria; Budapest, Hungary; Moscow and other Eastern European capitals.
"We tried to keep the embassies from being bugged," Glass said. "Sometimes we were successful, sometimes not. Whatever we could do, the Soviets could do as good or better, which they did, especially in Moscow."
Glass said hidden devices were usually found through "pick and shovel work" — physically taking apart telephones, office equipment and furniture, and even digging inside the walls, which could be up to 3 feet thick.
Glass once found a wireless transmitter inside a hollowed out piece of firewood in an ambassador's office.
A team of Navy Seabees also was assigned to assist the audio teams, since "anything we tore up we had to rebuild," Glass said. "They also helped us demolish certain things."
The searches were not a matter of paranoia — more than 130 microphones were discovered in the former U.S. embassy in Moscow, Glass said.
"It was renovated by the Russians and every office in the building was bugged," he said. "Some had been there so long the microphones didn't work."
Construction on a new embassy began in 1979 but was suspended several years later.
According to congressional documents, U.S. personnel discovered in 1984 that an unsecured shipment of typewriters for the Moscow Embassy had been bugged and had been transmitting intelligence data for years.
"In August 1985," the U.S. State Department said, "work was suspended on the partially completed (building) due to a security compromise of such consequence that there was serious doubt that the building, if completed, could be used for the purpose intended." (more)
Senior Russian Cop Held in Eavesdropping Scandal
Moscow - A senior local police officer has been arrested for illegal eavesdropping, while several other officers are under probe for allegedly making phone tapping into a profitable business, according to an influential daily.
Mikhail Yanykin, deputy head of a secret police department responsible for wiretapping, covert video surveillance and other technical support operations has been apprehended pending official charges, Kommersant daily reported adding that another official Nikolai Orlov, deputy chief of the Moscow Criminal Investigations Department has been ordered not to leave the city.
According to investigation phone tapping, which can be conducted as part of a criminal investigation and requires court approval, had been turned into a profitable business, with services, including printouts of tapped telephone conversations, being provided to a wide range of "clients." (more)
Mikhail Yanykin, deputy head of a secret police department responsible for wiretapping, covert video surveillance and other technical support operations has been apprehended pending official charges, Kommersant daily reported adding that another official Nikolai Orlov, deputy chief of the Moscow Criminal Investigations Department has been ordered not to leave the city.
According to investigation phone tapping, which can be conducted as part of a criminal investigation and requires court approval, had been turned into a profitable business, with services, including printouts of tapped telephone conversations, being provided to a wide range of "clients." (more)
Thursday, June 21, 2007
SpyCam Story #362
WA - A security guard was fired after allegedly using remote-controlled cameras on top of the downtown post office in Spokane to peer inside a condominium. The investigation could lead to voyeurism charges.
The unidentified guard worked for a private company, Secure Solutions. The Florida-based contractor provides security in a downtown block including the Courthouse and adjoining post office. Guards remotely control cameras mounted on extension booms on the roof of the four-story post office. (more)
The unidentified guard worked for a private company, Secure Solutions. The Florida-based contractor provides security in a downtown block including the Courthouse and adjoining post office. Guards remotely control cameras mounted on extension booms on the roof of the four-story post office. (more)
On Chinese Espionage
Denny Hatch's summary of the situation is the best we've read so far.
Chinese Theft of Intellectual Property
"China is notorious for stealing the designs and manufacturing hundreds of patented and copyright products and selling them all over the world, including in this country. Among them: Callaway Big Bertha golf clubs, Ikea furniture, Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker Scotch whiskey, Italian and French wine, luggage, designer clothes, Honda motorcycles, Sony PlayStation games, Cisco Systems router interface cards, even Mitsubishi elevators!
Target stores here have been accused of selling bogus Coach bags and two weeks ago, Wal-Mart settled with Fendi for selling counterfeit handbags for up to $525 each.
What’s more, these thieves get off lightly. In March 2005, a Chinese factory was raided and 32,980 counterfeit Zippo lighters were discovered. The factory manager, Zheng Shengfen, was taken to court and the judge fined him $12,500 with no jail sentence.
Quite simply, if you create any kind of desirable product here or abroad, expect to be ripped off by the Chinese.
Chinese Theft of Intellectual Property
"China is notorious for stealing the designs and manufacturing hundreds of patented and copyright products and selling them all over the world, including in this country. Among them: Callaway Big Bertha golf clubs, Ikea furniture, Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker Scotch whiskey, Italian and French wine, luggage, designer clothes, Honda motorcycles, Sony PlayStation games, Cisco Systems router interface cards, even Mitsubishi elevators!
Target stores here have been accused of selling bogus Coach bags and two weeks ago, Wal-Mart settled with Fendi for selling counterfeit handbags for up to $525 each.
What’s more, these thieves get off lightly. In March 2005, a Chinese factory was raided and 32,980 counterfeit Zippo lighters were discovered. The factory manager, Zheng Shengfen, was taken to court and the judge fined him $12,500 with no jail sentence.
Quite simply, if you create any kind of desirable product here or abroad, expect to be ripped off by the Chinese.
The Ultimate Eavesdropping Tool?
...now on ebay! (ugh)"Haunted 925 Silver Ornate Chalcedony Ring - Witch Spell - Read Other's Minds! Telepathy! Pick Up on Thoughts."
"This is a Ring that Albina imbued with an incredible spell!. She says that Chalcedony has always been highly regarded beacuse of it's natural power to increase thought transmissions. As a result, Albina consecrated this ring with her "Mystical mind reader" spell. This powerful spell allows one to actually "read the mind's of others as well as hear their thoughts and pick up on their feelings". She says that this is a form of psychic ability only it is focused solely on mind reading and not the ability to see future events.
In turn, Albina says that wearing this ring will allow one to "tune into and pick up on other's thoughts and feelings" which is as she says "very beneficial in many situations. She does caution one however, to using this power to "eavesdrop on the feelings and thoughts of those who dislike or are an 'enemy' to one. She says that she herself has 'felt hurt' by some of the information she has received. Yet, overall, she says "this power offers one a great advantage especially in business and career matters. She goes on to say that this ability is "key" when one is facing important decisions and chioces. Albina says that before purchasing a summer home, she wore this ring and was able to "hear the realtor become fearful" that she would discover the 'bad' plumbing in the lower level of the home! She adds that this is only ONE example of how this imbued ring has "given me information that I was VERY grateful to receive". This is a VERY special piece and my GREAT Thanks and Blessings go out to Albina for donating such a cherished item!
My reader says that the energy emitted from this ring is "very consistent and carries a low, humming frequency". She said that the piece "gave me the chills and seemed to open a door" that allowed her own ability to increase.
She went on to say that she could feel the ring "connecting to those around one on a level in which one would be able to read thoughts". She added that the longer she held the ring, she felt the ability getting stronger, and this was only within a few minutes. She went on to say that "if this ring can allow this within such a short period of time, one who wears this ring often should be able to achieve geat abilities and gain a very clear pathways to another's mind".
She adds that she senses that this particular ring "knows it's true owner" and that the person it will go to "will feel a pull towards this piece and not rest until it is in their possession'. She also could view a brilliant green and dark, sharp pink aura around this piece. (more) ...currently, only $20.50 - whattabargain :)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
French Fear Blackberry's Will Be Squeezed...
...for their juicy information.
The French national-security office SGDN has warned the country's new cabinet members and presidential staff to stop using their BlackBerrys because confidential political and economic information could be intercepted by the Americans. ...
...its data transmissions processed by servers in the U.S. and U.K., France fears the U.S. National Security Agency could get its hands on any information sent through a BlackBerry...
...the French oil giant Total has never let its employees use one because of "security reasons." "There are plenty of other perfectly good PDAs," Total says. (more)(more)
The French national-security office SGDN has warned the country's new cabinet members and presidential staff to stop using their BlackBerrys because confidential political and economic information could be intercepted by the Americans. ...
...its data transmissions processed by servers in the U.S. and U.K., France fears the U.S. National Security Agency could get its hands on any information sent through a BlackBerry...
...the French oil giant Total has never let its employees use one because of "security reasons." "There are plenty of other perfectly good PDAs," Total says. (more)(more)
Monday, June 18, 2007
Video Surveillance Supermarket
It's not just paranoia anymore. With improvements and cost reductions in video surveillance technology, more people than ever may be watching you... Supercircuits Inc. is helping them watch more effectively and for less cost than ever.The company, which moved from California to Austin as a hole-in-the-wall operation 15 years ago, has grown into perhaps the biggest discounter in the video surveillance industry. And business is booming as the world grows more security-conscious in the wake of increased terrorist attacks.
The tiny camera, shown here in a page from the Guinness Book of Records, can fit in a baseball cap undetected. (more)
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