...from an Arizonia college newspaper...
"If you like Overheard on Campus, do your part to keep this space filled by submitting the products of your eavesdropping today!
The Arizona Daily Wildcat is proud to feature "Overheard on Campus," where private conversations become public hilarity.
Got a good one? E-mail it to campus@wildcat.arizona.edu. Be sure to include your name, year and major with your submission." (more)
Monday, August 27, 2007
*** Security Alert *** Video Phone Eavesdropping and Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability has been reported in the Grandstream GXV3000 IP Video Phone, which can be exploited by malicious people to cause a DoS (Denial of Service) and eavesdrop with vulnerable devices.The vulnerability is caused due to an unspecified error in the SIP stack and can be exploited to set the phone to an inconsistent state by sending an "INVITE" and a "183 Session Progress" message sequence. This allows an attacker to eavesdrop with the device and also disables it to hang up.
The vulnerability is reported in firmware version 1.0.1.7. Other versions may also be affected.
Solution: Reportedly fixed in version 1.0.1.12. Contact the vendor for more information.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
NYC Sightseeing (in reverse)
Surveillance Camera Outdoor Walking Tour: The Lower East Side New York City - A fascinating look at how often you are being taped during your daily jaunt through the city. Taking this guided stroll throug the Lower East Side you'll marvel at the electronic observation of your path. (more) (more)
Chinese spying on German government computers
Numerous computers of the German government are infected by Chinese espionage programs, the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine said in a report to hit the newsstands on Sunday.
Chinese cyber spies snooped reportedly on computers in the chancellery, the foreign and economic ministry as well as the research ministry. According to the Verfassungschutz, the Chinese hackers are believed to be linked to China's People's Army.
Reacting to the report, the Chinese embassy in Berlin dismissed it as "irresponsible speculation without any basis of proof".
Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to embark on Sunday on a one-week visit to China and Japan.
The German media has repeatedly reported on extensive Chinese economic espionage inside Germany. (more)
Chinese cyber spies snooped reportedly on computers in the chancellery, the foreign and economic ministry as well as the research ministry. According to the Verfassungschutz, the Chinese hackers are believed to be linked to China's People's Army.
Reacting to the report, the Chinese embassy in Berlin dismissed it as "irresponsible speculation without any basis of proof".
Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to embark on Sunday on a one-week visit to China and Japan.
The German media has repeatedly reported on extensive Chinese economic espionage inside Germany. (more)
SpyCam Story #373 - Video Gossip
UK - A Tesco boss was caught on CCTV in a steamy clinch with a 16-year-old shelf stacker... in his supermarket cash office. Store manager Harish Bhatoya, 25, faces the sack and the teenage girl has already quit over the scandal.
One Tesco worker recorded four minutes of the 6pm incident from the CCTV monitors on a mobile phone. The footage circulated among staff and eventually bosses at the supermarket giant's head office found out. ... Two senior members of staff came down to the store on the Monday and took the CCTV tapes. (more)
One Tesco worker recorded four minutes of the 6pm incident from the CCTV monitors on a mobile phone. The footage circulated among staff and eventually bosses at the supermarket giant's head office found out. ... Two senior members of staff came down to the store on the Monday and took the CCTV tapes. (more)
"...and we also send the feed to Santa."
UK - Motorists using mobile phones are being caught by a police spotter plane.
The £300,000 "eye in the sky" flies at around 10,000 ft - and uses a powerful camera which can zoom in on a driver with amazing precision.
If someone is spotted using a phone, the police alert colleagues on the ground to stop them.
The aircraft is being used by Cheshire Police on its way to and from other jobs. A police spokesman said: "The camera is of a military spec and can magnify to almost any degree required." (more)
Obviously, there is no need to spend about $600,000.00 (not to mention the fuel bill), or fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet to catch people driving while using mobile phones. Heck, the fine alone would have to be in the thousands to make this cost-effective. However, the "other jobs" might make this worthwhile, and releasing a nutty story like this to a sensational-hungry press and gullible public; free frosting on the enforcement cake!
The £300,000 "eye in the sky" flies at around 10,000 ft - and uses a powerful camera which can zoom in on a driver with amazing precision.
If someone is spotted using a phone, the police alert colleagues on the ground to stop them.
The aircraft is being used by Cheshire Police on its way to and from other jobs. A police spokesman said: "The camera is of a military spec and can magnify to almost any degree required." (more)
Obviously, there is no need to spend about $600,000.00 (not to mention the fuel bill), or fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet to catch people driving while using mobile phones. Heck, the fine alone would have to be in the thousands to make this cost-effective. However, the "other jobs" might make this worthwhile, and releasing a nutty story like this to a sensational-hungry press and gullible public; free frosting on the enforcement cake!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Want to ...be a Private Investigator?
...read the magazine they read, just for fun?
...ask a PI a question on-line?
...play with real PI gear?
...find a PI to help you?
Then, you need to bookmark this web site.
...ask a PI a question on-line?
...play with real PI gear?
...find a PI to help you?
Then, you need to bookmark this web site.
Pin the Tail on the Dopey... or, PI Spies Bug Sports Guys
Australia - There is a new gig in town for private eyes: spying on athletes caught up in doping allegations.
Tender documents show the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority is hiring a panel of private investigators to monitor athletes, coaches and officials who are already under suspicion.
An authority spokesman, Simon Tidy, said private investigators using video and audio surveillance equipment was new for the authority.
"We have our own investigators … but in terms of video and audio, we don't do that at the moment," he said.
The tender, which closed last week, called for companies with the resources to conduct "covert and overt" investigations in Australia and overseas.
Investigators who won contracts, expected to be for three years, would have to hold a current investigator's licence, and have undergone an Australian Federal Police character assessment in the past two years.
They will report day-to-day accounts of surveillance operations, and provide comprehensive video and audio records, including a "compilation tape" with many hours of footage. (more)
Tender documents show the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority is hiring a panel of private investigators to monitor athletes, coaches and officials who are already under suspicion.
An authority spokesman, Simon Tidy, said private investigators using video and audio surveillance equipment was new for the authority.
"We have our own investigators … but in terms of video and audio, we don't do that at the moment," he said.
The tender, which closed last week, called for companies with the resources to conduct "covert and overt" investigations in Australia and overseas.
Investigators who won contracts, expected to be for three years, would have to hold a current investigator's licence, and have undergone an Australian Federal Police character assessment in the past two years.
They will report day-to-day accounts of surveillance operations, and provide comprehensive video and audio records, including a "compilation tape" with many hours of footage. (more)
SpyCam Story #372 - Surfer's Paradise
Australia - A Gold Coast man has been charged with stalking after allegedly installing security cameras in his share house to spy on his three female flatmates.
Police said the 36-year-old man from Surfers Paradise lived with three females aged 24, 34 and 37.
He has been charged with wilful damage, observations or recordings in breach of privacy, and possession of tainted property and will appear in Southport Magistrates Court today. (more)
Police said the 36-year-old man from Surfers Paradise lived with three females aged 24, 34 and 37.
He has been charged with wilful damage, observations or recordings in breach of privacy, and possession of tainted property and will appear in Southport Magistrates Court today. (more)
Teacher Charged With Wiretapping
WV - A vocational teacher is accused of illegally recording a fellow instructor in an apparent attempt to catch her 'ranting and raving' at students.
Hancock County sheriff's officials say 52-year-old Joyce Wells of New Cumberland admitted she recorded Marcie Stewart by placing a tape recorder outside her classroom on May 2.
It is illegal in West Virginia for anyone to audiotape a conversation to which he or she is not a party. (more)
Hancock County sheriff's officials say 52-year-old Joyce Wells of New Cumberland admitted she recorded Marcie Stewart by placing a tape recorder outside her classroom on May 2.
It is illegal in West Virginia for anyone to audiotape a conversation to which he or she is not a party. (more)
Judge upholds charge in videotaping case
IL - Rejecting claims of prosecutorial misconduct, a McHenry County judge Friday upheld the indictment of a Cary teen accused with two friends of videotaping a sexual encounter one of them had with an unknowing female classmate.
The decision moves 17-year-old Stefen Mueller a step closer to trial on the felony eavesdropping charge stemming from the Jan. 6 incident. ...
The eavesdropping charges against Mueller and his co-defendants allege they set up a hidden video camera in one of the teen's bedrooms to capture a later encounter between one of them and a 17-year-old girl. (more)
The decision moves 17-year-old Stefen Mueller a step closer to trial on the felony eavesdropping charge stemming from the Jan. 6 incident. ...
The eavesdropping charges against Mueller and his co-defendants allege they set up a hidden video camera in one of the teen's bedrooms to capture a later encounter between one of them and a 17-year-old girl. (more)
Wiretap Law History - Chapter 1
Whispering Wires: The Tragic Tale of an American BootleggerISBN: 9781592992522
by Philip Metcalfe
In Whispering Wires, Metcalfe tells the story of Roy Olmstead, one of the principal bootleggers in Prohibition-era Seattle, and the first major federal court case concerning the use of wiretaps.
He writes, "Set into motion then was a constellation of conditions that no one could have foretold. Prohibition had produced a shadow universe governed by an aberrant moral algebra." This historical narrative follows the city officials, Prohibition agents, and rumrunners who chased, evaded, and double-crossed each other during one of Seattle's most thrilling eras. (more)
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Are bloggers part of the news media?
The U.S. government — led by two of its most secretive agencies — is increasingly saying, "Yes, they are."
Despite the rap that bloggers simply "bloviate" and "don't try to find things out," as conservative newspaper columnist Robert Novak once sniffed, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) have altered policies to indicate they're taking blogs seriously, and a growing number of public offices are actively reaching out to the blogosphere.
The CIA recently updated its policies on Freedom of Information Act requests to allow bloggers to qualify for special treatment once reserved for old-school reporters. And last August, the NSA issued a directive to its employees to report leaks of classified information to the media — "including blogs," the order said. (more)
Despite the rap that bloggers simply "bloviate" and "don't try to find things out," as conservative newspaper columnist Robert Novak once sniffed, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) have altered policies to indicate they're taking blogs seriously, and a growing number of public offices are actively reaching out to the blogosphere.
The CIA recently updated its policies on Freedom of Information Act requests to allow bloggers to qualify for special treatment once reserved for old-school reporters. And last August, the NSA issued a directive to its employees to report leaks of classified information to the media — "including blogs," the order said. (more)
The Old 'Cell Phone Eavesdropping' Trick
IL - A Carpentersville man was accused of giving the old telephone slogan “reach out and touch someone” a high-tech twist when he bugged a car with a cell phone, police said Wednesday.
A 27-year-old woman called police at 8 p.m. Tuesday, saying she found a cell phone lying under the seat of her car with an open line.
When police called the number of the last incoming call, a man answered and said he was the woman’s husband, police said. But they said they are unsure of the relationship between the victim and the man.
Howard Fabriccio, 30, of 130 Austin Ave., Carpentersville, was charged with eavesdropping and possession of an eavesdropping device, police said.
Police said the phone was set to ring silently and automatically answer. The person on the other end could listen to what was happening in the woman’s car after the cell phone number was dialed.
When the phone was discovered, police said there was a timer on the phone that had been active for more than an hour. (more)
A 27-year-old woman called police at 8 p.m. Tuesday, saying she found a cell phone lying under the seat of her car with an open line.
When police called the number of the last incoming call, a man answered and said he was the woman’s husband, police said. But they said they are unsure of the relationship between the victim and the man.
Howard Fabriccio, 30, of 130 Austin Ave., Carpentersville, was charged with eavesdropping and possession of an eavesdropping device, police said.
Police said the phone was set to ring silently and automatically answer. The person on the other end could listen to what was happening in the woman’s car after the cell phone number was dialed.
When the phone was discovered, police said there was a timer on the phone that had been active for more than an hour. (more)
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