SpyCam Story #375 - Football Spies

New York - The NFL is looking into claims a New England Patriots employee was videotaping signals by Jets coaches on New York's sideline during the season opener.

The investigation was first reported by ESPN.com, which said that NFL security confiscated a video camera and tape from a Patriots employee during New England's 38-14 victory Sunday. The employee was accused of aiming his camera at the Jets' defensive coaches, who were sending signals out to the players, sources told the Web site.

"The rule is that no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game," the league said in a statement from spokesman Greg Aiello. "Clubs have specifically been reminded in the past that the videotaping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals on the sidelines is prohibited. (more)

Art Imitates Life - Ars Electronica 2007

"Goodbye Privacy" -- Festival Ars Electronica 2007
A new culture of everyday life is now upon us, bracketed by the angst-inducing scenarios of seamless surveillance... One in which everything seems to be public and nothing is private anymore. Dates: September 5-11. Location: throughout the City of Linz (Austria).

One of the most interesting events is FACELESS - a 50 minute sci-fi movie made from CCTV surveillance footage (100%).

Synopsis - In a society under the reformed 'Real-Time' Calendar, without history nor future, everybody is faceless. A woman panics when she wakes up one day with a face. With the help of the Spectral Children she slowly finds out more about the lost power and history of the human face and begins the search for its future.

FACELESS was produced under the rules of the 'Manifesto for CCTV Filmmakers'. The manifesto states, amongst other things, that additional cameras are not permitted at filming locations, as the omnipresent existing video surveillance (CCTV) is already in operation. In fact, scenes are acted out in front of the CCTV cameras first, and the footage is later requested from whoever owns the CCTV system.

"RealTime orients the life of every citizen. Eating, resting, going to work, getting married – every act is tied to RealTime. And every act leaves a trace of data – a footprint in the snow of noise..."
(Faceless trailer)

Are you as Bug-Free as Rugby?

UK - According to Sir Clive Woodward spying is a fact of rugby life, and England's rugby knight did not mind advertising the fact that he had World Cup changing rooms and team hotels swept for bugs. ... Spying has become so much a part of Test rugby that no tour, let alone a World Cup, would be complete without one coach pointing the finger at another. ... "We do our job no differently to any large corporation. If they were having any conferences they would make sure that rooms were bug-free and secure. We take security very seriously," added Woodward (more)

Madonna... U.N. Plugged

"Gonna save two weeks, Gonna have a fine vacation.
Gonna take my problem to the U-nited Nations."
Summertime Blues ~Eddie Cochran

from the press release... "A human rights abuse complaint has been submitted to the United Nations in the legal case Aisha v. Madonna (case no. 06-1389). A copy of the United Nations complaint is available online at www.aishamusic.com/un.htm

The complaint alleges conduct reminiscent of the unlawful tactics employed by now incarcerated private investigator, Anthony Pellicano, who has done work on behalf of singer Madonna and her attorney Bert Fields.

The case was submitted recently under the following alleged human rights violations, pursuant to Rule 86 of the United Nations Rules of Procedure."

COMPLAINT RE: Illegal hidden camera placed in my home, illegal telephone wiretapping, illegal listening devices placed on the inside and outside of my property, theft of over $250,000, theft of my $450,000 home, theft of my multi-billion dollar valued Copyrighted Catalog, customized death threats sent to my web site, choking assault incident, separately an attempted vehicular assault on August 9, 2007 and my mother’s (redacted online until investigation completes), in attempts to spitefully bankrupt us. (more)

Read, and decide for yourself. As Chuck Berry used to sing... "Too much monkey business for me to be involved in."

Teacher Faces Charge of Wiretapping (follow-up)

A Hancock County teacher went before a magistrate Friday on a charge she spied on another teacher. Police said 52-year-old Joyce Wells of New Cumberland, a teacher at the Rockefeller Vocational Center, placed a tape recorder inside the desk drawer of teacher Mary Stewart.

Wells pleaded not guilty.

Hancock County Prosecutor Jim Davis said the recording device was discovered by a third teacher. Davis said Wells wanted to catch Stewart ranting and raving at her students. Her next court date is September 28. (more)

Grab your gavel. Do you think eavesdropping was justified in this case?

Hamboneing SpyCam Pirates

Security guards equipped with night-vision goggles swirled around the auditorium, silently scoping out anyone who might have smuggled a camcorder into the theatre.

If the guards had caught anyone taping the film they could have kicked the patron out of the theatre. But getting a court conviction would have been tough, requiring proof of the pirate's intent to sell the recorded film.

This year, things are different.

As the Toronto film festival unspools this week, anyone caught just recording a movie without permission can be charged with a criminal offence, punishable by two years in jail.

(With affectionate thanks to Sandy Becker - New York's #1 Hambone.)

Chinese spying on British government computers

UK - China leads the list of countries hacking into government computers that contain Britain’s military and foreign policy secrets, Whitehall sources said yesterday.

One Whitehall source said that China was switching increasingly from “old-fashioned espionage” techniques to electronic hacking. The source said: “China is engaged in hostile intelligence activities, and instead of using the old-fashioned methods [recruiting agents and stealing blueprints], they are focusing on electronic means to hack into systems to discover Britain’s defence and foreign policy secrets, and they are technologically pretty advanced and adept at it.” (more)

Related stories...
Chinese spying on American government computers
Chinese spying on German government computers
Chinese spying on Canadian manufacturer computers
Chinese(?) spying on New Zealand government computers

Penalty Strokes

Japan - The TBS net and a TBS production subsidiary have punished 32 employees, including 19 execs, for ethical breaches in reporting various stories, net officials revealed Wednesday.

TBS reporters were found to be eavesdropping on 15-year-old amateur golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa for daytime infotainment show "Ping Pong!"

The chief director responsible for the eavesdropping incident was given a pay cut while four employees involved were censured. (more)

Sports Spies

Coaches more paranoid than ever about game secrets being snatched away...
The competition between media outlets, especially on-line services, to get immediate information to the public, has driven many college football coaches over the edge. ... Many of them have closed practices and scrimmages, or allowed the media in for the first 20 minutes and last 20 minutes of practice. But even that hasn't stopped the leakage. (more)

Refuse This Gift!

• Dials specified phone number upon sensing motion
• Listen in to your home to determine if intruder is a friend or foe
• Also functions as a regular phone

"Set the TeleSpy to dial your cell phone or your office, wherever you might be." (more)

This spy worked for royalty 400 years ago

Elizabeth's Spymaster: Francis Walsingham and the Secret War That Saved England By Robert Hutchinson

More than 400 years ago, England's Queen Elizabeth I appointed a single man in charge of both intelligence and security, with input on military strategy, too.

His covert staff covered nearly all of Europe. At his peak, he had 18 secret agents in foreign courts and 53 other spies besides those within Britain. He had many fewer scruples.

"Without torture I know we shall not prevail," Sir Francis Walsingham told his immediate boss. Walsingham was reporting to Elizabeth's chief minister, Lord Burghley, on a conspiracy centred on Mary Queen of Scots, who wanted to be Queen of England, too. (more)

Undiscovered Wiretaps are Expensive...

...thus, making periodic inspections for them look cheap.
The Greek unit of telecom equipment maker Ericsson has been fined €7.36 million (US$10 million) by Greece's communication privacy watchdog over a wiretapping scandal that targeted the mobile phones of more than 100 public figures. (more)
Want your wiretaps discovered? Call us.

Laser Beam Eavesdropping

Laser beam eavesdropping...
Here is a subject that pops up every few years, grabs the press and public by the nostrils, hitches them to the paranoia pony and drags them around kicking and screaming with fear and delight.

We built an LBE to put client fears into perspective when the subject urped up in the 80's. You can read all about it here.

Another experimenter has published an admirable update here.

Movie versions about LBEs may be seen here and here.

Bottom line...
Technically, a lot of fun and very impressive ...in-the-lab.
Realistically, this is not an eavesdropping threat for most people. Relax.

Chinese spying on American government computers

The Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June in the most successful cyber attack on the US defence department, say American ­officials.

The Pentagon acknowledged shutting down part of a computer system serving the office of Robert Gates, defense secretary, but declined to say who it believed was behind the attack.

Current and former officials have told the Financial Times an internal investigation has revealed that the incursion came from the People’s Liberation Army. (more)

The Germans are also complaining about similar attacks. (more)

Ex-spy says he's new Messiah

Former spy David Shayler is to tour the country to tell people he is the Messiah . . . and spread his message of unconditional love.

The MI5 whistleblower, who claims to be receiving messages from Yeshua — believed to be the Hebrew name for Jesus — is now living in a log cabin in Devon with friends and admits his family are worried about him.

Despite this, Teesside- born Shayler is determined to carry on with his plan.

He said: “I am an incarnate of Jesus. I have not spoken to rabbis or priests about it. I am getting stuff directly from the big man.

“I am not having a breakdown. I have not seen a doctor. I do not need to see one. I am absolutely sane. “I have no doubt in my heart I am the Messiah. (more)

You may remember David from the TV show Spy School on the old TechTV channel. Other David Shayler stories...
Shayler suspects TV repair man of bugging his home
Spies will face mental health check to prevent embarrassing mistakes
Shayler: hero of free speech, or the spy who loved himself?