Find Your Password!

Possibly, the top 10 most common passwords...
• password
• 123456
• qwerty
• abc123
• letmein
• monkey
• myspace1
• password1
• link182
• (your first name)
What? You don't see your password here?!?!
Congratulations.
Source: pcmag.com

iPhone... 'A Perfect Spying Device'

"A rootkit takes on a whole new meaning when the attacker has access to the camera, microphone, contact list, and phone hardware," renowned hacker HD Moore said regarding a security vulnerability in Apple's iPhone. "Couple this with 'always-on' Internet access over EDGE and you have a perfect spying device," he added. (more)

HD Moore, one of the developers of the Metasploit pen-testing (and hacking) tool, has posted exploits and detailed instructions on how to attack an iPhone. The information takes hackers -- and the FBI and NSA -- one step closer to being able to remotely and surreptitiously take control of an iPhone and turn it into a surveillance device. (more)

Colleges Take Spying As Serious Threat

OK - High fences. Seven security guards. No, this isn't the look of a low-security prison; it's daily protocol for safeguarding Oklahoma football practice from spies.

Six weeks ago, the New England Patriots made spying a national story, when the NFL punished coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots for spying on the New York Jets.

But long before, college coaches — especially at OU — have taken spying as a serious threat. (more)

Interesting observation...
Business executives (who have much more to lose) don't take spying as seriously as college athletic departments.

Peeping Neighbor Faces Prison Time (update)

OH - A Jackson Township man pleaded guilty today to spying on his neighbors and having child pornography on his computer.

Aaron A. Ridenbaugh, 32, of 4336 Foxhaven Ave. NW, is charged with:
• Three counts of felony interception of wire, oral or electronic communications.
• Three counts of pandering sexual-oriented materials involving a minor.
• A single count of felony illegal use of minors in nudity-oriented material and performance.

Ridenbaugh also is charged with four counts of voyeurism, all misdemeanors.

In May, township police arrested Ridenbaugh for making a secret audio recording of his neighbors’ sexual exploits. He later admitted to making a recording and told investigators about two prior acts of voyeurism at the same apartment complex.

At the time of his arrest, he was an associate at a law firm in Cuyahoga Falls. (more)

Apparently, everyone got tired.

PA - Rescue crews freed a woman trapped under a sport utility vehicle.

Police said the woman feared her husband was cheating on her. They said she went to spy on him by crawling under an SUV outside her husband’s alleged girlfriend’s house. She apparently fell asleep under the vehicle and became trapped after someone let the air out of the tires.

Police are trying to determine who let the air out of the tires. So far, no charges have been filed. (more)

Spying - Personally Appalling vs. Business Reasonable

First, Progressive Insurance spied on its own customers during a private church confessional.

Then, the CEO admitted the actions on the company's Web page, took full responsibility, described them as "appalling" and apologized. Now, in legal documents Progressive's denying any wrongdoing, saying its actions were "reasonable."

It's all enough to make a cynic out of even the lawyer suing Progressive over the spying incident.

Lawyer Wayne Grant, who represents the couple that sued Progressive, now contends the public apology was just a ruse.

"There is no way you can say appalling can be reasonable," Grant said. "Now they are trying to act as if the CEO never made the statements." (more)

Rat Race - Art Immitates Life

Rat Race, an episodic comedy adventure (Sony PS3 computer game) set in a crazy sitcom styled office. ... Rat Race is described thusly: "Sometimes we describe Rat Race as an interactive sitcom, but that doesn’t do it justice. There’s more to the experience than funny dialogue. Along the way you’ll sneak, sprint, solve puzzles, eavesdrop, steal..." (more)
...not to mention your kids will learn sarcasm, wisecracking and generally poor workplace etiquette.
Out just in time for the holiday season.
"Ho, ho, ho!"
Hey, who you callin' a Ho?!?!

When does intelligence become spying?

Lessons from the NFL...

"Yes, business spying really does happen. This may be old news, but it’s a timely reminder for those companies wanting to stay out of the courtroom." ...

"When it comes to spying, major corporations sometimes succumb to the same temptation as the Patriots did, with the same embarrassing results. Big names like Oracle, Procter + Gamble, Hitachi, and Hewlett Packard are among the more notable firms that have been accused of spying in recent years. Each incident received embarrassing front-page treatment. The press has a heyday with these corporate moral pratfalls. But are they breaches of the law or just severe ethical lapses? Mike Sandman, Fuld & Company Senior Vice President, was interviewed by CNBC on September 12, about how companies can avoid crossing over the line and still watch their competition." ~ Leonard Fuld, pioneer in the field of competitive intelligence. (more)

Moral: Don't spy... and, don't be someone else's victim.

Workplace Eavesdropping - Hidden Voice Recorder

AL - A hidden recording device was found at a Valley college. The interim president (Lavell Thrasher) of Snead State Community College in Boaz contacted the FBI after a mini-cassette tape recorder was found attached to the underside of a desk. ...

The device was found in the maintenance director's office, who apparently didn't know about it. Employee evaluations have recently been taking place in that office. This incident is still under investigation.

Thrasher doesn't know how long it will take to get to the bottom of it. (more)

This bugging device was found by accident.
Everyone should be so lucky.
Security directors who don't depend on luck call us.

FutureWatch - The Death of the Cubicle

Cubicles have become jokes.
Their popularity is waning.
One major reason...
Eavesdropping and privacy issues.
"It (a cubicle) gives you this incredibly false sense of privacy," said Carl Bass, chief executive of software maker Autodesk Inc., who is pushing for more open layouts at his own company. (more)

TSCM - Your missing security cog, explained.

TSCM, electronic eavesdropping detection, or just plain 'bug sweeps'. Call it what you will, but if it is not a key element in your corporate security plan, you're toast.

Remember Achilles?
Remember the Death Star?
Their big security smiles had one tooth missing.

Make inspections for bugs, wiretaps and other espionage tricks part of your corporate security.

Need to convince your bosses?
Have them watch this easy-to-understand cartoon about the Death Star's gapping hole. (video)

"I spy with my FSB eye..."

The head of Russia's Federal Security Service told a popular weekly that the FSB had identified over 300 foreign spies over the past four years. (more)

SpyCam Story #392 - Students Vent Lust

IN - It wasn't so much about what students saw or captured on cellphone cameras at Paul Hadley Middle School this week - it was how they climbed into their spy perches that concerned Principal Larry Goldsberry and Mooresville Consolidated School Corp. Superintendent Curt Freeman.

Goldsberry spent most of Wednesday and Thursday telling parents and talking to about 20 students after vents were removed in the girls' and boys' locker room ceilings. At least one student took a picture of the girls on his cellphone camera. (more) (more)

Snitch Bear for Santa Moms

Nakamiki Children GSM Cell Phone
"Easy for Parents to Keep an Eye on Their Kids at School"
--------
"Boo-boo" is a new type of cell phone being marketed to the world from a company in China. The marketing logic being used is that somehow eavesdropping on children will make them safer when at school.

Faulty logic?
Think about this...
- What will teachers think about having their classrooms bugged?
- Who else will buy these, gut the bear and use the entrails to bug?
- What psychological effect does this have on these kids?
- Will bugging and eavesdropping seem seem morally normal to their whole generation twenty years from now?
(more) (more)

"I'm watching you."

Even non-tech savvy parents look like they are going to get the option to spy on their kids every move when they are behind the wheel of Mommy and Daddy’s Lexus. It seems that tracking kids’ movements by GPS is so old school now that it is not funny. The next generation of driving monitors looks set to incorporate video surveillance. In case you are wondering the technology is being honed as you read this by American Family Insurance. (more)

Several U.S. auto insurers have begun offering in-car cameras or global positioning equipment to help parents monitor their teenagers' driving behavior, hoping to reduce the alarming number of crashes involving young new motorists.

Industry experts say it's too soon to gauge the effectiveness of programs like American Family Insurance Co.'s Teen Safe Driver, used by the Kindermans in Madison, Wis. But the case for needing to improve highway safety for teens is compelling. (more) (video)