...and its only a little larger than New Jersey!

Taiwan - The investigation authorities have resorted to wiretapping in 24,700 cases in the first nine months of this year, Minister of Justice Shih Mao-lin said Wednesday. (more)

Forget Valerie Plame...

Forget OS X 10.5...

The Spy Museum 2007 Holiday Catalog gets 'outted' today!

That's right, folks. Their cover is blown and everyone is after this document! Over 200 of the world's most wanted spy gadgets, clothing, toys, games, books and music ("there's a man who leads a life of danger...") (more)

This just in... "I'm not going away."

SpyCam Story #397 - Bond on a budget

Google Earth allows users to see detailed satellite images of almost anywhere on the planet, including some of the world's most high security locations. ITV's Damon Green explains why it has now been dubbed "the poor man's spy in the sky". (video)

Our clients have already been warned about the Google Earth vulnerability.

FutureWatch trends for companies vulnerable to aerial espionage or attack...
- Camouflage Retrofits (Lockheed Burbank aircraft plant 1941)
- Architectural 'Deceptiondesign' (underground parking, piping, roads, etc.)
- Decentralization
- Sight and Sound Abatement (clues to what is going on inside)
- Increased attention to counterespionage and eavesdropping detection.

A Constitutional History of Wiretapping

Free College Lecture (.mp4 video)
The history of wiretapping from 1920-1970
Fundamental knowledge every (USA-based) professional TSCM'er should know.

"On September 17, 1787, the final draft of the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia. Georgia Tech commemorated this historic event with a week of presentations and discussions concerning one of our country's most important founding documents." This is the wiretapping seminar.

Presented by: Robert Pikowsky, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Public Policy, September 18, 2007 (video)

Cape Town PI Spy Investigation

South Africa - Premier Ebrahim Rasool announced an investigation after being briefed by Western Cape Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros.

This came as police confirmed that they were investigating whether the country's bugging laws had been broken during the city's private-eye investigation.

At the centre of the saga is whether the private investigator contracted to probe controversial councillor Badih Chaaban, or any politicians involved, may have bugged or illegally intercepted communications. Recordings and transcripts were found at the home of a private eye. (more)

The Birddog is alive and selling well

from their press release...
Law Enforcement Associates Corporation, the largest U.S. developer and manufacturer of undercover surveillance equipment, today announced that year-to-date sales of the company's new Birddog(TM) GPS tracking system have surpassed 100 units and have contributed approximately $750,000 to fiscal 2007 revenue.

About the Birddog
The Birddog was originally released by AID in the 1970s as a radio frequency (RF)-enabled tracking system. The Birddog ultimately became the most widely used covert tracking device by local and federal law enforcement agencies. LEA re-launched the Birddog in January 2007, when the company introduced an all-new tracking device based on advanced GPS technology. (more)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Keep your flock together with this new Bladerunner product, a tyke-tracker GPS jacket!

Bladerunner teamed up with one of the U.K.'s leading GPS operators and have developed a childrens trackable Jacket.

Features:
- Very long battery life
- Fast signal aquisition
- 2 Quick Dial buttons for SOS situations

You can set a boundary and if your child wanders outside of this then you will be notified by mobile phone. There is a £10 monthly charge which gives you access to a secure website where you can view every movement of your child whilst wearing the jacket. This even expands to a historical view where past days/weeks or even months movements can be viewed. (more)

Trust Buster or Good Parenting? You decide.

You will either find this Fox News Morning Show segment "Spying on Your Kids" fascinating, appalling, or both.

The hosts' giddiness about spying on the young ones bordered on perverse. The thought that Ra-parent technology could also be used to spy on spouses did not escape them either.

The obvious star of this 'show and tell' is Todd, the gadget peddler.

"A psychologist" is also present - to provide that famous Fox News Network balance. Unfortunately, her introduction is lost under the opening applause. Co-host, Mike, disses her comment, "You don't have to go to these extremes..." with a "Doctor, thank you but were going back to it anyway."

Tune in next time, when we ask the question, "Who will keep an eye on the 'adults'?" (video)

IRONKEY

"The World's Most Secure USB Flash Drive with Internet Protection Services."

One of these is on its way here for testing. I'll let you know how we make out.

In the meantime, make yourselves aware of it. The concept alone - a super-secure USB memory stick - makes this the 'authorized' info-fob of choice for business and government.

One really cool 'Mission Imposible' feature...
"To prevent unauthorized people or crimeware (malicious software such as viruses and Trojans) from gaining access to your encrypted drive, the IronKey prevents password guessing attacks (e.g. brute-force or dictionary attacks). After 10 incorrect password attempts (and ample warnings), the IronKey locks out all further password attempts. It initiates a patent-pending self-destruct sequence that securely and permanently erases your encryption keys and data."

If self-destruction doesn't produce a puff of smoke, I'll suggest it to them. (more) (datasheet)
-----------------
(UPDATE 1 - One week later.)
-----------------
I received an IronKey for testing and have been putting it through its paces for about a month now. Flawless, easy to use; as security should be. We are recommending this to our clients.
-----------------
(UPDATE 2 - One year later.)
-----------------
11/6/08 - Ironkey has made slow progress in getting itself to work with systems other than Windows XP and Vista. A Linux 2.6+ version was released last June.

The Macintosh version is at the same "alpha-level" it was at a year ago. "We continue to work on developing Mac support, and plan to have Mac functionality available in a future release." Not acceptable.

More and more people are switching over to Macintosh at work. Some switch back and forth between work and home. This situation makes recommending Ironkey as a sole solution difficult for security consultants. Other companies, offer multi-platform support for their sticks – Windows Vista, 2000 SP4, XP, Mac OS10.x and above. (directions)

Idea... Roll your own Mac Encrypted Memory Stick, for FREE!

(I neither sell, nor receive commissions from, the products I recommend. Recommendations are made based solely on my client's best interests.)

This Week in Spy News...

Russia hits back over spy death
The Kremlin sought to turn the tables on Britain yesterday over the killing of Alexander Litvinenko, the dissident former security officer. (more)

Russia launches spy satellite
Russia on Tuesday launched a spy satellite to replenish its space-based military satellite cluster. (more)

India set to launch Israeli spy satellite
An Indian rocket may lift an Israeli spy satellite into orbit within days in the second deal to grab a share of the 2.5-billion-dollar global launch market, officials and reports said. (more)

Germany arrests suspected Sudanese spy
German police have arrested a Sudanese man suspected of spying on Sudanese opposition groups in Germany for Khartoum's intelligence service, the federal prosecutor's office said. (more)

Germany says Chinese state is behind cyber spying
The Chinese state is behind almost daily Internet espionage attacks on German companies and government bodies, a top German intelligence official said. (more)

Senator Denies AT&T, Verizon Cash Bought Spying Immunity Vote
Telecom executives - from companies seeking escape from privacy lawsuits accusing them of illegally collaborating with secret domestic spying programs - wrote thousands in checks to the re-election campaign of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) (more)

Spain thwarts alleged Venezuelan spying
Spanish authorities thwarted an effort to spy on Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero during a visit to Venezuela in 2005, a report says. (more)

Spy chief to disclose secret: U.S. intel spending
The nation’s spy chief will soon divulge one of the government’s most tightly-held secrets: the size of the national intelligence budget. (more)

Israeli Spy got Inside Intel for Syrian Reactor Attack
As more of the details surrounding the mysterious Israeli raid seep out about the destroyed Syrian nuclear reactor located near the Iraqi border, what emerges is that Israel had hard evidence from a spy or mole inside the facility who took pictures that were the hard evidence. That, plus detailed spy satellite pictures were provided to the US Intelligence community in July. (more)

Law firm fears government is tapping phones
VT - A law firm that represents clients at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in Afghanistan is warning its Vermont clients that it believes the federal government has been monitoring its phones and computer system. (more)

British spy agency recruits via video games
A British intelligence agency is seeking spies in cyberspace. GCHQ, the surveillance arm of British intelligence, said Thursday it hopes to attract computer-savvy young recruits by embedding job ads within video games such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent. (more)

First, Pro. Then, College. Now, High School.

FL - Collier County's prep edition of "Spygate'' may have been nothing more than a misunderstanding, or so the coaches at the heart of the mini-controversy claimed on Tuesday. ...

"Spygate'' was one of the names associated with the New England Patriots illegally videotaping sideline calls by opposing teams that the team was penalized for by the NFL earlier this season.

The accusations started flying on Saturday, when Albonizio and a few of his coaches confronted an elderly couple that they believed were filming his team's 44-14 win over McMahon for Naples. (more)

SpyCam Story #396 - Spy Shop Boys

Remember Dumb and Dumber, the two burglars caught on 17 cameras when robbing a spy surveillance gear shop back in July?

Well, we found the video!

Public Audio Surveillance Hits London

UK - "We're well aware of the security cameras already all over the city, but it looks like Londoners will also have to brace themselves for audio surveillance, too. In order to break up gangs, London police have begun a program using audio bugs placed in public places.

Public eavesdropping, sans warrants, by law enforcement is sure to rankle some privacy advocates. Authorities are hoping a drop in crime will quell the inevitable uproar. We shall see." (more) Bugs used to fight London gangs. (more)

"I'm Bugging Your Phone" (with audio clip)

You know eavesdropping and wiretapping are well-entrenched in our society when people are singing about it, dancing to it and even taking it as a moniker - like Wiretap Scars.

Remember???
Eavesdrop - Joanna "Rain" Raphael
Eavesdropping - Carol Slade
Eavesdropping - Anne Lindsay
Eavesdropping - d1sh1tu
Eavesdropping - Michail Sicas
Invitation To Eavesdrop - Shaun Groves
Hanging On The Phone - BWO
The Wiretap - Your Enemies Friends
Probably not. Good listening rarely involves eavesdropping. Hence, the old saying, "An eavesdropper never hears anything good about themselves."

There are tons of Private Investigator, Spy and Detective lyrics, too. Your chances of remembering these are better: Searchin', Peek-A-Boo, Secret Agent Man and the gloved one's famous Somebody Is Watching Me.

Rarely, however, has there been a more blatant expression of illegal eavesdropping than I’m Bugging Your Phone - by The Smith Connection

(from blog.allmusic.com)
...basically tells its addressee to seek a restraining order: “I’m buggin’ your phone, baby / Startin’ an investigation.” It’s not posed as a conditional threat. It’s posed as “I am doing this once I obtain the equipment and access to your telephone.” The protagonist complains about being avoided, finding notes, and some other things. The addressee should’ve allowed the bug to be placed, if only to have held a conversation in which she said, “I am through with that fool, specifically the fool who is bugging my phone.” (more) (audio clip)

Art reflects life.
Eavesdropping is real life.
Take care. Beware.

SpyCam Story #395 - Attentive Maintenence

SD - A Sioux Falls apartment maintenance worker is in jail accused of setting up a camera in his neighbor's apartment to spy on her.

Fifty-three-year-old Burton Morehead is charged with a misdemeanor crime called "trespassing with the intent to eavesdrop."

The 26-year-old woman who lives next door to Morehead found a webcam-style camera in her bathroom ceiling tile. She called 911, and police say they followed the cables into Morehead's apartment, where they were hooked into a TV.

Officers say there were several suspicious-looking holes drilled between the two apartments. (more) (video)