Russia successfully launches spy satellite

Moscow - To enhance its military capabilities, Russia on Sunday successfully launched a Kosmos series spy satellite from a cosmodrome leased from Kazakhstan. (more)

Renault guilty of spying (?)

Former world champions Renault escaped punishment yesterday, despite being found guilty in the second major spying controversy to hit Formula One this year.

The French team's representatives had been summoned to appear before the governing body in Monaco to answer charges of unauthorized possession of McLaren technical information between September 2006 and last October.

"They were found to be in breach of article 151c but there is no penalty," a spokesman for the International Automobile Federation said after a World Motor Sport Council hearing lasting several hours. (more)

SpyCam Story #415 - Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

MA - A Newton activist who concealed a camera to videotape a Boston University police sergeant was convicted of violating state wiretapping laws. An associate is charged with witness intimidation.

Peter Lowney, 36, was sentenced last week to six months probation and fined $500. A Brighton District Court judge ordered him to stay away from the sergeant and remove footage from the Internet. (more)

The Continuing Saga of the Rayney Wiretap

Australia - The husband of murdered Supreme Court Registrar Corryn Rayney appeared in Perth Magistrate’s Court today to face a charge of bugging his wife’s phone prior to her death.

In a brief court appearance, Lloyd Rayney did not address the court and the matter was put forward to late February on the request of the prosecutor Matthew Phillips.

Mr Rayney is charged with intercepting communications passing over a telecommunications system under the Commonwealth Interception and Access Act 1979, the crime for which the penalty can be up to two years in jail. (more)

SpyCam Story #414 - The PI PP

CA - A bumbling private eye was caught with his pants down - literally - when he broke into Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell's Beverly Hills pad and used his bathroom.

The gumshoe had been hired by Cornell's bitter ex-wife, Susan Silver, to serve the rocker with papers stating that she was suing her ex over the ownership of 15 guitars. But when P.I. Matthew Turner showed up at the house, Cornell wasn't home and he let himself in. Too bad it was all caught on camera.

Now Turner, who works for the Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based investigative firm Thomas Dale and Associates, is being charged with aggravated trespassing by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office and faces a pre-trial hearing on Dec. 12.

"He broke into their home. He even used the Cornells' bathroom," a source told Page Six. "Chris and his wife, Vicky, had gotten death threats in the past, so they have a state-of-the-art surveillance system which captured all of this on tape." (more)

Taliban 'hanged boy, 12, for spying for UK'

Afghanistan - Taliban fighters hanged a 12-year-old boy from a mulberry tree, claiming he was passing information on Taliban roadside bomb attacks to police and British forces, Afghan police have said. (more)

It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your secrets are?

"...in the fashionable neighbourhood of Friedrichshain, a German hairdresser was astonished to find a plastic bag containing classified plans for the Bundesbank's new safe in garbage cans in his very own backyard.

The plans detailed "floor thickness, movement detector placements, doors, passageways and barred gates" reported mass circulation daily Bild.

"These plans are secret," was written at the top of the page in bold capitals. (more)

Program Discovers At-Risk Wireless Keyboards

Rapid7 announced today NeXpose will include a check for a zero-day vulnerability found in many wireless keyboards. The impact of this vulnerability is that an attacker with a directional antenna and a laptop can eavesdrop on keyboard communications, capturing every keystroke from a distance of over 30 feet away. (more)

SpyCam Story #413 - Emergency Management

TN - The assistant director for Rutherford County Emergency Management has been fired after a camera was found in an EMA restroom.

Reed is accused of hiding a camera in a restroom (within a stack of boxes) at the EMA office. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the allegation.

A female employee found the camera. ... It is unclear how long the video camera was in the bathroom and if tapes were made. (more)

"Did too." "Did not!" "Did too!!" "Did NOT!!!" "Did."

China on Wednesday rejected as "baseless" allegations that it was carrying out state-sponsored espionage against British businesses. ...China has rejected similar allegations from other Western nations this year. It has been accused of cyber attacks on U.S. and German government computers and a British security source said there had been frequent Chinese attempts to penetrate British government systems. (more)

Next time, Nancy, ask someone who knows...

DEAR ABBY: Is it all right for a family member to eavesdrop on a conversation on the extension line?

The other day, my husband and I picked up the phone at the same time. It was my mother calling to chat and to ask a question. Although the call was clearly for me, my husband remained on the line because, he said, he had a question for her when I was done with the conversation.

I contend that this was rude, as I didn't know he hadn't hung up the other phone. He contends that he had a right to listen because it is his house, and he can listen in if he wants.

Although nothing of a personal nature was discussed, I still think he should have given me my privacy and asked me to let him know when Mom and I were done talking so he could ask his question. This has caused a major rift in our family. Please respond.
-Nancy
Belmont, Calif.

DEAR NANCY: When a spouse starts using the old "I can do it if I want because it's my house" line, it's usually because he/she knows he/she is wrong. I don't know whether your husband is a bully or simply has no life of his own, but eavesdropping is a very unpleasant trait. And in the interest of family harmony, he should cut it out. (more)

He should cut it out?!?! Abby, what were you thinking? Non-consensual eavesdropping is a federal and state crime! Criminal and civil penalties apply, and the days of spousal immunity for eavesdropping are pretty much history. The "my house, my phone" party line does not mean "my conversation." It was not his conversation. There was no consent. What if he punched her? Would you buy his "my wife, my chattel" baloney?

Get up-to-speed on computer espionage. Read...

Secrets of Computer Espionage: Tactics and Countermeasures

"Is someone spying on you?

It could be your boss, your competition, or a private investigator, but it could just as easily be a foreign intelligence agent - or the whiz kid down the street. More and more people today want to know what's on your computer, your PDA, your cell phone, or your wireless network.

Joel McNamara takes you inside the mind of the computer espionage artist... This is the book that teaches you to think like a spy, because that's the only way to outwit one."

Contents at a Glance
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
Chapter 1 Spies.
Chapter 2 Spying and the Law.
Chapter 3 Black Bag Jobs.
Chapter 4 Breaching the System.
Chapter 5 Searching for Evidence.
Chapter 6 Unprotecting Data.
Chapter 7 Copying Data.
Chapter 8 Snooping with Keyloggers.
Chapter 9 Spying with Trojan Horses.
Chapter 10 Network Eavesdropping.
Chapter 11 802.11b Wireless Network Eavesdropping.
Chapter 12 Spying on Electronic Devices.
Chapter 13 Advanced Computer Espionage.
Appendix A: What's on the Web Site.
Index.

SpyCam Story #412 - Wireless Parasite

The latest prototype product from NEC Japan has to be one of the most novel uses of alternative energy we've ever seen - it's a wireless security camera that draws its power directly from fluorescent light tubes.

Key to the development is ... the magnetic field created by the AC source in the light. A field frequency of 45-100kHz can be used by the ring to generate 120mW of electricity, which is enough to power the camera.

From that point on the otherwise-standard camera ... beaming its images to a PC using an ordinary Wi-Fi chip that also draws power from the light.

NEC suggests that its camera could be installed in office light fittings to help companies keep an eye on their staff at work... (more)

The futuristic ideas of Nikola Tesla are now taking hold. This product is a good example. Other examples include the super-cool Tesla Roadster and the Norelco Toothbrush.

Private eyes indicted in ID-theft case

State and federal agents have broken up a nationwide "pretext" identity-theft scheme involving private detectives who obtained personal information about their targets — from financial and medical records to tax returns — through deceit and lies, according to a federal grand-jury indictment unsealed Thursday. (more)

SpyCam Story #411 - Teen Pleads Guilty

IL - A Cary teen accused of helping a friend videotape his sexual encounter with an unknowing high school classmate pleaded guilty to a reduced charge Tuesday in a plea bargain that allows him to escape a possible felony conviction.

Stefen W. Mueller, 18, admitted guilt to a misdemeanor attempted eavesdropping as part of a deal with McHenry County prosecutors made formal in court Tuesday morning. (more)