The agency that the Pentagon set up to turn outlandish sci-fi concepts into reality has come closer to creating an army -- or air force -- of cybugs: cyber-moths and beetles that can spy on the enemy.
Inspired by Thomas Easton's 1990 novel, Sparrowhawk, in which animals enlarged by genetic engineering were fitted with implanted control systems, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) set out to insert microsystems into living insects as they undergo metamorphosis.
The plan is that their organs will grow around the chips and wires that make up the remote-control devices. (more)
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
"Slime him, Danno!"
UK - Police in Nuneaton yesterday unveiled their latest technological weapon - a remote-controlled helicopter, the size of a dustbin lid.The microdrone can film from more than 350ft away and beams back live video footage to operators on the ground.
If needed, the little helicopter can even swoop down and squirt offenders with a security marking solution called SmartWater which can be identified by police. (more)
Listening to Michael Jackson May Be Hazardous to Your Wealth
Eavesdropping on Michael Jackson and his lawyer Mark Geragos will cause the former owner of charter jet company XtraJet a total of $10 million, according to TMZ.com.
Geragos filed a lawsuit suit against XtraJet claiming the company violated Jackson's right to privacy by videotaping their Nov. 2003 flight from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara, where the King of Pop was to surrender to child molestation charges. XtraJet's former owner Jeffrey Borer tried to sell those tapes to the media.
The judge awarded Geragos and an associate lawyer $2 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages, according to TMZ.
Geragos called the taping "one of the most outrageous acts I've seen in my 20 years of practicing criminal law." (more)
Geragos filed a lawsuit suit against XtraJet claiming the company violated Jackson's right to privacy by videotaping their Nov. 2003 flight from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara, where the King of Pop was to surrender to child molestation charges. XtraJet's former owner Jeffrey Borer tried to sell those tapes to the media.
The judge awarded Geragos and an associate lawyer $2 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages, according to TMZ.
Geragos called the taping "one of the most outrageous acts I've seen in my 20 years of practicing criminal law." (more)
Hollywood Wiretapping Case - 6-Years Running!
Anthony Pellicano masterminded a lucrative criminal enterprise aimed at discrediting and destroying the enemies of his Hollywood clients, a federal prosecutor charged Thursday in opening arguments in a long-awaited wiretapping trial.
But he bragged about it so much — and recorded himself doing so — that Mr. Pellicano “was the biggest government informant in this case,” the prosecutor, Kevin Lally, said Thursday.
Mr. Pellicano, 63, who is defending himself against wiretapping and racketeering charges, denied nothing in his opening remarks, saying that his business was “problem solving,” and that customers in the entertainment industry paid him well because they knew he would “perform” for them. He stressed only that he never intended their secrets to become public. (more)
But he bragged about it so much — and recorded himself doing so — that Mr. Pellicano “was the biggest government informant in this case,” the prosecutor, Kevin Lally, said Thursday.
Mr. Pellicano, 63, who is defending himself against wiretapping and racketeering charges, denied nothing in his opening remarks, saying that his business was “problem solving,” and that customers in the entertainment industry paid him well because they knew he would “perform” for them. He stressed only that he never intended their secrets to become public. (more)
Turn Old 78 RPM Records into MP3s and CDs
Ace sound engineer, Mike Stewart, spins advice about how to turn old 78rpm records into MP3 or CD recordings.Sounds like it should be easy, but consider, "modern" record players won't play at 78rpm.
Now you know why Mike is the Ace.
(video tutorial)
Mainstreet.com asked, "Why do people wiretap?"
“People tap phones lines for one of three reasons—money, power, sex,” says Kevin Murray, of Murray Associates, which secures corporations against eavesdropping. Dr. Gordon Mitchell, president of the counterintelligence consultancy company, Future Focus agrees. “Oddly enough, in the private sector it isn’t usually a situation where the big powerful competitor is trying to get information, but some sort of soap opera is going on inside,” he says. “And usually you can preface the person you suspect with an ex. Ex-boyfriend, ex-husband ex-partner.” If you suspect that there is wiretap on one of your phone lines, you first want to establish a connection between the information loss and whoever you suspect is leaking it. If you can’t show a cause and effect relationship between the criminal and the crime, you can’t prosecute a case against an eavesdropper...
...big corporations are still conscious about securing the workplace against foreign ears. “Whenever you’re in competition it means someone isn’t going to play the game fairly,” says Murray. “Businesses are very proactive about detecting these types of devices.” Most corporations do inspections on a quarterly basis, “and it’s something you rarely hear about,” says Murray. After hours, a counterintelligence security team will come in and investigate the most sensitive areas of the company. According to Murray, it costs between $5,000 and $10,000 to inspect eight to ten executive offices and a boardroom. (more)
...big corporations are still conscious about securing the workplace against foreign ears. “Whenever you’re in competition it means someone isn’t going to play the game fairly,” says Murray. “Businesses are very proactive about detecting these types of devices.” Most corporations do inspections on a quarterly basis, “and it’s something you rarely hear about,” says Murray. After hours, a counterintelligence security team will come in and investigate the most sensitive areas of the company. According to Murray, it costs between $5,000 and $10,000 to inspect eight to ten executive offices and a boardroom. (more)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
World's Biggest Hand ...or, Smallest Gun?
Meet the pistol that fits in your pocket - and packs a hell of a punch.The SwissMiniGun is the size of a key fob but fires tiny 270mph bullets powerful enough to kill at close range.
Officially the world's smallest working revolver, the gun is being marketed as a collector's item and measures just 2.16 inches long (5.5cm). It can fire real 4.53 bullets up to a range of 367ft (112m). (more)
...and who complained about the raincoat brigade!
Filming people secretly and without permission will be subject to big fines and prison sentences under new laws being introduced in the South Australian Parliament.
The Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson, wants to crack down on modern-day peeping toms using mobile phones to capture images of people without permission.
"We're also concerned with indecent filming, filming people going to the lavatory, filming people engaged in private acts, namely sexual acts, that occur only in private," he said.
"The Rann Government is keen to protect peoples' privacy from modern-day peeping toms, the raincoat brigade and some of the more extreme elements of the paparazzi. (more)
The Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson, wants to crack down on modern-day peeping toms using mobile phones to capture images of people without permission.
"We're also concerned with indecent filming, filming people going to the lavatory, filming people engaged in private acts, namely sexual acts, that occur only in private," he said.
"The Rann Government is keen to protect peoples' privacy from modern-day peeping toms, the raincoat brigade and some of the more extreme elements of the paparazzi. (more)
Hollywood private eye on trial for mass wiretapping
CA - Anthony Pellicano, the former investigator known as Hollywood's private eye to the stars, goes on trial Thursday in a case of wiretapping and skulduggery that is expected to reveal the dark side of the glitzy world of the movie industry.
Actors Sylvester Stallone, Keith Carradine and Farrah Fawcett, along with movie studio executives Brad Grey and Ron Meyer and former powerhouse talent agent Michael Ovitz, are among the 120 prosecution witnesses called to testify in a case that has kept Hollywood on tenterhooks for almost six years.
Pellicano, 63, is accused of illegally wiretapping the telephones of opponents of his powerful clients and of bribing police officers and telephone company workers to run illegal background checks on the targets of his investigation.
Pellicano is representing himself at his trial and has pleaded not guilty, along with his four co-defendants, to the 111 federal charges they face together. The trial in Los Angeles federal court is expected to last up to 10 weeks. (more)
Actors Sylvester Stallone, Keith Carradine and Farrah Fawcett, along with movie studio executives Brad Grey and Ron Meyer and former powerhouse talent agent Michael Ovitz, are among the 120 prosecution witnesses called to testify in a case that has kept Hollywood on tenterhooks for almost six years.
Pellicano, 63, is accused of illegally wiretapping the telephones of opponents of his powerful clients and of bribing police officers and telephone company workers to run illegal background checks on the targets of his investigation.
Pellicano is representing himself at his trial and has pleaded not guilty, along with his four co-defendants, to the 111 federal charges they face together. The trial in Los Angeles federal court is expected to last up to 10 weeks. (more)
FutureWatch - Brain Eavesdropping Progresses
Mind-reading with a brain scanScientists have developed a way of ‘decoding’ someone’s brain activity to determine what they are looking at.
“The problem is analogous to the classic ‘pick a card, any card’ magic trick,” says Jack Gallant, a neuroscientist at the University of California in Berkeley, who led the study. But while a magician uses a ploy to pretend to ‘read the mind’ of the subject staring at a card, now researchers can do it for real using brain-scanning instruments. “When the deck of cards, or photographs, has about 120 images, we can do better than 90% correct,” says Gallant. (more)
Wireless security foiled by new exploits
Just when you thought your wireless network was locked down, a whole new set of exploits and hacker tools hits.
Josh_Wright: "Enterprises are doing ... better. We are seeing fewer open networks and more organizations moving to WPA/WPA2 from WEP. There is still more than a fair share of WEP networks, sometimes motivated by the need to support legacy wireless clients (such as VoIP phones, or Symbol scanners). A lot of the enterprises I talk to feel comfortable with the security of their WPA/WPA2 networks, but they often fail to realize that this is only one piece of a wireless security strategy. Failure to address client configuration and security issues, rogue detection and home/mobile users leaves organizations exposed to attack. (more)
When did you last check the security of your wireless network?
Idea... Have us preform an on-site wireless LAN security survey.
Josh_Wright: "Enterprises are doing ... better. We are seeing fewer open networks and more organizations moving to WPA/WPA2 from WEP. There is still more than a fair share of WEP networks, sometimes motivated by the need to support legacy wireless clients (such as VoIP phones, or Symbol scanners). A lot of the enterprises I talk to feel comfortable with the security of their WPA/WPA2 networks, but they often fail to realize that this is only one piece of a wireless security strategy. Failure to address client configuration and security issues, rogue detection and home/mobile users leaves organizations exposed to attack. (more)
When did you last check the security of your wireless network?
Idea... Have us preform an on-site wireless LAN security survey.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
SpyCam Story #438 - "Er's mud in yer eye"
UK - A Greenock dad who feared he was being spied on by a CCTV operator decided to take matters into his own hands — by spray painting over the lenses. (more)
Every Click You Make, Your Boss Is Watching You
Employees who regularly use company computers to surf the Web, sign on to business accounts for personal e-mail, make calls from company phones or use the corporate car to run errands run the risk of losing their jobs, according to a new survey released by The ePolicy Institute and the American Management Association (AMA).
More than 58 percent of the 304 companies surveyed said they'd fired workers for misusing company-provided e-mail accounts or improper use of the Internet on a company computer. A much smaller portion, 6 percent, said they had terminated an employee for inappropriate use of a company phone or voice mail. (more)
More than 58 percent of the 304 companies surveyed said they'd fired workers for misusing company-provided e-mail accounts or improper use of the Internet on a company computer. A much smaller portion, 6 percent, said they had terminated an employee for inappropriate use of a company phone or voice mail. (more)
Quote of the Week - Espionage in Grenada
"In the world of espionage and counter espionage, spying does not occur as an isolated and independent event. It is usually part of a series of increasingly aggressive measures that normally escalates into planting of evident against innocent persons, acts of sabotage and even to physical harm to innocent peoples," - Allie Gill, Senior Executive Member
Commenting on...
ST. GEORGE`S, Grenada, The main opposition political party in Grenada is demanding an independent investigation by Scotland Yard into the circumstances surrounding the alleged secret recording of an executive meeting by a member of the Royal Grenada Police Force.
Commenting on...
ST. GEORGE`S, Grenada, The main opposition political party in Grenada is demanding an independent investigation by Scotland Yard into the circumstances surrounding the alleged secret recording of an executive meeting by a member of the Royal Grenada Police Force.
Party officials apprehended Officer No# 77 Kellon Noel on Tuesday evening around 7 p.m. as he allegedly video and audio taped the meeting, which was being held at the party’s headquarters in St George’s.
Dressed in plain clothes, the officer who is attached to the Special Branch Unit, was apparently in an abandoned building adjacent to the NDC headquarters when party members say they noticed a flashing red light next to a window and rushed to investigate. They claim they found Noel with the recording equipment hastily exiting from the building. They surrounded, questioned and searched him, they said, and during the probe his police identification card was among the documents found in his pocket. (more) (more)
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