Money Talks - Cell Phones Squawk

Spying programs for mobile phones are likely to grow in sophistication and stealth as the business around selling the tools grows, according to a mobile analyst at the Black Hat conference on Friday.

Many of the spy programs on the market are powerful, but aren't very sophisticated code, said Jarno Niemela, a senior antivirus researchers for Finnish security vendor F-Secure, which makes security products for PCs and mobile phones...

One of the latest tools on the market is Mobile SpySuite, which Niemela believes is the first spy tool generator for mobiles. It sells for US$12,500 and would let a hacker custom-build a spy tool aimed at several models of Nokia phones, Niemela said. (more)

Money Talks - Spies Walk

UK - Thousands of Chinese spies are infiltrating Britain in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

They are hellbent on stealing scientific, military and industrial secrets in a bid to make China the world's No1 superpower. The spies are recruited from the 90,000 Chinese who visit Britain each year. Forty per cent of them are on business and a third are students.

A Whitehall source said: "They are told to hoover up everything they can get their hands on. "It can be anything from the results of university lab experiments to secret industrial technology." China's targets include banks, power and water companies, telecom firms and even Parliament.

But Foreign Secretary David Miliband fears any crackdown would upset China and jeopardise trade deals worth £20billion. (more)

"Make a periscope" science class experiment gone horribly wrong?

Wales - A peeping Tom attached a mirror to the end of a piece of wood to spy on his next-door neighbour as she undressed, a court heard...

During the hearing, prosecutor Ian Kolvin produced the home-made spying device which consisted of a strip of wood with a broken piece of glass fastened to one end... "The defendant denied any sexual motivation," said Mr. Kolvin. (more)

"Whatever satisfies the soul is truth." W.W.

NJ/PA - The man who led police on a chase that eventually forced the closure of the Walt Whitman Bridge last Thursday was convinced that someone was bugging his phone and that his family was in danger, according to authorities. (more)

Jury finds against Providence in wiretapping lawsuit

RI - A federal jury has returned a verdict against city of Providence authorities for illegally recording the phone calls of their employees at a public safety complex. City officials say the jury on Wednesday awarded compensatory and punitive damages of about $525,000... (more)

Details emerge about futuristic spy tech

The intelligence agencies have renamed their MASINT program and will now refer to the recondite spy discipline as the Advanced Technical Exploitation Program (ATEP). The name change surfaced in documents that describe a pending acquisition for contractor assistance in merging information from various types of sensors and systems to create cross-disciplinary intelligence...

The acquisition notice asked companies to describe their capabilities in working with the following types of sensors:
• Overhead non-imaging radar.
• Synthetic aperture radar.
• Spectral detectors.
• Thermal infrared.
• Ground-moving target indicator forensics.
• Line-of-sight radar.
• Over-the-horizon radar.
• Airborne electro-optical sensors, known as Cobra Ball.
• Laser intelligence.
• Radio frequency MASINT.
(more)

Spybusters Selects Tektronix to Aid in Fight Against Corporate Espionage

Tektronix Inc., a provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, announced that Murray Associates, registered as Spybusters LLC, has selected a Tektronix Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer (RTSA) with DPX™ live RF display technology to help the security consultancy identify wireless eavesdropping devices that may be located in clients’ facilities including boardrooms and security trading floors. The RTSA instrument enables the firm to quickly and efficiently spot sophisticated listening devices, even in challenging environments where there are many competing signals.

Corporate espionage is on the rise due to such factors as globalization, decreased employee loyalty and the increasing value of information. In some parts of the world espionage is a common business practice in competitive industries. At the same time, new technologies are making it easier and more affordable than ever to steal information by tapping into private conversations. Given the potential reward, spies are employing increasingly sophisticated technology that can be difficult to detect.

To fight back against this espionage, companies as well as government agencies are turning to firms that specialize in detecting and removing eavesdropping and other surveillance devices. One of the leaders in the segment is Murray Associates. Based in Oldwick, New Jersey, the 30-year-old company, which is registered as Spybusters LLC, is seeing heightened demand for its services. The majority of the firm’s clients schedule regular inspections or sweeps for any form of electronic surveillance technology in sensitive areas such as executive suites, boardrooms, trading floors, vehicles and aircraft as well as executive homes and off-site meeting locations.

Make Caller ID Lie For You

Keep your phone number private whenever you make or receive calls. A new service called Vumber does it for you.

In addition to privacy you can get anonymity, too. Vumber is like Kleenex, disposable. Change numbers whenever you want. Be in any Area Code you like.

"It’s your anyphone, anytime, anywhere phone number that keeps your identity private – until you decide it not to be.

A Vumber is a number from any area code you want, linked to your home, cell, or work phone. When someone calls your Vumber, Vumber lets you control how you handle the call: you can a) answer it; b) send them to VumberMail; c) give them a busy signal; d) tell them the number is out of service; or e) play them a custom message you create.

It provides unequaled privacy protection when anyone calls your Vumber, and when you call anyone. And it’s not limited to a pre-defined one-to-one calling relationship like you sometimes see out there – it is as simple as having another phone number. Even simpler.

You can call “from” your Vumber, too..." (more)

The flip side... Your Caller ID display is no longer trustworthy. But hey, it never was anyway.

How to hack RFID-enabled credit cards for $8

...via tv.boingboing.net
A number of credit card companies now issue credit cards with embedded RFIDs (radio frequency ID tags), with promises of enhanced security and speedy transactions.

But on today's episode of Boing Boing tv, hacker and inventor Pablos Holman shows Xeni how you can use about $8 worth of gear bought on eBay to read personal data from those credit cards -- cardholder name, credit card number, and whatever else your bank embeds in this manner.

Fears over data leaks from RFID-enabled cards aren't new, and some argue they're overblown -- but this demo shows just how cheap and easy the "sniffing" can be.

Forget the tin foil hat.
Wrap it around your wallet and watch where you sit.
There may be an antenna under that chair.

"Bugging Device Found"

Ireland - "A sophisticated bugging and tracking device has been unearthed in the vehicle of a member of the Dublin 32 County Sovereignty Movement. The device was secreted internally into the dashboard of the vehicle and was equipped with its own self contained power supply. The manner by which the device was installed strongly suggests that those who planted it took considerable time to effect this and was obviously professionally done." (more)

A little research reveals that the top component is an old Ericsson radio-modem (M2050 Mobidem c.1996-97) made for the UK market (425-460 MHz). "a small low power radio modem that can be built into PC or other equipment. It has no power source of its own. It does not have its own antenna, which must be designed specifically for the host equipment. It has rated data transfer rates of 1200 to 9600 bps. It supports Mobitex MACS, AT and X.28 protocols."

According to a press release, "Ericsson has signed an order with Thorn Security Ltd., a leading provider of security services in the U.K. market, for 5,000 Mobidem M2050 radio modems to be used for the company's new Siteguard Smart Signaling alarm services. The new services will be available to Thorn's thousands of customers throughout the U.K. in mid-September.

With the announcement of its new Siteguard Smart Signaling alarm portfolio, Thorn Security has scored a first in the industry. The system uses a self-checking alarm signaling technique that provides intelligent mutual monitoring between wireless data links and landline communications at the customer site. This virtually eliminates line errors and guarantees that the alarm system is functional at all times."

The batteries are 4 "D" cells, rechargeable lead-acid type.

Given the age of the main component, identifying information was left on it (unusual for professional bugging devices) and that similar-looking auto alarm systems exist, its real purpose can be questioned. Is it a bug, or did someone buy a used car not knowing it was outfitted with an alarm system at one time?

US State Department Warns of Chinese Bugging and Wiretapping

"Security personnel may at times place foreign visitors under surveillance. Hotel rooms, telephones, and fax machines may be monitored, and personal possessions in hotel rooms, including computers, may be searched without the consent or knowledge of the traveler. ... Foreign government officials, journalists, and business people with access to advanced proprietary technology are particularly likely to be under surveillance." (more)

Yet Another Corporate Info-Loss Confession

The Hannaford Bros. supermarket chain said Monday that a breach of its computer systems may have given criminals access to more than four million credit and debit cards issued by nearly 70 banks nationwide.

While the banks appear all but ready to blame Hannaford for failing to follow payment card industry standards on security, there are signs that this may be the first of many cases to surface this year wherein the affected retailer was hacked even though it appeared to be following all of the security rules laid out by the credit card associations. (more) (The List of the Zapped)

Bugging claims are difficult to prosecute... ob-la-di

Did Wife bug Husband?
"First, it is said on 25 June 2006 the wife illegally bugged the husband's telephone, in particular a call between him and his daughter Stella in which Stella made very unflattering comments about the wife. It is further said the wife subsequently leaked the intercepted material to the press so as to discredit him."

On the bugging claim:
"Both the wife and the husband accuse each other of conducting a campaign of harassment and vilification. The reality is that if I let the husband deploy a case about bugging telephones together with subsequent release of them to the press, this will open up a can of worms and the litigation may inevitably snowball with claim and counter-claim."

A summary of Mr. Justice Bennett's judgment in the Paul McCartney - Heather Mills divorce case. (more)

More fascinating than fiction, Seduced by Secrets takes the reader inside the real world of one of the most effective and feared spy agencies in history. The book reveals, for the first time, the secret technical methods and sources of the Stasi (East German Ministry for State Security) as it stole secrets from abroad and developed gadgets at home, employing universal, highly guarded techniques often used by other spy and security agencies.

Seduced by Secrets draws on secret files from the Stasi archives, including CIA-acquired material, interviews and friendships, court documents, and unusual visits to spy sites, including "breaking into" a prison, to demonstrate that the Stasi overestimated the power of secrets to solve problems and created an insular spy culture more intent on securing its power than protecting national security.

It recreates the Stasi's secret world of technology through biographies of agents, defectors, and officers and by visualizing James Bond–like techniques and gadgets.

In this highly original book, Kristie Macrakis adds a new dimension to our understanding of the East German Ministry for State Security by bringing the topic into the realm of espionage history and exiting the political domain. (more)

17 Signs That You Are Being Wiretapped

compiled by voip-news.com
Do you hear strange noises on your phone line?
Do you feel like your secrets aren't safe?
You're not as paranoid as you might think.

Mobsters and cheating spouses aren't the only ones that get wiretapped. In fact, just about anyone who possesses confidential information is a prime target for a wiretap, so it's important that you know the warning signs. Keep an eye out for these subtle clues to avoid becoming a victim of information theft.

1. Your secrets are out.
2. You hear strange noises, like clicking, static and humming.
3. Your phone makes noise on its own.
4. Your radio has strange interference.
5. Your environment just seems different.
6. Your outside phone box has extra hardware
7. You find a recording machine.
8. You're being blackmailed.
9. Your receiver has extra hardware.
10. You notice a lot of utility trucks near the premise
11. Your TV has interference.
12. You are the victim of a burglary, but nothing was stolen.
13. Your wall plates are moved.
14. You've had a mysterious repair.
15. There are no signs.
16. Your phone company doesn't help.
17. You use a cordless phone.
(more)
(The Private Citizen's Guide to Detecting Amateur Wiretaps)