Plans to compress internet (VoIP) phone calls so they use less bandwidth could make them [more] vulnerable to eavesdropping. Most networks are currently safe, but many service providers are due to implement the flawed compression technology. (more)
Friday, June 13, 2008
FutureWatch - VoIP Bug Aids Bugging
Plans to compress internet (VoIP) phone calls so they use less bandwidth could make them [more] vulnerable to eavesdropping. Most networks are currently safe, but many service providers are due to implement the flawed compression technology. (more)
"And just how do you think we are going to pay for all these renovations?!?!"
When we last looked, the Spy Bar in Cleveland had closed its doors forever, and the Spy Bar in Chicago had closed its doors for renovations.What's a spy to do?
Go to Stockholm???
Good news! Spy Bar (Chicago) re-opens this week after a $1mil disguise upgrade. But our spies tell us that the bigger news is the new truth serum, "1996 Dom Perignon Rosé ($$$).. hooked up with Vosges Haut-chocolat ($$$) which is behind the truffles being paired with the Champagne." (more)
"Miss. Moneypenny, an advance from petty cash, please."
Bugged? Check your breath. (Oddball Tip # 044)
Viral Marketing or Hogwash? You decide...
Listerine mouth wash is being touted as the latest weapon in the war to repel that most pesky of insects, the blood-sucking mosquito.
...there is a bumper crop of the varmints and the threat of West Nile is still strong, say local naturalist Terry Sprague and health officials...
People being bugged has led to Listerine, which some swear by and have used on his hikes, Sprague said, although where the idea of using mouth wash to repel mosquitoes came from is not clear.
"You spray it on your person," he said. "I am not sure what the active ingredient is."
However, Listerine does contain some eucalyptus, which is an evergreen tree, and the herb thyme, two proven mosquito repellers, Sprague said. (more)
Listerine mouth wash is being touted as the latest weapon in the war to repel that most pesky of insects, the blood-sucking mosquito. ...there is a bumper crop of the varmints and the threat of West Nile is still strong, say local naturalist Terry Sprague and health officials...
People being bugged has led to Listerine, which some swear by and have used on his hikes, Sprague said, although where the idea of using mouth wash to repel mosquitoes came from is not clear.
"You spray it on your person," he said. "I am not sure what the active ingredient is."
However, Listerine does contain some eucalyptus, which is an evergreen tree, and the herb thyme, two proven mosquito repellers, Sprague said. (more)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Corporate Eavesdropping & Espionage - Get Smart
Three 'Get Smart' news reports in one day!
Just coincidence?
No...
"Get Smart" the TV-show movie remake hits next week +
Corporations are getting hit with more eavesdropping
= Corporations are Getting Smart...
Targets of Spying Get Smart
by M.P. McQueen
Tiny electronic-surveillance gadgets that James Bond could only dream of are increasingly turning up in boardrooms, bedrooms and bathrooms.
Crooks are parking vans outside people's homes to steal bank-account passwords and credit-card numbers, using programs that tap into Wi-Fi connections. Paparazzi hide cameras and microphones in private jets, hoping to record embarrassing celebrity video. Corporate spies plant keystroke-recording software in executives' laptops and listen in on phone conversations as they travel.
Now, people are deploying counter-spy technology to fight back. Some celebrities and corporate executives get regular sweeps of their offices, limos and private jets in search of hidden devices. Others hire security experts to safeguard their phones and home computers...
Kevin D. Murray, an Oldwick, N.J., counter-surveillance expert, said he received several calls from worried executives asking for sweeps of their offices and homes as soon as the Porsche incident surfaced. (more)
We've gotten smart:
Movie's spy gadgets do exist
The shoe phone on TV's "Get Smart" wasn't just a sneaky spy gadget, it was a technological marvel: a wireless, portable telephone that could be used anywhere — though it did require a dime to make a call.
Today, almost everyone has a pocket-sized version that also takes photos, shoots video, sends e-mail and surfs the Internet. About the only thing it doesn't do is protect your feet.
"Get Smart" comes to the big screen next week, along with a spate of new spy gadgets to help Maxwell Smart, Agent 99 and the other spies at CONTROL. The gadgets are just as goofy as they were in the original TV series, but because technology has caught up with the writers' imaginations, there's a big difference: many of the movie's doo-dads actually exist. (more)
Bugging of offices
‘grows sharply’
Wales - Boardrooms and similar high-level working environments are increasingly being bugged as rival businesses and even staff look to gain an advantage through industrial espionage... (more)
Just coincidence?
No...
"Get Smart" the TV-show movie remake hits next week +
Corporations are getting hit with more eavesdropping
= Corporations are Getting Smart...
Targets of Spying Get Smartby M.P. McQueen
Tiny electronic-surveillance gadgets that James Bond could only dream of are increasingly turning up in boardrooms, bedrooms and bathrooms.
Crooks are parking vans outside people's homes to steal bank-account passwords and credit-card numbers, using programs that tap into Wi-Fi connections. Paparazzi hide cameras and microphones in private jets, hoping to record embarrassing celebrity video. Corporate spies plant keystroke-recording software in executives' laptops and listen in on phone conversations as they travel.
Now, people are deploying counter-spy technology to fight back. Some celebrities and corporate executives get regular sweeps of their offices, limos and private jets in search of hidden devices. Others hire security experts to safeguard their phones and home computers...
Kevin D. Murray, an Oldwick, N.J., counter-surveillance expert, said he received several calls from worried executives asking for sweeps of their offices and homes as soon as the Porsche incident surfaced. (more)
We've gotten smart:Movie's spy gadgets do exist
The shoe phone on TV's "Get Smart" wasn't just a sneaky spy gadget, it was a technological marvel: a wireless, portable telephone that could be used anywhere — though it did require a dime to make a call.
Today, almost everyone has a pocket-sized version that also takes photos, shoots video, sends e-mail and surfs the Internet. About the only thing it doesn't do is protect your feet.
"Get Smart" comes to the big screen next week, along with a spate of new spy gadgets to help Maxwell Smart, Agent 99 and the other spies at CONTROL. The gadgets are just as goofy as they were in the original TV series, but because technology has caught up with the writers' imaginations, there's a big difference: many of the movie's doo-dads actually exist. (more)
Bugging of offices‘grows sharply’
Wales - Boardrooms and similar high-level working environments are increasingly being bugged as rival businesses and even staff look to gain an advantage through industrial espionage... (more)
DIY Spy Tip #090 - Free Background Check Aggregator
Snoopstation.com (currently in BETA) is a portal to free web-based public records checking sites in the U.S. - Cool! They are also the entry point to a fee-based investigative service for when public record checks are not enough ...or you don't have the time / patience to DIY.
"Are You Being...
UK - Customers in shopping centres are having their every move tracked by a new type of surveillance (Path Intelligence) that listens in on the whisperings of their mobile phones.
The technology can tell when people enter a shopping centre, what stores they visit, how long they remain there, and what route they take as they walked around.
The device cannot access personal details about a person’s identity or contacts, but privacy campaigners expressed concern about potential intrusion should the data fall into the wrong hands.
The surveillance mechanism works by monitoring the signals produced by mobile handsets and then locating the phone by triangulation – measuring the phone’s distance from three receivers. (more)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
SpyCam Story #449 - Deja View
Lawyers Gone Wild Same trick!
Different country.
(previous report)
Scotland - A shamed solicitor who put a video camera in a ladies' toilet and filmed female staff is facing jail.
Peter Fitzpatrick, 49, from Rutherglen, hid the device in a cardboard box in the toilet at upmarket Stirling law firm Muirhead Buchanan.
The father-of-two, a solicitor for 27 years, was caught when a suspicious secretary noticed a circular hole in the side of the box was pointing straight at the pedestal. (more)
Monday, June 9, 2008
How To Manage Rogue Mobile Devices
A single unsecured smartphone (or laptop) can jeopardize the security of your entire organization. For those not schooled in the risks, smartphones are the back-door deployment that can provide hackers -- or the competition -- with access to your network.
Imagine...
Jim, your employee, buys a smartphone and loads it up with contracts, sales quotes, pricing schemes, and other information you wouldn't want your competitors or customers to know.
The smartphone falls out of his pocket while he is boarding a plane in a crowded airport. Whoever finds the device will have instant access to all of Jim's emails and your corporate information.
Solution - Do these things...
• Use VPN's
• Block Access to Public Wi-Fi
• Make Strong Passwords Mandatory
• Block Removable Storage
• Educate Employees
• Educate IT
• Encryption is Key
• Better Security Through Software
(here's how)
We can help you identify and locate rogue devices operating in your offices. This is just one of many problems we solve with our Wireless LAN (wi-fi) Security Audit and Compliance Report service.
Expect negative 'feedback' from FBI
Skype, the eBay-owned company, says it is unable to comply with court-authorized wiretap requests. "...because of Skype's peer-to-peer architecture and encryption techniques, Skype would not be able to comply with such a request," said Jennifer Caukin, Skype's director of corporate communications. (more)
Federal judge reserves decision in alleged school eavesdropping suit
NY - Susan Burgess, a Brockport attorney, and her former client, Carmen Coleman... accusing a school official and a Buffalo attorney for the school district of illegally eavesdropping on their private conversation in a district conference room nearly two years ago....
Named in their suit are the district; its board of education; Kevin Ratcliffe, director of Pupil Services; and Jay Pletcher, the attorney in question, and his law firm...
Burgess and Coleman met at school district offices with Ratcliffe and Pletcher, to discuss the educational needs of Coleman’s son. At one point, Burgess and Coleman asked to speak privately; Ratcliffe and Pletcher left the room.
But, they claim Pletcher called a cell phone and then left it on the table in the conference room so he could listen in from Ratcliffe’s adjoining office, presumably with Ratcliffe, on their private conversation in violation of their civil rights...
To support their claim, Coleman and Burgess say there was a series of subsequent events that led them to believe their conversation had been overheard. It began with Pletcher re-entering the room and removing a cell phone immediately after Coleman asked Burgess about the device lying on the table.
...They expect a decision in six to 10 weeks. (more)
Named in their suit are the district; its board of education; Kevin Ratcliffe, director of Pupil Services; and Jay Pletcher, the attorney in question, and his law firm...
Burgess and Coleman met at school district offices with Ratcliffe and Pletcher, to discuss the educational needs of Coleman’s son. At one point, Burgess and Coleman asked to speak privately; Ratcliffe and Pletcher left the room.
But, they claim Pletcher called a cell phone and then left it on the table in the conference room so he could listen in from Ratcliffe’s adjoining office, presumably with Ratcliffe, on their private conversation in violation of their civil rights...
To support their claim, Coleman and Burgess say there was a series of subsequent events that led them to believe their conversation had been overheard. It began with Pletcher re-entering the room and removing a cell phone immediately after Coleman asked Burgess about the device lying on the table.
...They expect a decision in six to 10 weeks. (more)
Car mechanic at center of probe into bugging
Ireland - GARDAI (Irish national police) are to review all contracts given to garages which service its fleet after a mechanic, who was returning from a trip to the UK, was found with bugging equipment. A number of cars, including unmarked vehicles used by detectives, were checked for bugging devices last week after a mechanic who services Garda vehicles was found with the specialist equipment during a routine search at Dublin Port.
A high-level investigation is now under way amid fears that cars used by senior gardai, including Commissioner Fachtna Murphy, could have been bugged and sensitive information leaked to criminals or terrorist organisations.
It is understood that a man employed by a company which won a contract to service garda cars was stopped with the equipment during a search at Dublin Port. (more)
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Eavesdropping, worth repeating...
Eavesdropping on the Boss: Is it “Cause” to Fire Me?
by Alan L. Sklover
Question: I was put on suspension for sharing information I learned when playfully eavesdropping on my boss. Then I was called at home and terminated. I was told my actions, and the actions of another employee who I shared the information with, did not meet the required level of integrity of the company. At the same time, one employee who is still there goes to strip clubs. Was my firing a wrongful termination?
S.A.M., Houston, TX
Answer: Sorry, but on this issue I have to agree with your employer. Eavesdropping on your boss, even if it’s playful, is not something most any employer would tolerate. If people think their telephone conversations are being listened to, they may be reluctant to use them. If people think their conversations may be repeated, they may not speak openly. And taking precious time at work to do things like this just don’t help anyone. Additionally, the fact that someone else does things that are not proper (either on their own time or on company time) does not in any way excuse or justify your errors. Your conduct would be considered “cause” for firing at almost any employer. My best advice: learn from the mistake. Work is for working; eavesdropping isn’t working, and will get you fired. It’s that simple.
Best, Al Sklover
by Alan L. Sklover
Question: I was put on suspension for sharing information I learned when playfully eavesdropping on my boss. Then I was called at home and terminated. I was told my actions, and the actions of another employee who I shared the information with, did not meet the required level of integrity of the company. At the same time, one employee who is still there goes to strip clubs. Was my firing a wrongful termination?
S.A.M., Houston, TX
Answer: Sorry, but on this issue I have to agree with your employer. Eavesdropping on your boss, even if it’s playful, is not something most any employer would tolerate. If people think their telephone conversations are being listened to, they may be reluctant to use them. If people think their conversations may be repeated, they may not speak openly. And taking precious time at work to do things like this just don’t help anyone. Additionally, the fact that someone else does things that are not proper (either on their own time or on company time) does not in any way excuse or justify your errors. Your conduct would be considered “cause” for firing at almost any employer. My best advice: learn from the mistake. Work is for working; eavesdropping isn’t working, and will get you fired. It’s that simple.
Best, Al Sklover
SpyCam Story #417 - Illinois' New Law (update)
Original report - "A lawyer in Wheaton (IL) hid his cameras in a roll of toilet paper and a basket of potpourri in the women's restroom."
Update - "A former Wheaton attorney (Jerald Mangan) convicted in 2006 of spying on a female colleague has had his license suspended for another two years after admitting to spying on a neighbor in his apartment complex." (more)
Update - "A former Wheaton attorney (Jerald Mangan) convicted in 2006 of spying on a female colleague has had his license suspended for another two years after admitting to spying on a neighbor in his apartment complex." (more)
"All right, who said, 'Turkey'?"
When we last left Turkey...
• A possible Turkish Watergate scandal.
• “AK Party is eavesdropping” claims the opposition.
• Turkish opposition claims security forces bugged its headquarters.
Now, the rest of the story...
• CHP’s bugging allegations turn into bitter comedy.
When the Vakit daily published details of a private conversation between Sav and a former governor last week, Sav claimed his party's headquarters had been bugged. The CHP backed the allegations, reasoning that there was no other way the daily could have obtained such detailed information about the conversation. The CHP argued that a group close to the government within the police force was gathering intelligence for the ruling party.
In response to the accusations, Vakit said its reporter had called Sav on his cell phone for a statement on the day of the meeting and that Sav simply forgot to end the call on his cell when he received his guest, leaving the phone connected for nearly an hour. Records of the call from Turk Telekom and Sav’s cell phone company, Turkcell, seemed to verify this story, as they both showed a 44-minute connection between a phone at Vakit and Sav’s cell phone...
The secularist media, which had initially supported Sav, started calling for his resignation after it turned out that the Vakit scandal was caused by what they described as “his inability to use a cell phone properly.” (more)
• A possible Turkish Watergate scandal.
• “AK Party is eavesdropping” claims the opposition.
• Turkish opposition claims security forces bugged its headquarters.
Now, the rest of the story...
• CHP’s bugging allegations turn into bitter comedy.
When the Vakit daily published details of a private conversation between Sav and a former governor last week, Sav claimed his party's headquarters had been bugged. The CHP backed the allegations, reasoning that there was no other way the daily could have obtained such detailed information about the conversation. The CHP argued that a group close to the government within the police force was gathering intelligence for the ruling party.
In response to the accusations, Vakit said its reporter had called Sav on his cell phone for a statement on the day of the meeting and that Sav simply forgot to end the call on his cell when he received his guest, leaving the phone connected for nearly an hour. Records of the call from Turk Telekom and Sav’s cell phone company, Turkcell, seemed to verify this story, as they both showed a 44-minute connection between a phone at Vakit and Sav’s cell phone...
The secularist media, which had initially supported Sav, started calling for his resignation after it turned out that the Vakit scandal was caused by what they described as “his inability to use a cell phone properly.” (more)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
SpyCam Story #448 - Premature Ejection
Hong Kong - A suspected Peeping Tom was critically injured after falling 10 floors while allegedly spying on a woman taking a bath in her high-rise Hong Kong flat.
The man was a neighbour of the 28-year-old woman and had apparently scaled the outside of the apartment block to shoot film of her with his mobile phone camera, police said.
The woman screamed for her husband when she spotted the suspect, aged 44, who then slipped and fell, falling 10 storeys to the ground, according to police. (more)
The man was a neighbour of the 28-year-old woman and had apparently scaled the outside of the apartment block to shoot film of her with his mobile phone camera, police said.
The woman screamed for her husband when she spotted the suspect, aged 44, who then slipped and fell, falling 10 storeys to the ground, according to police. (more)
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