NY - A Long Island doctor is accused of installing a hidden camera in the bathroom of his medical office.
Nassau County police say 54-year-old Vincent Pacienza was arrested Friday and charged with unlawful surveillance.
The doctor's staff discovered the camera, which had been concealed inside an air purifier.
Police believe the camera was placed in the restroom of the Manhasset medical office within the last two weeks. (more)
The kicker...
The purifier, listed for $699, features a "built-in color camera and carrier current video transmitter is completely undetectable," according to the Web site.
The doctor's office staff discovered the device after receiving a bill from thespystore.com, said Det. Lt. Kevin Smith.
The staff looked at the Web site and recognized the air purifier listed there as similar to the one recently installed in the 8-by-8 office restroom, Smith said.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The Low-Tech Spy #187 - Mirror mirror on the stall
UK - A peeper used a mirror to spy on swimmers undressing in the cubicles of a Teesside pool, a court heard.
Paul Stoddart was spared a prison sentence as Teesside Crown Court ruled yesterday his crime was a “singular aberration”. The 46-year-old voyeur was seen holding a small mirror under the partitions of cubicles at Stockton’s Splash centre. He was caught as a mum saw two hands holding a mirror tilted upwards under the wall of her cubicle as she crouched to take off her jeans.
She was at Splash with her husband and their two-year-old daughter on November 29 last year. The woman saw Stoddart emerge from the adjoining cubicle.
Her husband went looking for Stoddart, saw him holding the mirror under other changing rooms and alerted pool staff. (more)
Paul Stoddart was spared a prison sentence as Teesside Crown Court ruled yesterday his crime was a “singular aberration”. The 46-year-old voyeur was seen holding a small mirror under the partitions of cubicles at Stockton’s Splash centre. He was caught as a mum saw two hands holding a mirror tilted upwards under the wall of her cubicle as she crouched to take off her jeans.
She was at Splash with her husband and their two-year-old daughter on November 29 last year. The woman saw Stoddart emerge from the adjoining cubicle.
Her husband went looking for Stoddart, saw him holding the mirror under other changing rooms and alerted pool staff. (more)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Electronic Mata Haris (c. 1957)
Watch out for that girl, laddie; you might be talking over her head but into her microphone. As Willie Shakespeare once said, - “There’s more to this than meets the eye!” This, in the present case, happens to be the bodice of a Sweet Young Thing, said bodice containing microphone, batteries, antenna and transmitter—constituting a miniature radio station with a range of 200-300 feet.
The West German device is but one of several now being used in industrial espionage—the art of swiping your competitor’s business secrets without his knowing. It works like this: Sweet Young Thing has date with two scientists from Firm A.
Mike concealed in the bosom of her party dress picks up their shop talk and other bodice equipment transmits it to operative of Firm B waiting outside in a car equipped with tape recorder. 
Sweet Young Thing gets paid off by Firm B. We realize that all’s fair in love and war but isn’t this going too far?
(courtesy of those great folks at blog.modernmechanix.com/)
"There's nothing more ironic or contradictory than life itself." ~ De Niro
From the "Why are we not surprised?" file...
The Italian government has proposed a bill that would limit the use of phone intercepts and their publication in the media. (more)
Maybe this and this and this is why.
FutureWatch...
"I'll Getta You Sucka: The Silvio Story"
starring Robert De Niro
Secret Agent / Danger Man Episode # [TBD]
Guyana - The ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) yesterday distanced itself from drug accused Shaheed Roger Khan saying assertions being made through his attorney are “baseless” and it has no knowledge of any of its members ever being associated with him.General Secretary Donald Ramotar made the assertions following queries from reporters yesterday at a press conference at Freedom House Boardroom. Ramotar was asked whether the party was concerned about the statements emanating from the US courts by Khan’s lawyers in the context of a purchase of high-tech surveillance equipment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for which he allegedly secured the permission of the Guyana Government.
In response Ramotar said he saw the statements as baseless. “I am not concerned about those statements. I tend to believe the Ministry of Home Affairs in this case. The statement is baseless and I am not worried about baseless statements,” he asserted.
Lawyers for Khan, who is facing drug charges in the US, have cited an FBI investigation which they claim revealed that the government had given Khan permission to purchase the sensitive electronic surveillance equipment from Spy Shops in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
In a subpoena to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Khan’s lawyers stated: “FBI agent Justin Krider investigated Khan’s purchase of the computer telephonic surveillance equipment from Spy Shops in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and found Khan had permission from the Government of Guyana to purchase and possess this equipment.”
In a background paragraph, the subpoena said Khan was alleged to have used the equipment to improperly wiretap various high-ranking officials and others within Guyana in order to maintain his “alleged drug organization.”
...there has been no public information on what happened to the equipment and many questions posed to officials by this newspaper on how the
equipment came into the country and what happened to it after the court case went unanswered.It was believed that the surveillance equipment was passed back to Khan after the trial as he later acknowledged that he had taped several conversations of leading security officials and other personalities.
Prior to his arrest in Suriname and subsequently by the US authorities, Khan had maintained that he had assisted the Guyana government in fighting crime and subversive elements. (more)
"Gadzooks! My secret folder... bloody Spy Bar drinks."
UK - One of Britain's top Marked "secret" and in a bright orange folder, the papers were left on a commuter train traveling between Surrey and Waterloo station, London. The al-Qaeda document, apparently commissioned jointly by the Foreign Office and Home Office, was classified "UK top secret" and was so sensitive that each page was numbered and marked: "For UK, US, Canadian and Australian eyes only."
...the file, handed to the BBC by a passenger... (more)
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.
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