Laptop Searches at US Borders (update)

News...
Customs and Border Patrol agents can grab your laptop, BlackBerry, or external hard drive without needing so much as a reason,
Good news...
but a new bill introduced last week to Congress would at least put some limits on how border searches could be done.
Bad news...
Coming so close to the end of this Congressional session, Sanchez's bill is unlikely to see action this year. It currently sits in the House Committee on Homeland Security, where it will likely expire when Congress adjourns. (more)

OH - An Oxford man has been busted for setting up computer spying software in a houseful of female college students and even stealing the women’s panties, authorities say.

Andrew Kevin Sizemore, 43, was convicted of nine charges Friday in a bizarre string of incidents involving young women who lived across Rose Street from him in Oxford, Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Lance Salyers said.

“He really was the kind of neighborhood creep that you worry about,” said Salyers. “He was spying on what they did on their computers and trying to solicit the girls to model for photos for him and stealing their panties. Who knows what his plans were for those things?” (more)

Wiretapping - Public Reaction Documentary

Wiretapping Sweden (2008) - Documentary about the blogosphere reaction to surveillance laws passed earlier this year in Sweden. (video)

"Hole-y wallet, Batman!"

A six-inch robotic spy plane modeled after a bat would gather data from sights, sounds and smells in urban combat zones and transmit information back to a soldier in real time.

The bat robot's body would be about six inches long. It would weigh about a quarter of a pound and use about 1 W of power.

That's the Army's concept, and it has awarded the University of Michigan College of Engineering a five-year, $10-million grant to help make it happen. The grant establishes the U-M Center for Objective Microelectronics and Biomimetic Advanced Technology, called COM-BAT for short. The grant includes an option to renew for an additional five years and $12.5 million.

U-M researchers will focus on the microelectronics. They will develop sensors, communication tools and batteries for this micro-aerial vehicle that's been dubbed "the bat." Engineers envision tiny cameras for stereo vision, an array of mini microphones that could home in on sounds from different directions, and small detectors for nuclear radiation and poisonous gases. (more)

409,686 – available today for the same price!
The Vamp differs from most other flying toys because it’s an ‘Ornithopter’ – which means it flaps its wings to fly through the air – just like a real bat. The flapping wings and glowing red eyes give the eerie illusion that it’s a living (or undead!) thing, swooping through the darkness. (more)

"See, I’m a man of simple tastes. I like gunpowder…and dynamite…and gasoline! Do you know what all of these things have in common? They’re cheap!" – The Joker

What The 'Former' Spies Are Doing This Week

Former spy criticizes IRA involvement in film about his life...
Canada - Former British spy Martin McGartland may have dropped legal proceedings over Fifty Dead Men Walking, the film based on his life story. But that hasn't stopped him from continuing his criticism of the film and its Canadian director Kari Skogland. (more)

Former spy boss Masetlha's trial postponed...
South Africa - The fraud trial of former spy boss Billy Masetlha and his two co-accused was postponed in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday. Masetlha, former National Intelligence Agency manager for electronic surveillance Funokwakhe Madlala and IT expert Muziwendoda Kunene face fraud charges. (more)

Former spy, mom of 2, takes over party...
Israel - Tzipi Livni, 50, now on the road to become nation's second female PM (more)

Shift-Tense Spook-Speak Code... Decyphered

Australia - The deputy-director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, who cannot be named under Australian law, warned attendees of Australia's Security in Government Conference 2008 earlier this week that commercial and national espionage are becoming more intertwined.

The deputy-director general, Australia's No. 2 spy, said that geopolitical tensions and ongoing globalization will fuel espionage activity in the years ahead and that spying will affect(s) both the public and private sectors. (more) (speech)

SpyCam Story #467 - Hong Kong "Wrong"

A Hong Kong primary schoolteacher was arrested after spy cameras were found in a girls changing room, a newspaper reported Saturday. Pinhole cameras were put in a room where girls changed for dance classes at a primary school in the city's Mongkok district, the South China Morning Post said.

A 32-year-old teacher who helped teach dance was arrested in connection with the incident and has been sacked by the school. Police have released him on bail and have not yet charged him.

The school's principal told the newspaper that the teacher said he wanted to film dancing for future use in lessons but added, "Personally, I found the explanation very unconvincing." (more)

Quote of the Week - $200 Billion Loss

"Industry's annual loss of intellectual property has been estimated at more than $200 billion a year."
~ Paul B. Kurtz - cyber security expert

U.S. intelligence agencies are unable to share information about foreign cyber attacks against companies for fear of jeopardizing intelligence-gathering sources and methods, cyber security expert Paul B. Kurtz told (congressional) lawmakers yesterday.

Kurtz, who served on the National Security Council in the Clinton and Bush administrations, spoke at the first open hearing on cyber security held by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence...

Kurtz expressed concern about the breadth of the attacks. "American industry and government are spending billions of dollars to develop new products and technology that are being stolen at little to no cost by our adversaries," he said. "Nothing is off limits -- pharmaceuticals, biotech, IT, engine design . . . weapons design." (more)

License to Shoot - Coming Soon

Seeing this camera makes most people immediately think of Bond, James Bond. This is small, really small. It's so wee it disappears in a clenched fist. Or in the heel of a shoe or other ingenious hiding place.

The legendary MINOX spy camera has now reached the digital age and its launch at the photokina 2008 is causing a sensation. Leisure "secret agents" have something to look forward to: The legend lives on! Further information will be available soon... (more)

Spys love it: small, intelligent and very reliable. MINOX cameras have been the dream tool of undercover agents for almost 75 years.

To allow this legend to continue in the digital age, miniature optics specialists from Wetzlar have designed the MINOX DSC. This is a miniature camera that features the former 8x11 dimensions and at the same time boasts state-of-the-art technology.

This world premiere with cult potential is on show for the first time at the photokina 2008: This is also where MINOX is presenting everything the future “private-eye” needs for capturing spontaneous, candid digital images, from belt buckle cameras to a filming fountain pen.

The MINOX booth - designed as a spy workshop – focuses on the new MINOX DSC. Here the visitor can discover the possibilities offered by this new License to Shoot.

The Spy Who Loved Me

WowWee unveiled the exciting Rovio Spy Robot at the CES 2008 in January. Now gadget shop Hammacher Schlemmer is first to put the Rovio on sale for $299.95. The robotic sentry will ship on September 26th.

The WowWee Rovio allows you to monitor your home from anywhere in the world. Audio and high-resolution (640 x 480px) video is streamed in MPEG4 format, and it can take still pictures and e-mail them to you; it has a two-way microphone and speaker that enables real-time interaction with subjects - for instance your cat. (more)

New York Issues RFID-Encoded Drivers Licenses

NY - Anyone who lives in fear of an Orwellian future had better put on their tinfoil hats and stock up on bunker supplies, because with the new drivers licenses introduced in New York we are one step closer to that reality. What makes these licenses so special is the inclusion of radio frequency identification chips. RFID chips are already found in credit cards and passports, but New York is the first state in the U.S. to put these chips into its drivers licenses. (more)

OMG!

Scotland - The government were yesterday urged to hand over intelligence tapes of calls made by the Omagh bombers.

Relatives have been horrified at claims the atrocity may have been stopped by security staff, who were eavesdropping.

A total of 29 people, plus two unborn babies, were killed in the town centre blast in 1998. (more)

Terry and the Pirates (update)

CA - With costs related to a rogue network administrator's hijacking of the city's network now estimated at $1 million, city officials say they are searching for a mysterious networking device hidden somewhere on the network.

The device, referred to as a "terminal server" in court documents, appears to be a router that was installed to provide remote access to the city's Fiber WAN network, which connects municipal computer and telecommunication systems throughout the city. City officials haven't been able to log in to the device, however, because they do not have the username and password. In fact, the city's Department of Telecommunications and Information Services (DTIS) isn't even certain where the device is located, court filings state.

The router was discovered on Aug. 28. When investigators attempted to log in to the device, they were greeted with what appears to be a router login prompt and a warning message saying "This system is the personal property of Terry S. Childs," according to a screenshot of the prompt filed by the prosecution. (more) (history)

16 Extra Eyes in the Florida Eye Institute (update)

FL - Florida Eye Institute founder Dr. Paul Minotty says he had a security system installed in the three-story building because he believed there was a conspiracy against him, threatening his well-being.

Minotty told jurors on Tuesday he wanted protection fearing that he was going to set up for an arrest for drunken driving following a Christmas party in 2007.

He also told jurors he heard a clinic employee bought a 50-caliber military rifle.

Minotty is on trial in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought by three of the institute's six doctor-owners. The three contend Minotty financially mismanaged the firm, over their objections, and allegedly resorted to having electronic surveillance equipment secretly installed in their private offices in violation of state law. (more) (history)

Bavarian Police Seeking Skype Trojan Informant

Germany - Bavarian police searched the home of the spokesman for the German Pirate Party (Piratenpartei Deutschland) looking for an informant who leaked information about a government Trojan used to eavesdrop on Skype conversations. (more)