Job Fears Make Offices All Ears

via The Wall Street Journal...
Human-Resources Officials Say Rise in Employee Eavesdropping Fans Rumors

While workplace eavesdropping has been going on for ages, fears about layoffs and corporate restructuring have left employees more attentive to what's going on around them. And as employees resort to eavesdropping, human-resources professionals say they are encountering cases of rumor-spreading in the workplace more frequently.

After mass layoff announcements this fall, Society for Human Resource Management found that 23% of human-resource professionals surveyed have encountered significantly more cases of eavesdropping in the workplace over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, 54% reported a sharp increase in gossip and rumors about downsizing and layoffs in their workplaces.

Companies are now taking measures to curtail the eavesdropping problem. (more)

The Spirit of TELEX Returns

TELEX was a slow and trusted messaging service; since replaced by fast and iffy e-mail. One company wants you to have the best of both - fast and trusted. Their pitch is a firm punch in the nose...

"Your eMails are being intercepted by criminals, governments and even your competitors! What can you do about it?"

iTelex is the world's leading fully encrypted, email service. Our state-of-the-art technology keeps our users' online communications private. Free and easy to use, iTelex works similarly to other Web-based email providers, except iTelex offers the security of 2,048-bit encryption between iTelex users. With iTelex, users can access their address from any computer that has an internet connection and a web browser. (more)

Benefits of the old Telex and new i-Telex:
- Guaranteed Delivery
- Reliability
- Privacy/Security
- Instant Messaging
- Live Messaging
- Legally Binding Messaging
- Encrypted Attachments

"Oh, We're Not Gonna Take It" I

Demonstration against wiretapping law in Helsinki on Feb 5, 2009
Meeting near the Central Railway Station at 14:30, demonstration to begin outside the Parliament at 15:00.

“Lex Nokia” is a loophole plagued law proposal which, if passed, would allow network owners to spy on header information (from/to fields) in electronic communications in order to stop very loosely defined “misuse”. Eavesdropping on “parts” of unencrypted electronic communication protocols is as much of a bad joke as pretending to be reading only the address part of a non-enveloped postcard. (more) (sing-a-long)

"Oh, We're Not Gonna Take It" II

ND - Drunken bar brawls in Oliver County’s biggest city have authorities calling on taverns to install surveillance systems and turn over their recordings after a fight. That’s unsettling to bar owners who say their customers have a right to talk freely, even if they slur their words, without being recorded.

“I don’t have a problem with the video camera, but I won’t put audio in here. That’s baloney,” said Perry Wolf, owner of the Lonewolf Saloon in Center, N.D., a town of fewer than 700 in the heart of coal country. (more) (sing-a-long)

"Oh, We're Not Gonna Take It" III

Eavesdropping craft critical for monitoring terrorists...

The NRO payload on the Delta 4-Heavy is a 5-to-6 ton eavesdropping spacecraft with a high tech deployable antenna as wide as 350 feet. The spacecraft is to enhance the capability for the U.S. to listen in on communications in hostile governments like Iran and terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda. (more) (sing-a-long)

SpyCam Story #510 - Action Camo Cam

Completely Covert Camouflage Micro DVR Camera For Stakeouts
At Only 3 Inches, Mount It Anywhere For Covert Surveillance
- Completely Weatherproof w/ Built-In DVR
- 30 FPS Full Screen Video & Audio
- SD Card / Built-In LCD Screen
- 2x Zoom / Battery Powered
- Review Video On Any Computer - PC Or MAC
- Capture Up To 100 Minutes Of Recorded Video

Designed For Portability And Outdoor Use - Even Underwater
The Little Titan Camouflage DVR Camera is the only covert camera designed specifically for portability, outdoor use, and more. Perfect for sting operations, suspect tracking, and all your day-to-day operations on-the-move, this camera records crystal clear 30 fps full screen video as well as audio.

Battery life of 1 to 4 hours and the ability to store an incredible 100 minutes of video. Video stores directly to a SD card and can be reviewed on any PC, monitor, or directly on the device itself using the built-in LCD screen. $199.95 (more) (video)
Why do we mention it?
So you know what you're up against.

I always feel like somebody's watchin' me...

UK - University students in Cheltenham say they are being spied on and filmed by residents in St Paul's. The students say people hid in bushes to watch them in an attempt to gather evidence of anti-social behaviour. (more) (sing-a-long)

Handwriting That Remembers What It Hears

The boss talks. You take some notes. Three days later... "That's not what I said!"

You are an investigator; interviewing a suspect. At the deposition... "That's not what I meant! I was being sarcastic when I said, 'Oh, sure I did it.'"

Hummm.... Let's ask Mr. Pen. Mr. Pen was there. He wrote the notes. He heard you. Hey, Mr. Pen. What did you hear?

As Pen is my witness. Here hear... [insert irrefutable audio proof here]

Mr. Pen, of course, is just a nom de plume.
His real name is the Pulse, aka “smartpen”, by Livescribe. (more)
Note to Executives:
Keep in mind, Mr. Pen could be "in anyone's pocket." Just recording.
Note to Teachers:
Mr. Pen is smart. Write a math problem with him... and the answer appears on his display! Keep Mr. Pen away from math exam papers.
Look for future smart pens to be even smarter. "Open Chanel 'D'."

Wiretap Recordings Found

Turkey - Police found wiretapping records of former Chief of General Staff Hilmi Özkök’s phone conversations at retired Brig. Levent Ersöz’s home Friday, as part of the Ergenekon investigation. Ersöz was caught at a hospital in Ankara on Thursday and detained in connection with the ongoing case against the gang. In July, he had fled to Moscow. (more)

Want a job in TSCM?

This one was just posted...
CERTIFIED TECHNICAL SECURITY INVESTIGATOR - AIKEN, SC
This is a long term contract position for Savannah River Site located in Aiken, SC. Must be a U. S. Citizen.

DUTIES:
Performs all duties and responsibilities described for a Certified Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) Technician contained in DOE M 470.4-4, "Information Security", Section E, and "Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Program"; and as an alternate TEMPEST and Protected Transmissions System (PTS) Coordinator as detailed in DOE M 205.1-3, "Telecommunications Security".

Serves as the Savannah River Site (SRS) primary POC and subject matter expert on Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) issues. Provides TSCM support to all SRS activities, as directed by DOE-SR TSCM Program Manager. This includes ensuring that specified areas are free from audio or optical technical surveillance devices and that equipment being introduced into those areas has not been manipulated to surreptitiously provide information to unauthorized persons or foreign governments... (more)

SpyCam Story #509 - "Yo, ho ho..."

UK - A Royal Navy petty officer was jailed for two years today for spying... Tom Paul Opie, 36, cut holes in the ceiling and wall of a changing room to secretly film the women on his mobile phone... Plymouth Crown Court heard that his 18-year Navy career has now ended in disgrace and his wife has left him in disgust. (more)

Your Third Eye Has an Indelible Memory

The VIEVU PVR-PRO 2 is an enhanced WEARABLE video recording device for use by consumers and professionals wishing to capture their daily events or protect themselves from liability.

The design enables the camera to be attached to the user so that their perspective is captured during their routine daily events.

Video files are downloaded to a PC via simple drag-and-drop. Once transferred, the files can be edited or uploaded to your favorite video sharing site. The camera operates via an on/off switch which also serves as a lens cover.

VIEVU PVR-PRO can record and store approximately 4 hours of video and audio in SVGA quality format. (more)

Industrial Espionage - Sony Ericsson Ripped Off

A number of stolen prototypes of Sony Ericsson mobile phones were found at the home of a company employee, Swedish police said on Wednesday.

Sony Ericsson is keeping quiet about the situation. A spokesman at the company confirmed that a number of prototypes were involved, but wouldn't elaborate on any of the details, Computer Sweden reported...

What the person was planning to do with the phones -- which are worth about 750,000 Swedish kronor (US$90,000), according to the police -- and what kind of devices were stolen remains unclear.

Prototypes can be very valuable to the competition, because they show where a company is heading in the long term, according to Chris Hazelton, research director for mobile and wireless at The 451 Group. (more)
Think of all the similar competing cell phones which debut at the same time. Just coincidence? Example: iPhone vs. LG KE850 (photos courtesy engadget.com)

Secret Maps in "Monolpoly" Pieces! True or False

Did the British Secret Service, MI-5, send specially packaged versions of the popular board game "Monopoly" to prisoners of war in Germany during World War II?

Did these games have escape maps hidden inside the playing pieces?

Check your answers here.

Nortel Goes Chapt. 11 - Spying Concerns to Blame

As Nortel files for bankruptcy... a less-discussed factor may have scuttled the struggling networking company's last hope for a savior: concerns over Chinese cyberspying...

The most interested potential acquirer of the Ethernet division may have been Chinese company Huawei... The Shenzhen-based networking giant has a murky history of cooperation with its homeland's authoritarian regime, and concerns over Huawei's government ties, according to some industry-watchers and security analysts, may have spooked Nortel's customers that carried sensitive U.S. government data and scuttled the Chinese company's offer...

The Chinese company has long been searching for an opportunity to expand to North America...

Given Huawei's history, a tie-up with the company would raise the specter of a hidden back door in a router or switch, siphoning that data to foreign spies. (more)