Does the word "spy" ring a Bell?

A great-grandson of Alexander Graham Bell has been arrested on charges of being an international spy.

Walter Kendall Myers, 72, and his wife Gwendolyn, 71, were arrested June 4 in Washington, D.C. after the FBI alleged the pair were spying on the United States for Cuba for three decades.

Myers is a former U.S. State Department analyst who had top-secret security clearance, according to The Associated Press. (more) (interesting historical background)

FREE - Secure email service

from the website...
PrivacyHarbor.com’s private and FREE (Basic Account) email system keeps your messages out of the hands advertisers and others who want to see your email. You don’t want people reading your letters or listening in on your phone calls, so why would it be acceptable for spammers and companies to pry on your emails? The clear answer is, it’s not. Keep every message private, safe and secure with PrivacyHarbor... Private webmail account: More secure than online banking.

They offer a nice FREE package as well as moderately priced accounts. Compare the features of each here. ~Kevin

Monthly Poll Results - "If legal, would you..."

...use a Cell Phone Jammer?"
71% YES
29% NO

Selected comments received...
"Perfect place to use them in conference rooms and Churches."

"The worst place for me is the bank, you're standing there, waiting, quiet (I have my phone on vibrate usually) and phone nearby you rings and someone cusses and argues or talks about idle crap while everyone else has to stand around and listen? Or in a diverse place, you might get a loudmouth in Spansih, another in Mandarian, or someone giving an idiotic opinion that doesn't make sense and then me and people in line start discussing and bickering cause that's all we can DO!!! I want to JAM em so bad right then and there. Legal or not. ;)"

Do you think a law would get passed...

... if it were your BlackBerry?
NJ- A bill sponsored by Senator Raymond J. Lesniak which would require telecommunications companies to provide caller location information for crime victims to law enforcement agencies was approved by the Senate Law, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs Committee Monday.

The measure would amend the state's wiretapping statute to require cell phone carriers and mobile broadband providers to disclose location information regarding a crime victim's mobile or wireless communications device under certain circumstances.

Lesniak's recent experience in which intruders broke into his Elizabeth home and robbed him underscored the need for this legislation. During the robbery, the thieves took his BlackBerry. Had the senator's cell phone carrier been able to cooperate with local law enforcement officials, police could have tracked down and apprehended the thieves much quicker, reducing the risk to the rest of the community. (more)

(click to enlarge)
...and, he might want to give BAK2u a try on his new BlackBerry. It backs-up and wipes-out confidential information on stolen BlackBerrys. ~Kevin

The Captain's Mates

Philippines - Two Filipinos and a Jordanian national in the Philippines are facing possible extradition to the United States for hacking into the telephone systems of large US corporations and selling the information to Pakistani nationals living in Italy, the United States Department of Justice said over the weekend...

The three are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of unauthorized access to computer systems and possession of unauthorized access devices including passcodes to US telephone systems. They each face a 25-year maximum prison sentence and a hefty fine...

...telecom companies lost an estimated $350 million in stolen revenue as a result of the phreaking syndicate. (more) (more)
(The Captain's story)

Even with "free" VoIP telephone service there is still a niche market ($350 million) for phone phreaks to plunder. In this case, they were selling phone service. Remote eavesdropping is another service. Make sure your business phone systems have been hacker-proofed. The Captain has many, many mates out there. ~Kevin

Pink - The Official Color of Info-Theft

(click to enlarge)
Laid-off employees have emerged as the single biggest threat to data security...
The biggest security breaches in corporations these days are employees who have been laid off or who are about to get laid off.

When employees leave an organization on their own terms, particularly in good times, many companies scramble to figure out what they had access to and what the value of that information would be to a competitor. There is a large body of case law in the technology industry involving theft of trade secrets, and globalization has added a new twist because laws in some countries are either unenforceable or nonexistent. But in a downturn where millions of workers are being cut, the scale of the problem grows by several orders of magnitude.

So how does a CIO minimize data theft when so many employees are being cut? I posed that question to security guru Phillip Dunkelberger, CEO of PGP Corp. His answer: Once employees get their pink slips, it's already too late. He said the real work has to be done well before the termination notices go out. In fact, it has to begin even before the rumors start swirling that layoffs are imminent and employees have time to gather up their contact lists and whatever else they might deem necessary for their survival in case they get laid off. (more)

Some employees facing the poop-chute won't be satisfied with old data. Their egos and wallets crave more. Be sure to check for bugs, wiretaps and secret tunnels back into the corporate network. Keep an eye on their friends and lovers who still work for you, too...
Make your own "Official Pink Slip" Click here. ~Kevin

Security Director Alert - The Corruption Files

You can now purchased corrupted files on-line; only $3.95 each.
Definition: Corrupted File ~ (n.) A file that contains scrambled and unrecoverable data due to hardware or software failure.
"Q: Can my teacher trace the file back to your website?
A: No. Our files cannot be opened, traced, or reverse engineered. We also upload new files periodically to make sure our files always stay “fresh.” We didn’t just change a .jpeg extension into a .doc. We take pride in our corruption!"

Corrupted files are often signs of viruses, or glitches in the transmission process. Now, corrupted files can be a red flag that your colleague or student is a slacker, or a human engineer...

aka Spy:
"This is a copy of the Compensation Committee's Report your boss wants me to work on. See... it came through corrupted. Could you send me another copy of the file? I'm working from home today, let's try my private email account. That might work better. Thanks!"

"Keep this site a Secret!" is at the top of every page at Corrupted-Files.com So, don't spread this around. Ok? ~Kevin

The $1.95 Tool Every Spy Should Have

Pilot Japan has broken the barrier between pencils and erasable gel pens! To highlight this fact, their newest FriXion pens have plastic bodies reminiscent of wooden pencils. These erasable gel pens write in vibrant gel colors that are unattainable with colored pencil lead. The pens are so erasable, you'll be amazed. An incredible selection of 24 colors is available. (more)

Here's the secret spy pen rub...
The ink is thermo-sensitive! Heat it. It disappears. Cool it. It reappears. All you need is a hair dryer and a refrigerator. (video)

FutureWatch - Bidirectional TV

From those wonderful folks who brought you Fruit Loops...
...a TV that stares back, figures out who you are, and chooses the next commercial just for you.

It knows you are more likely to buy Count Chocula or Lucky Charms.

"Kill the bird. Cue the Count."

How are they going to do this? Well, by targeting the ads to individual households using a technology called “community addressable messaging,” which allows “advertisers to select cable households within particular areas that have demographic factors, such as income, in common,” says the WSJ." (more)

Funny thing is... you may like this! You've never purchased a Shamwow in your life and the sight of Vince makes you run to the bathroom, or change the channel. But, you might be interested in a special on high-quality Viva towels. ~Kevin

Sign of the Times

Eavesdropping and info-leak concerns create a modern version of, "Park your weapons at the door, partner."

FutureWatch - Ring, Ring, Ah-choo

Scientists predict mobile phone viruses will pose a serious threat...
If you own a computer, chances are you have experienced the aftermath of a nasty virus at some point. In contrast, there have been no major outbreaks of mobile phone viral infection, despite the fact that over 80 percent of Americans now use these devices. A team headed by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, director of the Center for Complex Network Research at Northeastern University, set out to explain why this is true...

"We haven't had a problem so far because only phones with operating systems, so-called 'smart phones', are susceptible to viral infection," explained Marta Gonzalez, one of the authors of the publication. "Once a single operating system becomes common, we could potentially see outbreaks of epidemic proportion because a mobile phone virus can spread by two mechanisms: a Bluetooth virus can infect all Bluetooth-activated phones in a 10-30 meter radius, while Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) virus, like many computer viruses, spreads using the address book of the device. Not surprisingly, hybrid viruses, which can infect via both routes, pose the most significant danger."(more)

I Spy Father's Day - Secret Safes and more...

59372 98324 19043 78903 95320...
Date: Sunday, June 21
Assignment: Get Pop something cool!
Suggested material: Peanut Butter Safe
Facts: Everybody’s got peanut butter tucked in the back of their cupboards. Now you can keep your valuables back there, too, without anyone knowing the difference. It looks—and weighs—just like a real jar of old fashioned peanut butter, but the top screws off to reveal a hollowed out center for hiding small items. Smart food, indeed!
Fun fact: We’ve had college kids buy these to hide their cell phones in.
Technical Data: Interior space 4” x 2”
Cost: $18.00
Procurement: Click here.
Alternate Spy Gear: Click here.
Top Secret: Until Monday...
Free $10 Gift Card with Orders Over $50.
...59372 98324 19043 78903 95320 O&O

Spybusters - Top Ten Spybusting Tips

(cover story - Plaintiff Magazine, June '09)
Who are these snoops?
Snoops can be competitors, vendors, investigators, business intelligence consultants, colleagues vying for positions, overbearing bosses, suspicious partners, the press, labor negotiators, government agencies. The list is long.

Why would I be a target?
Money and power are the top two reasons behind illegal surveillance. If anything you say or write could increase someone else’s wealth or influence, you are a target.

Is snooping common?
Yes. The news is full of stories about stolen information. In fact, many news stories themselves begin with leaks.

Can I protect myself?
Yes. Espionage is preventable. If... (full article)

Doctor Probed in Sex Video Case

Philippines - A three-pronged probe by the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and possible wiretap charges await celebrity doctor Hayden Kho over his sex videos posted online. PMA spokesman Bu Castro said in a radio interview the PMA has formed a committee to look into the claims against Kho for conduct unbecoming of a doctor. (more)

Spies Hitting Financial Industry Center

Thanks to its status as a financial centre, Switzerland is seeing a sharp rise in spying activities amid the global economic crisis, the Swiss intelligence service told AFP.

"We have seen a general interest for financial information," Juerg Buehler, who heads the service, part of the defence ministry, said in an interview. "This trend is reinforced with the financial crisis and competition between financial centres..."

Given the rising risks of foreign intelligence penetration, Buehler said his service is trying to make the banking industry aware of the dangers.

But he acknowledged that "we cannot have police patrolling in front of every bank". (more)

Side note: Most financial institutions already retain the services of eavesdropping detection / counterespionage consulting firms. ~Kevin