Criminals Use Electronic Surveillance Too

PA - During the execution of the search warrant for 807 Green Street, detectives seized a covert video surveillance system designed to warn the drug dealers inside of the presence of police. This system was fully operational during the time of the search with an audio microphone which is a violation of Pennsylvania’s Wiretap Act. (more)

The Real Spy's Guide to Becoming a Spy

The Real Spy's Guide to Becoming a Spy by Peter Earnest with Suzanne Harper

Peter Earnest is former CIA and the founding executive director of the International Spy Museum, located in Washington D.C. This is a must read for any young reader who loves spy related things, be it novels, movies or kits. This book is for any young reader who has ever wonder what do spies do, or how do I become a spy?

SpyCam Story #556 - The Pet Sitter

CA - Police in Newbury Park say they've found evidence that a man arrested for allegedly spying on his female neighbors with a hidden camera may have taped other people as well. Police say Michael Farge, 38, recorded the daily activities of his neighbors, including them changing, for more than two years.

Residents of the community of condos near Wheelwright Lane told KTLA that Farge was good friends with the women he is accused of watching, a woman and her 19-year-old daughter. They said Farge had a key to the victims' house and watched their house and pets when they were out of town. (more) (video)

Contest - Police Brain Teaser - [ended]

[CONTEST OVER - CONGRATULATIONS WINNERS!]
The police get a tip that a man named Max is a murder suspect. They are told he is at a particular address, in a particular apartment playing poker with three other people. They raid the apartment, kick in the door and immediately arrest Max without saying a word, or questioning the other players.

How did they immediately know which person was Max?

The answer will be posted tomorrow...
Answer: He was playing poker with three women.

We accepted the first four winners (in order).
JR from Australia
AV from California
DF from New York
EJ from Canada
They will be receiving the really cool "Book of Secrets" Check the "Look inside" at amazon.com to see what it is all about. ~Kevin

Your Future Third (4th or 5th) Eye

Miruko is a camera robot in the shape of an eyeball capable of tracking objects and faces. According to its creators, it can be used for augmented reality games, security, and navigation. (more) (movie)

Marketing Gone Wild

Deep in the bowels of MoreOn Advertising...
So, what should we call it?
It helps law enforcement protect the innocent public.
How about "Pole Protector" or "Bad Guy Annihilator?"
Nah, screw the PR jazz. Let's call it...

During the ASIS 2009 conference, here, Cam-Tek Systems, Inc., announced the introduction and availability of the Surveillance Network On Utility Poles or SNOUP™ (pronounced “Snoop”) covert video surveillance solution. SNOUP is a modular, self-contained, ruggedized, video surveillance system designed to mount atop utility poles for wide area public video surveillance. This comprehensive solution utilizes wired, wireless, and cellular network connectivity. This solution is intended primarily for police departments, drug enforcement agencies, homeland security agencies, and other investigative agencies such as states' attorneys general offices. (more)

What were they thinking? Where do they think the money comes from for this stuff? Totally wrong mindset. ~Kevin

Automakers go ‘camo’ to thwart spy shots

This is war, after all, and you better not go out without your camouflage.
...disguises have evolved over the years. Two decades ago, manufacturers began applying strips of black tape, hoping simply to confuse the eye. That evolved into bras and bibs meant to conceal front and rear details.

Now, in its earliest stages, a prototype is likely to be covered roof-to-wheel in material printed in zebra or moiré patterns — some designs proving particularly effective when photographed. Hard plastic panels may be sewn together with soft nylon, not only to conceal, but also to create false and misleading shapes. Rectangular taillights may be rounded off, a sedan may suddenly seem as square as a station wagon. Manufacturers have even been known to bolt on another maker’s badge, just to add to the confusion. (more)

What's your counterespionage strategy?
Don't have one?!?!
Click here.

Business Espionage - Starwood v. Hilton

Hilton Hotels Corporation, the American hotel behemoth, has replaced Ross Klein as global head of luxury and lifestyle brands after a lawsuit brought by Starwood Hotels, his former employer, accused him of looting confidential information...

The news that Mr Klein has left will reignite speculation that Hilton, which is also being sued, is close to agreeing a settlement with its rival aimed at drawing a line under what the writ called "the clearest imaginable case of corporate espionage, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition and computer fraud". (more)

Business Espionage - Nintendo

Nintendo fan site Nintendojo has reported it did some eavesdropping on a conference call between Nintendo and some big name retailers, where it confirmed there would be a $50 price cut starting from 27 September. (more)

How secure are your conference calls?
Need help? Contact us.

Tune in September 27th to see if they really did eavesdrop.
Merry Christmas, etc.

SpyCam Story #555 - Along Came Jones

eeh, eeh...
MI - A restaurant owner who is also a former Brighton city councilman is accused of spying on a female employee. Police say he used a hidden camera to watch the employee when she was undressed.

Richard Gienapp is the owner of Mexican Jones on Grand River. He faces three felony counts, accused of installing and using a camera to eavesdrop on a female employee at the restaurant. (more)

(sing-a-long) ...I got so bugged I turned it off and turned on another show. But there was the same old shoot-'em-up and the same old rodeo...

(Review) "I have been disappointed few times when eating out and definitely this place tops my list. The Salsa straight out of a Ragu container leaves much to be desired, it was so awful (even the waitress agreed with my wife about the Spaghetti taste) and I do have to agree that she was the only reason why I finished my dinner without walking out." (more)

SpyCam Story #554 - Ductman

ND - A man has been ordered to serve 10 days in jail for eavesdropping in Richland County. Authorities say 52-year-old Anthony Siemieniewski put a camera and microphone in a heating duct of a bedroom in a home he owned. Tenants found the camera in February.

Assistant State's Attorney Ron McBeth said investigators found no video but found audio recordings.

Siemieniewski indicated he wanted to check on a problem furnace and said the camera never produced video.

Siemieniewski was ordered to jail for 10 days, followed by probation. Judge Richard Grosz also ordered Siemieniewski to pay $500 in fees, and ordered a psychological evaluation. (more)

Privacy Gadget of the Year - Laser Zapper

Ever since Diana, Princess of Wales, was snapped in an amorous clinch with Dodi Fayed in a yacht off the French Riviera, celebrities have been seeking ways to enjoy their holidays while avoiding the glare of the paparazzi...

Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch, appears to have come up with a novel solution to protect his privacy.

In a move that could eventually be copied by all discerning billionaires, Abramovich has installed an anti-paparazzi shield on his newest vessel, the world’s biggest and most expensive private yacht.

The high-tech system on Eclipse, a mega-yacht measuring up to 557ft, relies on lasers to block any digital camera lenses nearby... the boat’s most unusual feature is perhaps the anti-paparazzi “shield”.

Infrared lasers detect the electronic light sensors in nearby cameras, known as charge-coupled devices. When the system detects such a device, it fires a focused beam of light at the camera, disrupting its ability to record a digital image.

The beams can also be activated manually by security guards if they spot a photographer loitering. (more)

Software Protects Computer Displays from Eavesdropping

To minimize amount of displayed information available for eavesdropping, PrivateEye Pro 1.0 uses web camera to determine when user is not looking at display and blurs contents of monitor to point where typical text is illegible. In Boss mode, program displays screen capture of user's choice when they are looking away. Eavesdropper Warnings let user see who is behind them and let eavesdroppers see that they have been caught. (more) (video)

Massachusetts - No Warrantless GPS Spying

Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling insists that police obtain a warrant before using GPS devices to spy on motorists.

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that police officers need to obtain a warrant before using a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) device to track a motorist. The ruling was handed down in the case of Everett H. Connolly who was convicted of cocaine trafficking after police traced his activities using a GPS device five years ago. (more)

Security Director Hero - The Informant!

Steven Soderbergh's movie, The Informant!, opened in movie theaters today. By all reviews, it is a winner. It is based on a true corporate intrigue story.

If it were fiction it would be a corporate espionage thriller. Because it is a true story, it is a comedy, a farce, a fiasco. Such is real life drama. (I know. I was there.)

Soderbergh has an excellent reputation for portraying realistic organizational espionage, intrigue and electronic surveillance. Remember his Valerie Plame affair series "K Street," on HBO?

If you liked "Barbarians at the Gate" (I was there, too). You'll love "The Informant!"

...one review...
A mid-level executive at a corporation called ADM, Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) works to ensure the continued good sales of the company's popular food additives, but when a mishap in the lab begins to cost the company significant amounts of money and threatens Whitacre's job, the mustachioed quasi-Everyman simply invents, out of thin air, a Japanese corporate blackmailer to whom he assigns the blame.

Enter the FBI, who might easily have caught on to Whitacre's deception had he not, in turn, spun yet another series of lies which propelled him into being the government's key witness and undercover informant in a massive corporate conspiracy case. And like all good con-jobs, Whitacre built his lies upon half-truths.

There was, indeed, a price-fixing scheme in place, but the laughable audacity with which Whitacre lead investigators through the ranks, deflecting attention from his own involvement – and subsequent embezzlement – is worthy of a standing ovation. The Informant is a one-man show, carried completely by the strength of Damon's tremendously effective performance.

Whitacre, for all intents and purposes, should be a hugely unlikeable guy, but Damon lends the character a sense of kamikaze bravado and wide-eyed whimsy that makes it impossible not to feel at least slightly sympathetic toward him. From the paunchy mid-section to the ridiculous hairpiece, Whitacre seems like the kind of guy trying desperately to move up and be taken seriously in the corporate world. (more) (the original story, summarized) (wikipedia) (The Informant - book) ('This American Life' audio version)

Although it may not be clear in the movie, or the book, the only person who identified Whitacre as unstable early on, reported it to management (was ignored), discovered Whitacre's 9 million plus dollar theft from ADM, and recovered the money, was ADM's corporate security director, Mark J. Cheviron. He is the true unsung hero of this story and one of the few top ADM executives to emerge untarnished. The old top management is gone today. Mr. Cheviron remains.
~Kevin (you can have the isle seat)