Business Espionage - Starwood Hilton Case

A federal grand jury is investigating whether Hilton Worldwide and several of its former executives should face criminal charges for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of pages of confidential documents from rival Starwood Hotels & Resorts, according to people familiar with the situation.

The grand jury is part of a six-month-old Justice Department probe into allegations that Hilton, which is owned by private-equity firm Blackstone Group, used trade secrets taken by former Starwood executives, who defected to Hilton last year, to develop its own luxury brand to compete with Starwood's successful W chain. (more)

Major Eavesdropping and Industrial Espionage by Private Detectives

Columbia - Felipe Muñoz, director of Colombia's intelligence agency DAS denounced Tuesday the existence of a cartel of private detectives who wiretap telephones and carry out industrial espionage.

The intelligence chief had been called to the House of Representative to talk about the illegal wiretapping of government critics conducted by his own agency that because of this scandal will be dismantled.

Muñoz said that also some private detectives wiretap telephones are carrying out industrial espionage and that it was not just the state agency who did so.

"We are even talking about industrial espionage. The evidence we have shows that none of those activities were conducted with DAS devices," Muñoz said to the representatives.

Muñoz added that telephone eavesdropping is so easy that a cell phone can be wiretapped with a pin anyone can buy at Bogota's downtown. That's why he asked that the mobile phone companies be investigated too.

According to Muñoz the wiretapping cartels operate from Bogota, Medellin, and Cali. (more)

Erin Andrews' Alleged Peephole Video Stalker Arrested

A man accused of secretly taping and trying to sell nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews was arrested late Friday night and appeared in federal court today. After months of FBI investigation, Michael David Barrett, 47, faces federal criminal charges of interstate stalking for allegedly taking nude videos of Andrews, posting them on the Internet and trying to sell them to celebrity Web sites such as TMZ. (more)

As the suburban man accused of secretly recording ESPN reporter Erin Andrews naked in her hotel room awaits trial, security experts warn that surreptitious invasions can happen in what might seem the most private of places.

Their advice: Don't assume someone isn't watching. "A pervert will take advantage of the fact that people in a hotel will act as if they are at home," said Charles Slepian, who consults with hotels on security issues and is founder of the Foreseeable Risk Analysis Center in New York. (more)

Alert: Low-Cost GSM Bugs Flood Ebay

GSM bugs are simply tiny cell phones without keypads. Insert a SIM card, hide it, call its phone number and eavesdrop from anywhere in the world.

The lowest cost we've seen is 99 cents, plus $21.99 shipping.

This is a major development in illegal electronic surveillance; amazing as it is scary. Anyone can be a high-tech spy for less than $25.00.

In addition to being packaged as tiny self-contained bugs, they are also being sold on Ebay (and many other Internet locations) hidden in every-day office items like power strips.

Search Ebay to see them... (1) (2)

What Murray Associates is doing about this for their clients...
Digital Surveillance Location Analysis™ (DSLA)

With this new capability we pinpoint and solve several of the most serious information security challenges...
• cellular bugs
• GPS/GSM tracking devices
• rogue equipment and access point loopholes

DSLA is a Murray Associates exclusive -- Sample plot map... (enlarge)

Our new graphic triangulation technique may be...
• employed during our regular Eavesdropping Detection Audits,
• monitored by your security/IT staff on a 24/7 basis,
• or, monitored by Murray Associates for you.
The system is Internet compatible; easily monitored from anywhere.

Security Directors at businesses and government agancies (only) are invited contact us for further details.

One Password Will Hurt You

Nearly half of all Brits (and probably everyone else) use the same password to log in to their online banking account as their social networking account, says CPP.

• Two thirds of web users said it's too difficult to remember numerous logins.
• 17 percent said they were concerned they would get locked out of their account if they forgot their password.
• 40 percent of web users admitted that at least one other person knows their passwords, of these two percent confessed an ex partner has access to their social networking and online banking accounts.
• A third of Brits said they believed that these people may have logged in using their details.
• One in ten Brits has had one of their online accounts hacked, with 57 percent of the crimes happening in 2008.
• Of those that saw their online accounts hacked, 18 percent had goods illegally bought in their name, 12 percent had money stolen while five percent also said they'd had their identity stolen.

Sarah Blaney, identity theft expert at CPP, said: "No sensible person would use the same key for their house, car and garage." (more)

It's time for half of us to develop a better password strategy.

Did you know...

..after the Russians were caught tapping the State Department, Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright protested by wearing a pin with a giant bug on it? (more)

From her new book, Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box

Spy vs. Spy - Mission Impossible

A tentative settlement has been reached in a lawsuit brought 15 years ago by a former DEA agent who accused a CIA operative of illegally bugging his home...

The lawsuit, brought by Richard A. Horn, accused the CIA of illegally bugging his residence in Rangoon, Burma, when he was stationed there. He alleged that portions of a private phone call were used as an excuse to oust him from that job. Horn, 63, filed suit in 1994. His case has meandered through the court system since. (more)

*CONTEST* (CLOSED) Help me track down an international spy.

Help me track down an international spy.
I have been chasing this person for over 20 years now.
Over this time, my spy has been seen in these cities, in this order;
but for no longer than a month at a time...
Seoul, South Korea
Barcelona, Spain
Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
Sydney, Australia
Beijing, China
Based on this, what city should I plan on traveling to for my next chance to see this spy again?

First correct answer via e-mail wins a nice prize. ~Kevin

We have a winner!
HZC from Texas, who says... "You should look for him in London, England. And Perhaps if you cant find it there afterwards at Rio de Jainero, Brazil"
Why? Because our spy follows the Olympics!

He will be receiving the really cool "Book of Secrets" Check the "Look inside" at amazon.com to see what it is all about. ~Kevin

Security Colleague Question #523 - Fireproof Bag

Hi Kevin,
Are you aware of any type of document bag that is fire proof?

Try one of these...
It withstands nearly 2000 degrees of fiery heat for up to 15 minutes! They come in two sizes, lots of colors and with locks...
Locking Bag - Fire-Resist Briefcase
~ Kevin

Peru’s Fujimori Pleads Guilty to Wiretaps

Peru - Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of wiretapping opponents and paying bribes to lawmakers and publishers during his rule from 1990 to 2000.

Fujimori, 71, will be sentenced to up to eight years in prison tomorrow. (more)

Upon reading our Fujimori post...

Taiwan - President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has ordered national security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations that wiretapping by intelligence agencies had become rampant since he took office and demanded severe punishment for officials who disobeyed his campaign promise to ban the practice... (more)

SpyCam Story #558 - Missed Fujimori Post

Philippines - The Valenzuela city government will implement two ordinances next month that would regulate liquor businesses and requiring all establishments to install spy cameras within their premises. (more)
FutureWatch...
The beginning of a trend? Liquor stores... cigarette sellers... gun shops... magazine stands... movie theaters...

SpyCam Story #557 - Saw a Fujimori Once

KY - A former Heartland teacher accused of videotaping underneath cheerleaders' skirts enters a guilty plea. Steve McCuiston, 51, of Murray entered the plea Monday on charges of eavesdropping and evidence tampering... McCuiston formerly taught seventh and eighth grade at Livingston Middle School. He resigned after his arrest. (more)

A Fujimori Kind of Dude

WI - A state appeals court has upheld a Plover man's 25-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint, burglarizing her home and wiretapping her telephone. The man awaits a separate trial on a murder charge involving the woman's suspected lover. (more)

New Contest to be Posted 10/2 @ 12:01 PM EST

Our last contest was such a success we are doing another one.
Be here, Friday, October 2, 2009 at 12:01 PM EST.

"Why the specifics?"

Some of our Security Scrapbook family receive the Scrapbook in digest form via e-mail. To give them a fair shot at "first correct answer received wins," they need some advance notice. ~Kevin