Saturday, November 28, 2009

New Eyes for Spies

Prototype contact lenses developed by Babak Parviz at the University of Washington, in Seattle.

Dr. Parviz’s prototype lenses can be used as biosensors to display body chemistry or as a heads up display (HUD). Powered by radio waves and 330 microwatts of power from a loop antenna that picks up power beamed from nearby radio sources, future versions will also be able to harvest power from a cell phone. (more)

Alright, knock it off with the "See I A" and "eyes buggin' out" jokes.

SpyCam Story #562 - The play is the thing.

Australia - A former drama teacher at a Melbourne girls school has been accused of installing a spy camera to capture students undressing and making child pornography. Mark Stratford, 49, was employed as director of drama at Lauriston Girls School when the alleged offences took place from early last year. He pleaded guilty today in the Melbourne Magistrates Court to possessing child pornography and installing an optical surveillance device. (more)

"Quick. Name the Top Ten Spy Agencies."

We'll give you one...

Now, name the rest.
(answer)

Monday, November 23, 2009

"Every-body wants to get into the act."

via makeuseof.com...
Make 4 Cool Spy Gadgets With Your Windows Mobile Phone...

Have you ever wanted to live like a real spy, even for just a little while? Just to help you inch just a little bit closer to that cloak and dagger lifestyle, I’d like to offer 4 Windows Mobile downloads that you can use to transform your regular mobile phone into an honest-to-goodness cool spy gadget.

• Cool Spy Gadget #1 – A Room Bug To Record Conversations
• Cool Spy Gadget #2 – See In The Dark With Sonar

• Cool Spy Gadget #3 – Disk Encryption Software
• Cool Spy Gadget #4 – Remote Video Streaming (more)
"Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."

S.E.C. Enforcement Chief: ‘Creative Investigation Techniques’ Coming

The use of wiretaps and recordings of conversations to help underpin the insider trading case against the Galleon Group hedge fund struck legal experts as unusual, for an investigation involving the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“It is unusual,’’ said Robert S. Khuzami, the director of enforcement at the S.E.C., at a discussion of hedge fund regulation at the Practising Law Institute in New York Monday. But, a year from now, “I hope it’s more common.’’ (more)

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Need a safe place to store your surveillance video...

A new service called Motionbox may be the answer. Unlike Youtube.com, Motionbox makes it easy to share videos with a select group of viewers instead of broadcasting to the world.

There are plenty of other features, too.

You may even want to consider this for personal use. Store all those home videos (and films, once converted to digital video). Allow relatives and others access as you see fit. Even watch your library on your TV...

Motionbox is soon to be a featured Channel on the Roku digital video player. You'll be able to hook the player up to your television and enjoy instant access to all the videos you’ve uploaded to Motionbox. All you need is a TV, a high-speed Internet connection (wired or wireless), and a finger to click the remote! (Win a FREE Roku drawing.)

Like any new business, they want to build momentum quickly. Hence, this special offer aimed at business users...


"I thought that you and the readers of Kevin's Security Scrapbook would be interested. We'll waive the pro-account setup fee for you or any of your readers who sign up - it's a $50 value. There are now 3 levels of Motionbox service - Basic, Premium, and PRO." Lowell Dempsey, Motionbox (more)

For personal use, choose the free Basic package, or the Premium upgrade. ~Kevin

The Real Spy's Guide to Becoming a Spy (update - Book Signing)

Remember this book? The Real Spy's Guide to Becoming a Spy by Peter Earnest with Suzanne Harper. It was listed here last September.

Peter Earnest is former CIA and the founding executive director of the International Spy Museum, located in Washington D.C.

Get signed copies... for you, and every shady character (or future shady character) on your holiday gift list.

• Have you ever wondered what spies really do?
• What kind of training is involved?
• How do you live your “cover”?

• How does your work life affect your relationships with your friends and family?

Join the International Spy Museum's Founding Executive Director and Former CIA Operations Officer, Peter Earnest, as he discusses his new book The Real Spy's Guide to Becoming a Spy. This fascinating, fact-filled book answers these questions and more while providing a historical timeline, definitions of key terms, suggestions for further reading, an index, quizzes, and exercises to see if you have the right spy stuff. The author will be available for book signing and informal Q&A.

FREE. No registration required.

Saturday, November 21, 2009
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

The International Spy Museum
800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA

Spy Tip: A good spy knows the ropes. Use the secret password "I SPY" and get a 25% discount to the museum. Also enter to win a basket of top-secret spy tools and a one-year museum membership!

Some Courts Raise Bar on Reading Employee Email

via The Wall Street Journal...
US - Companies Face Tougher Tests to Justify Monitoring Workers' Personal Accounts; Rulings Hinge on 'Expectation of Privacy'

Big Brother is watching. That is the message corporations routinely send their employees about using email.

But recent cases have shown that employees sometimes have more privacy rights than they might expect when it comes to the corporate email server. Legal experts say that courts in some instances are showing more consideration for employees who feel their employer has violated their privacy electronically. (more)

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Amazing Surveillance Video

Train track inspector almost gets smooshed... twice!

Just when cell phone companies inched past used car dealers in the "who do you trust more" race.

UK - Staff at mobile phone company T-Mobile passed on millions of records from thousands of customers to third party brokers, the firm has confirmed...

Christopher Graham said brokers had sold the data to other phone firms, who then cold-called the customers as their contracts were due to expire. (more)

Suggestion... Find out who keeps the data key at you company. Review the security checks and balances. Let them know you are minding the store.

This just in!
Used car dealers take the lead...

NY - Starting next week, Verizon will double the early-termination fee for smartphones... "David, I read your posts about how the cell carriers are eating up our airtime with those 15-second 'To page this person, press 5' instructions, but I think Verizon has a bigger scam going on: charging for bogus data downloads.

"Virtually every bill I get has a couple of erroneous data charges at $1.99 each—yet we download no data.

"Here's how it works..." (more)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Quote of the Week

"A surprising number of otherwise smart people find themselves remarking on the phone that they hope the line isn't tapped."
~Ann Woolner, Bloomberg News, commenting on federal wiretaps investigating insider trading.
(more)

Other great quotes we hear...
"I hope the room isn't bugged."
"I hope you're not recording this."
"I hope there are no hidden cameras here."

Of course, 'hoping don't help'.
You need this.

SpyCam Story #561 - The New Miranda Warning

FL - A woman who is suing her former landlord over allegations he secretly set up a spy camera in her bedroom is asking a judge to add punitive damages to her claim.

Miranda Goldston, 26, filed her lawsuit seeking compensatory damages against Kenneth Ryals, 59, in December 2007, three months after she discovered the spy camera hidden inside a DVD player in her bedroom. (more)

Illegal Wireless Phone Tap Found

Israel - Knesset security officials are concerned over what may be a case of illegal wiretapping of phones of the Ravitz family of Beitar Illit.

It appears the concerns began with “strange noises” heard on the phone by members of the family. A routine inspection into the cause of the noise revealed a wireless eavesdropping device.

According to the Chareidim report, those involved are more than a bit curious as to who is eavesdropping on the phone of Yitzchak Ravitz, who heads Degel HaTorah in the community, or perhaps the eavesdropping is intended to listen in on the conversations of his daughter Rivke, who is Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin’s bureau chief. She has been an employee of Speaker Rivlin for over a decade. (more) (Update: Rivke is his wife; not his daughter.)

The Eves Drop a Dime

India - Wiretaps, hidden listening devices and binoculars may be the usual paraphernalia to maintain surveillance over Commonwealth Games delegates, participants and spectators. But there may be more. Games authorities have devised a novel method to eavesdrop: Use thousands of eves.

An estimated 5,000 trained private security girls are likely to provide intelligence cover to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, one of the biggest sporting events that India will host after the 1982 Asiad Games...

“They will comprise women from all linguistic backgrounds, and with suave and comely personalities who will be responsible for a dual preemptive and protective role,” said Singh, a former Intelligence Bureau officer who was appointed a security consultant for the 1982 Asiad by Indira Gandhi.

While CCTVs will keep a watch on the movements of people entering stadia, the security girls will play an undercover role to snoop on conversations around them. They have been instructed to pick up interesting nuggets of conversations that will help the authorities nip any mischevious activity in the bud. (more)