USA - One phone company "provided law enforcement agencies with its customers' (GPS) location information over 8 million times between September 2008 and October 2009."
How did they do it?
Automation... "a new, special web portal for law enforcement officers."
How did this leak out?
A company employee "who described it during a panel discussion at a wiretapping and interception industry conference, held in Washington DC in October of 2009. " (more) (video)FutureWatch...
This will become commonplace.
(via Al-Manar TV - unverified)"A Swiss newspaper said that a number of UN employees in Geneva have concluded that Israel is eavesdropping on UN court sessions. The Neue Zuericher Zeitung (NZZ) added that bugging devices have been found in the organization’s deliberations room in the Swiss capital. The newspaper pointed that during regular maintenance procedures on the electrical network, three years ago, two bugging devices were found in a room set for the UN Disarmament Committee meetings. It added that ‘secret’ meetings were also held in the room over the Second Gulf War and the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri. NZZ revealed that other spying devices have also been found in other parts of the building, including courtrooms...UN security experts estimate that the planting process might have taken at least two days with the collaboration of UN employees...The Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Aharonoth, quoted Israeli diplomats as denying any connection to the issue." (more)
CO - Felony eavesdropping charges have been filed against three Arapahoe County Jail employees accused of listening in on conversations on the jail's phone system.Two other employees have been placed on administrative leave and another resigned after jail administrators said they would investigate eavesdropping by jail employees on other employees.Lt. Chris Manos and civilian employees Sue White and Jaella Rangel were all charged with class six felonies. All are set to appear in court next month. (more)
Some Twin Falls teenagers are promising to pay attention to the road. And if the preservation of life isn’t enough of an incentive, they can also win video games...Enrollment in the program provides parents with a high-tech method of conducting covert surveillance on their kids’ driving habits. A video and audio unit in the vehicle captures dangerous driving behavior and gives parents access to a “driving report card,” along with tips for improvement. (more)
At a tense, emotional moment during Denver's crucial 26-6 victory over the New York Giants, McDaniels went nuclear, dropping a verbal bomb on his players. Thanks to an eavesdropping camera and microphone from the NFL Network, the tirade on the sideline was telecast to prime-time viewers across America in all its profane glory. (more)
Coming January 15, 2010.(trailers)
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.
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)
We'll give you one...Now, name the rest.(answer)
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."
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)
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
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!
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)
The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception
) reunite for this unremarkable reproduction of a long-lost cold war–era relic.
Prototype contact lenses developed by Babak Parviz at the University of Washington, in Seattle. 
via makeuseof.com... 
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.
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.)
"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)
The Real Spy's Guide to Becoming a Spy
