Ain't this a kick in the head? (again)

Erin Muller says she found a GPS tracking device attached to the undercarriage of her car two weeks ago ... and Erin tells TMZ she believes her ex Michael Lohan is the one who put it there. Muller claims her dad found the device -- which can track the whereabouts of her vehicle in real time -- while he was checking for an oil leak... According to Muller's lawyer, cops are investigating the situation as a felony eavesdropping case -- and, as a result, Erin says she's so paranoid that she's going to have her apartment swept for bugs. (more)

Leave a key under the mat, Erin...

Michael Lohan has released an audio tape exclusively to RadarOnline.com which he says proves that his ex-fiance Erin Muller broke the restraining order against her, ultimately leading to her arrest on Thursday. (more)

And you thought TSCM was difficult in China...

China - Four private detectives from Liaoning province have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven to eight months in Chaoyang district court for running an illegal operation... The men registered their private detective agency in February 2009, describing it as a "business consultancy." Detective agencies are not legal in China. The men were accused of tracking, photographing and locating people between February and August 2009. (more)

If you need TSCM advice/assistance in any country, please call us, we can help you do it legally.

Out of the Box Malware

Security researchers report that malware has been discovered on a Vodafone HTC Magic smartphone running Google's Android operating system. The discover comes just days after battery producer Energizer acknowledged that the Windows software it had been distributing for its Duo USB charger was infected with a Trojan. (more)

Eavesdropping as Entertainment

You have to be sharp to keep up with the changing social mores. While "don't stare" "don't point your finger" are withstanding the changing social landscape, "don't eavesdrop" has not. Hundreds of thousands of Web sites now specialized in eavesdropping as entertainment.

One example, as reported by the Sun Sentinal... 

"Today, I was working at Publix ringing up some 70 year old woman. She says ‘Man, you're a fast cashier, I like my men fast!' and then gives me a wink. I got really nervous and didn't know how to respond, so not thinking, I quickly said, ‘Yeah, me too.' FML"

Murdoch’s News of the World censured for bugging on an “industrial scale”

UK - A report by the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee has exposed the contempt that the mass circulation Sunday newspaper, News of the World (NoW), part of Rupert Murdoch’s media giant News International, has for basic democratic rights, parliament and the rule of law.

Its 167 pages, part of a wider inquiry into press standards, libel law reform, privacy and press regulation, found that the newspaper had lied about the extent to which its journalists had illegally hacked into the phones of the police, the military, royals, government ministers, celebrities and other well-known people in the top echelons of British society—in what was described by one MP as hacking on a “near industrial scale.” (more)

UK Football Team Bugged - "In the future, all rooms will be swept for such surveillance devices."

Video reports from BBC (video) and Sky News (video).

Olympic-level Surveillance Equipment Bargains

Now that the Paralympic games are wrapping up, Honeywell Building Solutions is beginning the final stage of its $30 million security contract with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police here: the removal of all the equipment that’s been installed to protect the 18 Olympic venues. But what to do with the roughly 1,300 Panasonic IP cameras, Computar lenses, 4,000 Xtralis PIRs, etc.? (more) (the list)

X-Ray Vision ?!?!

In the distant future private investigators may no longer need to peep through the cut-out holes in their newspapers, thanks to researchers at the ESPCI in Paris, who have discovered a way to see through various opaque materials. (more)

UK Football Team Bugged

UK - The FA have launched an investigation to uncover the culprits behind bugging the England camp last week. The Daily Mail says lawyers have already been instructed to prevent the illegal tape from being published. 

England were left facing yet more potential disruption to their World Cup plans when it emerged that a six-hour recording of team meetings was in existence. 

Last night, FA officials still had no knowledge of who committed what amounts to a serious breach of privacy laws — or the contents of the tape. 

Speculation remains that the sensitive tape includes Capello discussing tactics with his staff, as well as players talking about private matters that could cause some embarrassment to members of Capello’s first team, as well as World Cup bonuses. (more)

Sir Alex Ferguson, has spoken of his concerns about the news that one of Fabio Capello's team-talks was bugged during England's preparations for their friendly against Egypt last week.

Ferguson was speaking from personal knowledge after a device was planted in the home dressing room at Old Trafford before a game against Chelsea in 2005 and the tape was offered to newspapers.

'It happened to us once before,' Ferguson said. 'I would be concerned about it. Preparation involves discretion and secrecy. (more)

Sports is not a game. It is a business. A big money business. Electronic surveillance is as likely to occur against a professional sports team as it is at any other business.

Sports teams should seek local counterespionage help by adding their country name to this search.

And thus began the long parade of frogmen...

United Arab Emirates

Police in Dubai Wednesday ordered spies to leave the Persian Gulf...

"Those spies that are currently present in the Gulf must leave the region within one week.

If not, then we will cross that bridge when we come to it," said a lieutenant general with the Dubai police. (more)

Insider-Trading Wires & Taps

NYC - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan equipped several cooperating witnesses with recording devices to try to obtain information about targets in the Galleon insider-trading probe, people familiar with the matter say... A total of 21 individuals have been charged in the Galleon case. At least eight individuals have pleaded guilty and are cooperating against other defendants... Criminal prosecutors also are using evidence obtained from wiretapped telephone calls. (more)

Cell Phone Spying (video)

Cell Phone Privacy
Everything you need to know about protecting your privacy while using mobile and cordless phones.

Quote of the Week - Corporate Spies

“In an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment, the balance seems to be shifting away from governments and toward corporate and even private individuals, who have access to more intelligence and information-gathering abilities than many governments in history ever had.” (more)

Eamon Javers, author - Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage

How Elvis Presley Got an "Ultra-Secure" Passport...

...a fascinating and unsettling story by Mark Nestmann.

Elvis died in 1977. But that didn’t prevent hackers from inserting his digital photo into a U.K. passport, and using it at a self-service passport machine at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to gain clearance to board a plane.

This incident occurred in September 2008. But this security vulnerability persists, as proven by the recent assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas operative, in a Dubai hotel on January 20. (more)

I created the Elvis passport using Photoshop and images from the net to provide a sense of what can be done with digital manipulation. This amateur creation only took about 15 minutes to make. Professional artists at government spy agencies devote more time to their projects. Their creations are almost indistinguishable from authentic documents.

Supervisors order surveillance sweeps for 'bugs'

Although Eavesdropping Detection Audits are a generally accepted good business practice, they rarely make news. This report details the costs, frequency and rational behind the effort. 

CA - San Bernardino County supervisors spent $22,500 last month to sweep their offices and other parts of the government center for secret recording devices and other hidden surveillance equipment.
The first sweep of the fourth and fifth floors of the county building occurred Jan. 23, and the purchase order provides for four more sweeps at undisclosed future dates...

In all, David Wert, county spokesperson said, the county has spent $42,865 on sweeps in recent years but refused to disclose when previous sweeps occured...

In a brief statement, Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Ovitt said that: "All surveillance measures taken by the County are to ensure integrity in the decision-making process as well as the safety of those who work at the county. We work hand-in-hand with public safety officials while developing these measures to ensure those objectives are met."

Wert said taxpayers are put at risk when sensitive information relating to official county business is leaked because it opens the doors for potential costly litigation.

"It puts the taxpayers at a disadvantage in the courtroom and at the negotiating table," he said. (more)

If you are not protecting your organization's operational integrity, please give me a call. I can help you develop a rational and effective eavesdropping detection program with a strong overall counterespionage component.