Elaborate Eavesdropping System Discovered in Mayor's Office and Other Areas

Dominican Republic - The Santiago City Council dismantled an espionage system of several high tech miniature microphones which had been secretly installed in the office of mayor Gilberto Serrulle and other areas. The Mayor confirmed the finding, but downplayed the case, affirming that he has nothing to hide or fear. (more)

Everything you wanted to know about the legalities (USA law) of telephone wiretapping in your home.

ELECTRONIC EAVESDROPPING AND WIRETAPPING:

How 20th Century Technology Can Cause 21st Century Headaches for You and Your Client

by John H. Case, Gilbert B. Feibleman and Mark Gruber

"In a day and age where everyone can go to Radio Shack and purchase their own miniaturized microphone, recording device and spy camera it has become abundantly clear that every spouse is a potential James Bond. It is not uncommon to be asked by your client: “Can I record secretly conversations with my spouse?” Unfortunately it is more common that the family law practitioner is merely told about recordings long after they have been made or even after they have been republished. As a result, learning the answer to the question is only part of the lawyer’s job. Learning how to advise your clients and how to extricate your client from a potentially criminal quagmire is equally important - the answer is not as simple as the question." (more)

Russian Embassy Bugging Documents Released

via Bruce Schneier...

Old -- but recently released -- document discussing the bugging of the Russian embassy in 1940.  The document also mentions bugging the embassies of France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Also...

A long list of declassified NSA documents. These items are not online; they're at the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, MD. You can either ask for copies by mail under FOIA (at a 75 cents per page) or come in person.  There, you can read and scan them for free, or photocopy them for about 20 cents a page.

"Is my cell phone bugged?" Could be.

According to MWR InfoSecurity, at least two mobile phones that are being sold around the world are capable of being turned into Mobile bugging devices. The company says that most mobile phones are open to immediate cyber attack and network providers are doing little to help.

Recently MWR InfoSecurity alerted users worldwide that the Palm Pre mobile phone could be used as a bugging device without the user’s knowledge, and that phones using the Google Android system could be easily interrogated for passwords. They have now discovered that a HTC phone can be also be compromised and used as a remote bugging device. (more)

Dumb, de dumb, dumb...

PA - A member of a private Poconos homeowners association board has been charged with wiretapping for allegedly using his cellphone to record a board meeting that included a speaker-phone call with a lawyer.

Joseph O'Lall, 39, of 7030 Whitetail Lane, Long Pond, recorded the April 13, 2010, Emerald Lakes Association board meeting without the knowledge of the board members or the lawyer, and then played back the recording for others, Pocono Mountain Regional police said this week.

O'Lall was charged with intercepting, using and disclosing wire, electronic and oral communications, and with criminal use of a communication facility, which was his cellphone. (more)

Acting COO Fired for Eavesdropping

File photo. Not Charlotte.

Charlotte Mampane, the South African Broadcasting Corporation's (SABC) acting chief operations officer, who was caught on security camera eavesdropping outside a board meeting earlier this year, has stepped down from the post...

At the meeting in question, Solly Mokoetle, the SABC's chief executive, was discussing Mampane's performance, as he apparently wanted to remove her from her acting position. Her eavesdropping was discovered after she sent a text message asking why certain allegations had been made about her in the meeting. The board requested security camera footage, which allegedly showed that she listened outside the boardroom door for about 20 minutes. (more)

Über SpyCam - Sight, Sound and Smell

A Global Hawk robotic plane, hovering more than 11 miles above Afghanistan, can snap images of Taliban hide-outs so crystal clear that U.S. intelligence officials can make out the pickup trucks parked nearby — and how long they've been there.

Halfway around the globe in a underground laboratory in El Segundo, Raytheon Co. engineers who helped develop the cameras and sensors for the pilotless spy plane are now working on even more powerful devices that are revolutionizing the way the military gathers intelligence.

The new sensors enable flying drones to "listen in" on cellphone conversations and pinpoint the location of the caller on the ground. Some can even "smell" the air and sniff out chemical plumes emanating from a potential underground nuclear laboratory. (more) (sing-a-long)

PI Spy vs. The Fecal People

UK - A private detective agency is using spy cameras to catch dog walkers who don't clean up after their pets. Investigator Mark Halstead, 35, uses all-weather infra-red cameras hidden in trees and hollowed-out stones... At the moment he is offering his services for free around Milton Keynes, but hopes to go nationwide. (more)

"Just throw in some scary words."

from a recent press release...

...is the world's leading provider of high attenuating radio frequency and infrared optically clear substrates for privacy and electronic eavesdropping protection i.e. RF flood attacks, "bugs", LASER attacks, thermal imaging, also known as Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures (TSCM). (more)

Dudes. Thermal imaging?!?!

1. Thermal imaging is not an electronic eavesdropping technique.

2. Thermal imaging is not even a visual privacy invading technique.

"What did you say your name was?"

CA - The former chief executive of the Sacramento area's largest independent real estate firm was arrested early Wednesday morning for secretly recording guests in his homes, says Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully... Investigators interviewed the three women, identified as Jane Doe #1, Jane Doe #2, and Jane Doe #3, who said they did not know or consent to the videotaping

Lyon, 54, was arrested by sheriff's deputies at his home in Carmichael and was booked into Sacramento County Jail. Jail records show Lyon was arrested on four felony counts of electronic eavesdropping on separate occasions, with bail set at $60,000.

After posting bail, the former CEO of Lyon Real Estate told reporters the charges are "all allegations." "I am intent on clearing my good name." (more)

When Suits Investigate

Pacific Gas and Electric announced that it placed an executive on paid suspension while it investigates his admitted efforts to surreptitiously infiltrate a community of activists. William Devereaux, senior director of PG&E's SmartMeter program, admitted to multiple news outlets that he used a fake name Thursday in an effort to join an online discussion group of SmartMeter opponents. (more)

Best Sites for Online Snooping

via Forbes.com...
A few simple tools can get you information once available only to private investigators and police.

Slide Show: Best Sites For Online Snooping

In May Matthew Smith received a piece of junk e-mail from a marketer. The marketer chose the wrong guy to spam. 

Smith, a pseudonym, is a former hacker and now works as a network security engineer. He runs a blog called Attack Vector devoted to online security issues. He decided to use the marketer, named Steve, as his guinea pig to show how easy it is to track down information about someone based solely on an e-mail address, and documented how he did it to serve as a warning to others who may not understand the power of what's available to anyone looking to dig into your background. (more)

How Your Boss Knows Your XBox Habits

via windowsitpro.com

Q. I'm a boss who tricked my workers into adding me as Xbox Live friends. How can I spy on them when they're "working" from home to make sure they're not playing Xbox?

A. One of the great features of the Xbox and its online service is the integration with the xbox.com website. It lets you easily see all your Xbox friends. It can be abused by mean bosses to quickly, in table form, see the last time the friends were on XBOX and what they were doing. 

Just perform the following:
Go to www.xbox.com and select "Sign In" in the top right of the xbox.com site.
• Sign in with the Live ID associated with your XBox Live ID.
• Click on your own profile.
• Select View All Friends under Friends.
You can see who's online, who's offline, when they were last online, and what everyone is or was doing. (more)

The Fine Line Between Listening and Eavesdropping

During the Middle Ages, eavesdropping was illegal in England, but overheard conversations could be used as evidence in court. Today, the internet, cell phones and reality TV make it difficult not to pry into the conversations and private lives of friends or strangers. In a new book, linguistics professor John Locke argues that eavesdropping is actually a good thing. Prying has helped humans stay away from danger, find food, identify mate mates, and assured us that we are not alone. (New Hampshire Public Radio audio report)

"If it wasn't the guards, it must be the cleaners."

Australia - A Tasmanian cleaner who stole State Government documents, and leaked them to the Opposition and the media, has been sentenced to 84 hours of community service... Outside court, Nigel John Jones maintained his innocence and said he will appeal against the conviction. (more)