Covert Recording - There's an app for that!

IL - Student journalists for Northwestern University's Medill Innocence Project wore hidden recorders to secretly tape their interviews with witnesses as part of their investigation into an alleged wrongful conviction in the murder of a Harvey security guard, prosecutors told a Cook County judge today...

"I would put the parties on notice that a cell phone wire was used at least once by students with other witnesses," Stack said.

In Illinois, it is illegal to record anyone without their knowledge or consent -- without court authorization. (more)

Soderbergh to revive The Man From UNCLE

Steven Soderbergh is an awful busy director, normally banging out at least a film a year. But it's been a while since he did something blockbuster wise which may now all change. 

According to The Heat Vision Blog, the Oscar winning director of Ocean's 11 and Traffic is developing a big screen adaptation of the classic 60s series, The Man From UNCLE. The show involved lots of espionage and spying, and was co-created by the man behind James Bond, Ian Flemming. Apparently Warner Bros. have been trying to get a film version made for about 15 years. (more)

I had the experience of seeing Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney work together on a spy theme show. They are great. Hope this project brings them together once more. U.N.C.L.E. was everyone's favorite. 

SpyCam Story #586 - Tiny Town. Big Problems.

Guttenberg, NJ - Police officers here were shocked to find a hidden camera in a police station ceiling and officials disclosed last week that it was placed there as part of an internal investigation...

A lawyer representing the Guttenberg Police Benevolent Association said the surveillance is a violation of the privacy of PBA members and the camera is in an area where female prisoners are strip-searched. Police brass say the area is never used for strip-searches.

"It was part of an investigation being done by the Police Department," Guttenberg Mayor Gerald Drasheff confirmed. The mayor said the probe is ongoing and refused to say any more on the surveillance at police headquarters on Park Avenue. (more) (Guttenberg)

Spanish Reporter Bugged

According to Spanish sources, a few months ago Mr. Ignacio Cambrero has discovered a bug in his personal laptop.  After it was by Mr. Cambrero,  the Spanish Intelligence services determined that the signals sent from the device went to a computer housed at the headquarters of ENTV, the Algerian state television Service.

The Spanish services who proceeded to disable the device, have determined that this kind of chip can only be installed through a physical contact with the computer. This means that  Ignacio Cembrero’s computer was implanted with the device during his visit to Algeria or from a contact with an "Algerian official”. (more)

Business Espionage Tip - Don't Let it Happen

Oracle still hasn't succeeded in dragging SAP's ex-chief executive into court to testify on what he knew about the subsidiary TomorrowNow's "industrial espionage."

On Monday, what Oracle got instead was an apology from the former CEO's replacement: co-CEO Bill McDermott.

It was another tech-sector captain deflated in the circus of Oracle's prosecution of its number-one business applications rival over money. (more) 

Business espionage is costly. It is costly if you don't catch it. It is costly if you do catch it and ride the legal hamster wheel. While an apology is gentlemanly, it doesn't fill the loss. 

Tip: Don't let it happen in the first place. Get your ounce of prevention, here.

Illegal Government Wiretapping Reported

Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar says the state-owned Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), as well as the Irish-owned Digicel, were "commanded" to open their facilities so that the Security Intelligence Agency (SIA) could engage in the illegal wiretapping of citizens.

"Do you remember there was a time in Trinidad when people used to say use a Digicel phone, don't use a TSTT phone... they were right," she told reporters. (more)

UPDATE - The country’s top telecommunications companies have both distanced themselves from any involvement in the illegal wiretapping of their customers’ phones.

State-controlled Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) would not comment in detail about the wiretapping of phones belonging to Members of Parliament, private citizens and President George Maxwell Richards by the Strategic Intelligence Agency (SIA) but the company is willing to co-operate in any investigation into the matter. (more)

Cell Phone Spying Apps Next Step...

Sell the app antidote!

Google may have "Don't be evil" as its motto, but DLP Mobile seems to be embracing the dark side in charging £1.86 for an app to remove its own spyware.

Companies that sell software for spying on partners are already on highly-dubious moral ground, but selling an application to remove your own spyware would be a step too far for most. But not DLP Mobile, who will sell you a copy of Reveal, an application designed to remove their own spying application... despite the fact that the former isn't available any more. (more)

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)