The Giant Ants of Atlanta Meet The Big Bees of Melbourne

The recent post about Uncle Milton's ant farm colonies, complete with The Giant Ants of Atlanta, 

echoed around the world and brought us The Big Bees of Melbourne, from a reader with a sense of humor. 

Very cool! 

Thank you.

Security Director Alert: Tiny GPS Tracker with Real-Time Reporting

Keep track of top executives as they travel. Bonus: SOS button. 

TrackingTheWorld's newest portable real-time GPS tracking device is the WorldTracker Enduro Pro... offers improved GPS sensitivity, and up to 60 day battery life.

Throughout our (GPS Magazine) testing, Enduro Pro's performance was outstanding. The device provided reliable real-time tracking, even in challenging environments, and in areas of marginal cellular coverage.

The Bottom Line
• Exceptional accuracy and battery life
• Small enough to be carried by a child, powerful enough to be used by law enforcement
• Works in extreme weather conditions (-40° to 185°F), IPX-5 Water Resistant
• GeoFencing

• Speed reporting

• SOS / Panic button
• Priced under $200, plus monthly service

Once fully charged, the Enduro Pro can last up to 60 days on a single charge (that estimate is based on updates every 2 hours, and little motion. When set to update more frequently, such as every 2 minutes, battery life drops to a still-impressive 2 weeks on average). 

Location Reports

Reports are accessed via TrackingTheWorld.com. Maps can be viewed as Road view, Aerial view, or Hybrid (Road & Aerial). The map can be zoomed in or out, and panned by dragging the mouse around or using the pan/zoom control in the upper-left corner of the screen.

Tabs along the right side of the map screen allow you to view historical location data for previous days/months, as well as access driving reports, configure GeoFence alerts, and set how frequently Enduro Pro should send location updates (less frequent updates = longer battery life).

Click to enlarge.

The breadcrumbing feature allows you to see where the device has been throughout a given day, as well as the direction of travel and speed the device was traveling. (more)

Bump.com - License Plate Tag or Public Branding

Bump.com, an online start-up, is creating a way for people to ping each other using their license plates. The company’s founder, Mitch Thrower, compares the service to online coupon and location-sharing sites — with one exception. “It’s like a Groupon or Foursquare that you can’t turn off,” he says.

You can’t turn it off because the service will capture your license plate whether you like it or not. But to receive virtual fist-shaking, finger-pointing, or flirty messages from fellow motorists, or the “special offers” from merchants that Thrower hopes will pay his company for access to your in-box, you actually do have to sign up and identify yourself as the owner of your license plate.

The service works by using images of license plates snapped by other people using their cell phone cameras, or by license plate numbers people can send via telephone, a special email address, or a smartphone app. The company has already captured more than 250,000 license plates from a combination of messages sent by beta testers and publicly-available video feeds like cameras at toll booths, according to Thrower.

The site will officially launch at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, next week. (more)

Where Does the Government Go Shopping for Security?

Spy-Mart?

No.

GovSec - The government security conference and expo in Washington, DC., March 29-31.

"GovSec will help you identify and examine the security concerns of our nation's key assets and essential services. Learn about the critical strategies and solutions to best secure these resources, including new technologies, physical resources, and risk assessment!" 

In addition to the educational aspect of the conference, the real fun is the expo where you get to see all the latest technology!

"Thousands of cutting-edge systems, tools and technologies preventing future incidents, preparing for and responding to hazards and disasters, and ensuring public safety, showcased by top solution providers."

This is where American ingenuity really shines. Catch it if you can, especially if your company needs government-level security. (more)

Yet Another Celebrity Open Mike Faux Pas

(yawn) Charlie Sheen, again...

15 minutes before Tuesday's Sheen's Korner, the audio feed came on. It sounded like static at first -- but you can clearly hear Sheen rehearsing with his crew and Teleprompter. Near the end you'll also hear some last-minute editing as he decides how to skewer producer Chuck Lorre without sounding anti-Semitic. (more)

The point...

Always assume the mike is on. 

One of the worst cases I witnessed was a corporate executive waiting to take the stage. He was wearing a wireless microphone and headed to the bathroom where he met another executive. Neither realized the mike was transmitting to the control booth; it was just not being pumped to the auditorium speakers yet. Some important guests in the control booth area heard every word. The conversation (not to mention the bodily noises) led to a very embarrassing public apology made during the man's speech.

(Updates) SpyCam Man and the Expensive Teddy Bear

Two neighboring states.

Two children involved.

Two types of justice.

Fair and equal?

You decide...

KS - A Saline County man was sentenced to probation Tuesday, after admitting he used hidden cameras to secretly videotape family members. The sentence was on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and eavesdropping... The man lived at the home with his wife, stepdaughter and step-granddaughter, said his attorney. (more)

Probation?!?!

NE - Digital recording tools are so cheap and simple to use that it's easy to deploy them without thinking through the consequences. A Nebraska mother and grandfather found this out the hard way last month when they were hit with a combined $120,000 penalty for wiretapping after sticking an audio recorder inside a young girl's favorite teddy bear.

Though the mother claimed only to be concerned with her child's welfare, the judge found that the indiscriminate use of the recording device had violated the privacy of numerous people, each of whom were entitled to $10,000. (more)

China to Track 17 Million Cellphone Users

China said it may begin tracking cellphone users in Beijing through location technology it hopes will help city authorities better manage traffic. But the announcement also sparked fresh concerns that the government may be using mobile technology to surveil its residents.

In an announcement, made through Beijing's Municipal People's Government Web site, the Chinese government said it would track 17 million cellphone users in Beijing through location technology to "publish real-time dynamic information to ease congestion and improve the efficiency of public travel."

Beijing is notorious for its traffic congestion. Last August, a 60-mile jam into the capital city lasted nine days. (more)

P.S. You can see a similar use of tracking technology; it's used on Google Maps (click on the traffic view). (How it works.)

Meanwhile, outside the Tap Cave...

Turkey - A plan to install flood-prevention sensors in southeastern Turkey has prompted a panic among local residents, who became convinced that the devices in street lamps and on roofs would actually wiretap the entire city.

Speculation about the devices began to circulate in Batman province... Amid rising paranoia in Turkey, the gossip mill in Batman quickly turned the story into a more sinister one. The rumor that the city’s street lamps and roofs were full of wiretapping gadgets listening in on all of its residents’ conversations was picked up by TV stations and online news sites, creating a furor. (more)

In past news...
The mayor of an oil-producing city in southeastern Turkey, which has the same name as the Caped Crusader, is suing helmer Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. for royalties from mega-grosser "The Dark Knight."

Huseyin Kalkan, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party mayor of Batman, has accused "The Dark Knight" producers of using the city's name without permission.

"There is only one Batman in the world," Kalkan said. "The American producers used the name of our city without informing us." (more)

Old West Security Sensibility - "Drop it, pard'ner."

Wells Fargo's IT group has a simple answer for employees who want to hook personal devices up to corporate systems: No.

"They can't connect them to our networks," says Wayne Mekjian, executive vice president and CIO of information services at Wells Fargo. "We won't let them in."

The "just say no" policy applies to Apple iPads, Android tablets and smartphones owned by employees. The company also has strict policies regarding use of Twitter and Facebook, making the sites off-limits to many. Wells Fargo does, however, supply employees with corporate-approved smartphones, and a limited deployment of iPads that can connect to e-mail and other corporate systems. (more)

Le Oops - Renault plans to exonerate managers fired for alleged corporate espionage

Carlos Ghosn

France - Renault SA is making plans to exonerate the three managers fired for alleged corporate espionage, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be a major stand-down that could presage a change in the French auto maker’s senior management.

As Renault faces up to what is likely to be an embarrassing conclusion to its highly touted "affaire d’espionnage," one scenario being discussed by the firm’s board is for Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pélata to tender his resignation, the people familiar with the matter said. It is unclear whether Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn would accept the resignation, however, these people added. (more)

(Update) SpyCam Story #603 - All Things Not Considered

Vivian Schiller, the embattled chief executive of NPR, resigned from the organization Wednesday, one day after an embarrassing video surfaced of another NPR executive disparaging conservatives.  

The sudden announcement came after officials from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and members of NPR's board conferred last night about the fallout from the revelation on Tuesday of a surreptitiously recorded video of NPR Foundation president Ron Schiller (no relation to Vivian Schiller). The video, made by conservative activist James O'Keefe, shows Ron Schiller calling Republicans and members of the tea party movement "xenophobic" and "racist" and saying that NPR would prefer to do without subsidies provided by the federal government. (more) (video)


Point: Be careful, you can never tell when you'll be recorded.

Counterpoint: In less than 24-hours, the spy shop spammers on capitalizing on news.
"Welcome to our newsletter!
Our hidden Cameras are used all over the place.
Read the entire article here:
NPR CEO RESIGNS.
 
To make your own covert recording, buy our hidden video cameras from one of our Delaers here. To become a Dealer just visit www.minigadgets.com and fill in our Dealer profile page."

Security Director Alert: GPS Jammers - The Next Big Threat?

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

Security Directors: Give some thought to how GPS is used in your company. Create a plan for when it dies. ~Kevin

Important...

Signals from GPS satellites now help you to call your mother, power your home, and even land your plane – but a cheap plastic box can jam it all... (more) (How GPS works.)

GPS jammers...

One manufacturer claims production of 50,000 units per year. Cheap. (ebay)

FutureWatch...

Although the GPS disruption threat is not new, we are reaching critical mass - product-wise and incentive-wise. The next terrorist, activist, protester, prankster threat - salt an area (like an airport) with hundreds of these. It will take a while to find them all. Have a security plan ready. Idea: Install a GPS frequency monitor alarm in mission critical areas. (advice from Los Alamos National Laboratory) (more)

The Ray Gun is Back...

...and you're going to need more than a tin foil hat this time.

The ray gun has become more than a boyhood fantasy. The Army is quietly working to develop technology with the potential to arm tomorrow's armored combat vehicles with the capability to destroy electronic systems with high-intensity bursts of RF energy. (video)

FutureWatch - Be sure to watch the video. This development is way more important than it first appears. ~Kevin

Like Watching a Train Wreck

Australia - Queensland Rail has released dramatic CCTV footage of people narrowly escaping oncoming trains as part of a new safety campaign. (video)

Bad ass public safety or Jackass via public CCTV? My Australian colleague thinks it might inspire both. He might be right. Let's see what happens if the concept comes to America. 

Wait... 

Remember Signal-30!?!?

U.S. Supreme Court - "No" to Corporate Personal Privacy

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the concept of corporate personal privacy in its decision today in FCC v. AT&T, Inc. AT&T sued to keep records withheld from disclosure under Exemption 7(c) of the Freedom of Information Act, which protects against the unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. AT&T claimed personal privacy protections extend to corporations. In a unanimous decision, the court held that Exemption 7(c) applied to individuals only. (more)