Come on. Just staple an RFID tag to my ear and get it over with.

Copenhagen International Airport one recent day was much like that at any airport around the world...

But unlike other airports, the movement of the passengers was being observed in an office here in Geneva, 860 miles away. Stephane Cheikh, innovation manager for the aviation communications and technology company SITA, was using his laptop to demonstrate a new program that tracked travelers’ movements based on the Wi-Fi-emitting devices they carried.

When Copenhagen Airport starts using the program in the next few weeks, airport officials will get a real-time picture of where travelers go and what they do. The officials can use this information to improve the design of the airport, direct the flow of passengers or shift employees to improve the efficiency of security or immigration checkpoints. (more)

...or to pump coupons to your phone to buy stuff you don't need as you approach yet another "Bookstones"?

"16,001 and you could have a case here barrister."

UK - The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has dropped a request bring charges against BT and Phorm - the firm that supplied the monitoring system. (Which snooped on the web browsing habits of its customers.)

The Webwise software used cookies to track people online and then tailored adverts to the sites they visited.

The CPS explained its decision saying that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a prosecution. The web tracking trials were carried out in 2006 and involved more than 16,000 BT customers. (more)

In a surprise move...

Click to enlarge.

Russia's domestic security service called for access to encrypted communication providers like Gmail, Hotmail and Skype on Friday, saying the uncontrolled use of such services could threaten national security. (more) (sting-a-long)

In other news...

Seen any good movies lately?

Cops Sue Over HQ "Bug" Find

OH - A lawsuit involving two dozen plaintiffs and 18 defendants has been filed over alleged illegal wiretapping at the Newton Falls Police Department.

The lawsuit claims oral communications were illicitly recorded by hidden microphones placed in public and private areas of the police department... The new chief, John Kuivila, has said he found the devices in May of 2009. (more)

Hurdle: They will need to prove the CCTV camera microphones actually transmitted audio.

"When correctly viewed, everything is, Dude."

Russia - Got a dictaphone? A cell phone with voice recording function — say, an iPhone? Or maybe a laptop that can record your Internet phone conversations? It’s up to three years in jail for you, or a fine of 200,000 rubles ($7,000), unless you obtained permission for your gadget from the Federal Security Service. 

This, at least, can be inferred from the Thursday ruling of the Constitutional Court that upheld the law making “spying devices” the exclusive domain of the special services.

The problem is, the list of such devices takes a single page and is vague enough to allow law enforcement agencies to interpret it in wildly varying ways — a privilege officials do not fail to use...

The list of “spy devices” was compiled by the government, which does not specify models or even types of gadgets. Instead, it speaks only of things like “technical devices for covert collection and registration of acoustic information,” a description that most voice recorders fit squarely. (more) (sing-a-long)

...thus making future TSCM sweeps totally unnecessary, mate.

Australia - A simmering conflict between The Australian newspaper and the Greens (a political party) has become open warfare, with Greens leader Bob Brown accusing the national broadsheet of a vendetta against his party and telling it to "grow up".

He also demanded a guarantee from the newspaper that they do not use eavesdropping equipment to secure stories.

Two journalists from the paper's British News Limited stablemate, News of the World, have been arrested over an eavesdropping scandal, where they allegedly hacked into politicians' voicemail. (more)

Android on Security Steroids

PCTEL said Monday that the company had established a supply agreement for the development of a secure Android phone that it will market to government agencies whose employees have "Top Secret" clearance.

The phone will be branded by PCTEL Secure, the partnership between PCTEL and Eclipse Design Technologies, the companies said. The phone, which will be supplied by an unnamed ODM, will contain PCTEL's ProsettaCore solution for thwarting various threats to cell phone security, the company said.

Security will be maintained by a combination of hardware and software, most likely the combination of a plugin SD card and "extensive" software, said Tony Kobrinetz, the vice president of technology and operations for PCTEL. (more)

"Are you a tra- trader if you want to burn money?" - Max Headroom

NJ - Federal prosecutors accused a corporate lawyer and a trader of stealing confidential information about pending mergers and other deals from three prominent law firms in a decades-long scheme that resulted in (they were not just making a little pin money on the side) more than $32 million of profits.

The defendants allegedly used pay phones and prepaid phones paid with cash in order to avoid detection by law enforcement authorities and suspended the alleged scheme for a six-year period out of fear that their alleged criminal activity might be detected, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Newark, New Jersey... 

Mr. Bauer then promised to financial support the co-conspirator if he was charged, saying: "I am sitting with over $20 million in the bank," according to the criminal complaint. He also told him to burn $175,000 from a recent deal, prosecutors said.

"You know what, if you feel better burn the money and I'll give it back to you," Mr. Bauer said, according to the complaint. 

"Burn it?" the co-conspirator said.

"I would burn it...if there is any chance of us getting caught on that," Mr. Bauer said.

(more) (sing-a-long)

SpyCam Story #606 - Another Covert Skype'r

Australia - The Defence Force has confirmed it has called in police to investigate sex allegations made by a first-year female cadet at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.

The 18-year-old, identified as 'Kate', says she had consensual sex with another first-year cadet but it was transmitted by Skype to six cadets in another room without her knowledge. (more)

...thus leaving us all to wonder which one will get their clock cleaned in court.

NY - A major New York watch dealer has been forced out of his home and arrested after his estranged wife accused him of criminally accessing her email account.
 

Evan Zimmermann was arrested late last month in his Manhattan apartment on charges of computer trespass, eavesdropping and unauthorized use of a computer.

According to the New York Post, his wife Jennifer Zimmermann took out the charges in order to gain advantage in their pending divorce and as 'retaliation' for his refusal to move out of their Westchester home.

His lawyer Robert Wolf said: 'The charges are all fabricated, she gave him her password to prove she was not cheating on him.' (more)

Hammacher Schlemmer's World's Best Paper Shredder? You decide.

...which they will gladly sell to you. 

"The Best Cross Cut Shredder"
This shredder earned The Best rating from the Hammacher Schlemmer Institute because it shredded the most sheets at once and cut paper into unrecognizable, 1/8" x 1" pieces. The Best Cross Cut Shredder's steel gears cut credit cards and CDs into miniscule pieces that were impossible to reassemble or decipher.

Testing Criteria
A consumer panel determined that security, ease of use, shredding capacity, and quietness were the most important attributes when purchasing a cross cut shredder. The importance of each category was weighted proportionally during the Hammacher Schlemmer Institute's tests.


Test Methodology
Security: Analysts shredded paper and CDs with each model and measured the shreds to determine which unit provided the best security.

Ease of Use: The shredders were rated on how easily they accepted paper, maneuverability, and how easy it was to empty each unit's receptacle.

Shredding Capacity: Analysts determined the maximum number of 20-lb. bond paper sheets each model could shred at one time.

Quietness: A digital sound meter was used to measure the amount of noise produced by each shredder.

Additional Paper Shredder Resources
• "How to Choose A Shredder" - Dahle
(Hint: Crosscut not Stripcut. Always.)
• Lynde-Ordway
• ABCO Office Solutions
• Advantage Business Equipment
• Allegheny Paper Shredders
• Ameri-Shred
• Capital Shredder Corp
• Cummins Allison Corporation
• Dahle USA
• ECCO Business Systems
• Fellowes Manufacturing Company
• Ideal
• Industrial Paper Shredders, Inc.
• Intimus Paper Shredders
• MBM Corporation (Destroyit)
• Security Engineered Machinery
• Whitaker Brothers
• General search (Yahoo)

Never Get a Blocked Caller ID on Your SmartPhone Again

If you have an iPhone, Android or Blackberry... and are willing to spend $5.00 per month for the service, you can defeat Caller ID blocking. Just remember, it can be used against you, if someone else is willing to pay.

TrapCall has just been placed in the iPhone apps store. (more)

Gucci, gucci, goo... - LAN Man Gums Up Works

NY - A former Gucci America Inc. computer network engineer was charged with remotely taking over the company's computers, shutting down servers and deleting emails, Manhattan prosecutors said on Monday.

Sam Chihlung Yun, 34 years old, allegedly created an account in the name of a fictional employee and used it to access the company's network after he was fired in May 2010, prosecutors said. He allegedly caused more than $200,000 in diminished productivity, as well as remediation costs, prosecutors said. (more)

"The world’s #1 private investigation team, EVER!"

Hey, that's how What's Your Problem? is billed. It's an amusing independent film about a private investigations firm, but I'll let the folks at Grey Sky Films speak for themselves...

"The world’s #1 private investigation team, EVER! This was a short comedy film that we wrote, produced, directed, and edited ourselves in 2006 and released in January 2007. The film features current Grey Sky Films team member Matt Horutz who also co-wrote and co-produced the film as well. What’s Your Problem? was accepted into a few film festivals and now can be seen on DVD. If you ask us very nicely we will send you a copy – get in touch!"

Did you get that!

A free DVD.

Wow, better than Netflix!

Why do I mention this? The free DVD, of course, but many of my Scrapbook reader friends are in business for themselves (like real PI's), and they are always looking for marketing tips. Here's a tip. Video. People don't have time to read your message right off the bat. But they will watch something to see if it catches their interest.

Grey Sky Films create quality videos, at surprisingly low cost. How do I know? They did mine! And no, I didn't get a discount or any other favor. I am just a satisfied customer spouting off. Use anybody you like, but do it. Market with video. It's fun. It works.

Here's the guy who helped me ...and can get you the free DVD. Dan Hollis is a real gentleman and is a deep well of movie / entertainment trivia knowledge. Send him your trivia questions, you'll see. He is also the answer man for your video marketing questions. The rest of the gang? Well, they are just as much fun as they look.

This Week in World Spy News

The Pakistani government has given another one-year extension to the chief of its powerful spy organization, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. (more)

Musa Kusa, the former Libyan intelligence chief who defected to Britain, was acting as a double agent for the MI6 and the CIA for a decade, an official said. (more)

The recently exposed Iranian spy network could just be the tip of the iceberg, a part of Iran’s larger conspiracy against Kuwait and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Al-Seyassah daily quoted a high-level security source as saying. (more)

Australia (sports spy) - Melbourne and Hawthorn have re-ignited their spy games as the two clubs prepare for the twilight clash at the MCG today. The Demons asked a Hawthorn spy to leave a closed Melbourne training session at Casey Fields in Cranbourne on Friday after he was caught monitoring the Demons from up a tree. (more)

The U.S. military likes to be a little sneaky with its robotic space planes. Unlike typical spacecraft, these vehicles can shift their orbits, frustrating the global network of skywatchers who keep track of just about every man-made object rotating the planet. But the sleuths have their tricks, too. They’ve tracked down the X-37B on its second secret mission. And the information the skywatchers are finding says quite a bit about the classified operations of this mysterious spacecraft. (more)

A federal class action claims that 3-D software developer Transmagic secretly planted surveillance technology in its software that "commandeered the computers of its customers, spied on them, and used the ill-gotten intelligence to build a recurring revenue stream exacted from an involuntary customer base." (more)