Book review: Surveillance or Security?

Surveillance or Security?: The Risks Posed by New Wiretapping Technologies 

"Over the last 20 years or so, there have been intermittent moves by the EU and the UK government to implement various levels of online surveillance — first by requiring ISPs to install equipment to facilitate wiretapping, and second by storing the masses of communications data created by all of us.

But, argues Susan Landau, a former Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems, now a fellow at Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, you can't build surveillance into networks without also poking some very serious security holes in them. Unlike the telephone network, which was built for control, the internet was built with very different goals in mind: information sharing, bandwidth sharing and robustness in the event of generalised attacks. Or, as Landau quotes former NSA director Brian Snow as saying, the internet was designed 'assuming random malice rather than targeted attacks'." (more)

This Week in World Spy News

Egypt - An Egyptian judicial official said yesterday that the prosecution does not plan to prosecute an American-Israeli man who was arrested in Cairo and accused of spying for Israel. (more)

USA - A Michigan professor called on Congress to investigate the government's alleged spying on him to discredit his blogging about the Iraq war. (more)

UK - While serving time under house arrest in an East Anglian home in the UK, those close to Julian Assange have claimed the British government are spying on him.

It follows the discovery of three CCTV cameras erected outside his temporary home at Ellingham Hall in the county of Norfolk. (more)

Thailand - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has admitted that the suspected leader of three men arrested for alleged spying on the Thai-Cambodian border has managed to flee the country. (more)

Lebanon - Druze politician Wiam Wahhab denied Thursday that a man charged with spying for Israel was his personal bodyguard. (more)

Sweden - Over fifteen countries are systematically conducting intelligence operations against Sweden, in Sweden or against Swedish interests overseas, according to security service Säpo. (more)

Mexico - Admiral Sergio Javier Lara Montellano, commander of the VIII Naval Region based in Acapulco, said that city police cameras...were aimed at various points inside the military installation. He affirmed that information on movements of the military thus obtained was leaked to organized crime groups. “The information was disseminated to crime groups by taxi drivers who serve as informants and by corrupt police in both the traffic police and in crime prevention,” he said. (more)

Austria - An idyllic Austrian village has apparently impressed Chinese architects so much that they have decided to copy it in their own country. But the townspeople living in the UNESCO World Heritage site are unhappy about the plans. This isn't the first time this sort of copying has occurred. China has also replicated amongst other places, Thames Town. (more)

India - The report that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s conversations may have been tapped by sticking secret electronic devices in his chambers and that of his staff is a chilling reminder that Big Money now operates so close to the centres of power. ...the bugging devices were first discovered on September 4, 2010, when the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) swept Mukherjee’s office to check for eavesdropping gadgets, and found “plantable adhesive substances”. Translated, it means devices that can monitor conversations could have been stuck to these adhesives, including chewing gum-like stickies. (more)

Canada (Toronto International Airport) - An employee used surveillance equipment to spy on her ex-husband as he walked through the terminal with his girlfriend and kids. A man filed a complaint to the federal privacy commissioner after he discovered that his ex-wife, whose job it is to monitor the flow of traffic at Toronto Pearson International Airport using surveillance equipment, was using her special access to track him through the airport. (more)

How to Obtain a U.S. Government Security Clearance - Free Booklet

"Use our Security Clearance Handbook to boost your cyber career. Cyber security professionals can help secure the United States and secure their own futures with a security clearance. As reported in the Washington Post, the Federal Government and contractors face an accelerating demand for cleared cyber security professionals. To help you get cleared and stay cleared, the University of Fairfax is offering a complimentary Security Clearance Handbook.

Click here to get your free copy of the Security Clearance Handbook.

Business Phone Conversations Latest Target for Eavesdropping: News Report

Business executives may be the latest group to be targeted by eavesdropping of phone conversations, according to news reports.

Reuters said that business executives who have “sensitive information” could be the new group targeted for eavesdropping. Earlier it was politicians, actors and athletes.

Business executives may talk on cell phones to save time during their busy days, with sensitive information exchanged during the conversations.

“We are seeing a growing tension between organizational security requirements and personal convenience requirements with people often discussing sensitive issues on mobile phones to get their jobs done faster or because they have no other practical choice,” Cellcrypt CEO Richard Greco (News - Alert) told Reuters. (more)

Free Poster - Maps Worldwide Radio Spectrum Allocations

Very few engineers can recite worldwide RF spectrum allocations from memory. For the rest of us, Tektronix’ color-coded poster maps out every ITU regional allocation in clear graphical form. It also explains the benefits of Live RF and frequency-domain triggering in radio-satellite communication and spectrum management applications. Download your free poster today! (more)

While you are at it, check out the Number One slot under their "Most frequently downloaded application notes." Hey, that's us! Also, free. (more)

You can read the complete Tektronix, June 2011, Test and Measurement News here.

Coffee Unlike the Starstrucks Kind

There was a time when a nickle of joe was all one could get. The Europeans even had a joke about it. "Why is American coffee like making love in the bottom of a boat?" (Contact me directly for the rude punch line if you don't know it.)

Tinted water. Blaaaach, pewey!

   

Then came the hard stuff in all its rocky Italian stallion iterations. We loved it... but secretly we all knew it was over the top. Given no other choices, we stayed starstruck.

So, I'm in my local wine shop the other day. Andrea, the proprietress, says, "Try this, you'll love it!" (She is right 98% of the time.) But, instead of a bottle of wine, she hands over a black bag—filled with coffee beans. I take it home, set it aside until the starstrucks is exhausted from the old A-9 grinder. Yesterday, I fill the mill with the new black gold. Ten minutes later, I am sipping what coffee should have tasted like all along. Smooth, mellow, aromatic and delicious... and that's without milk or sugar.

I only recall having this experience once before (in 2001) when a security director friend asked his mother to bring back a pound of coffee for me, from a small plantation in Costa Rica. 

Later in the morning, I am at my town post office. Serendipity. Another patron walks in and hands the postmaster–a black bag filled with coffee beans. They begin talking coffee. I pipe up with, "I just tried that for the first time this morning. You'll like it." Surprise. It turns out the coffee company is located in my tiny town! And, the other postal patron, Matt, is a partner in the company. We kept talking.

Did you know, the darker the roasted beans, the less caffeine they have? Seriously, no java jive. Turns out the lighter colored roasted beans are the ones you want with breakfast. Heavy roasting brings out the oils and dissipates the caffeine. I also learn that Matt specializes in organic beans, some from super small-yield estates—like the kind my friend, Ted gave me ten years ago!

Ok, I'll spill the beans. If you are interested in getting better mocha java lava into your vena cava (and other veins) visit a Fair Trade USA certified coffee partner and look for their organic products. The coffee in my black bag came from Black River Roasters. Real java-heads, however, will want to grow their own. Buy your own plantation!

So... what does this have to do with spies and electronic surveillance? Nothing, not even the black bag reference. Sometimes one just has to take a coffee break from the world of espionage and reflect on the good things in life. ~Kevin

Rupert Murdoch's Newspapers Are Spying On... Each Other

Well, the whole News Of The World phone-hacking scandal just took a rather amusing turn.

The Independent reports that Rebekah Brooks, former editor of The Sun, was one of the victims. Private detective Glenn Mulcaire, working on behalf of News reporters, hacked her phone "more than 20 times."

Considering the big names in the story -- Sienna Miller, Jude Law, etc. -- Brooks, a relatively minor figure, wouldn't normally be news. Except that in addition to editing The Sun, Brooks previously served as an editor at NotW, the very paper accused of spying on her. (more)

Weird Book Promotion Offers Up Spying Devices as Prizes

via The Mirror...

UK - "To celebrate the book release of Private London by James Patterson, we have the ultimate gadget package up for grabs.

Our prize includes a state-of-the-art Nokia mobile handset worth £595, which records all messages and calls with a device which can be listened to from another phone, a Sony digital radio which has a surveillance camera and sound recorder, a keyboard with bugging device, a voice recorder disguised as a USB stick and a mains adapter with a bugging device that can listen to the surrounding sound in room - which can be listened to live from anywhere in the world. This is the ultimate spy package for any budding investigator, and has all the gadgets they need to mimic their spy idols such as Dan Carter in Private London.

Our winner will also get a copy of Private London which follows Dan Carter, the head of the London office of Private, the world's largest and most technologically advanced investigation agency." (more)

Why is this newsworthy?

It points out that electronic eavesdropping laws and attitudes in the rest of the world are not quite the same as in the United States. We advise our clients of this, and once in while a very good example comes along which emphasizes the point.

New Feature in iPhone iOS5 - Unsecured Call Alert

New in iOS 5 is the Unsecured Call alert. This new feature of iOS 5 actually issues a popup alert when you receive an incoming call from an unrecognized number or from a blocked caller ID. 

Here’s what appears on the iPhone screen as a consequence: Unsecured Call : The cellular network you are using is not encrypted. This call can be intercepted by unauthorized listeners.

The science behind this new feature is the fact that hacks and security breaches can actually make listening in on to your phone calls possible, bringing in use, IMSI catcher, a fake GSM cell tower.

It’s a genuine problem with all GSM phones... (more)

Report: Chinese Government Installs Bugs in Hong Kong Cars

Beijing is allegedly using audio spying devices on dual-plate Chinese-Hong Kong vehicles to gather information.

Apple Daily reports the eavesdropping devices were originally installed under the name "inspection and quarantine cards” back in July 2007. The Shenzhen Inspection and Quarantine Bureau installed the devices free of charge to thousands of vehicles across Hong Kong.

The devices are about the size of a PDA, screwed into the car’s front window. 

People in Hong Kong, in particular criminals, began to notice something was awry when the authorities were able to pick out cars carrying illegal goods across borders without problem or hesitation.

"For every ten cars we ran we only had [smuggled goods] in three or four to reduce the risk, but the border agents caught all of them. The accuracy was unreal!" one smuggler told Apple Daily.

Zheng Liming, an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at City University in Hong Kong, took a look at the listening device and determined that it was indeed an eavesdropping device. (more)

CCTV Cufflinks - Wear them to a Far Eastern Embassy when you pick up your Visa

Show your CCTV solidarity with these solid metal mini-peeper cufflinks. You never know, once there you might be featured on CCTV news, shown being lead away in a pair of official cufflinks. (more)

Ingenious & Insidious - Power Cord Hidden Camera

The Power Cord Hidden Camera is an inconspicuous camera housed in a standard-looking power cord that sits on your desk and records everything that happens while you're gone. 

Its slim, sleek and discreet design doesn't draw any extra attention. 

The device looks like an ordinary charger or computer cable, so no one will think twice that it's anything other than a loose cable forgotten on your desk.

Simply pair the camera with any of a number of portable DVRs, plug it in, and you're ready to start recording. And, with a built-in motion sensor, you'll only get the footage you need. (more)

Why do I mention it?

So you will know what you're up against.

This Week in World Spy News

Egypt - An alleged Israeli spy arrested in Egypt has been identified by Israeli media as an American citizen who made aliyah in 2005. (more)

Egypt - A former Israeli military officer was questioned by Egyptian authorities Sunday and detained for 15 days on suspicion of spying for Israel, according to a spokesman for Egypt's general prosecutor. (Probably same as above but with a different last name reported... interesting.) (more)

Thailand - The government insists it has solid evidence to present to the international community concerning Cambodia's alleged spying along the border. It also rejected Phnom Penh's accusation the spy claims are fabricated to justify aggression against Cambodia. (more)

USA - Did aliens crash a flying saucer in Roswell, New Mexico more than 60 years ago? ...a new book ("Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base") takes a look at Area 51, rekindles debate over both questions - and introduces a Nazi connection to the mix. The book chronicles what happened on that base in the 1940s, '50s and '60s -- she spent years interviewing those who worked there. "They're kind of a fraternity of formerly secret spies and scientists and spy pilots and engineers, all of whom know one another," Jacobsen observes. They spent most of their lives hiding what they did at work every day. (more)

Germany - For the first time a Chinese agent has been convicted of spying on practitioners of Falun Gong, the meditation and spiritual discipline that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1999 vowed to crush. The guilty party, John Zhou, was given a two-year suspended sentence on June 8, along with a hefty fine. (more)

USA - New spy kit - Internet-to-Go

Pakistan - A US national has been arrested for allegedly scouting nuclear facilities near the Pakistani capital and is expected to be deported soon as the Interior Ministry has already cancelled his visa. Matthew Craig Barrett, 27, was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by a court in Islamabad. (more) 

Eritrea - Four Britons held in Eritrea on spying and terrorism charges since December have been released, the Foreign Office (FCO) has said.

The four men - who all worked for the same security firm - are believed to be on their way back to the UK. (more)

Spain - Jose Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes denies 'spying' on Barcelona for Real Madrid. The Fifa agent, whose clients also include Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria, claims he has done nothing wrong after reports of espionage in the Spanish press. (more)

USA - Former CIA counterterrorism officer Philip Giraldi is on a mission. He says he wants to expose how costly and dangerous Israeli espionage is to the United States. Giraldi is the Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest Foundation which just released a 12 page overview called The Spy Who Loves Us. He says Israel conducts more espionage against America than any other US ally... Israel profits from selling US technology... Israeli spying has bankrupted some American companies. (more)

USA - Former National Security Agency exec Thomas Drake has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of exceeding authorized use of a computer. Drake had been facing trial on Espionage Act charges... Drake was under fire for allegedly passing along classified documents to a newspaper reporter about an ill-fated NSA program. (more)

Drake to NSA, "Be seeing you."

Affordable spying – for all... Surveillance gadgets such as Mark Kennedy's 'spy watch' are now within the reach of ordinary citizens (more)

Weird SpyCam App Pitch of the Day

from the app seller's web site...
"SECURET SpyCam 1.5.4 helps you to turn your android phone camera or webcam into a visual motion triggered Spycam. Your device will automatically capture any motion being occurred in your area and saves it. You may spy on your friends to avoid some problems. Also it helps to arrest Criminals or thieves." (more)

Why do I mention it.

So you will know what you are up against.

High Flying Lowe's Intelligence Aerostat Corp 150 Years Old Today

Long before Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance became a buzz phrase or acronym (ISR), Civil War-era inventor Thaddeus Lowe came up with the idea of taking to the skies to spy on the enemy.

Lowe pitched President Abraham Lincoln on the idea of balloon reconnaissance 150 years ago tomorrow, which led to formation of the Union Army Balloon Corps in July 1861, with Lowe carrying the nifty title of "chief aeronaut."

Lowe's simple concept lives on in today's Army, which uses high tech aerostats equipped with cameras and sensors instead of human observers to eyeball the battlefield.

This summer the Army plans to test the ultimate extension of Lowe's balloon-based recon idea with a sensor packed in a football-field long airship. The service has an eye toward deployment in Afghanistan next year. (more) (movie) (book) (book)