News Corp.'s daily tabloid The Sun has also been implicated, according to the Guardian, which reported Monday that both newspapers targeted the former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. (more)
Monday, July 11, 2011
Goodbye Cricket. Hello, Whack-A-Hack-A-Phone
News Corp.'s daily tabloid The Sun has also been implicated, according to the Guardian, which reported Monday that both newspapers targeted the former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. (more)
Not one to be one-upped by British hack(ing) journalists...
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| ZombiePhone |
Last Friday, police officers searched the journalist’s home and seized his laptop, mobile phone and portable recorder. The broadcaster angrily responded, saying the act ``insulted” KBS and ``infringed on” press freedom.
In a duel between a powerful state organ and a media outlet, one tends to side with the latter. Not in this case. In all likelihood, the public broadcaster is hiding something.
Instead of flatly denying the suspicions of eavesdropping by its employee ― and proving it ― KBS said he did not bug the office of DP Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu in the way the DP and the police allege (by, for instance, using a wireless microphone). DP officials testified the KBS reporter retrieved his cell phone that he (deliberately) left in Sohn’s room. (more)
Friday, July 8, 2011
Business Espionage - Biting the Apple Can Get You Expelled
A technology executive charged with leaking sensitive information about Apple products to hedge fund traders pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Manhattan, the latest guilty plea in the government’s crackdown on insider trading facilitated by so-called expert networks...
Walter Shimoon, a former employee at electronic manufacturer Flextronics, is the 12th person to plead guilty in the government’s investigation of expert network firms...
In addition to sales figures, prosecutors said Mr. Shimoon also tipped a cooperating witness to Apple’s plans to develop a new iPhone. But later in the call, according to a transcript from prosecutors, Mr. Shimoon leaked word of an even more secret product in development, the iPad, which at the time was referred to as K48.“So, you can get, at Apple you can get fired for saying K48…outside of a, you know, outside of a meeting that doesn’t have K48 people in it,” he told a cooperating witness, according to taped calls. “That’s how crazy they are about it.” (more)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Phone Hacking Kills a Multi-Million Dollar Business
Why this is important to you... You are responsible for your employee's actions. Ethics, like security is a top-down corporate culture. A strong corporate counterespionage program sends two messages: spying is not tolerated (in either direction), and employees are obligated to pro-actively protect corporate intellectual assets. One visible reminder of this are the corporation's quarterly audits for electronic eavesdropping devices. (more)
Apple Cedes to Patch
Apple Inc. said Thursday it is working to resolve a security hole in its iPhone and other mobile products that German authorities warned could allow cyber criminals to access confidential information or intercept phone conversations.
Users are particularly vulnerable when they view Portable Document Format, or PDF, files, which give attackers an opportunity to infect the devices with malicious software, giving them administrative rights to the device, the German Federal Office for Information Security said Wednesday.
Once the device is infected, cyber criminals could read confident information such as passwords, online-banking data, calendars, e-mails and other information, as well as intercept telephone conversations and the location of the user. The security hole is present in several versions of Apple's iOS software on its iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch products, the agency added. (more)
It Was 1984 When 'Runaway' Predicted Our Robotic Future
This beer can-sized gadget is one of the most surprising military inventions ever. Launched from a cannon, it allows to infiltrate any pirate’s ship with ease. Jack Sparrow, beware!
Recon-Bot by American manufacturer Recon Robotics is truly amazing. It’s durable enough to be fired from a cannon.
When it gets to the ship it was aimed at (pirate, most likely) it sticks magnetically to the ship’s side and climbs it all the way up. Being so tiny, it’s perhaps hardly noticeable. Recon Robotics describes it “marsupial”, because there’s another bot, equipped with an infrared camera, nesting inside the bigger one.
When the smaller robot is deployed on the board, it wanders around looking for pirates, hostages, illegal cargo, etc. and sends the footage to the operator. The Recon-Bot is most likely launched from a remote controlled unmanned vessel, allowing very quiet operations. (more)
And, other uses...
Recon-Bot by American manufacturer Recon Robotics is truly amazing. It’s durable enough to be fired from a cannon. When it gets to the ship it was aimed at (pirate, most likely) it sticks magnetically to the ship’s side and climbs it all the way up. Being so tiny, it’s perhaps hardly noticeable. Recon Robotics describes it “marsupial”, because there’s another bot, equipped with an infrared camera, nesting inside the bigger one.
When the smaller robot is deployed on the board, it wanders around looking for pirates, hostages, illegal cargo, etc. and sends the footage to the operator. The Recon-Bot is most likely launched from a remote controlled unmanned vessel, allowing very quiet operations. (more)
And, other uses...
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| Runaway |
If You See Your Password Here - Your Account Was Hacked
via consumerist.com...
Stare agog as all the the passwords released in the Sony LulzSec breach race past your eyes in this video.
In it, the computer shows and reads aloud all the passwords, one password per frame. If you're actually able to make out a word or a series of numbers, then that means it's a string being used by more than one person as their password.
Watching some of it might make you want to revaluate your password creation system. Do you see your password in there? Here's advice on creating a strong password that's unique to every site you visit, yet you'll never have a problem remembering. (more)
In it, the computer shows and reads aloud all the passwords, one password per frame. If you're actually able to make out a word or a series of numbers, then that means it's a string being used by more than one person as their password.
Watching some of it might make you want to revaluate your password creation system. Do you see your password in there? Here's advice on creating a strong password that's unique to every site you visit, yet you'll never have a problem remembering. (more)
MBD* News - Chinese Report Chinese Business Espionage
Hunan Sunward Intelligent Machinery may face a lawsuit following allegations of industrial espionage, reports the 21st Century Business Herald, citing an unnamed insider. Sunward was accused of sending industrial spies competitor Shenyang North Traffic Heavy Industry Group to gain access to proprietary technology. The spies have been arrested, the insider added...An anonymous source at North Traffic said the incident was not the first time Sunward had stolen from competitors; North Traffic has already submitted the case to court. Sunward was established in August 1999 and manufactures construction machinery with a focus on rock-drilling equipment. (more)
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
SpyCam Story #614 - Recent SpyCam News
OH - A Catawba man was arrested and jailed Monday after investigators say he used a covert camera to record two girls in the shower at his home.
Jack Lee Maley, 45, of 350 N. Champaign St., was taken into custody and charged with three counts of illegal use of minor in nudity oriented material or performance, second degree felonies. One of the juveniles found the camera and reported it to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Further investigation revealed that a second juvenile female had also been captured on video as she showered. Neither juvenile was aware they were being recorded. (more)
CA - A Southern California computer repairman suspected of installing spyware on laptops that enabled him to snap and download photographs of women showering and undressing in their homes was arrested Wednesday at his home, police said.
Police began investigating when a Fullerton resident complained about suspicious messages appearing on his daughter's computer last year...
The software sent fake error messages telling users to "fix their internal sensor soon," and "try putting your laptop near hot steam for several minutes to clean the sensor," Goodrich said. (video) (No blond jokes, please.)
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KS - Hiding in plain sight, a camera recording people without their knowledge or consent. Police are trying to figure out who put a hidden camera in the changing room of the north YMCA. It was hidden inside a clothing hook.
"Someone bumped into it and if fell off and discovered it was a camera," said Lt. Randy Reynolds of the Wichita Police Department. (more)
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CA - A man arrested by Glendora Police for placing a spycam in a Starbucks restroom in Glendora pleaded not guilty in a Pomona Superior Courthouse Tuesday morning.
William Zafra Velasco, 25, was arrested May 4 after he confessed to installing a hidden camera disguised as a plastic hook in a women’s Starbucks restroom in Glendora. (more)
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It turns out it was a camera -- but the apparent spy was not as sly as he thought. Police say he left the camera rolling as he got in his car one day, giving them a glimpse of his license plate.
Eric Efaw was arrested and charged with voyeurism yesterday. Police say he admitted to putting the camera in the unisex bathroom, and that he's done it six to seven times in the last two months. (more)
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These stories are presented to raise awareness. The enclosures continue to become more clever. The picture resolution is now HD. Features include: still shots, movies, motion detection, automatic uploading, SD card memory, low-light vision, audio, wireless and more. And, they are inexpensive. Remember, the spycam stories that become news are just the failures. Each story could represent hundreds of successes. Take a moment to see what you are up against. (click here)
Jack Lee Maley, 45, of 350 N. Champaign St., was taken into custody and charged with three counts of illegal use of minor in nudity oriented material or performance, second degree felonies. One of the juveniles found the camera and reported it to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Further investigation revealed that a second juvenile female had also been captured on video as she showered. Neither juvenile was aware they were being recorded. (more)
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CA - A Southern California computer repairman suspected of installing spyware on laptops that enabled him to snap and download photographs of women showering and undressing in their homes was arrested Wednesday at his home, police said. Police began investigating when a Fullerton resident complained about suspicious messages appearing on his daughter's computer last year...
The software sent fake error messages telling users to "fix their internal sensor soon," and "try putting your laptop near hot steam for several minutes to clean the sensor," Goodrich said. (video) (No blond jokes, please.)
KS - Hiding in plain sight, a camera recording people without their knowledge or consent. Police are trying to figure out who put a hidden camera in the changing room of the north YMCA. It was hidden inside a clothing hook.
"Someone bumped into it and if fell off and discovered it was a camera," said Lt. Randy Reynolds of the Wichita Police Department. (more)
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CA - A man arrested by Glendora Police for placing a spycam in a Starbucks restroom in Glendora pleaded not guilty in a Pomona Superior Courthouse Tuesday morning.
William Zafra Velasco, 25, was arrested May 4 after he confessed to installing a hidden camera disguised as a plastic hook in a women’s Starbucks restroom in Glendora. (more)
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OH - A 59-year-old Tallmadge man was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday for using his cellphone to film a 13-year-old girl getting out of the shower.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Paul Gallagher sentenced William Chesrown to prison after he was found guilty by a jury on May 16 of gross sexual imposition, two counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.
The prosecutor said in December the young girl noticed Chesrown's cellphone pointing at her with the record light on as she got out of the shower. She discovered five nude videos of herself saved on the phone. (more)
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Paul Gallagher sentenced William Chesrown to prison after he was found guilty by a jury on May 16 of gross sexual imposition, two counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.
The prosecutor said in December the young girl noticed Chesrown's cellphone pointing at her with the record light on as she got out of the shower. She discovered five nude videos of herself saved on the phone. (more)
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FL - The manager at a Starbucks store in the Brandon Town Center mall called police after finding a device left behind in the cafe's public restroom. It turns out it was a camera -- but the apparent spy was not as sly as he thought. Police say he left the camera rolling as he got in his car one day, giving them a glimpse of his license plate.
Eric Efaw was arrested and charged with voyeurism yesterday. Police say he admitted to putting the camera in the unisex bathroom, and that he's done it six to seven times in the last two months. (more)
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These stories are presented to raise awareness. The enclosures continue to become more clever. The picture resolution is now HD. Features include: still shots, movies, motion detection, automatic uploading, SD card memory, low-light vision, audio, wireless and more. And, they are inexpensive. Remember, the spycam stories that become news are just the failures. Each story could represent hundreds of successes. Take a moment to see what you are up against. (click here)
British Tabloid Hacked Missing Girl’s Voice Mail
The voice-mail account of a British schoolgirl who went missing in 2002 and whose murdered body was discovered six months later was repeatedly hacked by the News of the World tabloid at a time when no one knew what had happened to her, a lawyer for her family said Monday.According to the lawyer, Mark Lewis, the newspaper not only intercepted messages left on the phone of the girl, Milly Dowler, 13, by her increasingly frantic family after her disappearance, but also deleted some of those messages when her voice mailbox became full — thus making room for new ones and listening to those in turn. This confused investigators and gave false hope to Milly’s relatives, who believed it showed she was still alive and deleting the messages herself, Mr. Lewis said. (more)
Monday, July 4, 2011
Why Businesses Conduct Checks for Bugging Devices - Reason #43
Reason #43 - Anyone can build or buy a bug with the help of the Internet.
Here are a few examples...
--- Free advice ---
Record Telephone Conversations By Building This "Bugging" Equipment - by Swagatam
"The circuit of a simple FM transmitter described in the article, when integrated with a telephone line, very interestingly starts transmitting all the conversations made over it. Moreover it doesn’t require any external power for the purpose.Introduction
At times many of you must have felt the need of spying on somebody’s conversation over the telephone and wondered how to bug a telephone.
Morally it won’t be correct to eavesdrop on an individual’s personal discussion, but through electronics you can always and every time find a way of fulfilling your wishes no matter whether the act is ethical or not.
Though I won’t recommend using the present circuit for listening to somebody’s private talks, it can rather be used as a fun gadget for broadcasting a telephone conversation over the FM radio." (more)
--- Books ---
Now Hear This
- The bible of bugging schematics.--- Low cost devices for sale ---
eBay
--- Antidote ---
Business Counterespionage Strategy.
U.S. Wiretaps Rose 34 Percent Last Year
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| The sharp wit of Mark Parisi - offthemark.com |
U.S. - The number of court-approved wiretaps rose 34 percent last year, though an unspecified amount of the increase was the result of changed reporting procedures.
According to a report by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, federal wiretaps rose 82 percent in 2010 from the previous year while state applications rose 16 percent. Combined, 3,194 wiretaps were authorized — 1,207 by federal judges, 1,987 by state judges. (more)
SpyCam Story #613 - Bored Making Water Soft
John Scheopner, 56, was arrested at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Finney County on allegations he used a concealed camcorder to eavesdrop on a 53-year-old Garden City woman, a 28-year-old Lakin woman and a 32-year-old Garden City woman in the women's bathroom at Scheopner's Water Conditioning, 2203 East Fulton Plaza, according to Garden City Police Sgt. Michael Reagle. Scheopner allegedly eavesdropped on the 32-year-old woman twice, Reagle said. (more)
Sunday, July 3, 2011
This Week in Spy News
Zimbabwe’s dreaded and notorious spy agency the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) was thrown into turmoil Thursday evening after a London based independent radio station published details of some 480 plus state security agents, many behind acts of torture, murder and abductions. (more)
MELBOURNE'S inner-city surveillance camera network is to expand amid revelations it captures one potential crime every 90 minutes. (more)
MELBOURNE'S inner-city surveillance camera network is to expand amid revelations it captures one potential crime every 90 minutes. (more)
Suspected US spy Sarah Shourd, who was released by Iran on humanitarian grounds, has changed her tune about the treatment she received while in the Islamic Republic. (more)
A Russian colonel was convicted of treason for betraying a group of spies in the United States, including Anna Chapman, a court spokeswoman told CNN Monday. (more)
How did scientists build a better spy plane? A little bird told them. Engineers have developed a micro air vehicle (MAV) that mimics the flight abilities of the swift, a passerine bird renowned for its aerial acrobatics. Camera-mounted MAVs are frequently used in reconnaissance and rescue missions to scope out a dangerous situation before humans go in. (more) (video)
How did scientists build a better spy plane? A little bird told them. Engineers have developed a micro air vehicle (MAV) that mimics the flight abilities of the swift, a passerine bird renowned for its aerial acrobatics. Camera-mounted MAVs are frequently used in reconnaissance and rescue missions to scope out a dangerous situation before humans go in. (more) (video)
Changing Times: Video Vigilantes see through Mob Anonymity
Until now.
The upstanding citizenry of Vancouver, shocked and embarrassed that their city had become synonymous with hooliganism (which is not a Canadian virtue), called for something to be done about this outbreak of anarchy.
Within a few hours, one of those citizens had set up a blog, the Vancouver 2011 Riot Criminal List, where they solicited all of the imagery captured during the riots - photographs from newspaper reporters, video footage from television helicopters, even images snapped on mobiles, uploaded to the web.
Vancouverites set to work, digging up an enormous wealth of material...
We're coming into the 'Era of Omniscience'. Anything that depends on limited knowledge - or, as the strategists term it, 'informational asymmetry' - has begun to fall apart. Whether you're a rioter or a vigilante, a cop or a criminal, a resident or an alien... (more) (sing-a-long)
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