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Prepared by Lookout, "a smartphone security company dedicated to making the mobile experience safe for everyone."
Thursday, August 18, 2011
News of the World Phone Hacking - Another Arrest
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The arrest relates to the scandal stemming from allegations that the News of the World illegally intercepted the voice mails of celebrities, politicians and crime victims, through a practice known as phone hacking. Police also are probing possible police bribery by News of the World staff in exchange for information. The weekly tabloid was closed last month amid the scandal.
The arrested man couldn't immediately be identified. His marks the 13th arrest authorities have made since reopening their investigation into phone hacking in January. (more)
Get in on the laptop privacy survey - Get free privacy software!
Oculis is running a mobile worker privacy survey to collect useful data about attitudes and experiences with display privacy. Their thesis is that display privacy is a significant security industry issue and that most people have strong but unfulfilled desires for a more private experience. They intend to use the results of the survey to generate new awareness with the press, and to answer typical customer questions about why end users need PrivateEye or Chameleon.
Take the survey and you receive a FREE license for their PrivateEye screen protector, a very cool piece of software that alerts you to shoulder surfers, and blurs your screen when you are not looking at it. How? The secret is your computer's camera. It watches your back and recognizes your face! (FAQs)
Take the survey and you receive a FREE license for their PrivateEye screen protector, a very cool piece of software that alerts you to shoulder surfers, and blurs your screen when you are not looking at it. How? The secret is your computer's camera. It watches your back and recognizes your face! (FAQs)
The survey link is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/OculisPrivacySurvey
Here are the preliminary results from a few selected questions:
The Most Extensive Radio and Technical Museum List
FutureWatch Prediction Comes True - Tampa Redux
Tampa - "You are only a stranger here once."
August 2011 - The Tampa Police Department plans to circle its downtown area with surveillance cameras prior to the 2012 Republican National Convention, but Assistant Police Chief Mark Hamlin says the locations will not be disclosed in order to keep potential troublemakers from gaining a tactical advantage. A local political activist has publicly stated he is troubled by this decision.
September 2008 - FutureWatch - Although facial recognition and tracking didn't catch on the first go-around (the Tampa, Florida experiment), it is ripe for a come-back. 5 years from now, this will be commonplace – along with automatic license plate readers and motion-intention evaluators.
August 2003 - It is with sadness we note the demise of our favorite city motto... Tampa - "You're only a stranger here once." Tampa police have scrapped their controversial security camera system that scanned city streets for criminals, citing its failure over two years to recognize anyone wanted by authorities.
History - July 2001 - The Tampa City Council took a fully-informed look at Ybor City's controversial high-tech face-scanning software. When the dust settled, the council split down the middle with a 3-3 vote on whether or not to do away with the face-scanning software.
History - July 2001 - The Tampa City Council took a fully-informed look at Ybor City's controversial high-tech face-scanning software. When the dust settled, the council split down the middle with a 3-3 vote on whether or not to do away with the face-scanning software.
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| Tampa Police Radio Room c.1920's |
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
News of The World Spying - More Threads
The Guardian says Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and their former editor Andy Coulson "face embarrassing new allegations of dishonesty and cover-up after the publication of an explosive letter written by the News of the World's disgraced royal correspondent, Clive Goodman".
In the article by Nick Davies, who broke the original story, he says Goodman makes the following claims: "that phone hacking was 'widely discussed' at editorial meetings at the paper until Coulson himself banned further references to it; that Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed not to implicate the paper in hacking when he came to court; and that his own hacking was carried out with 'the full knowledge and support' of other senior journalists, whom he named." (more)
News of The World Spying - Like Pulling a Sweater Thread
Police and parliament have mostly focused their probes on how journalists illegally accessed the voicemails of celebrities, politicians and crime victims, and who at the company knew about it. More revelations of computer hacking and other forms of spying could emerge, Tom Watson, a Labour Party lawmaker, said yesterday.
“My own concerns are that this will lead to other forms of covert surveillance, and I think the next scandal will be computer hacking and we're going to be living with this for weeks and months to come,” said Mr. Watson, who is also a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee that is investigating phone hacking. (more)
If you are not one of our clients, you may not know these espionage secrets...
• When you are a target, you won't be spied upon just using one method – a variety of tactics will be used.
• The reasons electronic surveillance is investigated first is because it is a common tactic, easy to discover, and must be eliminated before one starts accusing people directly.
• A successful counterespionage strategy will take all your vulnerabilities, and all their tactics into consideration.
Control Anything Cellular or WiFi in Your Enterprise
AirPatrol Corp. today unveiled ZoneDefense, a new mobile monitoring and policy enforcement technology that lets enterprises support the use of consumer and mobile devices on premises while also ensuring that end users are adhering to company security policies.
ZoneDefense is a security technology that can detect any mobile device in an enterprise, track its location, check its compliance with company policy and enforce rules based on where the user is located and who is nearby. (more)
In addition to the release of ZoneDefense, AirPatrol issued a new white paper that offers guidelines on implementing wireless security policies. For a free copy, click here.
Disclosure: I use AirPatrol technology in my counterespionage inspections, but do not profit in any way by bringing their products to your attention.
In addition to the release of ZoneDefense, AirPatrol issued a new white paper that offers guidelines on implementing wireless security policies. For a free copy, click here.
Disclosure: I use AirPatrol technology in my counterespionage inspections, but do not profit in any way by bringing their products to your attention.
"Page Eight" - Modern Intelligence Practices Scrutinized
The 10-day festival opens on September 8 and will close with David Hare's "Page Eight", a contemporary spy film that casts a critical eye on modern intelligence practices. (more) (synopsis)
Monday, August 15, 2011
Eavesdropping History - NEW Nixon Bugs
One morning in early March 1971, Army counterintelligence agent Dave Mann was going through the overnight files when his eyes landed on something unexpected: a report that a routine, nighttime sweep for bugs along the Pentagon’s power-packed E-Ring had found unexplained – and unencrypted — signals emanating from offices in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Someone, it seemed, was eavesdropping on the top brass.
Mann was no stranger to bugs. It was a busy time for eavesdroppers and bug-finders, starting with the constant Spy vs. Spy games with Russian spies. But the Nixon years, he and everyone else would soon discover, had extended such clandestine ops into new territory: bugging not just the Democrats, but people within its own ranks. Eventually, most of the Watergate-era eavesdropping schemes were revealed to the public, including the bombshell that Nixon was bugging himself. But the bugs Dave Mann discovered in the E-Ring in March 1971 — and another batch like it — have remained buried all these years. Until now. (more)
Security Director Alert - Another Name for your Rolodex... Data Killers
Why would anyone want to shred a smartphone...twice?
Well, if they wanted to be sure that all of their private information wouldn't fall into the wrong hands; they might shred it or burn it or both! Who would blame them when Wikileaks and identity theft stories dominate the news headlines? From corporate espionage to bored hackers, it seems someone is always after someone else's data! How does one keep private, corporate or government information from becoming public knowledge?
Recently a large federal agency that had upgraded their enterprise-wide smartphones wanted to have the old phones destroyed. The security officer responsible for the destruction of these smartphones took the smartphones to an un-knowledgeable electronics recycling company who shredded the phones. Unfortunately that company didn't have the specialized equipment to shred them small enough and the officer found several intact SIM cards in a pile of shredded residue. Luckily he found the un-shredded cards before the Inspector General found them! (more)
Well, if they wanted to be sure that all of their private information wouldn't fall into the wrong hands; they might shred it or burn it or both! Who would blame them when Wikileaks and identity theft stories dominate the news headlines? From corporate espionage to bored hackers, it seems someone is always after someone else's data! How does one keep private, corporate or government information from becoming public knowledge? Recently a large federal agency that had upgraded their enterprise-wide smartphones wanted to have the old phones destroyed. The security officer responsible for the destruction of these smartphones took the smartphones to an un-knowledgeable electronics recycling company who shredded the phones. Unfortunately that company didn't have the specialized equipment to shred them small enough and the officer found several intact SIM cards in a pile of shredded residue. Luckily he found the un-shredded cards before the Inspector General found them! (more)
As you can see, not all shredding companies are created equal. Data Killers is the destruction arm of Turtle Wings, Inc., an ISO certified, woman-owned, HUBZoned company holding multiple GSA contracts. These folks claim they can get it done right the first time:
Elizabeth Wilmot, President
Cell Phone Eavesdropping Alert - Android Trojan Snoop
"Before answering the call, it puts the phone on silent mode to prevent the affected user from hearing it. It also hides the dial pad and sets the current screen to display the home page. During testing, after the malware answered the phone, the screen went blank," Trend Micro wrote on its blog.
TIP: The auto-answering feature only targets Android's running version 2.2, not the new version 2.3; to update your operating system, go to the "Settings" tab under "Menu." (more)
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Tap Tap Revolution - The Smartphone Spyware Version
Eavesdropping on a computer user's keyboard input is called keylogging...
Keylogging is much harder to pull off on smartphones because most mobile operating systems allow only whatever app is on screen to access what you are typing, says security researcher Hao Chen of the University of California, Davis.
However, Chen and his colleague Liang Cai have got around that hurdle and created a keylogger that runs on Android smartphones. It uses the phone's motion sensors to detect vibrations from tapping the screen. Since mobile operating systems do not treat the motion-sensor output as private or in need of protection, it presents a target for hackers wanting to create an innocent-looking app that secretly monitors phone users. (more)
Can Ya Catch My Cheating Spouse? In Kenya Ya Can - Bugging cell phones is apparently legal there!?!?
Kenya - Are you suspicious your lover, spouse, children, employees or business partner could be hiding something? Relax. A solution is finally here.
All you need is a high-end wap-enabled mobile phone, which you will present as a gift to your partner, whom you want to investigate.
All you need is a high-end wap-enabled mobile phone, which you will present as a gift to your partner, whom you want to investigate.
Charles Chepkonga, the director of IT company, Smuffet Outsourcing, says with Sh15,000, he could install a software that could help you get a copy of all SMS, call log, location of the phone and all the names saved in the phonebook."The phone does not need to be expensive. We have done with phones worth as low as Sh8,000," he says.
Dubbed Mobispy, the software will send information to a preset email address managed by the buyer.
"Let’s say your husband tells you he is working late within the central business district but you doubt. All you will need to do is log in to the email and trace the location of the phone. Unless he left it in the office, you can know his location because it gives a radius of 10m," said Chepkonga. The IT expert says the technology can also be used to keep track on the location of students who lie they are in libraries or by managers who suspects their employees could be sabotaging the company by giving out classified information.
"The most popular reasons for using this application are finding out if your partner is cheating on you, keeping an eye on your children or teens, protecting your old parents, and using it to ensure your employees are doing what they are expected," said Chepkonga.
He says he started offering the service two months ago and has so far done more than 20 mobile phones bought by suspecting partners.
"We have also had innumerable enquiries from many people but who would want to remain anonymous," he said.
He said the idea came up as a result of the many attempts by Kenyans to bust their cheating partners. (more)
You'll Look So Dorky Nobody Will Think You Are a Spy
Real spy gear disguised as a kid's toy - with NIGHT VISION!
The SpyNet Night Vision Mission Video Watch's secret... It looks like a children's toy, but is a whole lot more. Let's run through the features... sound recorder, video recorder, still picture cam (with time lapse) - check, check, and check. Downloadable spy missions, games, and apps. Check. And, it tells time, too!
The SpyNet Night Vision Mission Video Watch's secret... It looks like a children's toy, but is a whole lot more. Let's run through the features... sound recorder, video recorder, still picture cam (with time lapse) - check, check, and check. Downloadable spy missions, games, and apps. Check. And, it tells time, too!
If you really need to go covert, there is the Snake Cam Add-On. It plugs into the watch and lets you look around corners (or hide it in your sleeve and have it peek out a button whole).Modes:
Time Mode
Alarm Mode
Timer Mode
Stop Watch Mode
Video Recorder Mode - preview or super-spy mode (watch face just shows time)
Audio Recorder Mode - wave form preview or super-spy mode (watch face just shows time)
Still Picture Recorder Mode - still image (again, with preview or without) or time lapse mode (5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes)
Secrets ModeMissions Mode - downloadable from SpyNet HQ
Games Mode
Spy Apps Mode
Playback Mode
Capacity: Up to 20 mins of video; over 4 hours of audio; up to 2000 pics!
Snake Cam Add-On: Allows you to record pics/video around corners or hides in a button hole for super covert missions (unable to film using night vision, however). Can also be used as a plug and play USB webcam.
Watch Includes: Watch (duh), USB connector, and instructions.
Dimensions: Watch - 2.5" x 2.25" x 1" (watch body) - 1.4" TFT display.
Snake Cam - bendy part: 20"; overall length: 38"
Why do I mention it?
So you'll know what you're up against, or the holidays are coming.
...Keep an eye out for the snake coming over the cubicle wall.
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