North Miami and The Bugs of City Hall

FL - In the past year, North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre had a nagging suspicion he was being followed. He also thought someone had his City Hall office bugged with listening devices.

It turns out Pierre was right; someone was watching and listening.

...Pierre had secret cameras installed in his City Hall office and a private firm swept the space for bugs and wiretaps, costing taxpayers about $8,200.

Audio recordings obtained by The Miami Herald, and the FDLE report, confirm police conducted surveillance on Pierre, who did not return several telephone calls from a Miami Herald reporter on Monday. (more)

How effective is antivirus software on smartphones?

"...my recommendation is to not worry about trying to get antivirus software to run on the phones themselves. Not only is it barely effective, but like any background process, it takes up valuable battery life and resources." Patrick Lambert, TechRepublic (more)

"Next bill. The proposed name change to Oceania."

The British government is set to unveil legislation that will allow it to monitor its citizens' phone calls, emails, text messages and internet use. The UK Home Office says technological advances mean it needs new powers to tackle terrorism and crime. Internet firms will be required to give the intelligence agency, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), access to communications on demand. It will allow officers to monitor who is calling who, and for how long, or what websites they are visiting. The legislation also covers social networking sites. (more)

Think Your Intellectual Property is not Worth a few Bucks to Protect? Think Again.

Australia - The Federal Government has described a multi-million-dollar legal settlement over CSIRO's wi-fi technology as a major boost for the organisation.

The settlement secures more than $220 million for CSIRO, which invented the technology in the 1990s.

Wi-fi technology is used in more than 3 billion electronic devices worldwide, including personal computers, video games and mobile phones.

The settlement is the second successful litigation to be conducted by the CSIRO, which patented the technology and now has licence agreements with 23 telecommunications companies. (more)

FutureWatch: You may not know now what your ideas will be worth further down the road. Hook up with a good counterespionage consultant today. No matter where in the world you are, we can recommend someone we know personally to you.

Is You New Date Lying About Their Age? (There's an app for that.)

One’s age can now be detected through scanning a photo, thanks to Face.com’s new API (application programming interface).

The API considers factors like the shape of one’s face, wrinkles, and smoothness of skin, among others, in checking for one’s age. The age detector might not be always correct, but after it studies your photo, it also gives an age range which might be more accurate. The API’s accuracy is dependent on the image quality of the photo and one’s pose in the snapshot. (more)

One developer has already used the API to build app called Age Meter, which is available in the Apple App Store. (more)

Cell Phone Tracking - A Routine Tool for Police

Law enforcement tracking of cellphones, once the province mainly of federal agents, has become a powerful and widely used surveillance tool for local police officials, with hundreds of departments, large and small, often using it aggressively with little or no court oversight, documents show.

The practice has become big business for cellphone companies, too, with a handful of carriers marketing a catalog of “surveillance fees” to police departments to determine a suspect’s location, trace phone calls and texts or provide other services. Some departments log dozens of traces a month for both emergencies and routine investigations. (more)

Privacy Alert: The Stalking App

Another day, another creepy mobile app. Here is one that allows you to find women in your area. It definitely wins the prize for too creepy.

Girls Around Me uses Foursquare, the location-based mobile service, to determine your location. It then scans for women in the area who have recently checked-in on the service. Once you identify a woman you’d like to talk to, one that inevitably has no idea you’re snooping on her, you can connect to her through Facebook, see her full name, profile photos and send her a message.

P.S. When you sign up for the Girls Around Me application, you are asked to log in to Facebook, giving the service your personal information, too. (more)

FutureWatch: The Creepy Guys Around Me app.

No, wait... This just in...

In direct response to our story from earlier today about Girls Around Me, an iOS app by Russian-based app developer i-Free that tracks and gives personal information about women without their knowledge, Foursquare has released a statement announcing that they have officially killed Girls Around Me’s access to their public API. (more)

Eavesdropper Reveries - Laser Keyboards

My new iPhone has a laser keyboard...

In my dreams :)

But until then, there is always this...

Somewhere, someone (other than me) is musing about how to eavesdrop on this technology.

The Bluetooth connection?
Optical intercept?
Keystroke logging spyware?
Or, maybe an accelerometer embedded in the table to decipher the finger tapping sounds?

Am I allowed to have this much fun at work?

New CCTV Scans 36 Million Faces for a Match... in one second!

There were several news stories late last week about a new surveillance system by Hitachi Kokusai Electric that the company claims is able to capture a person's face and, in one second, scan some 36 million facial images stored in its database to see whether it can find a match. According to this story at Digital Trends:

"Now, here's my plan..."

"Hitachi’s software is able to recognize a face with up to 30 degrees of deviation turned vertically and horizontally away from the camera, and requires faces to fill at least 40 pixels by 40 pixels for accurate recognition. Any image, whether captured on a mobile phone, handheld camera, or a video still, can be uploaded and searched against its database for matches." 

The company states in a video posted at DigInfoTV that it thinks the system is "suitable for customers that have a relatively large-scale surveillance system, such as railways, power companies, law enforcement, and large stores."

Over time, I suspect that the technology will be reduced in price to be "suitable" for just about anyone with a surveillance system. (more)

Business Espionage: "If we can't hack your voicemail, we'll hack your business."

Australia - Revelations that a secret unit within Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp promoted high-tech piracy that damaged pay TV rivals will increase fears of corporate espionage in boardrooms across Australia and around the world. A four-year investigation by The Australian Financial Review has revealed a global trail of corporate dirty tricks by a group of former policemen and intelligence officers within News Corp that devastated competitors. (more)

Australia - Senior Australian officials have expressed concern over allegations that News Corporation engaged in hacking and piracy in order to damage its commercial television competitors. The allegations suggested that the firm owned by Rupert Murdoch had set up a unit to sabotage rivals. The Australian Financial Review said this was done by making pirate copies of competitors' smart cards. (more)

So You Want to be a Private Investigator - Top 25 Schools

Deciding on a professional private investigation training program can be tricky. Unlike many professions, a degree in investigations is not a requirement to enter into this field. Competing against individuals with extensive backgrounds in law enforcement, security and investigations can be a daunting task, but many industry veterans certainly believe hitting the classroom can help jump-start a career in investigations. Here is a list of the Top 25 educational institutions which can help you achieve your goal... (more)

"Come out with your hands up," this is the Hackers, and we have you surrounded.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's top cyber cop offered a grim appraisal of the nation's efforts to keep computer hackers from plundering corporate data networks: "We're not winning," FBI executive assistant director Shawn Henry said.

Shawn Henry, who is preparing to leave the FBI after more than two decades with the bureau, said in an interview that the current public and private approach to fending off hackers is "unsustainable.'' Computer criminals are simply too talented and defensive measures too weak to stop them, he said. (more)

FutureWatch Idea: Opto-isolate high-value information from the Internet, like opto-isolators do for electronic measurement equipment.

Privacy - If you are not outraged yet, wait for the strip search.

The assault on personal privacy has ramped up significantly in the past few years. From warrantless GPS tracking to ISP packet inspection, it seems that everyone wants to get in on the booming business of clandestine snooping -- even blatant prying, if you consider reports of employers demanding Facebook passwords prior to making hiring decisions.

What happened? Did the rules change? What is it about digital information that's convinced some people this is OK? Maybe the right to privacy we were told so much about has simply become old-fashioned, a barrier to progress. In search of an answer, I tried a little thought experiment. Follow me, if you will, on a journey to a place in the space-time continuum I call the Land Before the Internet... (more) 

This story, "Your privacy is a sci-fi fantasy," was originally published at InfoWorld.com.

The 'Open Mike' Devours Another Unsuspecting Victim

Unaware that a microphone was recording him, President Obama asked outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Monday for breathing room until after Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign to negotiate on missile defense. ...“This is my last election,” Mr. Obama said. “After my election, I have more flexibility.” (more)

TSCM Training & Counterespionage Education Around the World

AUSTRALIA
Dever Clark + Associates
Eavesdropping Detection and Prevention Workshop (2 days) 

Eavesdropping detection and prevention, also known as ‘debugging’, ‘audio countermeasures’, ‘technical surveillance countermeasures’ (TSCM), or even ‘sweeps’, is the term used to describe the recognition, evaluation and minimisation of the threat from covert (and often illegal) electronic surveillance. This two-day non-technical workshop consists of no nonsense, practical advice on information security and eavesdropping prevention and is presented in terms, which can be understood by people without training in electronics. ... The workshop includes practical demonstrations and illustrations of common vulnerabilities. (more) (course brochure) Contact: Michael Dever, BSc (Security) CPP PSP

SOUTH AFRICA

Eavesdropping Detections Solutions®
Basic Course in Electronic Eavesdropping Countermeasures
We are presenting a basic course in electronic eavesdropping countermeasures. The course is scheduled to take place from 02 – 13 July 2012 – Protea Waterfront Hotel, Centurion, Gauteng. Final date for registration is 25 June 2012. The course in electronic eavesdropping countermeasures, presented since 1998, is suitable for the individual who has no or little previous experience in technical surveillance countermeasures. The 80-hour course is presented over ten (10) working days. (more) Contact: Steve Whitehead

Eavesdropping Detections Solutions®

CBIA is hosting a three day international conference on business counterintelligence from 17 – 19 September 2012 at the Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge, Pilansberg (What a venue!). The brochure and registration form attached. One of the key aims of the conference is to involve and to provide business executives, decision-makers, managers and business unit leaders with the insight to understand business counterintelligence and how it differs from other streams of information management practices. This is a vital conference for those responsible for the protection of information in their organisations. The conference sessions are highly informative, powerful and offers a wealth of opportunities for learning.  (more) (brochure) Contact: Steve Whitehead

CANADA

Technical Security Branch (TSB) of Professional Development TSCM Group Inc.
Canadian Technical Security Conference (CTSC) - April 23-25, 2012
The annual Canadian Technical Security Conference (CTSC) event (Cornwall, Ontario) is a three (3) day professional development and networking opportunity with a local, regional, national and international following of professional technical operators, TSCM specific and test & measurement based equipment manufacturers and service providers. Our annual CTSC conference event is an absolute must attend event for local, regional and international technical security professionals from the private sector, corporate security industry, financial sector, oil, gas and mining sector, government, law enforcement and military organizations and agencies. (more) Contact: Paul D Turner, TSS TSI

USA
Research Electronics International (REI) (Algood, TN)
TSCM courses are designed to teach the basic procedural concepts of conducting a countersurveillance investigation. Courses currently offered provide training on REI equipment as well as general sweep procedures. Classes are held in our unique training rooms that simulate suspect environments. Students use these project rooms to exercise their knowledge of the use of detection equipment. REI has 5 full-time, highly qualified instructors with many years of cumulative experience in the surveillance field. (more) (brochure) Contact: Mark S. Uker, Director of Training
 
Jarvis Intelligence Solutions (Tulsa, OK)
Technical Security Countermeasures
This 40 hour course of instruction is designed to provide the student with the basic skills and knowledge to conduct technical security countermeasures sweeps and surveys. Students will learn various types of equipment that can be utilized to implement electronic espionage operations and how to effectively identify, locate and neutralize these attacks. (more) Contact: Ray Jarvis, Director

There are are several more schools and providers. These are just the ones I know personally, and which have some good programs coming up soon. ~Kevin

Too young to vote?

Try one of these!

The International Spy Museum in Washington, DC is always running interesting spy-related activities for kids. Check out their Spy School Summer Camp.

Can't get there? 

Try this, on-line...

Are You Ready to Become A Super Spy?