Wizard of Id... More True than They Know

Alps Slayings Could be Linked to Industrial Espionage - Prosecutor

French authorities said Friday they were investigating the possibility that the British family shot dead while on holidays in the Alps a year ago was executed over industrial espionage. (more)

School v. Students - Monitoring Social Media for Anti-Social Behavior

Authorities in California are now snooping on school students’ social media postings to catch law-breaking, bullying and other harmful activities. But parents worry the move is yet another example of Big Brother prying into ordinary Americans’ lives.

Glendale Unified School District, the third-largest in Los Angeles County, has paid Geo Listening Company over $40,000 to follow its students on social media networks. The stated aim is to prevent law-breaking, bullying and doing harm to themselves and others.

Under the scheme, the online activities of Glendale’s 13,000 middle-school and high-school students are closely monitored. (more)

Sometimes the Bird Really is a Spy

Over the past few years there have been a flock of spy stories about birds, the latest being a stork in Egypt. He was interrogated and let go, only to be found dead two days later. "...a wildlife organization claiming that it was 'eaten by local villagers.'" (more)

This story is different. Some birds do spy.

The John Downer Productions team created a set of highly realistic robotic penguins to spy on living birds for a recent BBC documentary. Some penguins are timid around humans, and may flee when a normal camera team approaches. So, these robots allow scientists and filmmakers to get up close with the colony and capture intimate details of day to day life in a penguin colony. 

The robots are more than simple spycams. They can:
• Remember the identities of individual penguins based on their patterns of spots.
• Get blown over and right themselves.
• Fall off a ledge without breaking.
• And even carry “egg-cams” to drop off at strategic locations (more)

Business Espionage: BMW Accused of Spying on Paris Electric Car-Share Company

The group that runs Paris car-sharing scheme Autolib’ said Tuesday it had filed a criminal complaint accusing German carmaker BMW of using spies to gather information on its electric cars. 

The Bollore group said it had filed the industrial espionage complaint after two employees of a firm employed by BMW were spotted three times tampering with charging points and Autolib’ vehicles parked in Paris.

BMW denied any wrongdoing...

The group that runs Paris car-sharing scheme Autolib’ said Tuesday it had filed a criminal complaint accusing German carmaker BMW of using spies to gather information on its electric cars.

The Bollore group said it had filed the industrial espionage complaint after two employees of a firm employed by BMW were spotted three times tampering with charging points and Autolib’ vehicles parked in Paris.

BMW denied any wrongdoing.

How to Check an iPhone for Spyware

a tip via Techlicious...
"The best way to detect if your iPhone has been hacked is to download an app like Lookout that tells you whether your phone has been "jailbroken". 

If the answer is yes (and you didn't jailbreak it), there's a good chance your suspected spy did. 

To remove an iPhone hack, simply update to the latest version of iOS. And to protect against future hacks, make sure that your phone is password protected so no one can get physical access to jailbreak it again...

Once you clear the hack, reset all of your passwords for social accounts and iCloud to prevent other means of spying on you."

The New York Times Quote of the Day :)

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"This is the golden age of spying."

PAUL KOCHER, a cryptographer, on the National Security Agency's ability to circumvent encryption systems in gathering private Internet information.

IT Industry Admits ‘Losing Battle’ Against State-Backed Attacks

More than half of senior IT security professionals believe the industry is losing the battle against state-sponsored attacks, according to a survey.

Nearly 200 senior IT security professionals were surveyed by Lieberman Software Corporation at the Black Hat USA 2013 conference in Las Vegas, with 58 per cent of saying they believe the profession is losing the battle against state-sponsored attacks.

And 74 per cent of respondents were not even confident that their own corporate network has not already been breached by a foreign state-sponsored hacker, while 96 per cent believe that the hacking landscape is going to get worse over time. (more)

FutureWatch: Look for a migration of sensitive information away from Internet connectivity, followed by a rise in traditional espionage techniques. This shift will amplify the need for traditional security countermeasures, such as TSCM.

Business Espionage: HTC - Cell Phone Company Takes a Hit

Taiwan -- Investigators stormed into HTC yesterday to investigate some of the company's design staff, who are suspected of stealing trade secrets and defrauding HTC of nearly NT$10 million.

Ironic HTC homepage.

HTC accused three of its senior design professionals of fraud. The suspects were alleged to have set up new businesses on their own. Investigators started interrogating the suspects and searching their homes and offices yesterday afternoon.

The Bureau of Investigations said that it had received a complaint from HTC saying that three senior employees in the design development department were suspected of designing cellphone cases and lying about it being contract work. The suspects allegedly conspired with a manufacturer to issue fake invoices amounting to nearly NT$10 million for performing design work. Upon receiving the money from HTC, the manufacturer allegedly transferred it to the suspects. (more)

The Newest Eavesdropping Gadget for PIs and Spies - Also a Security & Safety Tool

When people around you put on headphones or earbuds you begin to speak freely. Big mistake. You may have been lulled into a false sense of security by an eavesdropper using The Fuser. 
"The Fuser increases your awareness of the natural sounds around you using its built-in microphone to “mix” the music in your headphones with the outside world, allowing you to enjoy your music while still hearing yourself and others around you talk, laugh, work, play.*
 
Listen to music at work and still engage with co-workers. Take a road trip and not ignore others in the car. Relax at the beach with your music and still hear the waves crash… The possibilities are endless. (Oh, and by the way) *Fuser can also be used without a music device as a powerful hearing aid." (more)

P.S. This is also an excellent safety device for when you are walking, jogging, bicycling, or in any other situation where you need to be alert to your surroundings.

Industrialists Hit by Cyber Espionage

India - Cyber espionage, the practice of spying to obtain secret information like proprietary or classified details, confidential sales data, turnover, clients' contacts, diplomatic reports and records of military or political nature, have hit city industrialists.

"Cyber espionage is the new trend of cyber crime that is threatening mid-scale and small-scale industries in Ludhiana. Here one could target his business competitors or simply steal other company's details to sell it further in the market. Ludhiana offers them a ready-made market as many start-ups and small scale companies are operational here," said Tanmay Sinha, a cyber expert and an entrepreneur based in Ludhiana.

"In most of the instances, cyber espionage attempts benefit the attacker as these attacks are not random but are well-planned and targeted towards one group. Moreover, these are done by the criminals after studying the history of the target," he added.

Ludhiana police cyber cell has received more than 10 complaints of cyber espionage in the last two months. (more)

Smartphone Spy Lens

Why mention this?
Our PI friends need to know, and so you will know what you're up against.

"The Smartphone Spy Lens is a tiny gizmo you attach to your phone to take photos at a 90° angle. You can slyly hold your phone in texting position, while photoing straight ahead!

Periscope around a corner. Snap candid shots of your camera-shy kids. Take a photo of your dinner plate without having to climb up on the table.

Its high quality glass and mirrored interior ensures no photo quality is lost. Attach the included metal ring around your phone's lens and the Spy Lens magnetizes securely onto it.



Since it twists 360° you'll have all the advantages of a camera with a swivel screen. Hold it high and still see what you're shooting. Hold it low without dropping into an army crawl to set your focus.

With the Spy Lens in place you can lay your phone down and still shoot straight ahead. Turning any surface into an impromptu tripod for self ports, group pix and steady videoing." (more)

Family doctor who used £60 spycam watch...

UK -  ...to film intimate examinations of hundreds of women is banned from profession...

When Bains was arrested at his surgery in Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, officers discovered 361 video clips filmed on the watch - some as long as 45 minutes.

Around 3,000 potential victims were contacted but the exact number is thought to be ‘close to 300’ - aged between 14 and 51.
A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service banned Bains from practicing.

The tribunal in Manchester was told that his conviction earlier this year means that his fitness to practice is impaired, and he should be struck off.

In March, Bains appeared at Swindon Crown Court where he admitted 39 counts of sexual assault and voyeurism and asked for a further 65 offences to be taken into consideration.

He is serving a 12 year prison sentence and is not represented at the hearing. (more)

Researchers Grow Human Brains in a Lab

A team at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences has succeeded in growing miniature human brains...
The team, led by Dr. Jürgen Knoblich, started by analyzing human stem cells – a cell type that has the capacity to change into any other type of cell found in the body. Specifically, the scientists were interested in discovering what growth conditions are required for such cells to differentiate into various types of brain tissue cells.

Once those conditions had been identified, stem cells were used to create neuroectoderm, a layer of cells which is the “starting material” from which all components of the nervous system (including the brain) are derived...

After spending 15 to 20 days in the reactor, the neuroectoderm fragments had formed into a piece of continuous brain tissue, known as a cerebral organoid. (more)

Snapchat Not So Private and Secure

According to a "Snapchat Security Advisory" published by Australian researchers,
Snapchat names, aliases and phone numbers can be discovered and harvested via the Snapchat Android and iOS API - even if the Snapchat account is private.

Gibson Security discovered a range of disturbing security holes when it reverse-engineered the popular photo and video sharing app, including what it believes to be unsecure encryption practices (two encryption keys across all users) and code for in-app ads.

Gibson Security has informed ZDNet that "The API reversed isn't just used for Android, but iOS too. Both platforms are vulnerable." (more)