Turkey - The former head of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey's (TÜBİTAK) Research Center for Advanced Technologies on Informatics and Information Security (BİLGEM) has said he was forced to make changes in a report as part of an investigation into a "bugging device" found at the prime minister's office.
In a blistering statement over his dismissal from the top post at BİLGEM, a critical department within TÜBİTAK that prepares expert reports for court cases and state agencies, Hasan Palaz said he was forced to make changes on a scientific report that was prepared as part of a criminal investigation into the installment of bugging devices at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's office in Parliament and his home in 2012...
In a stern warning, he said the government's interference in TÜBİTAK reports and politicians' meddling in scientific inquiries would be suicide for the science world.
The discovery of the bugging devices led to an outcry and fueled a debate over who is responsible for monitoring and bugging the prime minister's office. (more)
Note: Although this translated news story makes it sound as if he did make the change, a careful reading of the whole story indicates he did not, hence his dismissal.
From the other side of the fence in Turkey today...
Turkey - Battling a corruption scandal,
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is seeking broader powers
for his intelligence agency, including more scope for
eavesdropping and legal immunity for its top agent, according to
a draft law seen by Reuters. (more)
UPDATE: (2/22/14) - Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that two suspects
believed to be involved in a bugging scandal have fled the country. (more)
NASCAR fans can listen to an uncensored buffet of communication ranging from foul-mouthed rants to finish line screams of victory on FanVision controllers that provide access to live broadcast feeds, onboard cameras, official timing, data, statistics, instant replays and a digital radio scanner.
At Daytona, the device rents for $59.99 for the weekend. (Or, it may be purchased, plus a per race subscription.) They have to be returned no later than 90 minutes after the race ends. (more)
Other NASCAR eavesdropping options...
• Sportstronics NASCAR Proscan 100 Scanner
• eBay
Smart Baby Monitor (Bug) in your pocket!
The baby monitor (bug) for the smartphone age. Includes all standard features of a hardware baby monitor (bug) and some surprising extras.
Works at any distance. Dormi can use any available route to connect parent and child units (WiFi, mobile data), and can work even when Internet is not available (WiFi Direct, HotSpot / AP)
Ultimate feature?
You can connect MULTIPLE devices in parent mode to a single child device simultaneously.
Intelligent audio
You don't need to configure microphone sensitivity - Dormi adjusts to noise levels automatically. Leave the device several meters away from the sleeping baby (target) and it will still be able to detect when it cries (or plans a corporate takeover) and amplify the sound for the parent device as if it were placed right next to the baby (target).
Press and hold the Listen button to hear sound from the child device even while the baby (target) is not crying (or selling stocks). Equally, use the Talk button to talk back to soothe or calm the baby (or spook the hell out of your target).
Convenient info-center
With Dormi you always know what's going on. All important information about the child device is always available while monitoring. If connection with the child device is lost, the parent device will notify you.
Dormi will even notify you about missed calls and new text messages received on the child device, so you will not miss something important while not having direct access to the device.
If the baby (target) starts crying (or talking with the General Counsel) while you are on the phone, you will be notified with vibrations and a gentle beep to your ear - without abruptly disturbing the phone call, yet letting you know.
Of course, Dormi works in the background, even when the device screen is off. Great care has been taken to limit battery usage - you can monitor for many hours on one charge.
Have you got an old Android device sitting in the drawer that you have no use for? Not anymore - try using it as the child device with Dormi. We have made the effort to ensure it runs from Android 2.3 onwards.
Start right away...
All you have to do after install is pair two devices together (our autodiscovery feature makes this a breeze) and start monitoring right away.
Although unlimited monitoring is paid, you will get 4 hours of monitoring for free every month.
If you do decide to make a purchase, you only have to do so on one of the devices participating in the monitoring. (more)
Why do I mention it?
So you will know what you are up against.
Jazzpunk has been nominated for the grand prize at the 2014 Independent Games Festival, is to video games what movies like Airplane!, The Naked Gun and Hot Shots are to film...
The setup is charmingly basic and silly, like the rest of the game. After an upbeat and stylized Saul Bass-inspired intro, you are plopped into your role as Polyblank, a spy for an unnamed organization helmed by a bureau chief who makes his office in a subway car and sounds like the person that delivered Ethan Hunt his impossible missions, perhaps if he was talking through a fishbowl.
With the satisfying wheeze of an obviously placed whoopee cushion, the game wastes no time letting you know you are here for the gags, not the story. (more)
Jazzpunk is a first-person comedy adventure game set in an alternate-reality Cold War World, plagued with Corporate Espionage, CyberCrime™, and Sentient Martinis. Gameplay is inspired by spoof comedy films and cartoons of yester-year (eg: Naked Gun, Airplane!, Hot Shots, etc), with a focus on weird gadgets, exotic locales, and open-world style exploration.
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is reported to have been cast as an action figure in a video game that has him reenacting the NSA spying scandal, while avoiding government capture.
A 12-inch action figure of the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor is being marketed by Thatsmyface.com for 99 dollars.
Proceeds from the action figure's sale will be donated to the Freedom of the Press Foundation. (more)
P.S. They can make one of you, too.
(Note: Garda = Police)
Ireland - The British consultancy firm which carried out a security sweep of the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission's headquarters offered to sell gardai equipment similar to one of the devices at the centre of the 'bugging' saga.
Officials from the Verrimus firm met garda technical experts while they were in Dublin for the sweep.
They brought with them the "international mobile subscriber identifier (IMSI) catcher" device which, in an ironic twist, was similar to one that created the third and most "credible threat" to the security of the Ombudsman's offices. (more)
(Long but interesting. Proves no business is immune to business espionage.)
Stealing trade secrets has been a part of the business and international scene for a long time. I suspect such activity has made some people very rich when they don’t get caught and some lawyers very rich when they do...
Military secrets, medical research, computer technology, certain oatmeal raisin cookie recipes... it’s understandable why some people, companies or countries might be tempted by any of these. The payday would be huge.
Agriculture has not been immune to incidents of unethical business activity... (more)
Want to know if eavesdropping has occurred in your organization?
These days, your chances of knowing has skyrocketed. Here's why...
Electronic eavesdropping devices have become:
• so inexpensive,
• so easily available,
that they are now throw-away objects.
Eavesdroppers don't have to risk discovery by replacing batteries or retrieving them. Just toss one behind the bookcase, or into a lighting cove once a week.
Bonus For You - Since many of today's eavesdropping devices are not being serviced or retrieved, the evidence is left there waiting for you (or me) to find it! Knowing you are having your pockets picked is valuable knowledge, and the first step in putting an end to it.
Example of a bug being sold on eBay today... ($21.97 - FREE shipping)
Each
battery should give you around 40 hours of use!
This IS the smallest bug on ebay measuring just 22mm diameter (plus a little extra for the protruding microphone and rear) x only 11mm thick and THIS IS WITH A BATTERY INSTALLED!!! This tiny transmitter runs off a small coin cell and the measurements given above include the cell holder!
The quality small electret microphone will pick up the smallest of sounds and transmit them to your radio with crystal clear reproduction. Only quality surface mount components have been used on a professionally designed circuit board. The copper of the board has been coated to prevent corrosion - this is NOT a cheap homemade item like others are offering!" (more)
P.S. We have the technology to find these bugs even after the battery is depleted.
Visitors to Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport may notice the bright, clean lighting that now blankets the cavernous interior, courtesy of 171 recently installed LED fixtures. But they probably will not realize that the light fixtures are the backbone of a system that is watching them.
Using an array of sensors and eight video cameras around the terminal, the light fixtures are part of a new wireless network that collects and feeds data into software that can spot long lines, recognize license plates and even identify suspicious activity, sending alerts to the appropriate staff...
Fred H. Cate, director of the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research
at Indiana University, described the potential for misuse as
“terrifying.” ...
The light fixtures are outfitted with special chips and connect to
sensors, cameras and one another over a wireless network. Data that is
collected — say, a particular car pulling up to the terminal — can then
be mined and analyzed for a broad range of applications...
“No one really wanted the smartphone 20 years ago because they didn’t
know they could have it,” said Fred Maxik, founder and chief technology
officer of Lighting Science Group, which manufactures LEDs. “And I think
the same is true of lighting today: No one knows what lighting is going
to be capable of.” (more)
Late last week–just in time for Valentine’s Day–artist and software developer Lauren McCarthy launched Crowdpilot, an iOS app designed to let anyone invite friends and strangers to listen in on a live audio stream of a private conversation and offer text-based advice and encouragement.
“Crowdpilot lets you crowdsource your conversations by inviting a group of people to listen in and give you suggestions in real time,” says McCarthy. “I see the possibility of having this networked hivemind that weighs in on your decisions, like having a ‘wingman’ in a bar.”
Just launch the app, choose from an array of conversation types including “date,” “argument,” “meeting,” or “family gathering,” and choose who you want to listen in. ...
McCarthy strongly suggests that anyone using the app warn all participants in a conversation Crowdpilot’s crowd will be listening in. (Sure, Lauren.)
Although it’s possible to run Crowdpilot on your iPhone with the screen turned off, it can’t run in the background, reducing the app’s potential as a stealth spy tool. (Screen turned off should suffice for most spies.) (more)
FutureWatch: Covert remote coaching during business negotiations?
No cat has two tails.
Every cat has one tail more than no cat.
Therefore every cat has three tails.
(more)
MD - A group of legislators in Maryland has introduced legislation that would deny state support to federal agencies engaged in warrantless electronic surveillance in a move aimed at curtailing the National Security Agency's power to monitor and track citizens.
Eight Republicans in the Maryland House of Delegates last week introduced the "Fourth Amendment Protection Act," which would deny the NSA "material support, participation or assistance in any form” from the state, its political subdivisions or companies with state contracts, US News reported.
The bill would deprive NSA's headquarters in Ft. Meade, Md., water and electricity carried over public utilities, prohibit the use of evidence gathered by the agency in state courts and prevent state universities from partnering with the NSA on research, according to the report. (more)
Tennessee proposed the same thing last month. (more)
IL - In January a UPS truck pulled up to the farm of Bill McDonnell north of Ottawa.
McDonnell’s order had come through. It was a brand new Phantom 2 drone, a four-rotor, remote-controlled quad-copter with a camera.
“It’s something I’ve been researching for the past year to see how we can integrate this into our farming operation,” McDonnell said.
Like many cutting-edge technologies in the United States, drones have crossed over from military to domestic use. Military drones appear like airplanes and are used to explore and survey landscapes or deliver missiles and bombs. Domestic drones look more like hobby helicopters and carry small cameras...
This coming season McDonnell plans to survey his corn and soybeans with his Phantom. (more)
A new computer chip invented by researchers from Columbia University
allows scientists to "listen in" on bacteria, as they exchange
information between individual cells. Integrated circuit (IC) technology
allows biologists to record images from the bacteria, as well as
"listen in" to what they are saying. (more)
...and, on the other end of the spectrum...
Scientists can now spy on whales from space.
There are two ways of looking at this story. One is as a triumph of new technology: Using high-resolution satellites, scientists can identify and track whales without disturbing them in any way. The other is as a tale of space voyeurism: Scientists are spying on whales from the sky. And not just spying on whales — spying on whales while there was a good chance the whales were doing it. (more)
• Grab an old cell phone (make sure it has GPS).
• Turn on its Internet access.
• Tweak the settings. Presumably, you're only going to use this for vehicle tracking. Set the ringer volume to 0 and mute the keypad.
• Next step is choosing a tracking/mapping service. InstaMapper (free) or AccuTracking (about $6/month)
• The final step is the trickiest. For real 24/7 tracking, you'll need to hardwire the phone to your car's battery. (more)
