Russia's Retro Retraction, or... "We don't need no stinkin' spy base..."

"...we got Snowden!"

Russian President Vladimir Putin is denying media reports that he will reopen a Soviet-era base in Cuba used to spy on the United States.
Putin said Thursday there are no plans to resume operations at the Lourdes signals intelligence facility near Havana, after Russian media first reported a day earlier that the two countries provisionally agreed to the deal last week. (more)

Russia Goes Retro with Cuban Spy Base

Russia is trying to reopen a Cold War-era spy base in Cuba.

During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Cuba earlier this month, Putin and Cuban officials reportedly reached a provisional agreement to reopen the signals intelligence facility in Lourdes, Cuba, south of Havana...

The Lourdes base was first opened in 1964 and was used to intercept communications in the U.S. and throughout the Western Hemisphere. Some estimate that as much as 50 percent of the radio-intercepted intelligence that the Soviet Union collected on the U.S. during the Cold War came from Lourdes. Putin closed the facility back in 2001, citing it as a “goodwill gesture” toward the U.S., which had long expressed concerns about the Russian spy station. However, many analysts believed the real reason behind the decision was the $200 million-a-year rent that Moscow was reportedly paying to Cuba to maintain the base.

According to The Guardian, “the Lourdes facility was the Soviet Union’s largest foreign base, a mere 155 miles from the U.S. coast. It employed up to 3,000 military and intelligence personnel to intercept a wide array of American telephone and radio communications.” (more)

The Trust But Verify App ..."text my other phone."

mCouple is something you can download on your Android and iOS devices to keep track of your partners.

So if someone thinks their significant other is cheating on them or if they’re anxious about who their partner is talking to and where he/she is going... (You get the idea.) It works in a two-way fashion, so both the partners need to have it installed on their devices in order to take advantage of it... 

...its key concept is that all the history from you device will be accessible on your partner’s device. This means, any call or message you get during your day will be accessible on your partner’s connected smartphone without any bounds.

The same applies for contact entries made by you as well. ...its GPS tracking attribute makes it possible to track every move your partner makes. Facebook hasn’t been kept out of mCouple’s purview as well, with partners having been given the option of viewing all the Facebook chats of their significant others. (more)

FutureWatch: An in-app purchase offer for the Instant Alibi upgrade feature :)

Tip: Turn Your Old iPod into a Security Camera for Free

Manything is a free iOS app that lets you convert a spare iPod Touch, iPad, or iPhone into a video surveillance camera. The next part is up to you: either use a second device to view footage remotely and receive alerts and Cloud-saved clips based on motion activity, or simply track what's happening on the Manything Web app. Basically, it works like an IP camera without requiring a separate purchase.

Since Manything just launched an IFTTT channel, you can pair it with Belkin WeMo (or other compatible products) to create DIY home security hacks. Here's how to get started... 
(more)

Leaked British Spy Catalog Reveals Tools to Manipulate Online Information

No online communication is for your eyes only in the age of Internet surveillance by government spy agencies. But a leaked British spy catalog has revealed a wide array of online tools designed to also control online communication by doing everything from hacking online polls to artificially boosting online traffic to a particular website.

The spy catalog information developed by the British spy agency GCHQ comes from documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, according to The Intercept. Such documents don't contain much in the way of technical information about how the online spy tools work, but they do reveal a colorful array of code names for methods aimed at both collecting information and manipulating online information seen on websites such as Facebook and YouTube. (more)

Listen To A Wiretap Of Ukraine Rebels: 'We Just Shot Down A Plane'

Ukraine has released audio from phone calls made between rebels and Russian officers after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. You can listen to it here...

In one of the calls, a rebel is heard to say that “We have just shot down a plane.” A reminder, perhaps, that even if the content they carry is atrocious, there is a time and a place for wiretaps. (more)

Scytale - Ancient Spy Gadget - Early Tweet

500 BC: The Spartans of ancient Greece invented the Scytale to transport hidden messages. Scytales were long, slender rods typically wrapped in a thin strip of papyrus, leather, or parchment.

A message was written on the wrapping, and then the strip was unwound and passed on to a messenger. Only when it was rewound around a rod of the same diameter could the original message be deciphered. (more)

Surveilling Celebrities Does A 180º Turnabout

Facebook launched a new app on Thursday, but you can’t get it unless you’re famous. Seriously. Facebook mentions is a new tool that allows celebs to keep constant tabs on what you, your Aunt Helen, the dude who works at your coffee shop, and everyone else in the world are saying about them on Facebook all day in the form of a constantly updating RSS feed! (more)

China Outlawed Manufacturer & Sale of Bugging Devices... meh

Gadgets such as tracking devices and wiretapping bugs have been popular products on China's online shopping websites. Their popularity has not waned even after being declared illegal by the Chinese government, which has since begun shutting down businesses selling and using them, reports the Beijing News...

Most of the sellers in Zhongguancun, which has been dubbed "China's Silicon Valley," only offer the devices when clients ask. Some of them have stopped selling these devices after Chinese authorities banned producing and selling wiretapping devices and hidden cameras on May 1. Producing and selling these devices can be punishable by up to three years in jail. People using them can serve up to two years.

The law seems not to have deterred their sale, however. Over thousands of these devices are available on China's leading e-commerce website Taobao at prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of yuan. They are all advertised as "theft or lost item prevention" devices to avoid legal responsibilities. (more)

Could Drones be the New Force Multiplier for Physical Security?

The use of drones for physical security is limited only by the imagination and battery life, says J. Patrick Murphy, president of LPT Security Consulting.

He envisions drones being used for security purposes in mall parking lots and at oil refineries and other big plants, at hospitals and schools.

Murphy recently had the opportunity to see what camera-mounted drones can offer. He was on an assignment for a Houston-based clinic/pharmaceutical chain, conducting a security assessment of their buildings. As part of that, he needed to do a light(ing) study.

“We went to the parking lot in one location and did a walk-around in the daytime,” Murphy told Security Director News.

Then, he contacted local drone manufacturer and pilot Michael Sclafani of West Fork Drones for a nighttime flyover. “It just blew me away because of the functionality and maneuverability,” Murphy said of the flyover... With the drone, he was able to see which trees were blocking certain lights and the shadows that resulted. “That’s a story told that I probably would have missed otherwise,” he said. (more)

Residential Breakin - SpyCam Planted by Neighbor

NJ - The woman says she left for work that morning but returned home an hour later after realizing she'd forgotten her cell phone. She says she noticed the attic door open, and an air vent cover and tools were laid out around her bedroom. 

"I still don't think that it hit me because nothing was taken. The television was here, and the house wasn't ransacked," she said. So, she left her home on Mayfair Lane but called her husband, who told her to call police.

They arrived to find everything cleaned up but searched and reportedly found a camera in the bedroom inside a vent and one installed in a tiny hole drilled in the bathroom shower. She believes the suspect hid it and cleaned up when she left...

Police say further investigation led them just 100 feet away to a neighbor's house, where they arrested 36-year-old Nader Ibrahim. (more - with video)

Amateur Hour: Spying Politicos Leave Their Video Behind

MI - For the third time this year, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer is accusing Republicans of attempting to spy on his campaign.

But this time, the suspected political subterfuge involves a high-tech hidden camera and a video memory disk that fell into the hands of Democrats.


And Republicans are defending their campaign snooping.

Schauer’s campaign and Oakland County Democrats recently came into possession of a tiny disk containing raw video footage of a young woman and man who secretly recorded a Schauer campaign fundraiser June 22 at a private home in Bloomfield Hills.

A spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party acknowledged Wednesday the state party sent staffers... to videotape Schauer and his running mate... (more)

Outrageous Phone Tap of the Month

via Techlicious...
If you’ve ever tried to cut the cable TV cord, then you know how difficult an experience it can be. Your cable company has customer retention specialists trained to do whatever it takes to keep you as a customer. Usually, this just means offering leaving customers better prices to entice them to stay. Usually.

Last week, AOL executive Ryan Block and his wife Veronica Belmont called up Comcast to close their account and switch to another cable provider. Their customer service rep would have none of it, however. After 10 minutes of unsuccessfully trying to end service via the worst customer service agent in the world, Belmont handed the phone over to Block, who had the foresight to start recording the conversation. (more)

REI - Business Intelligence and Security Conference - Sept. 9-11

REI is hosting a 3-day conference on securing corporate and private sector assets. September 9 through 11 at the REI Training Center, Algood, TN. 

Too often, security is primarily focused on physical protection of property and personnel. However, the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) states that 70% of a corporations’ value is from intangible assets and its proprietary business operations.

REI has assembled a group of leading experts to cover several aspects of corporate and private sector technical security in today’s environment. (flyer and registration form)

I have attended many of REI's training sessions and related conferences. All have been very worthwhile. Guaranteed, you will learn things not taught elsewhere. This seminar seems especially worthwhile for security directors and security consultants. PS - They always provide great food.

See Threat, Ignore Security - IT = Idocracy Time

In a study, most IT execs at critical infrastructure companies revealed that their organization was compromised in the last year, but only 28 percent of them said that security was a top priority across their enterprise.

Nearly 600 global IT and IT security execs across 13 countries were polled for the “Critical Infrastructure: Security Preparedness and Maturity” report, released Thursday. And of those respondents, 67 percent said they had dealt with at least one security compromise, leading to the loss of confidential information or disruption to operations, at their companies.  
In an interview with SCMagazine.com, Dave Frymier, CISO of Unisys, found it concerning that so many respondents seemed to be knowledgeable of threats to their organizations, but that this awareness hadn't translated to a heightened focus on security. (more) (10 things "Idocracy" predicted that came true.)

Time to yank some of that IT "security" budget and put it back where it was doing some good - traditional information and intellectual property security measures. Call us.