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... 
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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.

Counterespionage Trick #003: Germany Blows the Dust off of Old Typewriters

Germany is considering going back to the trusty old typewriter to counter alleged spying by the U.S. government.

In an interview with the TV service Morgenmagazin, a politician in charge of a parliamentary inquiry into U.S. spying in Germany said that the government is seriously considering a low-tech solution to the ongoing espionage problem, according to the Guardian.

Asked "Are you considering typewriters?" by the interviewer, Christian Democrat politician Patrick Sensburg said: "As a matter of fact, we have – and not electronic models either." "Really?" the surprised interviewer checked. "Yes, no joke," Sensburg responded. (more)

Police Won't Rule Out Reports Coffin was Bugged in Bid to Catch Killer

Australia - The former head of the Queensland Police homicide squad is not ruling out reports that Allison Baden-Clay's coffin or flowers were bugged at her funeral in a bid to catch her killer. 

Former real estate agent Gerard Baden-Clay was yesterday sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering his wife in 2012.

He reported her missing 10 days before her body was found on the bank of Kholo Creek in Brisbane.

Detective Superintendent Brian Wilkins, who headed the investigation into Allison's murder, told 612 ABC Brisbane's Steve Austin that police were immediately suspicious of Baden-Clay because his face was scratched and "things did not add up".

He also said "wide and varied strategies" were used to gather evidence. (more)

Tap Stars of Las Vegas - "...we're damn good!"

"Let me call in a buddy of mine. He's an expert on wiretaps."

Las Vegas authorities use electronic wiretaps more than almost every other police agency in the country, according to a new report. Clark County judges approved 187 wiretaps on phones in 2013, and police executed 178, according to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts. 

All of the wiretaps were for drug investigations. That’s a lot of wiretapping, especially when you factor the county’s population, compared to metro areas at least four times larger. 

Los Angeles County judges approved 148 wiretaps last year. New York City’s special narcotics bureau had 138 wiretaps approved. 

Pew Research Center analyzed the data and determined — based on population — that the Silver State leads the nation with 38 phone wiretaps per 500,000 people in 2013. 

No other state saw more than 12 wiretaps per 500,000 people, according to the nonpartisan think tank. So why are Nevada’s numbers so high... (more)