• Saudi Arabia places 27 on trial for spying for Iran more
• Hamas armed wing executes member 'for spying for Israel' more
• North Korea detains American citizen for allegedly spying more
• Iran holding several dual citizens on charges of spying more
• Four arrested 'spies' of postal dept suspended more
• Spy row officer lodges complaint against her superior more
and, to make spy image matters worse...
• Gabriel Kahane Wears Sunglasses Inside to Look Like a Spy and Sings About It on 'The Fiction Issue' more
Monday, February 8, 2016
Friday, February 5, 2016
Thursday, February 4, 2016
15,000+ People Get Paid by Their Eavesdropper
People will turn their smartphones into spying devices for just $5/month
Symphony Advanced Media, founded in 2010, has recruited over 15,000 people to be part of its “panel of media insiders.”
They downloaded an app from Symphony that collects a ton of information from their smartphones, and turns on their microphones every minute for 5-6 seconds to see what they’re watching on their TV or computer. Here’s how Symphony describes on its website what it knows about each individual in its panel:
The data sucked up from panelists’ phones includes where they are; their Internet traffic; their search keywords; which mobile apps they use and for how long; how many calls, emails and texts they send; and, of course, what they’re watching on network or digital TV. In exchange for having everything they do on their phone spied on, panelists are paid $5/month—not in cash, but in the form of points on Perks.com. more
Symphony Advanced Media, founded in 2010, has recruited over 15,000 people to be part of its “panel of media insiders.”
They downloaded an app from Symphony that collects a ton of information from their smartphones, and turns on their microphones every minute for 5-6 seconds to see what they’re watching on their TV or computer. Here’s how Symphony describes on its website what it knows about each individual in its panel:
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| Click to enlarge. |
Amateur Eavesdroppers in the News This Week
MA - Brianne St. Peter McMahon, 36, was indicted Wednesday by a Plymouth County Grand Jury on charges including wiretapping and misleading a police investigation, according to the office of Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz.
In October 2015, McMahon allegedly slipped her cellphone into the pocket of a witness, who was set to appear before a grand jury at Brockton Superior Court, to record the proceedings and interviews related to the murder of 45-year-old Robert McKennacq, according to Cruz’s office.
Later that afternoon, State Police seized the phone from the witness, a friend of McMahon’s who was unaware the device had been placed in her pocket, according to the indictment. more
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MA - Three employees at Wyman-Gordon company in Grafton, Massachusetts, are facing felony wiretapping charges for setting up a hidden camera with audio to record their coworker inside their workplace, reports CBS Boston. more
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S. Africa - An electronics expert testified in court on Monday that he planted a “bugging” device in the Pietermaritzburg advocates’ chambers and helped put a GPS tracker on an advocate’s car at the request of KZN advocate Penny Hunt.
Houston Wayne Impey said he had, at Hunt’s request, also removed the CCTV hard drive installed at the advocates’ chambers to copy the footage captured on the system.
Hunt had told him to plant the bugging device in the ceiling of the advocates’ chambers so she could listen to, and record, conversations in her secretary’s office, because she suspected her of leaking confidential information, he said. more
In October 2015, McMahon allegedly slipped her cellphone into the pocket of a witness, who was set to appear before a grand jury at Brockton Superior Court, to record the proceedings and interviews related to the murder of 45-year-old Robert McKennacq, according to Cruz’s office.
Later that afternoon, State Police seized the phone from the witness, a friend of McMahon’s who was unaware the device had been placed in her pocket, according to the indictment. more
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MA - Three employees at Wyman-Gordon company in Grafton, Massachusetts, are facing felony wiretapping charges for setting up a hidden camera with audio to record their coworker inside their workplace, reports CBS Boston. more---
S. Africa - An electronics expert testified in court on Monday that he planted a “bugging” device in the Pietermaritzburg advocates’ chambers and helped put a GPS tracker on an advocate’s car at the request of KZN advocate Penny Hunt.
Houston Wayne Impey said he had, at Hunt’s request, also removed the CCTV hard drive installed at the advocates’ chambers to copy the footage captured on the system.
Hunt had told him to plant the bugging device in the ceiling of the advocates’ chambers so she could listen to, and record, conversations in her secretary’s office, because she suspected her of leaking confidential information, he said. more
Monday, February 1, 2016
FutureWatch - Another Step Closer to the Future of Eavesdropping
...a new experiment at the University of Washington may be bringing ESP closer to the realm of reality.
According to University of Washington computational neuroscientist Rajesh Rao and UW Medicine neurosurgeon Jeff Ojemann, the combination of a brain implant and a complex algorithm has given researchers the ability to predict human thoughts with unprecedented speed and accuracy. In fact, the duo says, they’re able to track what we’re thinking as we’re thinking it, bringing us closer to mind reading than ever before...
“We were trying to understand, first, how the human brain perceives objects in the temporal lobe, and second, how one could use a computer to extract and predict what someone is seeing in real time,” explained Rao to the UW NewsBeat. “Clinically, you could think of our result as a proof of concept toward building a communication mechanism for patients who are paralyzed or have had a stroke and are completely locked-in,” he said. more
According to University of Washington computational neuroscientist Rajesh Rao and UW Medicine neurosurgeon Jeff Ojemann, the combination of a brain implant and a complex algorithm has given researchers the ability to predict human thoughts with unprecedented speed and accuracy. In fact, the duo says, they’re able to track what we’re thinking as we’re thinking it, bringing us closer to mind reading than ever before...“We were trying to understand, first, how the human brain perceives objects in the temporal lobe, and second, how one could use a computer to extract and predict what someone is seeing in real time,” explained Rao to the UW NewsBeat. “Clinically, you could think of our result as a proof of concept toward building a communication mechanism for patients who are paralyzed or have had a stroke and are completely locked-in,” he said. more
FutureWatch - Keep Your Eye on IoT - The Encryption Debate is a Distraction
...products, ranging from “toasters to bedsheets, light bulbs, cameras,
toothbrushes, door locks, cars, watches and other wearables,” will give
the government increasing opportunities to track suspects and in many
cases reconstruct communications and meetings. more
...from "Don’t Panic: Making Progress on the ‘Going Dark’ Debate"
The audio and video sensors on IoT devices will open up numerous avenues for government actors to demand access to real-time and recorded communications.
A ten-year-old case involving an in-automobile concierge system provides an early indication of how this might play out. The system enables the company to remotely monitor and respond to a car’s occupants through a variety of sensors and a cellular connection. At the touch of a button, a driver can speak to a representative who can provide directions or diagnose problems with the car. During the course of an investigation, the FBI sought to use the microphone in a car equipped with such a system to capture conversations taking place in the car’s cabin between two alleged senior members of organized crime.
In 2001, a federal court in Nevada issued ex parte orders that required the company to assist the FBI with the intercept. The company appealed, and though the Ninth Circuit disallowed the interception on other grounds, it left open the possibility of using in-car communication devices for surveillance provided the systems’ safety features are not disabled in the process.
Such assistance might today be demanded from any company capable of recording conversations or other activity at a distance, whether through one’s own smartphone, an Amazon Echo, a baby monitor, an Internet-enabled security camera, or a futuristic “Elf on a Shelf” laden with networked audio and image sensors. more
...from "Don’t Panic: Making Progress on the ‘Going Dark’ Debate"
The audio and video sensors on IoT devices will open up numerous avenues for government actors to demand access to real-time and recorded communications.
A ten-year-old case involving an in-automobile concierge system provides an early indication of how this might play out. The system enables the company to remotely monitor and respond to a car’s occupants through a variety of sensors and a cellular connection. At the touch of a button, a driver can speak to a representative who can provide directions or diagnose problems with the car. During the course of an investigation, the FBI sought to use the microphone in a car equipped with such a system to capture conversations taking place in the car’s cabin between two alleged senior members of organized crime.In 2001, a federal court in Nevada issued ex parte orders that required the company to assist the FBI with the intercept. The company appealed, and though the Ninth Circuit disallowed the interception on other grounds, it left open the possibility of using in-car communication devices for surveillance provided the systems’ safety features are not disabled in the process.
Such assistance might today be demanded from any company capable of recording conversations or other activity at a distance, whether through one’s own smartphone, an Amazon Echo, a baby monitor, an Internet-enabled security camera, or a futuristic “Elf on a Shelf” laden with networked audio and image sensors. more
Attention Attorneys - Time to Sweep for Electronic Surveillance Devices
With attention growing on the use of shell companies in high-end real estate, an activist organization released a report Sunday night that said several New York real estate lawyers had been caught on camera providing advice on how to move suspect money into the United States.
The report is the result of an undercover investigation carried out in 2014 by Global Witness, a nonprofit activist organization that has been pushing for stricter money-laundering rules.
The lawyers featured in the report include a recent president of the American Bar Association. more video sweep service
The report is the result of an undercover investigation carried out in 2014 by Global Witness, a nonprofit activist organization that has been pushing for stricter money-laundering rules.The lawyers featured in the report include a recent president of the American Bar Association. more video sweep service
Friday, January 29, 2016
Business Espionage: Corn Spy Pops
Security for Dupont Pioneer’s cornfields in Iowa suspected something when they detected men crawling around in the cornfields, and alerted the FBI two years ago.
Now, one man — Chinese citizen Mo Hailong — has admitted to attempted kernel theft.
Mo was a part of a conspiracy to smuggle U.S. corn from producers Dupont Pioneer and Monsanto in Iowa and ship it to China, where scientists would attempt to replicate the corn’s genetic properties. Prosecutors accused Mo of working with others in the group Kings Nower Seed, a subsidiary of the Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group, the Associated Press reports. more
Mo was a part of a conspiracy to smuggle U.S. corn from producers Dupont Pioneer and Monsanto in Iowa and ship it to China, where scientists would attempt to replicate the corn’s genetic properties. Prosecutors accused Mo of working with others in the group Kings Nower Seed, a subsidiary of the Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group, the Associated Press reports. more
Spies Accused of Winging It, or A Very Sordid Sortie
Israel Nature and Parks Authority officials are pleading for the release of a vulture after residents of a southern Lebanese town captured the bird, claiming it was being used for spying.
Lebanese media reported that the bird – allegedly carrying Israeli spy equipment -- was caught Tuesday to prevent it from attacking citizens in the town of Bint Jbail, according to the Jerusalem Post...
Israeli officials said the bird was released in the Gamla Nature Reserve about a month ago after arriving from Spain in 2015. The bird, outfitted with a transmitter, was brought to Israel in hopes to increase its local population, the officials added. more
P.S. They came to their senses and released the vulture.
Israeli officials said the bird was released in the Gamla Nature Reserve about a month ago after arriving from Spain in 2015. The bird, outfitted with a transmitter, was brought to Israel in hopes to increase its local population, the officials added. more
P.S. They came to their senses and released the vulture.
Even Antiquarian Book Shops are Less Suspicious
A Canadian citizen who ran a coffee shop near the sensitive China-North Korea border has been charged with spying by Beijing after being kept in detention for more than a year.
Kevin Garratt... “has been accused of spying and stealing China's state secrets”, state news agency Xinhua said, citing “authorities”.
"During the investigation, Chinese authorities also found evidence which implicates Garratt in accepting tasks from Canadian espionage agencies to gather intelligence in China," Xinhua reported. more
Kevin Garratt... “has been accused of spying and stealing China's state secrets”, state news agency Xinhua said, citing “authorities”.
"During the investigation, Chinese authorities also found evidence which implicates Garratt in accepting tasks from Canadian espionage agencies to gather intelligence in China," Xinhua reported. more
The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015
Prepared Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Executive Business Meeting
The next bill on the agenda is S.1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015, introduced by Senators Hatch and Coons.
As we learned in a recent Committee hearing, while state trade secret laws provide U.S. companies many protections, at times these laws are inadequate.
The threats trade secret owners face are coming from thieves who are able to quickly travel across state lines and who use technology to aid their misappropriation. In many cases, the existing patch-work of state laws governing trade secret theft presents difficult procedural hurdles for victims who must seek immediate relief.
Further, the pace of trade secret theft is mounting and federal law enforcement authorities don’t have the bandwidth to prosecute but a fraction of cases. This means that victims of trade secret theft cannot rely on criminal enforcement, making a civil cause of action an effective way to go after the perpetrators.
The Defend Trade Secrets Act would amend the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 to create a federal civil remedy for trade secret misappropriation, allowing for a uniform national standard without preempting state law. The bill would provide clear rules and predictability for trade secret cases. Victims will be able to move quickly to federal court, with certainty of the rules, standards, and practices to stop trade secrets from being disseminated and losing their value. By improving trade secret protection, this bill will also help to incentivize future innovation.
Additionally, Ranking Member Leahy and I will be offering an amendment to help protect whistleblowers. more
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Executive Business Meeting
The next bill on the agenda is S.1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015, introduced by Senators Hatch and Coons.
As we learned in a recent Committee hearing, while state trade secret laws provide U.S. companies many protections, at times these laws are inadequate.
The threats trade secret owners face are coming from thieves who are able to quickly travel across state lines and who use technology to aid their misappropriation. In many cases, the existing patch-work of state laws governing trade secret theft presents difficult procedural hurdles for victims who must seek immediate relief.
Further, the pace of trade secret theft is mounting and federal law enforcement authorities don’t have the bandwidth to prosecute but a fraction of cases. This means that victims of trade secret theft cannot rely on criminal enforcement, making a civil cause of action an effective way to go after the perpetrators.
The Defend Trade Secrets Act would amend the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 to create a federal civil remedy for trade secret misappropriation, allowing for a uniform national standard without preempting state law. The bill would provide clear rules and predictability for trade secret cases. Victims will be able to move quickly to federal court, with certainty of the rules, standards, and practices to stop trade secrets from being disseminated and losing their value. By improving trade secret protection, this bill will also help to incentivize future innovation.
Additionally, Ranking Member Leahy and I will be offering an amendment to help protect whistleblowers. more
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Security Director Alert: Check your board and conference rooms for equipment made by AMX
Lots of companies -- and even the White House -- use a conference calling system that could possibly be tapped by hackers, according to new research.
On Thursday, cybersecurity experts at SEC Consult revealed a secret doorway that's built into a popular conference calling product built by a company called AMX.
AMX makes tablet panels used to control conference calls for businesses, government agencies and universities.
The company hard-coded backdoor access into its system. AMX created a "secret account" with a permanent username and password, which means a hacker who already sneaked into a computer network could tap into actual meetings, if the hacker knew the backdoor access code.
It's a glaring security hole. more
Murray Associates Recommendation
A firmware update is available for products and systems incorporating the NetLinx NX Control platform:
Firmware downloads require a current login and password for the AMX Account Center to access the protected Technical Documentation and Support Materials sections of the AMX by HARMAN website. Technical Support Staff within End User organizations should contact their authorized AMX Dealer or HARMAN Professional representative for assistance.
On Thursday, cybersecurity experts at SEC Consult revealed a secret doorway that's built into a popular conference calling product built by a company called AMX.
The company hard-coded backdoor access into its system. AMX created a "secret account" with a permanent username and password, which means a hacker who already sneaked into a computer network could tap into actual meetings, if the hacker knew the backdoor access code.
It's a glaring security hole. more
Murray Associates Recommendation
A firmware update is available for products and systems incorporating the NetLinx NX Control platform:
NX Series Controllers
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Massio® ControlPads
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||||||||||||
Enova® DVX All-in-One Presentation Switchers
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Firmware downloads require a current login and password for the AMX Account Center to access the protected Technical Documentation and Support Materials sections of the AMX by HARMAN website. Technical Support Staff within End User organizations should contact their authorized AMX Dealer or HARMAN Professional representative for assistance.
Monday, January 25, 2016
More Banksy Art, from Artsy
I received this email today and thought you might like to know...
Hi - my name is Oliver, and I work at Artsy. While researching Banksy, I found your page: http://spybusters.blogspot.com/2014_06_01_archive.html. I wanted to briefly tell you about Artsy's Banksy page, and about our mission.
We strive to make all of the world’s art accessible to anyone online. Our Banksy page,
for example, provides visitors with Banksy's bio, over 150 of his
works, exclusive articles, as well as up-to-date Banksy exhibition
listings. The page even includes related artist & category tags,
plus suggested contemporary artists, allowing viewers to continue
exploring art beyond our Banksy page.
Glad to help!
Here is another Banksy anti-surveillance piece of art.
Radar Rat, 2004
Spray paint and silkscreen on paper
14 × 14 in
35.6 × 35.6 cm
Gallery Nosco
Sold
£20,000 - 30,000 ($28,500 - $42,800)
Hi - my name is Oliver, and I work at Artsy. While researching Banksy, I found your page: http://spybusters.blogspot.com/2014_06_01_archive.html. I wanted to briefly tell you about Artsy's Banksy page, and about our mission.
 |
| Click to enlarge. |
Glad to help!
Here is another Banksy anti-surveillance piece of art.
Radar Rat, 2004
Spray paint and silkscreen on paper
14 × 14 in
35.6 × 35.6 cm
Gallery Nosco
Sold
£20,000 - 30,000 ($28,500 - $42,800)
World's Largest Bugging Device Hears What You Can't... and it may save our butts!
This desolate outpost in remotest Greenland is home to one of the world's most high-tech listening devices, tasked with saving humanity from itself.
Located along the coastline just outside the village of Qaanaaq – which bears the additional distinction of being the world's most northerly palindrome – the sole purpose of Infrasound station IS18 consists of listening to the planet's groans that occur at frequencies too low for the human ear to detect, occurring within the range of 20 Hz down to 0.001 Hz.
Qaaanaaq's eight-element array is divided into two sub-arrays bolstered by wind reduction technology, all of which are linked to a Central Processing Facility (or CPF) that churns out data around-the-clock to a central terminal in Qaanaaq proper. But why put such an extremely space-age device in a village accessible only by helicopter, whose locals subsist largely on narwhal, seals, and polar bears?
In its most practical application, IS18 is part of a network of highly specialized sensors charged with monitoring the globe for atomic blasts, as set forth by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). Around the clock, the array monitors the entire world for distinctive blast patterns produced by such explosions, as their unique pattern of ultra-low frequency sound waves persist even when ricocheting through the Earth's surface. more
Located along the coastline just outside the village of Qaanaaq – which bears the additional distinction of being the world's most northerly palindrome – the sole purpose of Infrasound station IS18 consists of listening to the planet's groans that occur at frequencies too low for the human ear to detect, occurring within the range of 20 Hz down to 0.001 Hz.
 |
| Click to enlarge. |
In its most practical application, IS18 is part of a network of highly specialized sensors charged with monitoring the globe for atomic blasts, as set forth by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). Around the clock, the array monitors the entire world for distinctive blast patterns produced by such explosions, as their unique pattern of ultra-low frequency sound waves persist even when ricocheting through the Earth's surface. more
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Fibre Optic Eavesdropping Tap Alarm
Allied Telesis, announced that it has released an innovative security measure to prevent eavesdropping on fibre communications,
Active Fiber Monitoring. The patent-pending technology can detect when a cable is being tampered with, and will raise an alarm to warn of a possible security breach.
Fibre-optic links are used extensively for long-range data communications and are also a popular choice within the LAN environment. One of the perceived advantages of fiber is that eavesdropping on traffic within the cable is not possible. However, it is now possible to acquire devices that can snoop traffic on fiber cables; and even more disturbing is that these devices are readily available and very easy to use.
Active Fiber Monitoring, a technology that detects small changes in the amount of light received on a fibre link. When an intrusion is attempted, the light level changes because some of the light is redirected by the eavesdropper onto another fibre. As soon as this happens, Active Fiber Monitoring detects the intrusion and raises the alarm. The link can either be shut down automatically, or an operator can be alerted and manually intervene. more
Active Fiber Monitoring. The patent-pending technology can detect when a cable is being tampered with, and will raise an alarm to warn of a possible security breach.
Active Fiber Monitoring, a technology that detects small changes in the amount of light received on a fibre link. When an intrusion is attempted, the light level changes because some of the light is redirected by the eavesdropper onto another fibre. As soon as this happens, Active Fiber Monitoring detects the intrusion and raises the alarm. The link can either be shut down automatically, or an operator can be alerted and manually intervene. more
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