Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Police Training Eagles to Intercept Drones

UK - The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it is considering using eagles to capture unauthorised remote controlled drones following a successful trial by Dutch police... 

A 2014 inquiry led by Sir David Omand, the former head of intelligence agency GCHQ, highlighted the serious risks posed by the devices. "Crowds at sporting events or rallies could be vulnerable if a future terrorist group were to look for means of dispersing chemical or biological agents," the report said.

Dutch police teamed up with Guard From Above, a raptor-training security firm, to teach the birds how to hunt and intercept drones. "It's a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem," Dennis Janus, a spokesman for the Netherlands' national police, said. more

Monday, March 7, 2016

Erin Andrews Awarded $55 Million in Spycam Lawsuit

The jury has awarded Erin Andrews $55 million in her civil lawsuit over the secret recording and release of a video showing her naked during a hotel stay.

The sportscaster's original suit asked for $75 million from the owner and operator of the Nashville, Tennessee, hotel where she was staying, and Michael David Barrett, the stalker who used a hacksaw to tamper with her room's peephole and record the video in 2008.

The jurors took photos with Andrews after the amount was announced, and she signed autographs, according to reports from inside the courtroom. more

This puts ALL organizations with "expectation of privacy areas" on notice. 

Due diligence inspections for spy cameras, and having a Recording in the Workplace Policy, are your defense. 

Train your security and facilities people how to conduct and document spycam detection inspections today.  http://spycamdetection.training
 or contact me directly.  Kevin

Friday, March 4, 2016

Security Director Alert: Upgrade Your Alarm System Cellular Backup Units

via Talkaphone...
That’s it, the end of 2G. It has been a fun ride but as of December 31, 2016 Verizon and GSM 2G cellular data will be switched off, making all product usage of the cellular signal obsolete.

For those who have yet to upgrade their emergency and security equipment, it’s time to make the switch.

The upgraded data options consist of 3G and 4G cellular data usage, as well as a Wi-Fi option is available for the impending cross over. Keep in mind that the higher the speed of your network can directly affect the reliability of your previously installed security products.

Spy Rumor Mill: Next iPhone iOS may let you know your boss is watching you.

...the next Apple update you get - iOS 9.3 – could see you getting a message on your device, which will tell you if your iPhone is being supervised.

According to the whispers in tech-world, you’ll get a prominent message on your phone, and on your lock screen, if someone is snooping around your business.

A message on the lock screen will say ‘this iPhone is managed by your organization’ and it’ll have something on the About screen which will give you more detail, including text that says your iPhone’s supervisor can monitor your internet traffic and locate your device...

This is most likely to affect people who work for companies that give a number of phones and devices out to their staff, as a company phone... It’ll be utilized on supervised devices set up through Apple’s Device Enrollment Program, and will offer a feature called MDM (or Mobile Device Management). more

Top 20 Spy Gadgets from the Cold War

(More photos here.)
1. Dual cyanide gun: This gun fires a dual cyanide charge that can kill a person almost instantly. A KGB officer, Bogdan Stashinsky, assassinated two Ukrainian dissidents who were living in Germany by hiding the weapon inside a rolled-up newspaper.
2. Dead drop spy bolt: The dead drop spy bolt was hollow on the inside so that men and women could carry secret messages safely to others. If someone searched the pockets of these people no one would expect anything dangerous about a bolt.
3. Decoder lock picks: These lock picks were generally used for some of the tougher, more sophisticated locks. The devices proved to be real handy for those breaking into enemy quarters.
4. Lipstick gun: Women were some of the most successful spies during the war. They were able to carry around this little 4.5 millimeter single-shot gun in the 1960s. Like the spy bolt, it seemed harmless and was easy to conceal.
5.Telephone monitoring equipment: Spies carried this around and hacked into telephone conversations. The equipment includes a batter, stethoscope and rubber bands.
6. Disappearing ink pen: If someone needed to send a secret message, they would resort to writing it with the disappearing ink. That way, if they were caught with the message only a blank piece of paper would be seen. In order to reveal the hidden message on the paper, the recipient would’ve needed vinegar and a heat source.
7. Document photographing: If a spy found useful documents, they would photograph the papers for their records without actually removing them. The piece of equipment they used had two long lights on both sides and a cross member the camera screws on to for straight and steady photos.
8 .Glove pistol: Although the glove pistol was originally made by the United States Navy, it was eventually copied by the KGB. You had to push the plunger into the enemy’s body for it to shoot. The glove is inconspicuous, especially if a jacket covers the pistol part on top of the glove.
9. Key copying kit: This small kit came in a small, convenient tin with a brick of clay to be used for copying any key the soldiers or spies might need.
10. Hollow coin: Spies used hollowed-out coins to transfer film to others. If stopped, no one would suspect a coin to be useful in passing information from person to person.
11. Camera hidden in the coat jacket: The person wearing the jacket would have a little button on the inside of the pocket to click whenever they needed to take a photo.
12. Pen camera: All the spy needed to do was click the top of the ball point pen and they would take a photo. Once again, thanks to the item being so inconspicuous, it was easy to bring around without looking suspicious.
13. A gun case: A special kind of silver gun case was able to hide a larger gun such as the AK-47.
14. Cufflinks: These 1950s cufflinks had small holes in them for hiding microfilm.
15. Button compass: A majority of spies went to foreign countries during the time of the Cold War. These compasses were hidden in the buttons on their jackets in case they got lost or needed to go in a different direction.
16. Shoe transmitting device: The easiest way to keep track of spies was a transmitting device on the inside of a shoe heel. The men’s shoe heel was thick enough to hold all of the necessary parts of the device.
17.The passive bug:These bugs were planted on the inside of a large wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States. The Great Seal was given by the Soviets to the U.S. Ambassador to the USSR in 1945. The bug wasn’t discovered until eight years later.
18. Parachuting/civilian shoes: Spies had to parachute from planes, and they had to wear special boots. But they also had to blend into the crowd. This resulted in zip-off boot tops on regular civilian shoes. All the spies would have to do after jumping was zip off the boot part.
19. Steineck ABC wristwatch camera: The wristwatch was made in 1949 by the Germans but was used by the KGB for more than telling time.On the the bottom part of the watch there is a shutter and buttons for taking photos.
20. Poison dart umbrella: This umbrella was actually used to kill Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov in London in 1978. Markov was waiting for the bus to take him to work when was murdered with a sting in the back of his leg. He died three days later in the hospital of ricin poisoning. His autopsy showed a small hole in the back of his leg.

Overlooked Espionage - The Sounds of Manufacturing

3D printers have opened up all kinds of possibilities when it comes to turning digital blueprints into real word objects, but might they also enable new ways to pilfer intellectual property?...

While the source code for 3D printed designs can be guarded through encryption and regular means, once the machine is swung into action that sensitive information may be compromised, researchers at the University of California Irvine (UCI) have discovered.

Led by Mohammad Al Faruque, director of the Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems lab, the team found that placing a smartphone alongside the machine as it printed objects layer-by-layer enabled them to capture the acoustic signals. It says that these recordings contain information about the precise movement of the nozzle, and that information can later be used to reverse engineer the item being printed. more

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

McTesla Might be a Good Name

A Chinese company is currently working on an electric supercar to compete directly with the likes of Tesla.

The company, which is called Windbooster Motors, has its sights set on Tesla, the biggest name in the electric car segment. While not much is known about the car they are producing, we have been sent two spy shots of the car as it undergoes development.

From what we can tell, the car appears to be fairly far along in the development process.

Styling wise, the car seems to take a lot of cues from the current crop of cars from McLaren as well as Tesla. (Just coincidence? You decide.) more

SeaWorld Admits Employees Spied

SeaWorld admits employees posed as animal activists to spy on critics...

Multiple SeaWorld employees posed as animal-welfare activists so they could spy on critics, the company admitted Thursday.
The acknowledgment comes seven months after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals accused SeaWorld of spying. The animal-welfare group, which has waged an intense campaign against SeaWorld, went public with evidence that a San Diego employee attended protests and made incendiary comments on social media while posing as an activist.

Reading from a statement while speaking with analysts, Chief Executive Officer Joel Manby said SeaWorld's board of directors has "directed management to end the practice in which certain employees posed as animal-welfare activists. more

Corporate Espionage: British American Tobacco Accused in South Africa

Lawyers investigating bribery and corruption allegations against one of the world’s leading tobacco firms have been urged to expand their investigation after fresh international accusations emerged.

British American Tobacco, BAT, has been accused of corporate espionage against rival cigarette makers in South Africa.

According to court documents seen by The Independent on Sunday, two former police officers who went to work for private corporate investigation companies paid cash to South African law enforcement officials to disrupt BAT’s competitors’ business operations.

Mr Hopkins (a BAT whistleblower) said he... ran a corporate spying operation, and conducted “black ops” to put rivals out of business. more

Looking to Rent a Bedroom Without a Spy Camera?

$850 Room and bath in an Irvine condo without spying camera

In my two bedroom two bathroom brand new luxury condo, you rent a room and bath without any crazy person watching your every move in the name of security.

Also, im not poor so i dont have to charge you a huge deposit to pay for my mortgage and then file bankruptcy and not return your deposit. I dont have to check your credit by illegally getting your social security number. I am not a creepy home owner and will not deny you access to kitchen and laundry.

The only requirement is if you are decent, are respectful and considerate and we meet and find each other acceptable. No age, race, culture requirement but women are preferred. If interested email me so we meet like two adults that we are. You need a room and i need money. (Craigslist)

Politician Promises Surveillance Transparency - Guess what happened.

TN - Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland confirmed Monday that the city is using cell phone eavesdropping technology with court approval, but said he couldn't discuss specifics.
Not Strickland.

Strickland said while campaigning last year that he would be transparent about the city's use of the "cell-site simulator" device known as StingRay, which lets law enforcement gather information from any phones that connect to a cellular network.

But as mayor, he said, he's legally bound to silence by the terms of the city's contract with Florida-based Harris Corporation. more (A Memphis phone call sing-a-long.)

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Spycam News - Teachers (2) Resign Following Arrest For Secretly Videotaping Teens

GA - An Alpharetta man and former middle school teacher has been charged with secretly videotaping a teenager inside his home.

Alpharetta police have charged John Link Walsh, 43, with one count of unlawful eavesdropping or surveillance, the agency said on Tuesday...

According to an incident report released by the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety... The teenager said she woke up from sleeping on the sofa and went to take a shower. When she went to her bedroom to get dressed, “she noticed a camera that was hidden on a bookshelf in her room,” according to the report. more

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UK - A teacher at a top grammar school used a hidden camera to spy on a teenage girl in the shower...

A court heard how the 53-year-old secretly deployed two cameras to film his victim washing and being intimate with her boyfriend...

Liverpool Crown Court heard the girl discovered the first camera, which contained footage of her showering, last year. Neville Biddle, prosecuting, said she confronted Smith, who made a “spurious excuse”, and persuaded his embarrassed victim not to make a complaint.

However, the girl then found another hidden camera - this time in the shape of a pen - which Smith used to film her and her boyfriend... Officers recovered his computer and recording equipment including 22 videos. more

Spys with Balls - "Life's Good"

LG just unveiled its new G5 smartphone
and with it a bunch of accessories, including this: the LG Rolling Bot, a ("drunken headless") BB-8-type device that can come equipped with a camera and can be controlled (via the LG G5, of course) from anywhere.

So, basically, a thing for spying, right? Is there anything else that this could be for?

If you are in the market for a smartphone accessory that will make it a lot easier for you to spy on people, check out this spherical robot... but also maybe don't. more

Business Espionage: A Tale of Two Companies

Recent news that a former BlueScope Steel software development manager has been accused of downloading a trove of company documents over a four-year period before being made redundant, should have board level executives at all organizations concerned.

BlueScope Steel is the latest in a long line of companies to experience a serious data breach as a result of corporate espionage.

In another example in the US, ride sharing service Lyft is suing a former employee for allegedly stealing secret documents before joining rival Uber.

Lyft’s former chief operating officer, Travis VanderZanden allegedly downloaded private financial and product information before leaving the company to become Uber’s vice president of international growth...
more

Star Wars: Episode VIII - Drones to Create No-Spy Zone

Disney and Lucasfilm are reportedly utilizing drones to ensure spying doesn't happen during filming of Star Wars: Episode VIII in Croatia.

Artist's conception.
Making Star Wars (via MosCroatia) reports there is a Star Wars team that will go to drone warfare with people using drones to get pictures of the set and cast of Episode VIII. And that's on top of apparently 600 guards.

Star Wars: Episode VIII has already begun filming, with the movie premiering December 15, 2017. more