DIY Tip: How to Check Your Wi-Fi for Spies

If you would like to see who (or what) is tapped into your wireless network, you can take a peek with router utilities and mobile apps...

Depending on your interest in technical fiddling, you can see what other devices are connected to your network in several ways. For one, you could log into your wireless router’s administrative page and check its DCHP Client Table (sometimes called the DHCP Client List or Attached Devices, as some router companies use different terms) to see the roster of computers, smartphones, tablets and other gear currently connected to the wireless router...

If that sort of thing seems like way too much work, you can also get a program or app that scans your network for connected devices. Your router maker may have its own app, like Netgear’s Genie, Linkys Connect or Apple’s AirPort Utility for iOS.

You can also find software from other developers that is designed to reveal the devices connected to your wireless network. NirSoft Wireless Network Watcher. Who’s on my WiFi for Windows and the Fing network scanner for Android and iOS are among the options. more

Russian Election Monitor Sets Trap To Test NTV For Wiretapping

In March 2012, Michael McFaul, then the U.S. ambassador to Russia, famously accused journalists from the state-controlled network NTV of hacking his phone or e-mails to access his schedule after they approached him as he arrived at a private meeting with an opposition activist.

Four years later, those same journalists have been purportedly tripped up in a sting operation by an embattled Russian election-monitoring group seeking to prove that security services are wiretapping its phones and leaking details of its meetings with foreign diplomats to the Kremlin-loyal network.

Golos, an independent election monitor that has documented widespread violations at Russian ballot boxes in recent years, says it has concluded that NTV journalists are surreptitiously obtaining information about its employees’ movements from Russian law enforcement or intelligence agencies.

Using this information, Golos alleges, the journalists are able to track the group’s itinerary and wait for them -- cameras and microphones in hand -- outside embassies and other Moscow venues where they meet foreign diplomats to discuss the country’s elections. more

The 2017 Intelligence Authorization Act

As part of its continuing push for ever greater surveillance powers, the FBI is hoping that a new bill, known as the 2017 Intelligence Authorization Act, will be enacted into law, as the proposed legislation makes it possible for the agency to read emails without a warrant. It’s already been given Senate Intelligence Committee approval and will next be considered by the Senate as a whole....

Essentially, the bill would extend current FBI powers authorized by the Patriot Act, which allows the government to force telecoms companies to hand over phone records on individuals suspected of terrorism and other crimes. Known as a National Security Letter, recipients are not allowed to speak about the FBI investigation either, essentially gagging the companies and individuals involved.

...If enacted, sending such a letter would not require a court order, nor require any oversight from external organizations whatsoever.

That’s the aspect of the bill that lone-Senate Intelligence Committee dissenter, Ron Wyden, highlighted as part of his no vote.

“This bill takes a hatchet to important protections for Americans’ liberty,” he said (via CNet). “This bill would mean more government surveillance of Americans, less due process, and less independent oversight of U.S. intelligence agencies.” more

Britain's Foreign Secretary Denies Office Cat is a Spy

Britain's foreign secretary Philip Hammond was forced to issue a denial after his own Conservative party colleague claimed the "chief mouser" at the UK's Foreign Office could be a European Union (EU) spy.

Palmerston, a cat that was adopted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, had been recently announced as the "chief mouser" to help tackle the problem of mice in the building in central London.

However, as the debate around Britain's membership of the EU heats up in the lead up to the June 23 referendum, a member of the camp in favour of remaining in the economic bloc told the House of Commons yesterday that those in favour of Brexitmay fear Palmerston has not been fully vetted.

"There is a serious point here. Can I ask my right honourable friend whether Palmerston has been security cleared or not... can I ask him, has he been positively vetted by the security service and scanned for bugs by GCHQ? And can my right honourable Friend assure the House –and the more paranoid element in the Brexiters - that he isn't a long term mole working for the EU Commission," Tory MP Keith Simpson asked Hammond.

The foreign secretary chose to the address the bizarre query, claiming Palmerston's attendance record had been impeccable.

He told MPs: "He is definitely not a mole. I can categorically assure my honourable friend that Palmerston has been regularly vetted." more

Survey: Corporate Espionage Rated as a Top Risk - Assessments Become Common

A large number of companies feel the existing security standards, legal, regulatory and compliance frameworks in the industry were not adequate to support corporate security requirements, a survey by PwC India and American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) said.

The survey revealed that cybercrime and corporate espionage have been rated as two of the most serious threats to organizations in the coming years.

More than half the respondents felt precautionary and preventive measures taken is still not adequate...

The survey also highlighted that about 73 per cent of the respondents felt that the number of security incidents had increased in the past two years and would continue over the next two years.

While five years back physical security assessment was rare and uncommon, today almost 46 per cent of the organizations surveyed conduct a physical security risk assessment once a year, whereas 17 per cent do it monthly. more

New Old News - Official Warning - Wall Wart Eavesdropping Device

(My clients received their warning on January 14, 2015. ~Kevin)

FBI officials are warning private industry partners to be on the lookout for highly stealthy keystroke loggers that surreptitiously sniff passwords and other input typed into wireless keyboards.

FURTHER READING

MEET KEYSWEEPER, THE $10 USB CHARGER THAT STEALS MS KEYBOARD STROKES

Always-on sniffer remotely uploads all input typed into Microsoft Wireless keyboards.

The FBI's Private Industry Notification is dated April 29, more than 15 months after whitehat hacker Samy Kamkar released a KeySweeper, a proof-of-concept attack platform that covertly logged and decrypted keystrokes from many Microsoft-branded wireless keyboards and transmitted the data over cellular networks.

To lower the chances the sniffing device might be discovered by a target, Kamkar designed it to look almost identical to USB phone chargers that are nearly ubiquitous in homes and offices.

"If placed strategically in an office or other location where individuals might use wireless devices, a malicious cyber actor could potentially harvest personally identifiable information, intellectual property, trade secrets, passwords, or other sensitive information," FBI officials wrote in last month's advisory. "Since the data is intercepted prior to reaching the CPU, security managers may not have insight into how sensitive information is being stolen." more

Facebook Has Ears and is Nosey Too

Facebook admits that it “uses your microphone to identify the things you’re listening to or watching, based on the music and TV matches we’re able to identify.”

However, some experts believe that Facebook is not being fully transparent. Once the microphone feature is enabled, Facebook can listen in to your private conversation, even when one is not actively engaging with the app.


The feature listens for particular buzz words, which enable the site to weave the content that appears on news feeds to suit users’ personal interests.

In an NBC report, the feature is tested by Kelli Burns, a professor of Mass Communication at the University of South Florida.

In the experiment, she says aloud with her microphone feature on, “I’m really interested in going on an African safari. I think it’d be wonderful to ride in one of those jeeps.”

When she checked her Facebook newsfeed just 60 seconds later, the first item to appear was a safari story. She then also noticed an advertisement for Jeep vehicles. more

Holiday Weekend Filmfest - Watch the 10 Best PI Movies (infographic)

A tip of the magnifying glass to Adam Visnic, 

a licensed private investigator. 

May your next case become a 

classic movie. 

(Enlarge)

more

"Alexa, can you be used by outsiders for eavesdropping?"

via Matt Novak
"Back in March, I filed a Freedom of Information request with the FBI asking if the agency had ever wiretapped an Amazon Echo. This week I got a response: “We can neither confirm nor deny...”
We live in a world awash in microphones. They’re in our smartphones, they’re in our computers, and they’re in our TVs. We used to expect that they were only listening when we asked them to listen. But increasingly we’ve invited our internet-connected gadgets to be “always listening.” There’s no better example of this than the Amazon Echo.

In many ways the Echo is a law enforcement dream." (...or any hacker, snoop or spy.) more more

10 Ways Law Firms Can Make Life Difficult for Hackers

1. More (and better) employee training.
2. Keep backups disconnected from the network and the Internet.
3. Install all patches and updates.
4. Update software – especially when it is no longer supported.
5. Block executable files, compressed archives and unidentified users.
6. If you use cloud storage, make sure your firm controls the encryption key.
7. Make your cybersecurity program meet the needs of potential clients.
8. Have clear, effective restrictions on remote access and mobile devices.
9. Set systems to capture log data, for forensic purposes if a breach occurs.
10. Share threat information. more

These basic tips apply to all hacker-target businesses. ~Kevin

Eavesdropping on the Public in 1919

In 1919 a Chicago Theater bugged the seats...

Click to enlarge.

to find out what the audience was saying about the production they were watching. The hope was that the honest criticism (or praise) they heard would help them make future performances better. more

Think Video Surveillance is Just for Crime Prevention? Think again...

Sure, surveillance video can be used to “catch the bad guy” and deter incidents. But it can do so much more!

Download the Top 10 Values of Video Surveillance by Pivot3 to see how you could be leveraging your video for strategic business purposes beyond security.

See how video can help you:

• Defend against fraudulent liability claims
• Avoid fines from non-compliance
• Improve the value of other business systems to your organization
• And more!

CIA Former Agent Trains You to Survive... your wallet is decimated, however.

A new show where you learn CIA spy secrets that could save your life is headed to the Strip — it’s a two-day “Escape and Evasion” presentation hosted by former CIA agent Jason Hanson, who served with the agency for nearly a decade.

“Spy Escape & Evasion” debuts at the “Pin Up” theater in the Stratosphere on Aug. 17 with the first four back-to-back days, with future seminars to be announced.

It’s a $1,499.95 ticket price per person that includes hands-on personal training by Jason and his CIA team of former officers. He also will participate in meet-and-greet sessions, and 30 audience members will dine with him after the lectures and training sessions.

If you’ve ever dreamed of being 007 or wished you possessed the skills to protect yourself from danger like those in the CIA, these shows are for you. Jason’s courses are designed to keep individuals and their families safe from danger.

Here are topics Jason will cover in his fascinating show presented by Red Mercury Entertainment:
• How to escape rope, duct tape, zip ties and handcuffs in 30 seconds or less;
• secrets of situational awareness;
• important everyday carry gear bag;
• how to pick locks, hotwire a car and disappear without a trace;
• how to use social engineering to get almost anything you want;
• what to do when a crisis occurs; technical pen techniques;
• basic counter surveillance techniques;
• and hands-on training. more

...and then there is the Shark Tank $1,997 special.
...and then there is the $37 version.
...and then there is FREE CIA training.

Spying Using Phone Call Records – Study Says It's Easy

Stanford University researchers used call records to uncover heart problems, marijuana habits of volunteers. 

Phone metadata doesn’t reveal what people say, but such records of calls and text messages can help spy agencies, businesses or hackers discover private information about someone’s relationships, shopping interests and even health problems, according to a study published on Monday.

The research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that scans of call records help create detailed maps of not just the person being investigated, but also the lives of contacts in their phone history. Metadata is the term used for the receipt of a call or a text message included in the history of a phone, and these records are often maintained by a telecom service provider.

"Once a participant was labeled as in a relationship, we found that identifying the participant’s partner was trivial,” according to the researchers. “Our results suggest that, even without human review, a business or agency could draw sensitive inferences from a significant share of telephone records.” more

Intriguing Spy Stories From Internal NSA Reports

In the early months of 2003, the National Security Agency saw demand for its services spike

as a new war in Iraq, as well as ongoing and profound changes in how people used the internet, added to a torrent of new agency work related to the war on terror, according to a review of 166 articles from a restricted agency newsletter.

The Intercept today is releasing the first three months of SIDtoday, March 31 through the end of June 2003, using files provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. In addition, we are releasing any subsequent 2003 installments of SIDtoday series that began during this period. The files are available for download here.

We combed through these files with help from other writers and editors with an eye toward finding the most interesting stories... more

The NSA does excellent behind-the-scenes work. Since some of their work is now public you can now be thankful and proud. ~Kevin