US - Effective December 1, 2016, Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure will be amended to expand the reach of the authority of federal judges when they are issuing search warrants. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon contends that the upcoming changes present a major threat to civil liberties associated with content stored on or accessible through electronic devices.
As modified, Rule 41 will permit federal judges to authorize expanded remote searches of electronic devices including computers and smartphones. Senator Wyden contends that the revised rule will enable federal judges to issue search warrants to permit remote searches of virtually any device, and the material accessible through that device, no matter where the device is located.
Wyden claims that this broad authority would enable a single federal judge to facilitate remote searches of millions of devices and all the materials accessible through those devices. He has proposed legislation which would block this rule modification. His legislative proposal has, however, not yet been enacted, thus the proposed rule changes currently remain on track for the December 1 effective date. more
United Kingdom-based NRI (A Non-Resident Indian is a citizen of India who holds an Indian passport and has temporarily emigrated to another country for six months or more...)who claims ‘spying chips’ were installed in his body would be examined at Jalandhar’s Army hospital after the Ministry of Home Affairs forwarded his plea requesting their removal to the Punjab government.
Harinder Pal Singh, who returned from the UK three years ago, claimed British police had installed chips in his body for spying...
Narrating his bizarre-sounding story... “I went to UK in 1987 at the age of 15 with my grandmom. One day, I was sleeping in my room and some plainclothes policemen made me unconscious and got instruments installed in my body.”
“In 1996, my nearly four-year-old daughter died in an accident, which was changed into murder. I was convicted for it and sentenced to 15 years. After completing my jail term on February 13, 2013, I was deported,’’ he claimed. more
US - In a major victory for journalists and privacy and transparency advocates, a federal court has started the process of unsealing secret records related to the government's use of electronic surveillance.
US District Court Judge Beryl Howell said at a hearing Friday morning that absent an objection by government attorneys (the maybe), the court would post to its website next week a list of all case numbers from 2012 in which federal prosecutors in Washington, DC applied for an order to install a pen register or a trap and trace device.
A pen register is an electronic apparatus that tracks phone numbers called from a specific telephone line (though the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act expanded the definition of pen register to allow for collection of email headers as well). A trap and trace device is similar, but tracks the phone numbers of incoming calls. For decades, court records relating to these documents have typically been sealed in their entirety, including even the docket numbers. more
For just a few bucks, you can pick up a USB stick that destroys almost anything that it's plugged into. Laptops, PCs, televisions, photo booths -- you name it.
Once a proof-of-concept, the pocket-sized USB stick now fits in any security tester's repertoire of tools and hacks, says the Hong Kong-based company that developed it.
It works like this: when the USB Kill stick is plugged in, it rapidly charges its capacitors from the USB power supply, and then discharges -- all in the matter of seconds.
On unprotected equipment, the device's makers say it will "instantly and permanently disable unprotected hardware"...
The lesson here is simple enough. If a device has an exposed USB port -- such as a copy machine or even an airline entertainment system -- it can be used and abused, not just by a hacker or malicious actor, but also electrical attacks.
"Any public facing USB port should be considered an attack vector," says the company. "In data security, these ports are often locked down to prevent exfiltration of data, or infiltration of malware, but are very often unprotected against electrical attack."
Not every device is vulnerable to a USB Kill attack. The device maker said that Apple "voluntarily" protected its hardware. more
From USBKill.com... USBKill.com strongly condems malicious use of its products.
The USB Killer is developed and sold as a testing device. Use of the device can permanently damage hardware. Customers agree to the terms and conditions of sale, and acknowledge the consequences of use.
In a nutshell, users are responsible for their acts.
A hammer used maliciously can permanently damage to a third party's device. The USB Killer, used maliciously, can permanently damage a third party's device.
As with any tool, it is the individual, not the manufacturer of the tool, responsible for how the individual uses the tool.
The USB Killer was used on our equipment
Please see above. We suggest pursuing the individual responsible, or reporting the act to the appropriate authorities.
This is only one spy trick. We know hundreds more. Call us for a TSCM / Information Security Survey.
Random number generators are crucial to the encryption that protects our privacy and security... For the first time, engineers have developed a fast random number generator based on a quantum mechanical process that could deliver the world’s most secure encryption keys in a package tiny enough to use in a mobile device.
In The Optical Society's journal for high impact research, Optica, the researchers report on their fully integrated device for random number generation. The new work represents a key advancement... delivering the highest quality numbers and thus the highest level of security — into computers, tablets and mobile phones.
“We’ve managed to put quantum-based technology that has been used in high profile science experiments into a package that might allow it to be used commercially,” said the paper’s first author, Carlos Abellan, a doctoral student at ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences, a member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Spain. “This is likely just one example of quantum technologies that will soon be available for use in real commercial products. It is a big step forward as far as integration is concerned.” more
Using mass surveillance software without a warrant is almost as easy as installing Skype, according to leaked footage and instruction manuals for Harris Corp. stingray devices.
The footage, obtained by the Intercept, shows Harris Corp.'s Gemini software being used on a personal computer demonstrating how accessible the program is with a noticeable lack of any registration keys, proof of ownership, or safety measures to ensure the software was only used for authorized purposes.
The manuals include instructions for several Harris surveillance boxes, including the Hailstorm, ArrowHead, AmberJack, KingFish and other products in the RayFish Product Family.
Some features mentioned in the manuals are the ability to impersonate four cellular communication towers at once, monitor up to four cellular provider networks at once, and the ability to knock a targets devices down to an inferior network, such as from LTE to 2G.
The manual also details how to set up a target or “subscriber” and how to set up bulk surveillance, according to a Gemini device “Quick Start Guide” that was leaked on DocumentCloud. more
Hackers are claiming to have accounts at major United States government agencies for sale, including NASA, the Navy, and the Department of Veteran Affairs.
The unverified cache found by Infoarmor chief intelligence officer Andrew Komarov includes 33,000 records tied to the US Government, plus research and educational organizations and universities.
Agencies on the list include the US General Services Administration, National Parks Service, and the Federal Aviation Administration. One government data listing visited by The Register promised alleged access to six unnamed accounts for subdomains of the US Navy including 3.5 bitcoins (US$2132).
They are also selling alleged access to five accounts across subdomains for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab for three bitcoins (US$1827).
Another three logins to servers of the US Centres of Disease Control and Prevention over FTP and SFTP were being flogged for half a Bitcoin (US$300). more
The head coach of South Korea's national team resigned on Wednesday as police investigate allegations that two male swimmers secretly filmed female swimmers after installing a spy camera in their locker room at a training facility in 2013.
Police Search
Ahn Jong-taek, who was named head coach in 2012, felt responsible for what allegedly happened under his watch, but maintained he and other coaches didn't know what went on, said Park Seong-su, an official from the Korean Olympic Committee.
Police in Seoul have been investigating two former national team swimmers over the allegations, and said one of them has admitted installing a camera at the national training facility in Jincheon, central South Korea, and discarding it after footage was taken. more
CA - A judge in Palm Springs has issued an arrest warrant for former Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach after he failed to appear at a court hearing to answer questions about a vast eavesdropping operation...
“He should have been there,” said Jan Ronis, the attorney who subpoenaed Zellerbach, according to the newspaper. “But he just blew us off. We could have had court today.”
In a telephone interview Tuesday night, Zellerbach insisted the warrant had been issued in error because of “lies and misinformation.” more
This is a cautionary tale for all business people (men and women) who travel for work...
While Americans in Hangzhou may be worried about red-carpeted stairways, British officials are concerned about something much more important -- honey traps.
The team of officials accompanying new British Prime Minister Theresa May to the G20 summit have been warned to take steps to protect themselves from alluring Chinese spies offering sex during their stay in Hangzhou, the Telegraph reports.
Apparently, British security agents haven't just been reading too many James Bond novels; this kind of thing has happened before and they are taking care that it won't happen again by issuing officials with temporary mobile phones and email addresses.
The scandalous incident occurred during former prime minister Gordon Brown's visit to China in 2008. According to Brown's special advisor Damien McBride, the British officials were “accosted on one side by a beautiful posse of Chinese girls and on the other side by an equivalent group of Russian blondes."
Before they knew what was going on, one of the officials was lured away to his hotel room, where he was drugged and robbed of his Blackberry and "half the contents of his briefcase." more
PS - They can also plant eavesdropping devices and spycams.
These days no one leaves home without a smartphone. But as 60 Minutes Overtime reports, you may need a "CryptoPhone" if you want to avoid hacking.
“In today’s world, there’s really only two types of companies or two types of people which are those who have been hacked and realize it and those who have been hacked and haven’t.”
That’s what mobile security expert John Hering tells 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi about the danger of cellphone hacking on this week’s broadcast. more
Everyone has heard the phrase "loose lips sink ships."
That's the very essence of military operational security. Commonly shortened into "OPSEC," it is a fundamental—if not the most important—part of military operations...
The business world isn't nearly as life and death but that doesn't mean the same rules don't apply. The military has five basic steps to proper OPSEC, and they're just as useful in the civilian world, especially with the proliferation of tech that makes leaks and security breaches more common.
1. Identify critical information 2. Analyze potential threats 3. Know your own weaknesses 4. Assess risks 5. Apply countermeasures
OPSEC requires complete understanding of your company from the inside out. If you're truly going to be as secure as a well-oiled military unit you need to think about—and think like—the enemy.
Think about the threats you might face and compare those to your vulnerabilities. The military uses that comparison to figure out where they need to focus on OPSEC—it is no different in the civilian world.
Planning is nothing without execution. Make sure you're putting OPSEC lessons into play, and also be sure that everyone in your company is on board. The lowest ranking Private in the Army takes OPSEC classes, and so should the lowest level employee at your company. more
A confidential, 120-page catalog of spy equipment, originating from British defense firm Cobham and circulated to U.S. law enforcement, touts gear that can intercept wireless calls and text messages, locate people via their mobile phones, and jam cellular communications in a particular area.
The catalogue was obtained by The Intercept as part of a large trove of documents originating within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where spokesperson Molly Best confirmed Cobham wares have been purchased but did not provide further information.
The document provides a rare look at the wide range of electronic surveillance tactics used by police and militaries in the U.S. and abroad, offering equipment ranging from black boxes that can monitor an entire town’s cellular signals to microphones hidden in lighters and cameras hidden in trashcans. more
Watergate will forever be notorious as the site of the Democratic National Committee break-in. Now for $1.33 million, you can buy your place in its history.
That’s the asking price of the four-bedroom residence where then-Attorney General John Mitchell lived when planning the infamous break-in of 1972. The apartment, located in one of the Watergate’s three residential towers, measures 3,150 square feet and includes a private elevator entrance.
The buildings that make up the Watergate complex have a long list of A-list residents influential in politics, public policy, the arts and business. Current owners include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former Sens. Bob and Elizabeth Dole, and Jacqueline Mars, heiress to the Mars candy fortune. We take you behind the scenes in the Washington landmark. more Fun Facts • John Mitchell was the person who evaluated the results of the first
Watergate burglary and ordered the five men to return to fix wiretaps
and photograph more documents.
• "If it hadn't been for Martha Mitchell,
there'd have been no Watergate."
~Nixon
Security experts often talk about the importance of educating people about the risks of "phishing" e-mails containing links to malicious websites. But sometimes, even awareness isn't enough.
A study by researchers at a university in Germany found that about half of the subjects in a recent experiment clicked on links from strangers in e-mails and Facebook messages—even though most of them claimed to be aware of the risks. more
As modified, Rule 41 will permit federal judges to authorize expanded remote searches of electronic devices including computers and smartphones. Senator Wyden contends that the revised rule will enable federal judges to issue search warrants to permit remote searches of virtually any device, and the material accessible through that device, no matter where the device is located.
