Wake for the Spycam Monkey

How do you photograph skittish wildlife up close and personal? Design a camera robot that looks just like them. That’s the idea behind Spy in the Wild, a new documentary series on BBC.

While the producers anticipated using the disguised cameras to get unique shots, they didn’t anticipate what would happen when a group of Langur monkeys thought the animatronic camera had “died.”

The new series, which aired Thursday in the U.K. on BBC and is set to premiere in the U.S. on PBS on February 1, aims to capture what wildlife videographers often have a hard time finding: emotions.

A preview for the series shows the monkeys interacting with the camera, but where it really starts to get interesting is when one monkey tries to play with the fake Langur and ends up bringing it into a tree — and letting go.


With animatronics only in the face, the Langurs appear to think the camera monkey has died. The unexpected turn of events allows the crew to film how the animals react when one of their own die. The monkeys gather around the motionless camera and older Langurs pull younger monkeys into a hug. more

Bizarre Noise-Cancelling Mask Stops Eavesdropping

A bizarre electronic muzzle claims to be able to keep phone conversations private by making them inaudible to anyone in the vicinity.

Not only does this enable the wearer to speak in private, it also means that those around them won't have to listen to any irritatingly loud conversations.

The Hushme is worn around the mouth and hooks up to an app on the user's smartphone over Bluetooth .

When not in use, it can be snapped apart and worn loosely around the neck like a pair of headphones.

Showcased at the CES tech show in Las Vegas last week, the unusual device features built-in microphones for active voice suppression. What's more, 'voice masking mode' enables the user to choose from a selection of audio affects including Darth Vadar, R2-D2 or a Minion. more

Is your TSCM team searching for contemporary eavesdropping devices?

Excerpted from an article by Alan Earl, BJ
What if a TSCM sweep conducted the night prior to the client’s important meeting detected no suspicious transmissions and the real time monitoring also indicated no suspect communications? Does that mean no eavesdropping took place?

Not necessarily….Audio and or video data could have been recorded and scheduled to be transmitted at a later date. This eavesdropping technique is often termed as Store and Forward Bugging.

Children and computer enthusiasts around the world have in recent years embraced the Raspberry Pi as a platform to learn coding and build IoT devices. For less than $100...

In a scenario where the Raspberry Pi with camera and or microphone was hidden within a board room and the mobile phone as a tethered WiFi AP in a nearby room or even outside the building, both powered with a power pack or mains AC, an extremely powerful and possibly challenging to locate (from an RF perspective) store and forward bug could easily eavesdrop on sensitive information.

...contemporary bugging devices and techniques require contemporary TSCM methodologies to counter that threat, utilizing modern technology to detect and locate them; eavesdropping techniques have evolved as technology has. more

PI Alert - Some Video Transmitters Are Operating on Illegal Frequencies

In what it calls an "extremely urgent complaint" to the FCC, ARRL has targeted the interference potential of a series of audio/video transmitters used on unmanned aircraft and marketed as Amateur Radio equipment...

ARRL cited the Lawmate transmitter as an example of problematic devices.

Some of the transmitters operate on frequencies between 1,010 and 1,280 MHz. "These video transmitters are being marketed ostensibly as Amateur Radio equipment," the League said, "but of the listed frequencies on which the devices operate, only one, 1,280 MHz, would be within the Amateur Radio allocation at 1,240-1,300 MHz." Even then, ARRL said, operation there would conflict with a channel used for radio location.

ARRL said the use of 1,040 and 1,080 MHz, which would directly conflict with air traffic control transponder frequencies, represented the greatest threat to the safety of flight. The use of 1,010 MHz, employed for aeronautical guidance, could also be problematic.

ARRL cited the Lawmate transmitter and companion 6 W amplifier as examples of problematic devices being marketed in the US. Each costs less than $100 via the Internet. The device carries no FCC identification number.

"[T]he target market for these devices is the drone hobbyist, not licensed radio amateurs. The device, due to the channel configuration, has no valid Amateur Radio application," ARRL told the FCC. "While these transmitters are marked as appropriate for amateur use, they cannot be used legally for Amateur Radio communications." In the hands of unlicensed individuals, the transmitters could also cause interference to Amateur Radio communication in the 1.2 GHz band, ARRL contended.

The League said it's obvious that the devices at issue lack proper FCC equipment authorization under FCC Part 15 rules, which require such low-power intentional radiators to be certified. more

Legal Ramifications of Having a Dashcam in Your Car

By Steve Lehto
We've all seen the hilarious footage of a customer car being taken on a joyride by a mechanic, with the whole ordeal recorded by the customer's dashboard camera. Hapless technicians and porters flog cars, often with the dash cam right in front of them preparing to make them YouTube stars.


Are there any potential legal ramifications to the car owner for any of this? Believe it or not, yes. Here is what you need to know about your dash cam, from a legal perspective.

Many states have eavesdropping statutes. And this means I have to insert the normal caveat here: This WILL vary wildly from state to state. But in general terms, eavesdropping statutes govern whether you can record a conversation without the consent of some or all of the participants to the conversation. more

Industrial Espionage: Razer offers $25,000 to retrieve laptop prototype stolen at CES 2017

California-based gaming firm Razer, which showcased its three-screen gaming laptop prototype titled Project Valerie to the world at CES in Las Vegas, said that the laptops have gone missing from its tech show booth.

Company CEO Min-Liang Tan wrote on his Facebook page: "I've just been informed that two of our prototypes were stolen from our booth at CES today."

"Anyone who would do this clearly isn't very smart," he added. The post hinted that it was a potential industrial espionage and it is being taken "very seriously". 

Razer is now offering $25,000 (£20,600) for any "original information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction" of those involved in the theft. As Tan said in his post "This reward offer is good for one year from the date it is first offered, unless extended by Razer. Information about the theft can be sent to legal@razerzone.com. more

Attorney Indicted for Installation of an Eavesdropping Device

KY - A local attorney was indicted Friday by a Christian County grand jury on charges of eavesdropping, according to court documents.

A summons was issued for Sands Morris Chewning, Hopkinsville, on charges of eavesdropping, second-degree unlawful transaction with a minor and installation of an eavesdropping device. The court documents state the incident occurred Sept. 9, 2016. No other details are available.

Also indicted was Cherie H. Sherrill, Crofton, for eavesdropping, unlawful transaction with a minor and installation of an eavesdropping device. A summons was also issued for Sherrill. more

Everything You Wanted to Know About a Career in Executive Protection...

...but were afraid to ask ...or, didn't know who to ask.

The Executive Protection Institute (EPI) in New York City has an entry-level course which explains all. EPI was founded in 1978 and now incorporates the famous EP school founded by Dr. Richard W. Kobetz. He still teaches there.

The following is the course description.
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Overview
This is an informative 2-Part Webinar Series designed to introduce men and women to the professional career field of personal protection and provide an overview and refresher for experienced practitioners.

Course Content                                               Topics Covered Include

Who is qualified?	Advance Work	Protective Measures
Where is the work?	Preventive Strategies	Traits Required
When to start?	Threat Assessment	Responsibilities
What assignments can I expect?	Choreography	Operations
Why consider this career?	Risk Management	Countermeasures
How much money can I earn?

This Webinar series is for those who are curious or have an interest in the field of Providing Personal Protection. For individuals involved in other security careers, law enforcement, military, business, law, teaching, computers, sales, service industry and students; those who are considering another career or planning their retirement job. This is also an excellent overview and refresher for those currently involved in Executive Protection. An opportunity to learn the difference between "bodyguard" work and professional personal protection from the first school to consider Personal Protection as anew professional career and continues to teach worldwide since being founded in 1978.

This 2-Part Webinar Series will be conducted over two 3-hour evening sessions. Attendees will receive an invite to the virtual classroom after registration is confirmed.
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The course is being held in NYC on January 13th from 9am-5pm. It will also be given as an on-line webinar on January 18 & 19 from 7pm to 10pm (EST).

While it's not free, it's affordable, and could change your life. more

The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) - Try Not to Need It

The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), signed into law on May 11, 2016 by President Obama, has received wide industry praise from manufacturers including Boeing, Caterpillar, Corning, Eli Lilly and Co., General Electric, Honda, IBM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, ...

Government officials point out that trade secrets are worth $5 trillion to the U.S. economy, and losses can cost between $160 billion and $480 billion a year. Government data further points out that trade secrets comprise as much as 80 percent of the value of a company’s knowledge portfolio.

DTSA, which extends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, essentially gives trade secret owners the option of using federal law to file trade secret lawsuits. Prior to DTSA, only state law authorized these lawsuits. more

It took too long to get this good law, but try not to need it. Once your secrets are out the damage is done. Besides, it's far cheaper to conduct regularly scheduled Information Security Surveys with TSCM to protect your information, than it is to go to court. (TSCM - Technical Surveillance Countermeasures, aka debugging sweep.) ~Kevin

Idiocracy (2017) - Man Tries Burglarizing a Spy Shop

FL - Police say an attempted burglar chose an odd target which was a spy shop that sells, of all things, surveillance equipment. 

According to the manager of Spy Spot Investigations Spy Store in Deerfield Beach, the would-be burglar was, no shocker here, caught on camera.

Tannenbaum said suspect was caught on one of the surveillance specialty store's many cameras as he picked up a rock and headed straight for the store's front door. more with video

SpyCam News - The Covert Case of the Double Takedown

UK- Israel's ambassador to the UK has apologised after a senior member of his staff was secretly filmed saying he wanted to "take down" Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan.

Israeli Embassy senior political officer Shai Masot made the comment in footage filmed in a London restaurant... It was recorded in October 2016 as part of an investigation by Al Jazeera. more with video

Aside from the obvious, this story is important because it showcases the audio and video capabilities of today's spy cameras. If this has you personally concerned for your privacy (and it should), check out spycamdetection.training. ~Kevin

Australian Police Make a Good GPS Point

West Australian police are urging beachgoers to keep their valuables safe this summer, with a particular warning to those who use navigation devices...

Acting Senior Sergeant Martin said... navigation devices in particular posed a risk because owners usually programmed in their home location.

"If they leave their keys down at the beach sand, the offenders will grab the keys off the beach, walk up to the car park, find which car the keys belong to, they'll have access to that Navman, press that home button and now they've got keys and the location where those keys can be utilized and burglaries committed." more 

Spybusters Tip # 815 - Do not enter your exact home location into your GPS device, smartphone, laptop, etc. Your town center is close enough. Hopefully, you know the rest of the way home. ~Kevin

Odd-Ball - Anti Facial Recognition to Debut at Sundance Film Festival

HyperFace is a new kind of camouflage that aims to reduce the confidence score of facial detection and recognition by providing false faces that distract computer vision algorithms...

HyperFace will launch as a textile print at Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2017.

Prototype

HyperFace works by providing maximally activated false faces based on ideal algorithmic representations of a human face. These maximal activations are targeted for specific algorithms. The prototype is specific to OpenCV’s default frontalface profile. Other patterns target convolutional nueral networks and HoG/SVM detectors... HyperFace reduces the confidence score of the true face (figure) by redirecting more attention to the nearby false face regions (ground).

Conceptually, HyperFace recognizes that completely concealing a face to facial detection algorithms remains a technical and aesthetic challenge. Instead of seeking computer vision anonymity through minimizing the confidence score of a true face, HyperFace offers a higher confidence score for a nearby false face by exploiting a common algorithmic preference for the highest confidence facial region.

In other words, if a computer vision algorithm is expecting a face, give it what it wants. more

Wiretapping — Olmstead v. United States (1928)

via Popular Mechanics...
For as long as people have communicated via wires, other people have been finding ways to listen in on their communications. After the telegraph was invented in 1837 and the telephone in 1876, detectives like the Pinkertons quickly realized the usefulness of tapping phone lines, for reasons varying from personal to corporate espionage. States and government agencies like the Justice Department acted slowly in response to the phenomena, passing laws and regulations without consistency.

Roy Olmstead

These laws would be ultimately challenged by one of the largest Constitutional undertakings of all time: Prohibition. Ray (sic) Olmstead was a cop-turned-bootlegger out of Seattle, known as "the Good Bootlegger" for his insistence of only selling alcohol imported from Canada and refusing to let his employees carry guns. But running his operation like a more traditional business opened Olmstead up to the same structural flaws of a business, which allowed federal agents to wiretap and then raid him.

Olmstead sued, claiming his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated, the Supreme Court disagreed in a 5-4 decision. Chief Justice and former President William Howard Taft believed in a strict interpretation of the Fourth Amendment, one that could only rely on physical presence and sight. The telephone just didn't feature into the equation.

However, it was the dissent that truly lasted. Given by Justice Louis Brandeis, it begins to focus on the future in a way that sounds downright prophetic today. "The progress of science," Brandeis wrote, "in furnishing the Government with means of espionage is not likely to stop with wire-tapping. Ways may someday be developed by which the Government, without removing papers from secret drawers, can reproduce them in court, and by which it will be enabled to expose to a jury the most intimate occurrences of the home. Advances in the psychic and related sciences may bring means of exploring unexpressed beliefs, thoughts and emotions." more

Light Bulb with Internet Streaming Camera Debuts at CES

NV - One of the products on show at CES is a lightbulb made by Bell & Wyson with an internet-streaming camera built into its body. video