Common Bugs

Spy tools are no longer esoteric, expensive and difficult to obtain. 

Some bugs are built into everyday objects - like pens, power strips and key fobs.

The result...
The average person can engage in eavesdropping and spying cheaply; doing it better than the professionals did only ten years ago - with less chance of being discovered. So they do!

Spy Trick Awareness

1. Digital audio/video recorders are very small, and absolutely silent. No moving parts. Inexpensive. Some are smartphone apps, others are built into wristwatches and key fobs.

The trick...
These devices are easily hidden on-the-body, or look like everyday objects. They can be activated by a timer, or when they hear sound, or see movement. Some devices can even stream live video.

In adversarial meetings, the other party may leave the room to make a call, or go to the restroom, and leave one of these behind in a coat, briefcase or notepad.

Assume you are being recorded. 


2. GSM bugs are designed to be bugs and nothing else. They are basically one-way, dumb cell phones. No keypad. No display. No speaker. They are available on the Internet for less than $20.

The trick...
The snoop plugs in a SIM card and hides the device. From then on, they can call-to-listen, from anywhere.

Some devices might have to be retrieved periodically to refresh the battery, or retrieve the recording. Other devices might be wired to the mains and transmit their data via LAN, Wi-Fi, light or radio waves.

Spybuster Tips:

• Tighten perimeter security to make entry difficult for the eavesdropper. 
• Conduct periodic eavesdropping detection inspections.
• Suspect someone is recording you if they want to repeat a previously held conversation, or ask leading questions.

The 'Stalkerware' Surveillance Market, Where Ordinary People Tap Each Other's Phones

John* tapped out a simple text message to his wife in January 2016. "I love you," it read.

But this wasn't the only message she saw. Unbeknownst to John, his wife had bugged his smart phone. She was spying on John, eavesdropping on all of his texts and multimedia messages, and tracking his every move through the device's GPS...

John is just one of tens of thousands of individuals around the world who are unwitting targets of powerful, relatively cheap spyware that anyone can buy. Ordinary people—lawyers, teachers, construction workers, parents, jealous lovers—have bought malware to monitor mobile phones or computers, according to a large cache of hacked files from Retina-X and FlexiSpy, another spyware company.

The breaches highlight how consumer surveillance technology, which shares some of the same capabilities and sometimes even the same code as spy software used by governments, has established itself with the everyday consumer. more

Spy Camera in a USB Charger — Scam or Slam?

You decide...

Hummmm, wait until August and pay through the nose, or... buy it now, on eBay!

Spy Satellite Calibration Crosses

via wired.com 
Venture into the Sonoran Desert about an hour south of Phoenix 

Click to Enlarge

and you’ll eventually stumble upon a concrete cross. More than 100 dot the terrain, each of them 60 feet across and spaced precisely one mile apart. The government used them to calibrate the world’s first spy satellites as they peered down on Russia and China while photographing more than 750 million square miles of the planet.

The 95 satellites of the once top-secret Corona project sent their last images in 1972, but the calibration markers still stand in a grid that once measured around 16 square miles. “It’s such a massive thing in terms of its scale, but it pales in comparison to the scale of history that it’s a part of,” says Julie Anand. She and Damon Sauer have spent the better part of three years photographing the markers and mapping the satellites that pass over them for Ground Truth: Corona Landmarks.

Spy v Spy in Nicaragua — Some Things Never Change

U.S. officials are tracking the activity of a Russian spy base on the edge of a volcano in Nicaragua that is believed to be monitoring American agents.

The CIA has reportedly sent numerous Russian-speaking Cold War experts to perform counter surveillance of Moscow’s activity in Central America.

One source told The Washington Post, “Clearly, there’s been a lot of activity, and it’s on the uptick now.”

Located in Laguna de Nejapa, the base is officially known as a tracking site for Moscow’s GPS satellite system, but CIA officials suspect that resources there are being utilized to spy on the American Embassy located only ten miles away. more

PIN Crack Hack, or The Gyro Knows

Turns out your phone's PIN code is less secure than previously thought. Researchers demonstrated how to hack it with gyroscope data.

It’s no secret that smartphone PIN codes are not perfect, but new research suggests they might be next to worthless. A team of scientists at Newcastle University in the U.K. was able to guess a user’s phone PIN code with nothing more than data from the device’s sensors.

In a paper published in International Journal of Information security, researchers demonstrated how a phone’s gyroscope — the sensor that tracks the rotation and orientation of your wrist — could be used to guess a four-digit PIN code with a high degree of accuracy. In one test, the team cracked a passcode with 70 percent accuracy. By the fifth attempt, the accuracy had gone up to 100 percent.

...it highlights the danger of malicious apps that gain access to a device’s sensors without requesting permission. more

Tips...

• Make sure you change PINs and passwords regularly so malicious websites can't start to recognize a pattern.
• Close background apps when you are not using them and uninstall apps you no longer need.
• Keep your phone operating system and apps up to date.
• Only install applications from approved app stores.
• Audit the permissions that apps have on your phone.
• Scrutinize the permission requested by apps before you install them and choose alternatives with more sensible permissions if needed.

The above is just the tip of this iceberg. For the full scare, read what Dr. Maryam Mehrnezhad had to say. ~Kevin

Siemens Employee Arrested in Netherlands for Business Espionage

Siemens said on Friday that an employee had been arrested in the Netherlands in a case which the country's financial crimes prosecutor said involved suspected espionage for a Chinese competitor...

He did not disclose which department the employee worked for or whether it was known if secrets had been leaked.

Click to enlarge.

Investigators said the man was detained on a train station platform as he was about to travel to China.

In addition to searching his baggage, they raided his home and workplace, seizing several digital memory devices.

Corporate espionage cases rarely come to light in the Netherlands. more

It Pays to Spot Spies in Beijing, or Peeking Duck

China is offering cash rewards of up to $72,400 to encourage residents in the capital Beijing to report about foreign spies in the country, stepping up its campaign against espionage.

Beijing's residents can report through a hotline, by mail or in person any activity endangering China's national security or thefts of national secrets, the Beijing Daily and other state media reported.

The top reward for whistle-blowers ranges from $1,500 (100,000 yuan) to $72,400 (500,000 yuan), depending on how important the intelligence is, the report said. more

BBC Uncovers Secret Bank of England Recording

A secret recording that implicates the Bank of England in Libor rigging has been uncovered by BBC Panorama. 

The 2008 recording adds to evidence the central bank repeatedly pressured commercial banks during the financial crisis to push their Libor rates down.

Libor is the rate at which banks lend to each other, setting a benchmark for mortgages and loans for ordinary customers. more

Panorama: The Big Bank Fix will be broadcast on BBC One on Monday 10 April at 20.30.

Former Prosecutor Admits to Illegal Wiretap in Love Triangle

A former New York City prosecutor 
has pleaded guilty to charges she used an illegal wiretap to spy on two other people in a love triangle. 

Tara Lenich entered the plea on Monday in federal court in Brooklyn.

The 41-year-old Lenich admitted that she forged documents so she could wiretap the phones of a police detective and another woman working as a prosecutor working in the Brooklyn district attorney's office. Authorities haven't revealed the identities of her targets. more

500 Year Old Russian Eavesdropping Device

Archaeologists have uncovered a 500-year-old spy chamber beneath a Moscow street. 

It was built underneath a 2.5km wall to protect Russians from Polish raids – and was used to listen in on the enemy through a wall.

It is said the room’s vaulted walls created an acoustic effect which allowed people to eavesdrop.

It contained around 150 artifacts, including ancient cooking equipment, upon its discovery. more with video

Extra Credit: 6 KGB Spy Tools That are Still Relevant

DJ turned PI turned DJ Uncovers Corporate Espionage of Rival Networks

Australia - Kyle Sandilands called on his little known training as a private eye 
to uncover what he calls multiple acts of “corporate espionage” aimed at destabilising his hit breakfast show...

He eventually discovered that a number of people from 2DayFM and NOVA had been emailing clips from The Kyle and Jackie O Show to advertisers and celebrity agents, suggesting they move their business from KIIS to them.

Sandilands says he was shocked when he discovered the extent of the ‘”corporate espionage” after he started getting proof from KIIS clients and associates in the US, where he has a music business. more

Burglars and Peeping Toms Use Drones

UK - Loud music, unkempt gardens and disputed boundaries have long caused acrimony between neighbours. Now technology has brought a new grievance: low-flying drones.

As well as causing arguments between neighbours they have been used by burglars planning raids and to snoop on teenage girls sunbathing.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed that last year forces recorded 3,456 incidents involving drones, nearly ten a day. The true total is likely to be higher as data was not available for all forces. more

Crack the Code - Get a Drink

The Bletchley is a spy-themed London bar where you have to crack codes to order drinks.

To do that, you use imitation World War 2 Enigma machines which generate a unique code for every "agent." Orders are then transmitted via radio to the bar.

The venue is inspired by Bletchley Park, the site where British mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing and his team used to crack German codes during World War 2. more with video

Space X & Tesla - So, why not Blink & an electric car?!?!

Blink, which makes home security cameras, debuts its Blink XT1 EPV, the first car that runs on batteries, coming summer 2018.


The dramatic trailer slowly builds suspense as it unveils the sleek automobile and poses the question we've all pondered—what if a car could run on store-bought batteries?