David Fechheimer, 76 - RIP

David Fechheimer, a budding flower child of the 1960s and aspiring English professor who was spurred overnight by the fictional gumshoe Sam Spade to switch careers and become one of the nation’s leading private investigators, died on Tuesday in Redwood City, Calif. He was 76...

“I called Pinkerton and asked if they needed someone who had no experience and a beard,” Mr. Fechheimer said. “To my surprise, they said they needed someone with a beard that day. I thought I would do it a couple of weeks as a goof. It looked like fun, being Sam Spade. Pinkerton put me under cover on the docks, and I was hooked. I never went back to school.”

...He later joined the practice of the celebrated private eye Hal Lipset (famous for secreting a microphone in a martini olive) and opened his own office in 1976. more

Spycam Victim Fights Back

Singapore - NUS guy who filmed girl in shower suspended for a semester & asked to write apology letter.

Victim fights back on social media.

Two separate petitions have been started on behalf of a National University of Singapore student, who was a victim of an act of voyeurism while residing on campus housing.

The two petitions — one with 2,502 signatures and the other with 873 signatures (as of April 21, 5.30am) — were started to call for more to be done for the victim, as well as making punishments harsher as a form of deterrence. more

The USB Spycam - Widely Used - Know What it Looks Like

FL - A Titusville man used a hidden recording device to make videos of several people showering and using the bathroom at his home without their consent, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. 

One of the two realized the USB charger in Moist's bathroom was suspicious and recalled using it to charge her phone when she housesat for him in the past. The device was inspected and an SD memory card was found inside, according to arrest reports.  more

Just Like Your Phone - Your Car is Spying on You

If you’re driving a late model car or truck, chances are that the vehicle is mostly computers on wheels, collecting and wirelessly transmitting vast quantities of data to the car manufacturer not just on vehicle performance but personal information, too, such as your weight, the restaurants you visit, your music tastes and places you go.

A car can generate about 25 gigabytes of data every hour and as much as 4,000 gigabytes a day, according to some estimates. The data trove in the hands of car makers could be worth as much as $750 billion by 2030, the consulting firm McKinsey has estimated. But consumer groups, aftermarket repair shops and privacy advocates say the data belongs to the car’s owners and the information should be subject to data privacy laws.

Yet Congress has yet to pass comprehensive federal data privacy legislation. more

Julian Claxton Speaks Out on the Spy Camera Pandemic

Click to enlarge.

A spate of high-profile incidents have showcased just how easy it is for Airbnb hosts to spy on unsuspecting guests.

These cameras are cheap, easy to use and hard for guests to find, says Julian Claxton, managing director of counterespionage organisation, Jayde Consulting. “Depending on how well they’re hidden, it can be very difficult to detect them without professional help,” Mr Claxton told The New Daily.

“The devices are really easy to get. If you type in ‘hidden camera’ into eBay you will get thousands of hits. The new ones, they’re building them into charger packs, into the bases of lamps, clocks, radios – you name it and you can put a camera in it.”

Those hiding cameras in hotels are looking for more specific targets, Mr Claxton says.

“Often it’s not the hotel themselves, it’s a rogue worker who is more interested in a perversion or extortion,” he said.

“For instance, if you work for a major conglomerate and have a dalliance with a man or woman while you’re married, that video can then be used to extort that person.” more | Learn how to detect spy cameras yourself.

Spycam: Firefighter v. Firefighter

US - A former Denver fire lieutenant was charged Thursday with secretly planting a recording device in the changing room used by a female firefighter...

Flesner, who is retired, allegedly placed the recording device in the sleeping room of another firefighter. The lens was facing the changing area, the news release says.

When the device was discovered and reported to superiors, of which he was one, Flesner allegedly tampered with the device. more

I really doubt he did this, but it made me laugh.

The New Zealand Embassy Spycam Case... or, You're-In-Trouble

The jury has seen footage from a covert camera found in a toilet at the New Zealand Embassy in the US, in the trial of top military attache.

A number of videos captured on 27 July were played to the jury this afternoon, the first being a video of the covert camera being set up. more

"It was a black box, probably about an inch, an inch and a half thick and three or four inches long. It appeared to be what I thought was a hard drive." more

Learn how to spot spycams yourself.

The "Yes Master" Bracelet

Children who end up caught in Chicago's policing and justice system are being outfitted with ReliAlert XC3 GPS ankle-cuffs supplied by the Track Group, who use them to log children's movements and to bark orders at them, as well as listening in on them. The children have to wear them 24/7 while on bail awaiting trial.

The company claims that the recording function in the tracking anklets generates a notification every time it is used, but its own technicians have testified under oath that the listening function can be covertly activated. Track Group stores all recordings of its interactions with children indefinitely.  more

"Sooo, what are you wearing Mr. big, strong, Alexa man."

Tens of millions of people use smart speakers and their voice software to play games, find music or trawl for trivia. Millions more are reluctant to invite the devices and their powerful microphones into their homes out of concern that someone might be listening.

Sometimes, someone is.

Amazon.com Inc. employs thousands of people around the world to help improve the Alexa digital assistant powering its line of Echo speakers... more

Idea: Taunt them. "Sooo, what are you wearing Mr. big, strong, Alexa man."

The Steinger, Iscoe & Greene Law Firm Bugging

A fascinating case, still unfolding!
What happened...

While attorney Gary Iscoe — the Iscoe of the decades-old Steinger, Iscoe & Greene personal injury law firm — is gone and two other associates have been fired, the strange goings-on remain shrouded in mystery. “It’s very John Grisham,” said attorney Michael Pike, who is representing the firm in a lawsuit aimed at finding out who the spies were, what they were seeking and why.

Listening devices behind a ceiling tile

When the firm’s finance director found drywall debris on the floor of her office when she came to work on Sept. 10, she asked a maintenance man to pop up a ceiling tile, according to West Palm Beach police who were summoned to investigate two days later. There, hidden in the recesses of the ceiling, the finance director and others discovered wires that were linked to an audio receiver, police said.

...police said they found wires running to cameras, microphones and recording equipment mainly in the firm’s finance, marketing and human resources departments. Some of the wires had been cut and a video recording device was missing.

...it appears whoever installed the devices hurriedly removed the digital recorder once they realized police had been called.

From other authorized cameras at the firm, police said they recovered a video that showed two people, carrying tools and a ladder, entering the office at about 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 9. Employees couldn’t identify one of the intruders, police said. The other person caught on camera was identified by employees as Michael Coronel, a 26-year-old former Marine who had worked as an investigator at the firm for about six months... more | analysis

Quote of the Week

“Boston is a target-rich environment for anyone who is interested in intellectual property.”
–US Assistant Attorney General John Demers  more

From Those Wonderful Folks Who Brought You APT - Manditory Free Pen-Testing

New provisions made to China's Cybersecurity Law gives state agencies the legal authority to remotely conduct penetration testing on any internet-related business operating in China, and even copy and later share any data government officials find on inspected systems...

These new provisions, named "Regulations on Internet Security Supervision and Inspection by Public Security Organs" give the MSP the following new powers:

• Conduct in-person or remote inspections of the network security defenses taken by companies operating in China.
• Check for "prohibited content" banned inside China's border.
• Log security response plans during on-site inspections.
• Copy any user information found on inspected systems during on-site or remote inspections.
• Perform penetration tests to check for vulnerabilities.
• Perform remote inspections without informing companies.
• Share any collected data with other state agencies.
• The right to have two members of the People's Armed Police (PAP) present during on-site inspection to enforce procedures. more

Judd Bank's Tips on How to Spot A Liar

At some point in life, everyone is a victim of a lie. It may include romantic relationships, business transactions, political behavior and/or criminal misrepresentation...  

There are two main techniques in detecting deception without the use of a polygraph instrument. They are observing body language and asking open-ended questions... more

Concise and very educational. ~Kevin

How to Tell if Someone Snoops on Your Computer

Think about all of the personal information stored on your computer -- it's essentially an extension of your whole identity in digital form. You may have all your photos, videos, resumes, contacts, documents and other sensitive information saved on your PC or Mac.

Can you imagine someone snooping around and getting their hands on all that?

But how can you tell if someone was accessing your files and applications without your knowledge? Is someone using your computer behind your back? Thankfully, there are various ways to find out.

Read on and learn these tricks you can use to see if someone is snooping on your PC or Mac... more

Ya Think?

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested Friday that Yujing Zhang, the woman who breached security at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago, Florida club, may have been a Chinese spy. more