“It’s formidable work, and it moves us up another level toward restoring speech” by decoding brain signals, said Dr. Anthony Ritaccio, a neurologist and neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., who was not a member of the research group. more
Thursday, April 25, 2019
FutureWatch - Mind Reading - Thought to Speech
Scientists are reporting that they have developed a virtual prosthetic voice, a system that decodes the brain’s vocal intentions and translates them into mostly understandable speech, with no need to move a muscle, even those in the mouth.
“It’s formidable work, and it moves us up another level toward restoring speech” by decoding brain signals, said Dr. Anthony Ritaccio, a neurologist and neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., who was not a member of the research group. more
Mind reading is a topic we keep an eye on here, as it's the future of eavesdropping. ~Kevin
“It’s formidable work, and it moves us up another level toward restoring speech” by decoding brain signals, said Dr. Anthony Ritaccio, a neurologist and neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., who was not a member of the research group. more
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Speak Like You Are Being Recorded
Michael Cohen has disavowed responsibility for some of the crimes to
which he has pleaded guilty, privately contending in a recent recorded
phone call that he hadn’t evaded taxes and that a criminal charge
related to his home-equity line of credit was "a lie."
“You would think that you would have folks, you know, stepping up and
saying, ‘You know what, this guy’s lost everything,’” Mr. Cohen said
during the March 25 call, recorded without Mr. Cohen’s knowledge by the
actor and comedian Tom Arnold...
Mr. Cohen has himself surreptitiously recorded conversations. During a
raid of his home, office and hotel room in April 2018, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation seized recordings the lawyer made while talking
to journalists, political allies, and others, including Mr. Trump. more
Granny Was A Spy
UK - In 1999, an 87-year-old British woman held a press conference in front of her home to announce that for nearly four decades, she’d worked as a spy for the Soviet Union.
In fact, Melita Norwood was the Soviet Union’s longest-serving British spy...
In 1979, she and her husband—who knew about her spying and disapproved—visited Moscow so the Soviet Union could award her the Order of the Red Banner (she accepted the honorary award, but turned down the financial reward).
How did Norwood get away with it for so long? more
In fact, Melita Norwood was the Soviet Union’s longest-serving British spy...
In 1979, she and her husband—who knew about her spying and disapproved—visited Moscow so the Soviet Union could award her the Order of the Red Banner (she accepted the honorary award, but turned down the financial reward).
How did Norwood get away with it for so long? more
Labels:
#espionage,
cautionary tale,
historical,
KGB,
MI5,
weird
The Bose Knows... legally
According to a recent decision from a federal district court in
Illinois, Bose Corp. may monitor and collect information about the
music and audio files consumers choose to play through its wireless
products and transmit that information to third parties without the
consumers’ knowledge.
Such action does not violate the federal Wiretap Act or the Illinois Eavesdropping Statute.
As such, the Court granted Bose’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s class action claims. more
Such action does not violate the federal Wiretap Act or the Illinois Eavesdropping Statute.
As such, the Court granted Bose’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s class action claims. more
How Real Spies Operate, or Watch the Donut Not the Hole
“The most vulnerable targets are not computers, but people. Human intelligence gathering is an art. It’s about taking advantage of people’s vulnerabilities, no matter what they are, to get the information.”
And the arsenal to do so is said to be wide-ranging, from “IP intercept, ISMI catchers, dumpster diving, listening devices (bugs) and informants, to students at universities, Chinese businesses and their employees.” more
Michael Biggs and Larry Johnson quoted in the article.
And the arsenal to do so is said to be wide-ranging, from “IP intercept, ISMI catchers, dumpster diving, listening devices (bugs) and informants, to students at universities, Chinese businesses and their employees.” more
Michael Biggs and Larry Johnson quoted in the article.
Monday, April 22, 2019
“Son, go for it...I will kick your (expletive) (expletive).” An Extortionogrphy Win
FL - The president of Wichita’s teacher union has lost his defamation lawsuit against the makers of hidden-camera videos that captured him admitting to threatening a student with physical violence.
A federal judge in Florida ruled against Steve Wentz, president of United Teachers of Wichita, and in favor of Project Veritas in connection to videos that were secretly recorded at a Florida hotel bar and a Panera restaurant in Kansas. Project Veritas describes its work as non-profit journalism that investigates and exposes corruption.
In the video, Wentz describes an episode with a former student in which he asked the student to stay after class, locked the door and pulled the shades down.
“You want to kick my (expletive)? You really think I’m a (expletive)?” Wentz says in the video. “Son, go for it. I’ll give you the first shot. But be sure to finish what you start because if you don’t, I guarantee you, I will kick your (expletive) (expletive).” more
Corporate Security Alert:
Extortionography can be as devastating as audio eavesdropping, especially when targeted against private sector businesses.
Tip: Conduct searches for electronic surveillance devices (Technical Surveillance Countermeasures, aka TSCM) on a regular basis. At the very least, have a written Recording in the Workplace Policy in effect.
A federal judge in Florida ruled against Steve Wentz, president of United Teachers of Wichita, and in favor of Project Veritas in connection to videos that were secretly recorded at a Florida hotel bar and a Panera restaurant in Kansas. Project Veritas describes its work as non-profit journalism that investigates and exposes corruption.
In the video, Wentz describes an episode with a former student in which he asked the student to stay after class, locked the door and pulled the shades down.
“You want to kick my (expletive)? You really think I’m a (expletive)?” Wentz says in the video. “Son, go for it. I’ll give you the first shot. But be sure to finish what you start because if you don’t, I guarantee you, I will kick your (expletive) (expletive).” more
Corporate Security Alert:
Extortionography can be as devastating as audio eavesdropping, especially when targeted against private sector businesses.
Tip: Conduct searches for electronic surveillance devices (Technical Surveillance Countermeasures, aka TSCM) on a regular basis. At the very least, have a written Recording in the Workplace Policy in effect.
James McCord, 93 - RIP
James McCord, a retired CIA employee who was convicted as a conspirator in the Watergate burglary and later linked the 1972 break-in to the White House in revelations that helped end the presidency of Richard Nixon, died June 15, 2017, at his home in Douglassville, Pa. He was 93...
McCord served in the CIA for 19 years, including as security chief at the Langley, Va., headquarters, before his supporting, at times sensational role in the events that precipitated the first resignation of a U.S. president.
He had retired from the spy agency and was privately employed as head of security for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President — commonly called CREEP — when he became entangled in a scheme to burglarize and bug the Democratic national headquarters at the Watergate building in Washington.
McCord had once taught a college course on how to protect buildings from intrusions, and he helped lead the operation. more
McCord served in the CIA for 19 years, including as security chief at the Langley, Va., headquarters, before his supporting, at times sensational role in the events that precipitated the first resignation of a U.S. president.
He had retired from the spy agency and was privately employed as head of security for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President — commonly called CREEP — when he became entangled in a scheme to burglarize and bug the Democratic national headquarters at the Watergate building in Washington.
McCord had once taught a college course on how to protect buildings from intrusions, and he helped lead the operation. more
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
“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
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
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
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
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
Labels:
#IoT,
#privacy,
Car,
fingerprint,
FutureWatch,
infotainment,
spybot
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Julian Claxton Speaks Out on the Spy Camera Pandemic
Click to enlarge. |
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
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
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. |
Thursday, April 11, 2019
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
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
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