The Case of the "Donated" Apples, or Pad My Palm

Apple Inc.’s head of global security and the Santa Clara County undersheriff are among those charged in an alleged bribery scheme in which iPads worth $70,000 were to be given to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in exchange for concealed-carry firearms permits, according to an indictment released Monday...“Undersheriff Sung and Captain Jensen treated CCW licenses as commodities and found willing buyers,” Santa Clara County Dist. Atty. Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Bribe seekers should be reported to the district attorney’s office, not rewarded with compliance.”

EaaS - Espionage as a Service

Ransomware-as-a-service has become so popular and profitable that bad actors in the dark markets are expanding their range of illicit services to offer dedicated phishing and espionage campaigns too.

Over the past half a year, BlackBerry’s Research and Intelligence team has been keeping a close eye on a cyber-espionage campaign that is targeting individuals around the world. Dubbed ‘CostaRicto’ by BlackBerry, the campaign seems to be run by 'hackers-for-hire', a group of skilled APT actors with bespoke malware tooling and complex VPN proxy and secure shell (SSH) tunneling capabilities...

When it comes to espionage campaigns, outsourcing the whole or even part of the campaign is a compelling proposition, particularly for businesses and individuals who are looking for inside information on their competitors but don’t necessarily have the skills, tools or experience to do this themselves. (and/or want plausible deniability) more

The use of cutouts is a popular and very effective spy tactic. Most corporate espionage (and competitive intelligence) is based on this method. 

Pretext'ers, employment moles, buggers, blackmailers, aerial reconnaissance pilots, private investigators, and bribers are just a few of the EaaS types. Now, hackers join the list. The one thing they have
in common is stay invisible and don't get caught. 

Thus, the victim never realizes they have been victimized. 

Thus, only corporations with smart security directors conduct Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) inspections, information security surveys and provide employees with counterespionage training.

In Other News... Laser Device Can Make Lightning Strike Specific Targets

An international team of researchers says that small lasers could be used to guide lightning strikes — much like Thor’s legendary hammer Mjölnir.

“It turns out that to deliver particles, you do not need high-intensity lasers, even low intensity like your laser pointer will be already enough,” Andrey Miroshnichenko, a researcher at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia, told Agence France Presse of the work...

“We can imagine a future where this technology may induce electrical discharge from passing lightning, helping to guide it to safe targets and reduce the risk of catastrophic fires,” co-researcher Vladlen Shvedov from the Australian National University told AFP.

Or you could use it to smite your enemies. Just saying. more

Jilted IT Expert Bugged Wife’s TV and Car

A jilted IT expert bugged his ex’s TV and car after their 20-year marriage ended... He sneaked into his estranged partner’s home while she was away and planted a listening device in the TV and hid an iPhone in her car.

Ms Ewart told a court: “He sent text messages to me about TV shows I had been watching.” 

Ewart, of Washington, admitted stalking and was jailed for 18 weeks, suspended. He must wear an electronic tag to keep him away from his ex. more  & more

Bridge Workers Claim Spycams Installed in Locker Room

Maintenance workers at the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge are claiming that management installed spy cameras in their locker room. New York State Bridge Authority Executive Director Tara Sullivan has denied the accusations but acknowledged the use of the cameras...

The room where the cameras were discovered was used as a locker room for half of the work crew as well as an office for the assistant foreman, Mr. Gravino...

Executive Director Sullivan called the report “incorrect.” She said, “There is no investigation by the State Police and there have been no cameras placed at the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge facility where there would be a reasonable expectation of privacy such as a locker room or changing room.” more

Why Law Firms and Businesses Need TSCM - Reason #243

UK - A former Dechert client told a London judge Tuesday that spying conducted on a BigLaw partner is a common tactic in hard-fought commercial litigation.

A lawyer for the former client, a Kazakh mining company called the Eurasian Natural Resources Corp., is asking the judge to toss claims that spying on Dechert partner Neil Gerrard and his wife constituted illegal harassment, Law360 reports.

The ENRC hired Diligence International to surveil Gerrard in the hopes of gathering information for a lawsuit against Dechert and the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office. Toward that end, Diligence planted hidden cameras in a hedge outside Gerrard’s home, Gerrard has alleged.

Lawyer Tom de la Mare said the cameras weren’t supposed to be found, so their placement couldn’t constitute harassment, according to Law360. And surveillance isn’t illegal unless oppressive or unreasonable, he said.

“Let’s be blunt about it,” de la Mare said. “This type of surveillance used to be common in commercial litigation.” more

Commercial TSCM Inspections
Spy Camera Detection Training

Can Two-Party Consent to Record be Obtained Using a False Persona?

Massachusetts' top appellate court said it will review a case over whether a recorded telephone interview between a Barstool Sports podcast host and a local city mayor runs afoul of a law prohibiting secret recordings if one party fraudulently obtains consent for taping...

Having been denied an interview with Curtatone about the mayor's comments on the issue, Minihane tried again, this time claiming to be Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen, according to the suit. Minihane, posing as Cullen, was granted the interview, in which he told the mayor he was recording...

Barstool and Minihane's attorney Aaron Moss of Greenberg Glusker LLP said in a statement Thursday that he is confident the SJC will reject Curtatone's arguments and uphold the lower court's ruling. 

"The Massachusetts Wiretap Act is crystal clear that it only prohibits secret recordings. If a recording isn't secret, the question of consent is irrelevant," Moss said. more

Interesting question. How would you decided?

Security Director Alert – Hackers Exploiting VoIP to Compromise Business Accounts

A hacking campaign has compromised VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone systems at over 1,000 companies around the world over the past year in a campaign designed to make profit from selling compromised accounts.

While the main purpose appears to be dialing premium rate numbers owned by attackers or selling phone numbers and call plans that others can use for free, access to VoIP systems could provide cyber criminals with the ability to conduct other attacks, including listening to private calls, cryptomining, or even using compromised systems as a stepping stone towards much more intrusive campaigns...

It's recommended that organizations change default usernames and passwords on devices so they can't easily be exploited and, if possible, analyze call billings on a regular basis for potentially suspicious destinations, volumes of traffic or call patterns.

And most importantly, organizations should apply the required security patches to prevent known vulnerabilities from being exploited. more

Snitch Culture Redux, or The Hong Kong So Long

Police in Hong Kong have launched a hotline where residents can report breaches of the national security law imposed by Beijing earlier this year.

The law criminalizes secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces. It has silenced many protesters since it came into force.

Hong Kong residents can send images, audio and video files to the hotline.

Rights groups say they are concerned the service could be used to target those with opposing political views. more

 It is worth remembering that "Citizen Snitch Surveillance" is a tactic of cultures that eventually fail. 

About one in 100 East Germans was an informer for communist East Germany's secret police in 1989, according to a new study. Political ideology was their main motivation, both in East and West Germany.

The Stasi kept detailed files on thousands of East Germans

Around 189,000 people were informers the secret police of the GDR's communist regime, when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 -- that's according to Thuringia's state office for researching East Germany's Stasi... more

 

See the movie...

Your Weekend Movie – “A Call to Spy” Now Streaming

“A Call to Spy” is now available to watch via streaming services and in select theaters across the United States and United Kingdom...

Premiering on June 21st, 2019 -- the 75th anniversary of D-Day -- at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the film has gone on to win numerous awards...

In the beginning of WWII, with Britain becoming desperate, Churchill orders his new spy agency—the Special Operations Executive (SOE)—to recruit and train women as spies. 

Their daunting mission: conduct sabotage and build a resistance. SOE's "spymistress," Vera Atkins (Stana Katic), recruits two unusual candidates: Virginia Hall (Sarah Megan Thomas), an ambitious American with a wooden leg, and Noor Inayat Khan (Radhika Apte), an Indian Muslim pacifist. Together, these women help to undermine the Nazi regime in France, leaving an unmistakable legacy in their wake. Inspired by true stories. more

New York’s KGB Espionage Museum Will Soon Go Up for Auction

It’s a sad fact that as the coronavirus crisis stretches on, many museums and galleries won’t be able to survive the economic crunch, and will likely be forced to sell off their collections. 

However, this also means that vast and unusual troves of items will be redistributed to the public, which is the case with an upcoming Julien’s Auctions sale of the entirety of the items within the KGB Espionage Museum in New York City. 

Set to take place on February 13, 2021 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills and online simultaneously, the auction will include the world’s largest collection of authentic KGB spy equipment dating back to the Cold War...

“The KGB Espionage Museum’s collection of Cold War era items is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world,” Martin Nolan, the Executive Director of Julien’s Auctions, told Observer on Thursday. “We anticipate the auction will attract a wide range of collectors from museum curators to historians to James Bond fans, particularly in this election year." more

Missing Wirecard Executive Could be Austrian Spy

German authorities say a missing Wirecard manager, who vanished just as the digital payments company collapsed, may be an informer for Austria’s intelligence agency.

Austrian-born Jan Marsalek, Wirecard’s former chief operating officer, disappeared without trace in June just as it emerged the company had inflated its balance sheet by at least €3 billion.

While the worldwide hunt continues for the fugitive 40 year-old executive, German prosecutors have told Bundestag MPs there is evidence that Mr Marsalek, who was in charge of all Wirecard operational business, was a source for Austria’s BVT intelligence agency. more

The Modern Detective: How Corporate Intelligence Is Reshaping the World

Tyler Maroney has written The Modern Detective, in which he reflects on a two-decade career as a PI, detailing his pursuit of corporate fraudsters, missions to conduct due diligence for blockbuster mergers and acquisitions, and even how he helped free an innocent man from prison...

"Private detectives are brought into projects throughout the entire life cycle of a company’s existence."

Maroney seeks to demystify the job of private investigators and debunk myths ingrained from television and pulp fiction. He argues that the modern detective is a vital cog in corporate life and can be a force for good in society. more

Sir Sean Connery Has Died at the Age of 90

The Scottish actor was best known for his portrayal of James Bond, being the first to bring the role to the big screen and appearing in seven of the spy thrillers.

Sir Sean died peacefully in his sleep in the Bahamas, having been "unwell for some time", his son said. more

In Other Spy News...

Whistle-blower Edward Snowden will become a father by the end of the year and his child is eligible to be a citizen of Russia, where the U.S. citizen has been living since in 2013 after releasing details of the U.S. electronic-surveillance program. more