Let’s rummage around in James Bond’s closet to discover some spy equipment with real-world applications...
Personal electronics have come a long way in just the past few years. This sampling of gear that used to be available only to spies just may prove useful in your daily life.
Uzi Parabolic Listening Kit
This comes in handy when you need to better hear what the referee is saying during a football game or want to listen to the songbirds in your backyard. The parabolic microphone and wind deflector funnel sound to an amplifier so you can hear every word or note clearly.
Keep It Clean
Destruct Pro Data Wipe Key
If you sell your computer or send it in for service, make sure your business or personal information doesn’t go along with it. Using a three-phase data-wiping process, this easy-to-use device can be used as often as needed on any PC whose contents you need to delete.
See What’s Ahead
Lanmodo Vast Pro Night Vision Driving Camera
Driving on dark, snowy, rainy, or foggy roads known to be populated with deer or pedestrians can be stressful. This system provides a clear, crisp image of what’s ahead, up to 984 feet, providing you with time to react. An integrated dashcam records in 1080p high-resolution.
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
NFL Espionage Book Released Today - "Spies on the Sidelines"
Hi, I’m so excited to announce that today is release day for Spies on the Sidelines: The High-Stakes World of NFL Espionage! I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone who has supported me in getting to this point. I’m in debt to so many people for their contributions. Thank you all so much!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Spies on the Sidelines details the collection techniques NFL teams utilize to gather information about their opponents in order to gain a game day advantage, as well as the countermeasures used to defend against these. The book spans the entire history of the league and contains anecdotes from each and every NFL team.
ORDERING INFORMATION
If you still haven’t ordered Spies on the Sidelines (perhaps you’ve been waiting for just this day), here’s how to get yourself a copy—and don’t forget the book makes a great gift for the football fans in your life too.
Hardcover: The hard cover version is most easily purchased through Amazon (as everyone already has an account) but can also be bought through the publisher, Rowman & Littlefield (www.rowman.com), and there is a 30% discount with the code RLFANDF30 if the book is ordered from their website. Other options are also available at www.SpiesOnTheSidelines.com.
E-book: The e-book version can be found at Amazon, Rowman & Littlefield, and Apple Books.
Audio book: Unfortunately it's not quite available. The plan is to have it out by 1 September 2022.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Spies on the Sidelines details the collection techniques NFL teams utilize to gather information about their opponents in order to gain a game day advantage, as well as the countermeasures used to defend against these. The book spans the entire history of the league and contains anecdotes from each and every NFL team.
ORDERING INFORMATION
If you still haven’t ordered Spies on the Sidelines (perhaps you’ve been waiting for just this day), here’s how to get yourself a copy—and don’t forget the book makes a great gift for the football fans in your life too.
Hardcover: The hard cover version is most easily purchased through Amazon (as everyone already has an account) but can also be bought through the publisher, Rowman & Littlefield (www.rowman.com), and there is a 30% discount with the code RLFANDF30 if the book is ordered from their website. Other options are also available at www.SpiesOnTheSidelines.com.
E-book: The e-book version can be found at Amazon, Rowman & Littlefield, and Apple Books.
Audio book: Unfortunately it's not quite available. The plan is to have it out by 1 September 2022.
LAWS ON RECORDING CONVERSATIONS IN ALL 50 STATES
Individuals, businesses, and the government often have a need to record telephone conversations that relate to their business, customers, or business dealings.
The U.S. Congress and most states’ legislatures have passed telephone call recording statutes and regulations that may require the person wanting to record the conversation to provide notice and obtain consent before doing so. Most states require one-party consent, which can come from the person recording if present on the call. However, some states require that all parties to a call consent to recording.
Laws governing telephone call recording are typically found within state criminal statutes and codes because most states frame call recording as eavesdropping, wiretapping, or as a type of intercepted communication. State laws may not explicitly mention telephone call recording because of these technical definitions. Accordingly, counsel may need to infer when and under what circumstances a state permits telephone call recording by reviewing prohibited actions.
The big issue when it comes to recording someone is whether the jurisdiction you are in requires that you get the consent of the person or persons being recorded... more
Laws governing telephone call recording are typically found within state criminal statutes and codes because most states frame call recording as eavesdropping, wiretapping, or as a type of intercepted communication. State laws may not explicitly mention telephone call recording because of these technical definitions. Accordingly, counsel may need to infer when and under what circumstances a state permits telephone call recording by reviewing prohibited actions.
The big issue when it comes to recording someone is whether the jurisdiction you are in requires that you get the consent of the person or persons being recorded... more
Top Spy News of the Week
One billion resident records were allegedly siphoned from a police database... A massive store of data containing information on about one billion Chinese residents could be one of the biggest breaches of personal information in history. more
How the FBI Wiretapped the World
We finally understand the code behind the Anom phones... For years criminal organizations around the world were buying a special phone called Anom. The pitch was that it was completely anonymous and secure, a way for criminals to do business without authorities watching over their shoulder. It turned out that the whole thing was an elaborate honeypot and that the FBI and law enforcement agencies around the world were listening in. They’d help develop the phones themselves. more
France’s National Commission for the Control of Intelligence Techniques has claimed that nearly 23,000 people were spied on by French authorities last year using ‘technical tools’ like geolocation and recording conversations. more
MA - Lawmaker Hopes to Change Wiretapping Law
Alex Fopiano was in court today as his lawyer asked the judge to dismiss the criminal charges against him. He is accused of attempting to suffocate his wife, Shauna Fopiano, with a pillow...
She was criminally charged with eight counts of illegal wiretapping for making secret recordings of her husband, her alleged abuser. In a deal approved earlier this month, the charges will be dismissed in six months as long as she commits no other crimes.
"I was shocked that this is something that could still actually happen to somebody in Massachusetts," said state Sen. Patrick O'Connor, R-Weymouth.
The state's wiretapping law makes it a criminal offense to record someone without their permission. O'Connor said it should be updated to include an exemption to give victims of domestic violence the chance to record their abusers. more
17 CIA Tips - Think like a spy and stay safe while on vacation
I found the CIA's best practices, culled from the experience of its officers in the field, are exceptionally helpful, easy to adopt and especially relevant to Americans in these fraught times.
Here’s how to think like a spy on the ground overseas... more
Walmart Patents Technology to Eavesdrop on Workers
The audio surveillance technology can measure workers’ performance and listen to their conversations with customers at checkout. The “listening to the frontend” technology, as its called, might never be used—it’s one of many patents the company has applied for in recent years—but shows that company bosses are thinking about how they can use tech to monitor their workers.
Walmart said in a statement: “We’re always thinking about new concepts and ways that will help us further enhance how we serve customers... more
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Wiretapping Charge
According to court documents and statements made in court, Holden admitted to secretly recording a video of a woman engaged in sexually explicit conduct in her Logan County home on November 25, 2017. The video was later uploaded to the internet without the victim’s knowledge. The video was one of several secretly recorded videos that Holden had created and posted online depicting the victim.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). more
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
In The Listeners, Brian Hochman Details History of Eavesdropping (Book Review)
The Listeners: A History of Wiretapping in the United States, by Brian Hochman, Harvard University Press, 368 pages, $33.67
America's first wiretapping conviction happened in 1864. A stockbroker named D.C. Williams had been tapping a telegraph line in California to get corporate information, which he used for advantageous stock trades. The law he broke had been passed two years earlier, making California the first state to regulate wiretapping.
The telephone had not been invented yet, and the transcontinental telegraph had only just been completed. The Golden State's legislators were ahead of the game. Ever since then, legislation dealing with electronic surveillance has been playing catch-up—both with the technology and with public sentiment. more
America's first wiretapping conviction happened in 1864. A stockbroker named D.C. Williams had been tapping a telegraph line in California to get corporate information, which he used for advantageous stock trades. The law he broke had been passed two years earlier, making California the first state to regulate wiretapping.
The telephone had not been invented yet, and the transcontinental telegraph had only just been completed. The Golden State's legislators were ahead of the game. Ever since then, legislation dealing with electronic surveillance has been playing catch-up—both with the technology and with public sentiment. more
Thus, Giving GoPro a Whole New Meaning
Charles G. Korrell of Ross, California, faces a charge of peeping, Petaluma police said in a news release. Officers were called to the home Tuesday, June 14, when someone found a GoPro camera in a litter box in the bathroom during a graduation party thrown by the resident for their 17-year-old, police said.
...It had been recording for 30 minutes before being found. An investigation discovered Korrell had accidentally recorded himself placing the camera in the litter box, police said. more
“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”
Belgium closed its Confucius Institute in 2019, Sweden and Denmark in 2020, and Norway in 2021. There are currently around 190 institutes in the EU. As of April, the number of institutes in the US had fallen to 18. more
The Strange Spy Case of Dr. Doublelives
Cabrera led a double life — as a cardiac scientist and a foreign agent — while also being married to a woman in Russia and another in Mexico, according to the few public court records. Much of the case was treated as a deep secret on national-security grounds under the Classified Information Procedures Act, or CIPA. more
Friday, June 17, 2022
The Hero of Watergate - Security Guard, Frank Wills ...his sad story.
Frank Wills - Security Guard
The Hero of Watergate
A native of Savannah, Georgia, Wills moved to Washington D.C. in 1971. He took an $80. per week job as a security guard with a company called GSS manning the midnight-to-7 a.m. shift at the Watergate office complex.
The Hero of Watergate
A native of Savannah, Georgia, Wills moved to Washington D.C. in 1971. He took an $80. per week job as a security guard with a company called GSS manning the midnight-to-7 a.m. shift at the Watergate office complex.
Wills' claim to fame...
Wills (24 years old) stumbled upon a "third-rate burglary" taking place in an office leased to the Democratic National Committee.
In the early morning of June 17, 1972, while making rounds, he noticed a piece of adhesive tape covering the door latch on a door between the basement stairwell and the parking garage. Wills suspected the cleaning crew (they left earlier) had taped over the door latch to prevent it from locking. He removed the tape and went on with his duties.
Meanwhile… James McCord, the leader of the buglers and a former CIA employee, noticed the tape was missing. Rather than calling off the intrusion, he just re-taped the door.
Wills made his rounds again – at approximately 1:55 am – and saw the tape had been replaced. It was not the cleaning crew! Wills called the police.
If Wills had not performed his security guard duties diligently, there probably would not have been a Watergate scandal.
The result... Eavesdropping alters American history, and a president resigns.
Washington DC police arrested five men wearing surgical gloves and carrying bugging equipment in the sixth-floor offices of the Democratic National Committee.
Recognized...
Wills received recognition for his efforts. He received an awards from the Democratic Party and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (the Martin Luther King Award - its highest honor). He played himself in the movie "All the President's Men" starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman - written by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
For a while, he was sought after by the Washington press corps. Attorney Dorsey Evans was his agent. Reporters were charged as much as $300 for interviews. Some paid. Plans were made for him to lecture, but were abandoned as his 15 minutes of fame waned.
Forgotten...
In 1973 - he left GSS due to their unwillingness to provide paid vacations. He had trouble finding full-time employment after that. In the Washington Post he was quoted as saying... "I don't know if they are being told not to hire me or if they are just afraid to hire me." By the late 70's, he had moved in with his ailing mother.
In 1983 Wills was sentenced to a year in prison for shoplifting – a pair of sneakers.
On the 25th anniversary of the break-in (1997) Wills was bitter. In a Boston Globe interview, he said: "I put my life on the line. If it wasn't for me, Woodward and Bernstein would not have known anything about Watergate. This wasn't finding a dollar under a couch somewhere."
Gone...
Frank Wills died broke on September 27, 2000 at age 52 in a hospital in Augusta, Georgia. Brain tumor.
Bob Woodward said, "He's the only one in Watergate who did his job perfectly."
Wills (24 years old) stumbled upon a "third-rate burglary" taking place in an office leased to the Democratic National Committee.
In the early morning of June 17, 1972, while making rounds, he noticed a piece of adhesive tape covering the door latch on a door between the basement stairwell and the parking garage. Wills suspected the cleaning crew (they left earlier) had taped over the door latch to prevent it from locking. He removed the tape and went on with his duties.
Meanwhile… James McCord, the leader of the buglers and a former CIA employee, noticed the tape was missing. Rather than calling off the intrusion, he just re-taped the door.
Wills made his rounds again – at approximately 1:55 am – and saw the tape had been replaced. It was not the cleaning crew! Wills called the police.
If Wills had not performed his security guard duties diligently, there probably would not have been a Watergate scandal.
The result... Eavesdropping alters American history, and a president resigns.
Washington DC police arrested five men wearing surgical gloves and carrying bugging equipment in the sixth-floor offices of the Democratic National Committee.
Wills received recognition for his efforts. He received an awards from the Democratic Party and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (the Martin Luther King Award - its highest honor). He played himself in the movie "All the President's Men" starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman - written by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
Forgotten...
In 1973 - he left GSS due to their unwillingness to provide paid vacations. He had trouble finding full-time employment after that. In the Washington Post he was quoted as saying... "I don't know if they are being told not to hire me or if they are just afraid to hire me." By the late 70's, he had moved in with his ailing mother.
In 1983 Wills was sentenced to a year in prison for shoplifting – a pair of sneakers.
On the 25th anniversary of the break-in (1997) Wills was bitter. In a Boston Globe interview, he said: "I put my life on the line. If it wasn't for me, Woodward and Bernstein would not have known anything about Watergate. This wasn't finding a dollar under a couch somewhere."
Gone...
Frank Wills died broke on September 27, 2000 at age 52 in a hospital in Augusta, Georgia. Brain tumor.
Bob Woodward said, "He's the only one in Watergate who did his job perfectly."
50 Years Ago Today – Watergate
Watergate Break-In 50th Anniversary Video
Former Counsel and staff of the Senate Watergate Committee, along with the special prosecutors, lawyers and journalists who played a role in the political scandal, mark the 50th anniversary of the break-in. video
Just coincidence?
You decide.
“History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” This observation, attributed to Mark Twain, is particularly apt as the 50th anniversary of the “third rate burglary” at the Democratic National Committee’s Watergate building office that led to the only resignation of a US President, coincides with the 2022 televised hearings of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.Watergate related news the Security Scrapbook has followed over the years.
Drone Zapper – 40 in one blow!
An arms race of sorts is quietly underway to be able to counter any countermeasures against drones...
The U.S. Air Force deployed Raytheon Intelligence & Space’s first high-energy laser weapon system (HELWS) overseas...
HELWS is a 15-kW-class laser weapon system that fires a silent near-infrared beam of light to shoot down a drone or deliver what’s known as a “hard kill” within the defense realm. It’s capable of taking out at least 40 drones coming at it, and has a fairly long (yet undisclosed) range. more
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