Believe It or Not: Phone Company Not Taking a Customer's Money

South Africa: Police can’t pay network provider Vodacom for spying services, hampering crime-fighting efforts.

Efforts by the SA Police Service to fight crime were hampered after cellphone network provider Vodacom cut services, such as assisting in locating, intercepting calls and eavesdropping on calls and messages for all the network’s subscribers.

Crime intelligence requires cellphone network providers to spy on criminal suspects so that evidence can be obtained through a call interception process. more

Teacher Taps Her Way Into Their Hearts

PA - Wiretapping Charges - A Laurel Highlands High School teacher is accused of recording a student without his permission and sending the video to another student.

Ashley Thurby-Kolesar, 33, of Uniontown, faces felony charges of intercepting communications, disclosing intercepted communications and criminal use of a communication facility.

According to the criminal complaint, state police began an investigation into Thurby-Kolesar in mid-January amid concerns she was having an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old student. more  video

Corporate Espionage Can Be Very Cost-Effective (if undetected)

UK - A traffic clerk at a London warehouse was asked to leak confidential corporate information to a rival in exchange for a £50 payment from a delivery driver, according to an extraordinary corporate espionage claim lodged in the High Court. 

In the claim filed last week, Sheffield-based logistics firm Tuffnells alleged that DX Group employees Tom Middlewood, Jim Sinden and Joe Trappitt — all former employees of Tuffnells — conspired to obtain daily customer service reports. more You may also want to read: The Employee Competitor… and what to do about it

Spy History: Life Imitates Art - The Shoe Bug

...The discovery of a “shoe bug” then prompted SY (US State Department - Division of Security) to modify its ACRs (Acoustic Conference Room)...

In 1969, Harry G. Barnes, Jr., Deputy Chief of Mission in Bucharest, Romania, called a classified conference, which met in the “bubble.” SY officer Lou Grob was monitoring the meeting from another room and heard the conversation. He immediately informed the Administration Officer (the RSO’s superior) that there was a bug in the ACR. After searching, they found something resembling Don Adams’s “shoe phone” from the 1960s television series Get Smart!--the bug was located in the heel of Barnes’s shoe. 

Barnes had had the butler take his shoes out to be modified, and someone had installed the bug in the process. After this incident, SY officers covered ACRs with Reynolds plastic wrap to reduce the radiation of low-power devices such as shoe bugs until the proper security modifications could be made. more  "Psst... Wanna buy some spy shoes? Click this."

Balloon Incident Reveals More Than Spying

There is nothing new about superpowers spying on one another, even from balloons. But for pure gall, there was something different this time...

It may be months before American intelligence agencies can compare the audacious flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon across the country to other intrusions on America’s national security systems, to determine how it ranks.

After all, there is plenty of competition.

There was the theft of the designs of the F-35 about 15 years ago, enabling the Chinese air force to develop its own look-alike stealth fighter, with Chinese characteristics. There was the case of China’s premier hacking team lifting the security clearance files for 22 million Americans from the barely secured computers of the Office of Personnel Management in 2015. That, combined with stolen medical files from Anthem and travel records from Marriott hotels, has presumably helped the Chinese create a detailed blueprint of America’s national security infrastructure...

Not surprisingly, now it is coveted by military and intelligence officials who desperately want to reverse-engineer whatever remains the Coast Guard and the Navy can recover. more

Extra Credit: Spy vs Spy: A brief history of balloon spying & Thaddeus S. C. Lowe

NY AG Spikes Spyware

The New York Office of the Attorney General has announced punitive measures against Patrick Hinchy and 16 of the companies he owns, for illegally promoting spyware.

Since 2011, Hinchy has owned and operated numerous companies, including the 16 investigated by the New York OAG, for selling and promoting spyware targeting Android and iOS devices, including Auto Forward, Easy Spy, DDI Utilities, Highster Mobile, PhoneSpector, Surepoint, and TurboSpy.

Once installed on victim devices, the spyware would collect and exfiltrate data such as call logs, text messages, photos, videos, emails, Chrome browser data, location, and data from messaging and social media applications, including WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The spyware was sold to ‘customers’ looking to spy on their spouse, colleagues, or other individuals, and was installed on the victims’ devices without their knowledge and without notifying them of the data collection and exfiltration activities...

Collected data, the New York OAG has discovered, was being transmitted in an insecure manner, which exposed it to potential cyberattacks and snooping...

The New York OAG fined Hinchy and his companies $410,000 in penalties and ordered them to modify the software so that it would notify device owners of the data collection activities. more

AT&T Goes to the Dogs... or, Fetch 5GK9

AT&T has partnered with Ghost Robotics to test the many use cases of a fleet of 5G-connected robotic dogs in public safety and first response...

Surveillance
One use case involved robotic dogs with wireless network-connected cameras that were deployed at military bases for patrol. At Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, video feeds in real-time are sent to base personnel who always track activity on the base.

This same robotic dog could be used in commercial use cases either indoors or outdoors to patrol the perimeter of structures such as warehouses, logistics facilities, shopping malls or fleet centers. more

Workers Foil Bosses’ Surveillance Attempts

Companies tracking employees’ productivity run up against inventive workarounds.

Lisa Crawford... is wary of her computer falling asleep when she gets up to throw in a load of laundry...Her solution? Sloth TV, a live-cam of a Costa Rican wildlife rescue ranch...Ms. Crawford pulls up the stream on a second monitor. Her computer stays awake...

Mr. Dewan had learned that his computer wouldn’t go to sleep or mark him as “idle” during a presentation...

Mr. Abbas wrapped the cord of his computer mouse around a rotating desk fan. Its motion kept the mouse moving and prevented his computer from shutting down. “I logged on, went to the gym,” he says.

For workers who aren’t as handy, mouse jigglers are for sale on Amazon. “Push the button when you’re getting up from your desk and the cursor travels randomly around the screen—for hours, if needed!” says one review. more

How IBM Trolled East German Spies

In the late 1960's IBM knew its technology was being smuggled into Communist block countries. One designer decided to sent a message etched into one of the circuit boards of the IBM 360 computer. Written in Russian, the message loosely translates to, "When do you want to stop to swipe. Own design is better."

more

Thanks to one of our readers... Hi Kevin,
Your latest post incorrectly states the name of the U.S. company whose semiconductor engineers put a hidden message in their computers for GDR's Stasi semiconductor spies to see. I said "DEC" in my email because that was the name of Digital Equipment Corporation--not IBM.

Also, the message wasn't "etched into one of the circuit boards of the IBM 360 computer", as you stated--it was microscopically etched onto the silicon die of a DEC memory chip that was used in DEC (not IBM) computers, and could only be seen after someone used acid to dissolve the chip packaging to expose the die for reverse-engineering. I thought all that would be clear to you from the video, so I didn't belabor it.

You might want to correct that info on your website.

Cheers,

Attorney's Wiretap Claims Against Old Firm To Continue

Vrdolyak Law Group LLC must face a proposed class action alleging it recorded the conversations and phone calls of employees without their consent in violation of the Federal Wiretap Act and state laws, a federal court ruled.

Plaintiff Daniel Alholm timely filed his state and federal wiretapping claims against the law firm, Judge Mary M. Rowland of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said Tuesday.

Rowland rejected the firm’s argument that Alholm filed the wiretapping claims after the two-year statute of limitations had run, and denied its motion to dismiss as to those claims. She also dismissed Alholm’s fraud claims against the firm, but affirmed that the court would exercise supplemental jurisdiction over his state law misappropriation of likeness claims.

Alholm alleged that the firm surveilled employees in both its Chicago and Nashville offices, recorded conference calls and employees’ individual calls, and made unethical management and financial decisions. more

Moral: If you are a business that needs to record workplace activity, consult with a law firm that knows the local laws, first.

Cautionary Tale: Secreted Cell Phones

UK - Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has laughed off the moment sex noises transmitted by a YouTube prankster disrupted the show's live coverage.

Noises from a porn clip were heard as Lineker presented pre-match build-up before the Wolves v Liverpool fixture.

A frenzied studio hunt uncovered a planted mobile phone - and YouTube prankster Daniel Jarvis claimed he was behind the stunt on Tuesday's show. The BBC apologised to any viewers who were offended.

But Lineker, who later tweeted a picture of the mobile phone he said was "taped to the back of the set", said he thought there was nothing to apologise for. Calling it a "good prank", he said: "As sabotage goes it was quite amusing." more

In another environment a hidden cell phone could well have been used as an eavesdropping bug. 

We're not talking expensive iPhones here. Cheap, mini-sized phones can do the job too. Short-term, quick-drop, and expendable. Another good reason to conduct Technical Surveillance Countermeasures inspections in corporate offices and conference rooms.

Spybuster Tip #823 - Remote Control Duplicators

Never let your door / gate opener fob out of your control.

Here's why... Anyone (service person, neighbor, guest, valet, etc.) only needs to have access to your fob for a few seconds to make one for themselves.

Fob duplicators are cheap, available and easy to use... (more detailed version here)

Videos About Spy Cameras

Berning Robot SC Electronic 35mm camera

Serial number 0-01486. Schneider Xenagon 30mm lens, for covert uses. This 35mm camera manufactured in the 1980s takes images 16x16mm in size on its own small diameter cassettes which allow 40 monochrome or 35 colour images to be taken (colour film being thicker than black and white, hence the different capacities). The camera has an interchangeable back, eliminating the need for rewinding film in camera. The camera uses a TTL metering system. The lens has a fixed f5.6 aperture, which allows shutter speeds to be set between 4 and 1/500 of a second. Manual settings are possible. Images can be shot at the rate of one frame every 1.5 seconds. The slowness of the motorised wind on minimises the noise of the camera operationally. Various shutter release mechanisms are known, both mechanical and electronic, including radio control. Mossad allegedly developed an infra-red pulse controlled shutter release. Purported to have been designed to the specifications of the Israeli intelligence service, the camera was intended for covert surveillance. Both its size being around the size of a cigarette packet and its silent operation make it very suitable. It was also certainly used by the East German STASI and other intelligence agencies. The size of the camera lends itself to use in a variety of concealments. Examples evidenced include Sony ‘Walkman’ cassette players, books and handbags. A high quality button frontage for the lens exists. This model comes with an adapted bag concealment, where the lens shoots through a decorative metal emblem on the side of the bag and the shutter is fired by a concealed button. and many more videos from spycamerasaurus, @spycamerasaurus3745

Corporate Espionage: Newly Identified Hacker Group - Dark Pink

A newly identified hacker group Dark Pink attacked seven high profile targets, including government and military institutions, in Southeast Asia and Europe from June to December 2022, Russian cybersecurity company Group-IB said.

The main goal of the hacker group is corporate espionage, as criminals are trying to steal documents and record sounds from the electronic devices of the victims, the Russian cybersecurity firm said.

The hackers sent their victims email messages containing a link to a website, according to the statement. When the victim clicked on this link, a malicious file was downloaded, which then stole personal information from devices, including passwords, browser history, and data from Viber and Telegram. more

A Bad Week for Spies

Armenia - A serviceman of the Defense Army of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) has been arrested on suspicion of espionage, the National Security Service (NSS) of Artsakh said Friday. The suspect has been charged with treason and taken into custody after a court approved pre-trial remand. more

Taiwan - Punishments for spying too lenient: lawyers

Two former military officers indicted on Chinese espionage offenses received sentences that were lighter than a drunk driving charge despite having betrayed the nation, lawyers and a government spokesman said yesterday. Attorney Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎), chairman of the Taiwan Forever Association, said the pair were found guilty of espionage, but do not need to serve time in prison. “In effect, the judges are encouraging people to spy for China by handing out such lenient terms,” Huang said. more

Meanwhile...

Iran - Dual British-Iranian Ex-Official Sentenced To Death Over Spying For UK’s MI6

The Iranian judiciary sentenced a dual British-Iranian citizen and former official Alireza Akbari to death on charges of spying for the British intelligence agency. more

USA - Spy agencies report hundreds more UFO sightings since 2021

National security agencies are studying hundreds of new reports of UFOs, including many that appear to perform maneuvers that are highly advanced, the nation’s top intelligence official reported on Thursday. In total, 510 “unidentified aerial phenomena” observed in protected airspace or near sensitive facilities have been compiled as of August of last year, according to the report to Congress from the director of national intelligence. more

USA - US spies lag rivals in seizing on data hiding in plain sight

As alarms began to go off globally about a novel coronavirus spreading in China, officials in Washington turned to the intelligence agencies for insights about the threat the virus posed to America. But the most useful early warnings came not from spies or intercepts, according to a recent congressional review of classified reports from December 2019 and January 2020. Officials were instead relying on public reporting, diplomatic cables and analysis from medical experts — some examples of so-called open source intelligence, or OSINT. more

USA - Campaign to Renew US Spy Powers Faces Bitter Battle in Congress

The US intelligence community faces a hard battle to renew foreign surveillance powers that have enabled authorities to repeatedly access private information about Americans despite constitutional protections. The Biden administration wants to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a warrantless wiretapping program introduced in 2008, which was last renewed in 2018 and is due to expire at the end of the year. “Without Section 702, we will lose critical insights into the most significant threats to our nation,” said General Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency, in a speech launching the Biden ... more

USA - Silicon Valley firm sues spy agency over software contract
Nearly seven years after Palantir forced the Army to consider buying its software instead of developing a bespoke system, a Silicon Valley firm is again taking the Defense Department to court over allegedly ignoring commercial products. Santa Clara, California-based Percipient.AI filed suit in the Court of Federal Claims on Monday, claiming the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is violating a law requiring agencies to buy commercially available products when possible. more

Iran - Belgian aid worker sentenced to 40 years in prison, 74 lashes
A court in Tehran has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to four decades in prison and 74 lashes after convicting him on espionage and smuggling charges. According to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, Olivier Vandercasteele was found guilty on four charges: "spying activities, collusion with the United States, currency smuggling and money laundring." more

Mexico - Seventh former Mexico City government official arrested for espionage
The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office has captured a seventh person accused of being a spy in the Sterling Case. On Wednesday, authorities in Mexico City arrested Jorge “N” from city streets. He is the seventh former official of the Mexico City government to be charged in the espionage network. He was picked up Wednesday on an outstanding arrest warrant. Six others before him, all also former government officials, have already been arrested and charged. more

S. Korea - North Korean spy ring uncovered
The counter-espionage authorities are said to be investigating an officer of a progressive party and two others on Jeju Island in relation to suspicions they have been spying for North Korea. It is the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s first known investigation of a spy ring acting for Pyongyang. more

Australia - Chinese Spy who exposed CCP regime on television denied asylum in Australia
A Chinese spy Wang Liqiang aged 32 who came on Australian media’s Nine now television’ show 60 minutes in 2019 confessed to being a spy of Beijing, has now been denied asylum in Australia. This exposes him to being deported back to China. more

Germany - Berlin: Eternal espionage hotspot
Nowhere else did the secret services of East and West clash as closely as in this city on the frontlines of the Cold War. Arts Un-veiled delves into the shadows of Berlin and uncovers incredible stories from ex-agents. video