Spy Bots: Last Month, Balloons - This Month, Trojan Horse Cranes

According to The Wall Street Journal, Pentagon officials are concerned that the ship-to-shore cranes — made by the China-based manufacturer, ZPMC — have emerged as a possible spying tool for the Chinese government. 

The ZPMC cranes, according to the Journal, possess "sophisticated sensors that can register and track the provenance and destination of containers, prompting concerns that China could capture information about material being shipped in or out of the country to support U.S. military operations around the world."

There are also worries of the cranes providing remote access to other parties disrupting the flow of goods in America, the Journal reports. "Cranes can be the new Huawei," said Bill Evanina, a former top U.S. counterintelligence official. more

History: Early Anti-Eavesdropping / Wiretapping Invention

November 10, 1892...
Wiretapping telegraph lines was a known problem back then. Problem was... it was risky, detectable, and the tap always lead to the tapper. In some instances, all this could be circumvented by simply eavesdropping. If one could hear the telegraph clicking—and knew code—one could jot down the message, just like the telegraph employee.

This is how the problem was solved...

Non-Disclosure Agreements That End Up in the Toilet

The need for a Non-Disclosure Agreement used to be a hard pill to swallow. Not anymore. NDA is an edible confidentiality agreement that protects all information exchanged within 30 minutes of ingestion.

Contract Summary
NDA is an edible non-disclosure agreement that protects in perpetuity all information exchanged within 30 minutes of ingestion. Every NDA is comprised of a size 00 gelatin capsule imprinted with a QR code leading to this website and filled with powder made from copies of this agreement printed onto rice paper with ingestible ink. NDA can be executed by any number of people at once. Simply provide every party with their own capsule before executing the agreement. Parties can extend the duration of effect by consuming additional NDA. more

"Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Market (TSCM) Is Likely to Experience a Tremendous Growth by 2029"

(Orion Market Research reports, with explanation links added.)

Technical surveillance countermeasures market (TSCM) is anticipated to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. The emergence of wireless technology and Internet of Things technology, growing adoption of espionage device detecting systems in various sectors such as commercial, government, industrial, defence and aerospace, and rising demand for modern surveillance technologies are some of the major factors, that are expected to fuel the technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM) market demand, during the forecast period.

TSCM, also referred to as digital bug sweeping, entails detection and identification of the presence of technological surveillance hazards and devices, including hidden microphones, cameras, or other electronic devices. It offers thorough instrumented, and, physical and visible evaluation of a facility's technical security status. This system not only detects and locates espionage devices, however, additionally identifies various regions, where an enterprise has a risk factor to lose any vital information through illicit eavesdropping devices or systems such as electronic bugs, hidden cameras, listening devices, cellular interception, Bluetooth interception, burst transmitters, laser microphones, among other devices. more

• Security Companies: Add TSCM to your services menu.

• Corporate Security Departments: Add TSCM to your enterprise services.

In-house, or contract... Contact Murray Associates TSCM for free turnkey advice.

The Secret, Insecure Life Of Security Cameras

Smart" cameras are one of the most ubiquitous IoT devices in the business world today, but they’re also one of the riskiest regarding cybersecurity.

What makes these devices so problematic—and a hacker’s dream—is that they fail at basic cybersecurity, are often accessible from the internet and almost always have outbound access to the internet, too...

Corporate Espionage
A more serious threat with smart cameras is that hackers can use them to spy on a company through video and audio feeds.

Sophisticated hackers can use this type of access to monitor susceptible areas in the company, such as boardrooms, executive conference rooms and manufacturing facilities. I’ve recently seen over half a dozen corporations compromised this way. The hackers remained undetected for years while they had direct access to important meetings and manufacturing operations.

Sneaky Data Theft
Smart cameras also make it harder for companies to detect stolen data leaving their networks. In a typical IT attack, hackers run the risk of getting caught when they try to exfiltrate data from the network. However, cameras and other types of IoT are a prominent blind spot for IT teams since they typically don’t monitor the cameras’ network traffic or block them from connecting to new IP addresses. This makes cameras a perfect conduit for data theft. more

Russian Spy Plane Destroyed With Help of Toy Store Drone

Pro-Ukrainian pilots flew a drone they bought from a typical consumer store onto a $328 million Russian spy plane that was later destroyed. 

Remarkable footage shows the drone casually arriving at Machulishchy air base near Minsk, Belarus, and landing on the Beriev A-50 spy plane that’s equipped with a special radar attached to the fuselage.

The flight was reportedly carried out by Belarusian anti-government activists, although it’s unclear whether the shop-bought drone was carrying explosives or if it was used to target the plane for a subsequent attack. more

Cruise Ship Employee Busted - Spycaming in Women’s Bathroom

A cruise ship employee has been sacked after he was busted allegedly filming a female passenger while she was in the bathroom. A viral video of the creeper’s high seas peeping currently boasts more than 10.1 million views on TikTok.

“This man was in the women’s restroom located at the kids club,” the victim, identifed only as Saja, captioned the disturbing clip. 

The sordid incident reportedly occurred aboard the MSC Meraviglia — a cruise ship belonging to the France-based MSC Cruises fleet headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. more (with original video)

Qphone Claims to Secure Communications

Highly Secure Communications Platform Enables Encrypted, End-to-End Voice, Messaging, and Video

Global Integrity announced the immediate availability of Qphone, a secure communications software platform that encrypts and protects voice, text, and video conversations between mobile devices, laptops, and desktop computers. Supporting iOS and Android, the Qphone app ensures total privacy of communications using end-to-end quantum-resistant encryption.

“Every day there are new instances of eavesdropping, corporate espionage, and compromised systems initiated from bad actors, leaving organizations vulnerable,” explained Bill Marlow, CEO of Global Integrity. “Messaging apps and cybersecurity infrastructure available today are mostly compromised in some fashion. Qphone offers a new approach, delivering a native phone app that is easy to use yet highly secure. In short, Qphone makes privacy simple.” more

Russian Spy Ring in Australia Busted (and more)

A Russian spy ring in Australia operated in the country for more than 18 months before it was broken in a counter espionage operation by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).

The Australian domestic intelligence service spent months tracking the spies and ensured they did not suspect they were being watched, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Sources with knowledge of the ASIO operation say some of the Russian agents posed as diplomatic and consular staff while others used deep cover identities. more

A Russian citizen, who has been living and conducting business activities in Poland for many years, has been charged with spying for Russia between 2015 and April 2022, Polish authorities said on Thursday. more

North Sea countries on alert after Russian ‘spy ship’ scouts wind farms... A Russian vessel attempting to map out energy infrastructure for possible sabotage was escorted away from a North Sea wind farm by Dutch authorities, according to media reports. more

China, Russia targeting Canada's artificial intelligence know-how, CSIS warns. more

The Rest of the Story: US Government Has Been Dancing...

...Around UFOs for 75 Years

A legacy of hype, hysteria and fraud is undermining legitimate inquiry into those strange objects in the sky, whether you call them spy balloons, flying saucers or unidentified aerial phenomena...

...on June 24, 1947, when Kenneth Arnold, a businessman and pilot, spotted nine objects flying at unfathomable speed near Mount Rainier in Washington.

Arnold dutifully reported these to aviation officials. When pressed to describe the movement of the curious craft, he likened it to “a saucer skipping across the water.” This initial report went out across the news wires. Bored reporters eager to make something of the story ran with it, inventing details along the way.

In a few days, journalists had turned Arnold’s movement metaphor into something more material: a “flying saucer.” Arnold complained to veteran journalist Edward Murrow that newspapers had “misunderstood and misquoted me,” but to no avail. The idea of a flying saucer immediately captured the nation’s imagination, sparking a flood of alleged sightings. more  (Klaatu would not approve.)

Chinese Spy Balloon Close Up

It's arguably the greatest selfie ever taken. A pilot aboard the Air Force's legendary U-2 spy plane is looking down at China's alleged spy balloon as it hovers somewhere over the United States.

The photo, taken on Feb. 3 and released by the Department of Defense on Wednesday, has reportedly reached legendary status inside the Pentagon.

But where, exactly, was it taken? In a world with very few secrets, it's actually possible to answer that question.

The balloon and the U-2 spy plane were just south of the tiny city of Bellflower, Missouri, population 325, according to the U.S. Census. more

Extra Credit: 
Japanese Mystery Ball Live: 

After ‘Spy Balloon’ Conundrums, 

‘Mystery Ball’ Spotted On Japan’s Beach

Tin Foil Hats - When it is Not All in Your Mind

Tin Foil Hats - When it is Not All in Your Mind

FBI Lab Will Get to the ‘Guts’ of Chinese Balloon

The US has finished work to recover sunken remnants of the Chinese balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina and the debris reinforces that it was for spying, officials have said.

The White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, said the wreckage included “electronics and optics” but declined to say what the US had learned from it so far.

“It’s a significant amount [of recovered material], including the payload structure as well as some of the electronics and the optics, and all that’s now at the FBI laboratory in Quantico,” Kirby said. more

Corporate Espionage: ASML Claims Employee Stole Chip Secrets–Sold them to China

ASML has a monopoly over the global semiconductor industry, and has currently restricted the sale of its machinery to China. 

ASML claims that in an episode of corporate espionage, an employee stole their chip manufacturing secrets and sold it to China...

Based on its preliminary investigations, ASML believes that the misappropriated data will not have a negative impact on its current operations, although it concedes that some “export control requirements” may have been breached. ASML has subsequently disclosed the data breach to the appropriate authorities, and it is “implementing further corrective steps in light of this event.” more

'Rabbit Hole' Clip Shows Kiefer Sutherland as a Mastermind of Corporate Espionage

A lengthy new clip has been released for Paramount+'s upcoming spy thriller series, Rabbit Hole...

Rabbit Hole stars Kiefer Sutherland as John Weir, a master manipulator who helps corrupt corporate businesses...

This scene shows how the series will be a diabolical foray into corporate espionage. more