Recent Spy Headlines

• Philippines seeks expulsion of Beijing’s diplomats over wiretapping as tensions explode more

• DX Group shares plunge after corporate espionage legal claim more

• Polish defector judge faces espionage charges more

• Russian diplomat to be expelled by UK for spying more
• U.S. Spy Agencies Adopt Rules for Purchasing Commercial Data on Americans more

• Is your car spying on you? more

• Canadian spy agency accuses India of espionage more

• US confronts China over Volt Typhoon cyber espionage more

• Public (in China) urged to be on lookout for marine espionage devices more

• Rival cryptocurrency CEOs courtroom showdown: a tale of innovation, espionage more

• New Book: The Spy Who Came in From the Circus more

• Former Equatorial Guinea Police Commissioner Arrested in Cameroon for Espionage more

• Oleg Gordievsky: the double agent who changed the course of the Cold War more

• China accuses Australia of ‘spying’ after navy flare-up more

• Australian Defence chief rejects China's spying accusation more

• Seeing spies everywhere - Yes the west is paranoid, but that doesn’t mean they’re not out to get us more

...and not to be outdone...
• China sees foreign threats ‘everywhere’ as powerful spy agency takes center stage... In a slick video marking the National Security Education Day, China’s top spy agency has a stern message for Chinese people: foreign spies are everywhere. more video

Recent Spycam News

• Hasbro Children’s Hospital Employee Arrested for Video Voyeurism... they said they found a hidden camera in an employee bathroom. more
• Anderson High School student arrested, charged with voyeurism more (video)

• Stuart landlord ordered to prison for installing hidden cameras to spy on 12-year-old girl... cameras they said he hid in the electric outlets of her bedroom more

• Man arrested for video voyeurism in Library West restroom more

• Man accused of secretly photographing woman in Fairfield Township Walmart more

• Jacksonville police seeking suspect who secretly recorded women in bathroom... store surveillance footage, along with video of the confrontation, provided a suspect description. more

• ‘Hidden Spy Camera’: Arizona High School Teacher Allegedly Recorded Students Changing Clothes... the teenager uncovered a charger plugged into the wall which was actually a “hidden spy camera,” Students went on to discover two more, one of which doubled as a clock on the wall. more

• Can you guess which of these everyday objects is actually a spy cam? Hidden spy cameras are still available all over Amazon despite the firm being sued over the gadgets. more

Microsoft Launches AI Chatbot for Spies

Microsoft has introduced a GPT-4-based generative AI model designed specifically for US intelligence agencies that operates disconnected from the Internet, according to a Bloomberg report. 

This reportedly marks the first time Microsoft has deployed a major language model in a secure setting, designed to allow spy agencies to analyze top-secret information without connectivity risks—and to allow secure conversations with a chatbot similar to ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.

But... it may also mislead officials if not used properly due to inherent design limitations of AI language models. more

New York to Dublin in Milliseconds

A new interactive art installation in New York City is allowing viewers to communicate with people 3,000 miles away in Dublin, Ireland.

The brainchild of Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys, “the Portal” was unveiled on Wednesday and allows people on either side of the Atlantic to interact with each other via a video link.

New Yorkers can head to Flatiron South Public Plaza at Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street, next to the Flatiron Building, to see people on Dublin’s O’Connell Street on the 24/7 visual livestream, according to a Wednesday press release. more
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From the Security Scrapbook... “Good artists copy, Great artists steal” files.
This isn't the first time an artist has connected New York City with Europe. You can read our May, 2008 post here. Links to the picture have evaporated, but the WSJ covered it as well...

UPDATE 3/15/24: The video portals connecting Dublin and NYC have been shut down to address inappropriate behavior, which apparently included flashing, showing porn, and mocking 9/11.

UPDATE 5/20/24: Dublin-New York portal reopens with set hours. A live video "portal" between Dublin and New York has reopened after it was temporarily closed due to "inappropriate behaviour".

Havana Syndrome Update - March 2024

CNN Update: Journalists tie Russian assassination unit to Havana Syndrome more

CBS 60 Minutes Update: Havana syndrome, which now goes by another name. 
5-year Havana Syndrome investigation finds new evidence of who might be responsible. more

Previously on Security Scrapbook

6 Ways Remote Workers Can Stop Bosses Spying on Them

1. Separate Personal Devices From Company Ones
2. Mouse Jigglers
3. Avoid Email and Social Account Monitoring
4. VPNs
5. Secure Browsers
6. Know Your Rights
Details here.

As seen on X this week…

As seen on X this week…

Book: Monroe affair with JFK Confirmed on Wiretap

For decades, Fred Otash was alleged to have kept the darkest secrets of Hollywood stars, including America’s most famous sex symbol.

Tinseltown’s most notorious private detective died in 1992 at age 70. The World War II Marine veteran is the subject of a new book, "The Fixer: Moguls, Mobsters, Movie Stars, and Marilyn."

It delves into shocking revelations from his never-before-seen investigative files.

For the book, co-author Manfred Westphal was given access to Otash’s archives with the blessing of his daughter Colleen. Westphal, who first met Colleen at Otash’s funeral, developed a close friendship with her over the years. more

Otash was notorious for bugging the homes, offices, and playpens of movie stars, kingmakers, and powerful politicians, employing then state-of-the-art methods of electronic surveillance and wiretapping for a who’s who list of clients for whom he’d do “anything short of murder.”

Pierce Brosnan Returns: In "A Spy's Guide to Survival"

If you love the modern James Bond-style spy movies, you can thank Pierce Brosnan that Hollywood keeps making them. If it weren't for the "Remington Steele" star's turn as 007 in the beloved 1995 film "GoldenEye," the Bond franchise might have ended up dead... 

Brosnan is returning to the spy game (at least, the on-screen spy game) in a new film from the creator of Netflix's "Warrior Nun" and "Ghost Wars." In "A Spy's Guide to Survival," 

Brosnan will play a retired undercover agent who tries to keep a low profile but is brought out of his reclusive life by a strange new neighbor with secrets of his own... 

"A Spy's Guide to Survival" does not yet have an official release date. Until then, viewers can and should catch "GoldenEye," streaming on Amazon. more

The Captured Spy Was an Animal

Dolphins are known to be smart animals, and one of them may have become an unwitting part of a heated regional conflict. 

Several media outlets are reporting that Hamas has detained a dolphin for allegedly spying on behalf of Israel. 

While the Islamic group has yet to officially confirm the capture, there are accounts of the incident that involve the animal having cameras and even a dart gun on it. more

His Nickname is Mikey

A New Jersey federal judge has agreed to vacate a $361,000 verdict against a law professor who a jury determined illegally wiretapped her former son-in-law and invaded his privacy. 

The court offered no reasoning for its decision. 

The law professor's former son-in-law, Andrew Burki, had argued that there was enough evidence presented at trial for jurors to determine that conversations between him and his son recorded on a secret device sewn into the boy's overalls by the law professor, Claire LaRoche, were not meant for public consumption and that he had an expectation of privacy regarding them. more

Trade Secret Cases On the Rise

Barnes & Thornburg LLP - Mitchell Berry

In recent years, there has been a noticeable uptick in trade secret litigation, signaling a shift in how businesses safeguard their valuable intellectual property...

Clients are increasingly turning to trade secrets as a means of protecting their innovations, particularly in sectors where rapid technological advancements and short product life cycles render patents less effective. Trade secrets offer perpetual protection as long as the information remains confidential, providing a valuable alternative for companies operating in dynamic and fast-paced markets.

The rise of trade secret litigation also highlights the need for robust internal policies and procedures to safeguard confidential information proactively. Companies must invest in measures such as employee training, restricted access controls, and non-disclosure agreements to mitigate the risk of inadvertent disclosure or theft of trade secrets. more

Did You Know: The legal system does not automatically protect Trade Secrets just on your say-so. You need to prove a history of special protections, like TSCM.

Hamas Hacked Settlement Cameras Prior to 10/7

Hamas broke into dozens of cameras in the surrounding settlements before October 7

IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate knew for some time that ISF managed to break into some civilian security cameras in Israel and collect information through them. Only when the soldiers investigated MID's large underground server rooms did the IDF discover that dozens of cameras had been hacked, some of which were inside the surrounding kibbutzim. more

Now, will you change your cameras' default passwords?

Signal App - New Usernames Keeps Cops Out of Your Data

Ephemeral usernames instead of phone numbers safeguard privacy — and makes Signal even harder to subpoena...

Signal is the gold standard for secure messaging apps because not only are messages encrypted, but so is pretty much everything else. Signal doesn’t know your name or profile photo, who any of your contacts are, which Signal groups you’re in, or who you talk to and when...

With the long-awaited announcement that usernames are coming to Signal — over four years in the making — Signal employed the same careful cryptography engineering it’s famous for, ensuring that the service continues to learn as little information about its users as possible. more

Your Doctor’s Office Might Be Bugged

It used to be safe to assume your doctor’s visit was a completely private affair between you and your physician. This is changing with ambient artificial intelligence, a new technology that listens to your conversation and processes information. Think Amazon’s Alexa, but in your doctor’s office. 

An early use case is ambient AI scribing: it listens, then writes a clinical note summarizing your visit. Clinical notes are used to communicate diagnostic and treatment plans within electronic health records, and as a basis to generate your bill...

Okay, your conversation just got recorded. But where does it go? Is it stored somewhere? How is it used beyond writing my note? The AI technology companies need to address these questions and comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act laws. Additionally, new regulations may be needed as the technology evolves. more