Beware the Spies in Disguise

Unethical hackers are often hired by companies for corporate espionage: to infiltrate the IT systems of rival organizations to steal sensitive information, trade secrets, and strategic plans. The information can provide a competitive advantage or be sold for financial gain.

Although getting in touch with these hackers is comparatively easier, they have now resorted to anonymous modes of messaging through discreet texting applications that do not store metadata. Such apps use encrypted chat rooms, which makes it difficult for authorities to trace communications.

The internet is also filled with tutorials providing step-by-step guides for many kinds of unethical hacking tasks, which are often used by tech-savvy anti-social elements.

On the other hand, hacking into social media accounts threatens the individual privacy of creators and is often used for blackmail and extortion. more

This is a major problem on LinkedIn. 

Here are some of the come-ons I receive...

• It's nice to meet new people. Can we talk?
• Hello, it's a pleasure to contact you. Your resume and skills are excellent. I hope to make friends with you.
• I am Sophia, I checked your profile. I saw that your professional field is the talent we are looking for, which will be of great help to the new project I am about to start. If you are interested. You can leave your phone number and contact information, and I will arrange a time with you for a detailed conversation and make an appointment for a telephone conference. When is it convenient for you?
• After reading your resume and work experience, I found that you are a very talented person! can we talk?
• I think your field of work is great. Can we exchange ideas and learn from each other?

Spy Tip: Remember your Stranger Danger training.

This Week in Wiretapping, Eavesdropping & Spying

• Ex-Pittsburgh police commander gets probation in wiretapping case. A former Pittsburgh police commander on Friday morning agreed to take 24 months of probation on charges that he stashed body-worn cameras in patrol cars last fall to secretly record more than a half-dozen of his own officers. more

• Secret recording of Supreme Court justices raises legal questions. Posing as a "Christian conservative" at the Supreme Court Historical Society's members-only, black-tie gala, liberal journalist and filmmaker Lauren Windsor secretly recorded her conversations with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Alito's wife, Martha-Ann Alito. The event was not open to journalists. more

• The producers of the James Bond movies will receive honorary Oscars at a ceremony this November, the Academy said on Wednesday, as anticipation swells for the announcement of who will next play 007. Half-siblings Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have controlled the beloved espionage franchise since 1995’s Goldeneye, having been passed the reins by Broccoli’s father Albert. more

• Is your employer spying on you? Here’s how to know for sure. For starters, workers are likely more at risk of being spied on when using company technology, such as phones or laptops. However, your device activity can also be monitored if you have company software downloaded to your personal devices, or if your personal tech is connected to the company network. more

• U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich to stand trial in Russia on charges of spying for the CIA.
The Wall Street Journal reporter, 32, has spent more than a year in pretrial detention. more

• People are Spying on Travis Kelce's Missouri Home on Google Earth It's not easy being Kansas City Chief Travis Kelce. Oh, wait. It probably kind of is. Still, it's a little odd that many people seem to be spying on Travis Kelce's Kansas City, Missouri mansion on Google Earth. more

If You Have a Smartphone, Fog Reveal Probably Has Your Number

What is Fog Reveal? A legal scholar explains the app some police forces are using to track people without a warrant...

Government agencies and private security companies in the U.S. have found a cost-effective way to engage in warrantless surveillance of individuals, groups and places: a pay-for-access web tool called Fog Reveal.

The tool enables law enforcement officers to see “patterns of life” – where and when people work and live, with whom they associate and what places they visit. The tool’s maker, Fog Data Science, claims to have billions of data points from over 250 million U.S. mobile devices.

The tool – made possible by smart device technology and that difference between data privacy and electronic surveillance law protections – allows domestic law enforcement and private entities to buy access to compiled data about most U.S. mobile phones, including location data. It enables tracking and monitoring of people on a massive scale without court oversight or public transparency. more

China: ‘Secret’ Military Books Sold for Less Than US$1.

Chinese spy agency issues warning after ‘secret’ military books sold for less than US$1. 

China’s top spy agency has warned against the mishandling of confidential information as it tries to educate the public about its anti-espionage law, citing a case in which military-related materials were found to have been sold by a recycling station. 

On its official WeChat account on Thursday, the Ministry of State Security recounted the case of a man with the surname Zhang who bought four books from a waste recycling station. more

Book: Dark Wire - "Secure Cell Phone" courtesy FBI

The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever...

...in which the FBI made its own tech start-up to wiretap the world, shows how cunning both the authorities and drug traffickers have become, with privacy implications for everyone.

In 2018, a powerful app for secure communications called Anom took root among organized criminals. They believed Anom allowed them to conduct business in the shadows. Except for one thing: it was secretly run by the FBI. (Tip of the hat to N.C.)

Backdoor access to Anom and a series of related investigations granted American, Australian, and European authorities a front-row seat to the underworld. Tens of thousands of criminals worldwide appeared in full view of the same agents they were trying to evade. International smugglers. Money launderers. Hitmen. A sprawling global economy as efficient and interconnected as the legal one. Officers watched drug shipments and murder plots unfold, making arrests without blowing their cover. more

New Wireless Eavesdropping Vulnerability - Beam Deflection

A research team led by Rice University’s, Edward Knightly, has uncovered an eavesdropping security vulnerability in high-frequency and high-speed wireless backhaul links, widely employed in critical applications such as 5G wireless cell phone signals and low-latency financial trading on Wall Street.

Contrary to the common belief that these links are inherently secure due to their elevated positioning and highly directive millimeter-wave and sub-terahertz “pencil-beams,” the team exposed a novel method of interception using a metasurface-equipped drone dubbed MetaFly. Their findings were published by the world’s premier security conference, IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, in May 2024.

“The implications of our research are far-reaching, potentially affecting a broad spectrum of companies, government agencies and individuals relying on these links,” said Knightly, the Sheafor-Lindsay Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of computer science. more

Wiretap Published: A spy from Kosovo calls BIA official. They make plans...

The wiretapping is published: The spy from Kosovo calls the BIA official, they make plans to ignite tensions in the North.

An audio recording is published in which Srdjan Rosic and Bedri Shabani are heard speaking, the latter arrested in Kosovo as a collaborator of the Serbian secret services.

Although the audio is censored in places, it is clear that Bedri Shabani, who is suspected of collaborating with Serbian intelligence, asks the BIA to help him and his men do a job. more & audio of the wiretap

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In Other Spy Wiretap News...
Recently, an intelligence service in Russia intercepted a Webex call involving four high-ranking officers from the Air Force. The audio was made public, revealing discussions on potential deployment scenarios for the Taurus missile in Ukraine if it were to be transferred there. This incident sparked discussions in Germany and beyond back in March. It was also revealed that a Bundeswehr general committed a blunder in Singapore...

The Inspector General of the Air Force, Ingo Gerhartz, will face a disciplinary action over a recorded conversation about the Taurus missile with Russia. The General Lieutenant will have to pay a fine as a consequence, wrapping up the issue, confirms the German Press Agency. more

Sky Spy: Out of This World Espionage

Russian satellite is caught spying on another satellite... The French company Aldoria Space, which tracks objects in orbit using a network of ground-based telescopes, has published a very revealing record. It demonstrates how the Russian Luch-2 inspection satellite approaches other spacecraft.

The rendezvous took place on April 12, 2024, in geostationary orbit. After that, Aldoria Space gave a warning to satellite operators about the sudden maneuvers of the Russian spacecraft.

Aldoria Space didn’t report which satellite was spied on by Luch-2. 

Such maneuvers are not uncommon for Russian and Chinese spacecraft, which have been repeatedly caught spying on other satellites.  more

The rendezvous of the Russian spy satellite Luch-2 with another spacecraft. 

AirTag Goes to Court

The District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, United States of America says a native of Tajikistan, Ibodullo Muhiddinov, is charged with the intent to injure, harass, intimidate, and place under surveillance another person, that is, S.K.

Ibodullo Muhiddinov, reportedly linked to a Russian human smuggling network, has tracked his ex-wife in the United States using the AirTag. more

2378 Cybersecurity Tools and Resources

Explore the largest curated directory of cybersecurity tools and resources to enhance your security practices. Find the right solution for your cybersecurity domain. more

Chinese Drone Photographer Charged Under US Espionage Act

While on leave from his graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, Fengyun Shi flew to Virginia on January 5, 2024. While in Virginia, he rented a car and drove to a shipyard where United States military personnel build nuclear submarines. 

An affidavit filed later in January by FBI special agent Sara Shalowitz claims that a shipyard security officer saw Shi and told the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Shalowitz alleges that on January 6, Shi was flying his drone in poor conditions, and it got stuck in a tree on a neighboring property.

Shi approached the property owner, requesting help retrieving his drone...The unnamed individual captured images of Shi, his rental car’s license plate, and Shi’s identification. They then called the police.

When law enforcement arrived on the scene, Shi was understandably “very nervous,” and failed to provide a reasonable explanation for why he was there and flying a drone. The police explained to Shi that the fire department would need to retrieve the drone and that Shi should stay there until they arrived. Instead, Shi left the area entirely, abandoning his drone in the process. more

Cybersecurity Labeling for Smart Devices

Consumer labels designed to help Americans pick smart devices that are less vulnerable to hacking could begin appearing on products before the holiday shopping season, federal officials said Wednesday.

Under the new U.S. Cyber Trust Mark Initiative, manufacturers can affix the label on their products if they meet federal cybersecurity standards. The types of devices eligible for labels include baby monitors, home security cameras, fitness trackers, refrigerators and other internet-connected appliances. more

Spy Rock Mystery (probably) Solved.

Last week we reported on a mystery spy rock planted in a suburban neighborhood. No one knew why. This week, there is a likely solution. The same day, about 40 miles away...

On May 20, 2024, at approximately 10:31 p.m., the Glendale Police Department arrested four Colombian national burglary suspects in the Emerald Isle area of Glendale.

During the vehicle search, officers found a video surveillance device with a battery pack charging system camouflaged with leaves. This evidence, combined with the finding of freshly disturbed dirt in a planter in the cul-de-sac, led Glendale detectives to believe that the suspects had strategically placed the camera in the planter. 

This method allowed them to create a sophisticated method to gain a view of residences and know when homeowners would leave.

Officers also located a construction hard hat and a vest, which can be used as a ruse to approach homes with minimal suspicion...During that pursuit, the suspects discarded stolen items, including a WiFi signal jammer to disable home security systems. more

Florida Mother Finds Hidden Cameras After Ex-Boyfriend Moved Out

A concerned mother called the police because she found a small hidden camera in an electrical outlet in her young adult daughter's bathroom. According to the Ocala Police Department, an officer who went to the home to investigate took the small camera from behind the bathroom electrical outlet...Police added that the outlet was directly facing the shower and toilet.

Two days later, police were called to the home again because another camera had been found inside the residence. This time, police say the camera was disguised as a Wi-Fi repeater in the daughter's room.

The woman told police that the router was installed by her ex-boyfriend...who lived with the mother and daughter for a time. more

What TSCM techs know that police don't... "If you find one surveillance device, keep searching."

In other spy cam news...
The Gray's Creek Fire Department fire chief was arrested Thursday after allegedly placing a camera in the fire station's vent. more

A 39-year-old man has been arrested after officials with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office say he used a hidden camera disguised as a "phone charger" to spy live on an alleged victim. We’re told years went by before she noticed the live feed on his phone. “Perverts and sick people are going to be creative and try to find a way to invade your privacy,” Sheriff Marco Lopez said... He’s encouraging people to check for hidden cameras in their homes, vacation homes, and hotel rooms. more

Kid's Jewelry - Ankle Bracelet for the Wrist

Google announced the Fitbit Ace LTE, a surveillance-forward ("Know where your wild things are") smartwatch featuring all the features youngsters love, such as having their location and habits constantly under observation by adult customers of the world's largest advertising company. 

It's about 45mm across and a little over 13mm thick, comes with 4G LTE and GPS/GNSS, allows calling and messaging up to 20 contacts, and has NFC so yer littluns can buy stuff too. 16 or more hours of battery life is promised on a charge and there's an array of sensors. more