Ford Has a Better Idea: Patent In-Vehicle Eavesdropping

There was a time when people had to whisper to avoid being heard by the wrong ears. Now, in the era of smart devices, we’ve also got to worry about our smartphones listening to our conversations for advertising purposes.

But the eavesdropping situation seems to be reaching new heights with Ford’s recently published patent, which shows “systems and methods” that assist with showing more targeted ads.

The document also discloses that to achieve this goal, the new technology would listen to conversations that take place among people in the vehicle. more

Vodafone Fined €2.25 mil. - Poor Wiretap Security

The National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate (RDI) has fined Vodafone 2.25 million euros for not properly securing its wiretapping system. 

According to the Dutch regulator, Vodafone’s security of this system, which could contain state secrets or criminal information, did not meet the legal requirements in several areas...

Telecom companies must properly secure the physical space in which their wiretapping system is located, secure access to the system, and prevent information from the system from reaching unauthorized persons.

According to the RDI, Vodafone’s security plan did not meet the requirements. The telecom provider also did not properly screen the personnel who had access to the system. “A large number of them lacked an adequate job description, a signed confidentiality statement, and a certificate of good conduct,” the inspectorate said. The physical security of the system itself was also inadequate, making it vulnerable to unauthorized access, the RDI said. more

Spy Camera Sign Seen in My Travels

 

Hobart, Tasmania

Trade Secrets Audits: Strengthening Your Company’s IP Protection

via Sefarth Shaw, LLP...

In a world where corporate espionage and data breaches are increasingly common, protecting your company’s intellectual property is more vital than ever. 

Recent developments surrounding the FTC’s Non-Compete Ban, currently stalled in litigation, highlight the need for proactive measures. This webinar will help you navigate these regulatory shifts and strengthen your IP protection strategies.

Join Lauren Leipold, Eddy Salcedo, and James Yu for the next installments of Seyfarth Shaw’s 2024 Trade Secrets Webinar Series. This webinar offers crucial insights into enhancing your IP defenses and preparing for future regulatory changes.

Webinar Recap! Trade Secrets Audits: Strengthening Your Company’s IP Protection

In our recent webinar, “Trade Secrets Audits: Strengthening Your Company’s IP Protection,” Seyfarth’s Intellectual Property Partner, Lauren Leipold, along with Trade Secret Attorneys Eddy Salcedo and James Yu, shared essential strategies for enhancing IP protection in today’s complex landscape. 

As corporate espionage and data breaches become increasingly prevalent, the session provided valuable insights on effective methods for safeguarding your company’s intellectual assets. Notably, recent developments surrounding the FTC’s Non-Compete Ban—currently stalled in litigation—highlight the pressing need for proactive measures to secure your business against emerging threats.

Key Insights from the Webinar... more

Recent Spy News

• Colombia Head Coach Accuses Bolivia of Spying Ahead of World Cup Qualifier

• Alleged Iranian spy contacted MI6 to become double agent

• Kanye West sued after ‘spying’ on wife Bianca Censori and Kardashians

• Double Agent Rates 12 Spy Scenes In Movies And TV

• Lebanon arrests 2 foreigners suspected of spying for Israel

• Soldier accused of spying for Iran posed for selfies to disguise handler meeting

• CAA Sues Peter Micelli's Range Media Partners for Spying on 'Confidential' Meeting

• Playtech sues Games Global for IP infringement after spying claims

• Tánaiste 'never told' there was spy in the Oireachtas, Dáil hears

• US Cybersecurity Exec Slams Russian Oligarch Claim

• Germany to beef up security checks amid spying fears

• Russians changing focus from cyberattacks to espionage against Ukraine

• China Detains Four Taiwanese Employees at Apple’s ‘iPhone City’

• Ex-chief of staff to public safety minister denies stalling spy warrant approval

• Philippines: Detained spy holds key

Private Investigator Answers PI Questions

Private investigator Mike LaCorte joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about the profession of private investigator. 

How often are the people they're hired to watch cheating on their partner? 

What are PI's allowed and not allowed to do on the job, legally? 

Has anyone ever caught him investigating them? more

Amazing AI - Imagine Alternate Espionage Uses

via The Neuron...

AI generated image to video sizzle reel. And, more...

Want to see hear what the future sounds like? Check out these 10 examples:

Camera bot: Dr. Bobby Gomez-Reino engineered a voice controlled tour of his virtual data center, where he changes camera angles by chatting with his bot.  Browser whisperer: Sawyer Hood built a voice-controlled web browser. “Google, show me cat videos" just got a whole lot easier.  Speech to Picasso: Jordan Singer splashed together a voice-controlled painting app.  PDF mind reader: Marcus Schiesser created a voice chat for documents. “Hey term paper, what's your main argument?” Yes, please. 5-minute assistant: Pietro Schirano whipped up a voice assistant with Claude in “one shot.”  Interview prep pal: Kenn Ejima prepared an AI interviewer to conduct a 2 minute mock interview, quizzing you on your resume experience.  Smart voice agent: LangChain, an AI agent developer, crafted a voice assistant that can use tools like a calculator (code).  Website dialogue: Nicolas Camara made it possible to chat with anywebsite (like get the latest headlines from Hacker News, for example).  Stock tracking assistant: Willy Douhard made a voice assistant that can chart the price movements of multiple stocks with only your voice.  Real time animated friend: Bryan Pratte shared how to combine OpenAI’s voice AI with ExpressionEngine to bring his animated characters to life.

New Use for Old Spy Plane - Discovering Secret of Lightning

A spy plane retrofitted with research equipment has discovered some very intriguing things while observing thunderstorms in the tropics. 

According to a new paper published by the researchers behind the retrofitted spy plane, it appears that storms in the tropics are actually littered with medium-duration gamma rays, which could completely change what we know about how lightning forms.

The new papers, which were published in the journal Nature this month, describe in great detail the data that the researchers gathered while observing the atmosphere during tropical thunderstorms. According to that data, the lightning within those storms could very well be caused by long-duration gamma-ray emissions that sweep across parts of the atmosphere throughout the storm’s duration. more

Harvard Hackers Turned Meta's Smart Glasses into Creepy Stalker Specs

via The Neuron
A few weeks ago, Meta announced the ability to use its new Ray-Ban Meta glasses to get information about your surroundings. Innocent things, like identifying flowers.

Well, two Harvard students just revealed how easy it is to turn these new smart glasses into a privacy nightmare.

Here’s what happened: students Anhphu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio cooked up an app called I-XRAY that turns these Ray-Bans into a doxxing machine. We're talking name, address, phone number—all from looking at someone with the glasses.

Here's how it works:
The Ray-Bans can record up to three minutes of video, with a privacy light that's about as noticeable as a firefly in broad daylight.

This video is streamed to Instagram, where an AI monitors the feed.

I-XRAY uses PimEyes (a facial recognition tool) to match these faces to public images, then unleashes AI to dig up personal details from public databases.

Their demo had strangers freaking out when they realized how easily identifiable they were from public online info.

-----I-XRAY Antidote-----

How to Remove Your Information

Fortunately, it is possible to erase yourself from data sources like Pimeyes and FastPeopleSearch, so this technology immediately becomes ineffective. We are outlining the steps below so that you and those you care about can protect themselves.

1. Removal from Reverse Face Search Engines:

The major, most accurate reverse face search engines, Pimeyes and Facecheck.id, offer free services to remove yourself. 

• Pimeyes

• Facecheck ID

2. Removal from People Search Engines

Most people don’t realize that from just a name, one can often identify the person’s home address, phone number, and relatives’ names. We collected the opt out links to major people search engines below:

• FastPeopleSearch

• CheckThem

• Instant Checkmate

• Extensive list compiled by the New York Times

3. Preventing Identity Theft from SSN data dump leaks

Most of the damage that can be done with an SSN are financial. The main way to protect yourself is adding 2FA to important logins and freezing your credit below:

• Freezing Your Credit (by Vox)

Extensive list of data broker removal services

Chinese Hackers Breached US Court Wiretap Systems

Chinese hackers accessed the networks of U.S. broadband providers and obtained information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized wiretapping, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies), are among the telecoms companies whose networks were breached by the recently discovered intrusion, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The hackers might have held access for months to network infrastructure used by the companies to cooperate with court-authorized U.S. requests for communications data, the Journal said. It said the hackers had also accessed other tranches of internet traffic. more

Jay J. Armes, Private Eye, Dies at 92

With steel hooks for hands and a flamboyant personality, Mr. Armes captured the attention, and scrutiny, of reporters across the nation.

Jay J. Armes, a flamboyant private investigator who lived on an estate with miniature Tibetan horses, traveled in a bulletproof Cadillac limousine with rotating license plates and had steel hooks for hands, including one fitted to fire a .22 caliber revolver, died on Sept. 18 in El Paso. He was 92.

His death, at a hospital, was caused by respiratory failure, his son Jay J. Armes III said.

Described by People magazine as “armless but deadly,” Mr. Armes appeared to live the life of a superhero. In the 1970s, the Ideal Toy Corporation even reproduced him as a plastic action figure, with hooks like those he began wearing in adolescence after an accident in which railroad dynamite exploded in his hands. more

FutureWatch: Visualizing Radio Waves to Detect Eavesdropping Bugs

If you could see radio waves it would make finding your misplaced mobile phone easier. It would also make finding eavesdropping bugs and covert spy cameras easier to find, too.

We are not quite there yet, but progress is being made. A French company, Luxondes, is working on this now. Their focus, however, is not consumer or TSCM oriented. The immediate profit market is product testing. 

In this video, they show a transmitting device being waved in front of a panel with 64 sensors operating between 50 MHz and 3 GHz. 

Being able to visualize radio waves is necessary for many reasons. As TSCM practitioners, we want this technology to evolve.  

• Initially, by developing a hand-held screen which can be moved around a room or vehicle. 
• Eventually, by developing a device—maybe a spatial headset—that displays radio-frequency energy as a 3-D fog, lidar-map the room, and document both for review and as evidence. 
• And, whenever possible, add AI capabilities. Determine the frequency. List what is legally allowed to use that frequency. Analyze and identify the waveform. Display the results, and highlight any anomalies. 

With any luck, REI is also working on this for us.

AI Lip Reading: Eavesdropping Without a Microphone or Laser

 Eavesdropping via lip reading has been around a long time, probably since Og saw Charlie mouth "shhhh" when a bear approached their cave.

My introduction to eavesdropping via lip reading came around 1976. A company president asked for a sweep of his upper floor corner office for bugs. None found. He asked about the possibility of laser eavesdropping. Very unlikely, however, a careful visual scan of nearby buildings directly across on both streets discovered, one floor down, and just off center, there was the glint of a lens, and a darkened room with a desk, and two people. Further investigation established, yes, it was eavesdropping via lip reading.

The concept of AI lip reading actually predated this case. It was 1968, in the movie, 2001, A Space Odyssey. Remember this scene? "Concerned about HAL's behaviour, Bowman and Poole enter an EVA pod so they can talk in private without HAL overhearing. They agree to disconnect HAL if he is proven wrong. HAL follows their conversation by lip reading."

It is now 2024 and real AI lip reading has just arrived from Symphonic Labs. I took advantage of their offer to test the beta app. Of course, it was not 100% accurate, but massively impressive nonetheless.  

For the test, I selected a random YouTube video. (Nate, at the Daily Drop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy2a899yYec) A 10-second video clip was extracted. The clip was processed through Apple's Quicktime to remove the audio track before submitting it to the Symphonic Labs' app. 

This is what Nate is really saying about airport screening: "But if you decide to get Clear and if you do see one of the signs at the airport that has Clear and TSA Precheck then don’t assume that is your fastest option, All right, so hopefully I did a…"

Here is what the AI app reconstructs what Nate is saying:

This is an impressive start, and expected to become much more accurate as the number of training models increases. And, it’s not all for spies. Think about talking to your computer or smartphone without others eavesdropping on you. 

Better start thinking about what you say, where you say it, and establishing a relationship with a technical information security consultant to protect your business.

"My family knew that my father had been tapping the phone lines."

IT WAS PAST CURFEW. My friend cut his headlights and dropped me off in my driveway. From the little peaked window atop the garage, yellow light filtered.

Someone was in the attic.

I walked up the pebble path that bordered the house, opened the side door, and stepped into the garage.

It was hot. It was dark. The ladder to the attic was folded down, and from the ceiling-access square a faint light glowed. I heard my mother's voice. I took a step closer to catch what she was saying.

"Mom?" I said.

I heard a click. She stopped talking.

"Beth Anne?" my dad said from above.

"Dad? What are you doing?" "I'll be in in a little bit." I walked into the house and down the hallway and peeked into my parents' room. My mother was asleep on her side of the bed.

A FEW YEARS LATER, when I was away at college, I learned that my father had been tapping the phone lines. more$