"Talk to the badge, Axxxxxx."

UK - Shop workers who have been the victims of hate crime are to be given 'spy' name badges - in a bid crack down on racism.

Some 48 devices are being bought by Merseyside's Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy to help tackle hate crime.

The semi-covert video cameras, which look like large name-badges, are intended to support victims of racial abuse. The cameras will capture evidence to help prosecute offenders.

The commissioner is also buying 100 personal safety devices for use by high-risk victims of domestic abuse, harassment and stalking. (more)

Spy Badges Gain Traction...
HIGHLY trained officers keeping the peace during G20 will wear tiny, spy-like cameras – the first to be issued by the Queensland Police Service.

The lightweight, miniature video cameras will be clipped to officers’ uniforms to record potential evidence during November’s summit.

The Courier-Mail can reveal 70 high-definition cameras will be used by frontline police. (more)

The Government Owns Your Tweets - No, not the NSA... the LOC

Even deleting your Twitter account won't help. 
You're brain farts are permanently archived.

Twitter and the Library of Congress have this "deal", see. Twitter gave the right to the Library of Congress to archive your public tweets from 2006 on. The result... everything posted publicly by you, since then, is now owned by the government.

"An element of our mission at the Library of Congress is to collect the story of America and to acquire collections that will have research value. So when the Library had the opportunity to acquire an archive from the popular social media service Twitter, we decided this was a collection that should be here.

In April 2010, the Library and Twitter signed an agreement providing the Library the public tweets from the company’s inception through the date of the agreement, an archive of tweets from 2006 through April 2010. Additionally, the Library and Twitter agreed that Twitter would provide all public tweets on an ongoing basis under the same terms."

FutureWatch: Data mining of your tweets by employers, attorneys, investigators, retailers, insurance companies, LOEs, ex's, and plain old creepy people.

BTW... Kevin's Security Scrapbook post headlines are Tweeted.

Infographic - NSA Interactive Spy Chart

This is a plot of the NSA programs revealed in the past year according to whether they are bulk or targeted, and whether the targets of surveillance are foreign or domestic. Most of the programs fall squarely into the agency’s stated mission of foreign surveillance, but some – particularly those that are both domestic and broad-sweeping – are more controversial.

Click to see whole chart.

Just as with the New York Magazine approval matrix that served as our inspiration, the placement of each program is based on judgments and is approximate.
For more details, read our FAQ or listen to our podcast. Also, take our quiz to test your NSA knowledge. (more)

BSI Publishes Study on Enterprise Mobile Device Security

BSI, the German Federal Office for Information Security, has published a report on "Enterprise mobile device security" (in German*) that provides a comprehensive overview on the current risks associated with the deployment of mobile devices in an enterprise context.
The report... covers Apple iOS, Google Android and Blackberry devices, taking a hard look at the current generation of hardware and software and the resulting dependencies on a limited number of key suppliers.

The study identifies key risk areas associated with the deployment of mobile devices in an enterprise context... and makes the case for doing so only in the context of a well-defined framework of organizational and technical measures that secure the enterprise against industrial espionage and other kinds of attacks. 

* An English version may be available. Ask at ESD America. 
Audio interview about Cryptophone, a high security cell phone ≈ 6 min.

Travel - Should executives expect to be subjected to more traditional means of surveillance...

...such as hidden cameras or microphones, intrusion into hotel rooms, or being followed?

Hidden cameras, microphones or physical surveillance are all reportedly routine in many parts of the world, not just China, for purposes that can include industrial espionage, blackmail and to identify and monitor potential criminal activity. 

Physical security systems, domestic security practices and personal privacy expectations can vary in different areas, but all of the above may be encountered. 

At major facilities catering to foreign business travelers, we expect that plainclothes police and domestic security personnel are nearby at almost all times. 

However, some individuals claiming to be police or facility staff may be scam artist impersonators – you never want to hand over a wallet containing identification, cash and all your payment cards. 

If you travel into the interior on a domestic flight, do not be surprised if your wallet and personal electronic devices are removed to a location out of your view during screening at the security checkpoint. (more)

First a Drone. Now a Helicopter. World Cup Spying Continues.

A helicopter from TV Globo was caught spying on Chile’s practice just outside Belo Horizonte.

Chile coach, Jorge Sampaoli, brought the session to a temporary standstill until the helicopter was ushered away from local side Cruzerio’s training centre at Toca da Raposa. (more)

Leaked: 10 Months Of The Houston Astros' Internal Trade Talks

Two years ago, the Houston Astros constructed "Ground Control"—a built-from-scratch online database for the private use of the Astros front office.

It is by all accounts a marvel, an easy-to-use interface giving executives instant access to player statistics, video, and communications with other front offices around baseball.

All it needs, apparently, is a little better password protection.

Ground Control Failure

Documents purportedly taken from Ground Control and showing 10 months' worth of the Astros' internal trade chatter have been posted online at Anonbin, a site where users can anonymously share hacked or leaked information. (more)

The Banksy Spy Art Saga - Next Stop - The Art Gallery - Maybe

UK - A stop notice could be issued by Cheltenham Borough Council to prevent a Banksy artwork from being removed from the side of a private house. 

Click to enlarge. (worth doing)

A photo has emerged apparently showing a hole has been cut into the wall of the Grade II* listed building, on which the Spy Booth artwork was painted.

On Thursday it was confirmed it was being removed, but the council warned that planning permission may be needed. 

The work, depicting men "snooping" on a telephone box, appeared in April. (more)

Bill Cosby's First TV Series, I Spy, Leads New Shows on DVD

“I Spy: The Complete Series” 
(Timeless/DVD, 1965-68, 18 discs, 82 episodes; 20-page booklet/episode guide).  

The story goes that actor Robert Culp was developing a secret-agent series to cash in on the James Bond craze and the second lead was to be an older white actor. But when producer Sheldon Leonard saw Cosby’s stand-up act, he suggested the character be changed to accommodate him. Cosby was 27, this was his first acting job and over the course of the show he won three Emmys. (more)

Supposed NSA Surveillance Trigger Words Blacklist

The List.

...and the project to which they are linked.

Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE X) Conference - New York City, July 18-20

HOPE X will take place on July 18, 19, and 20, 2014 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. H.O.P.E. stands for Hackers On Planet Earth, one of the most creative and diverse hacker events in the world. It's been happening since 1994.

Three full days and nights of activities, including the provocative and enlightening speakers for which the HOPE conferences are known. In addition, there will be access to a massive amount of space to put together all sorts of hacker projects and assorted fun stuff.

Pre-register for HOPE X! Tickets are on sale at the 2600 store or can be purchased with Bitcoins! (more)

Why Every Newsroom Needs a TSCM Consultant on Call

In the post-Edward Snowden era, newsrooms are increasingly aware of state-sponsored breaches of privacy and the threat they pose to journalists and their sources. 

Some newsrooms have introduced sophisticated anti-surveillance technology, and others have literally reverted to notepad, pen and clandestine meetings in the interests of shielding their sources and avoiding state, and corporate, electronic surveillance. (more)

One solution.

Translation: Make an Artificial Brain That Can Think Like a Spy.... then make us a zillion of them.

A secretive United States intelligence organization has organized a conference to find firms capable of creating computer algorithms that learn in a similar manner to the human brain...

The July 17 conference in College Park, Maryland, gives prospective companies time to deliver presentations and slide shows of their existing research.

IARPA says it is involved in "high-payoff research programs to tackle some of the most difficult challenges of the agencies and disciplines in the intelligence community".

It undertakes research for more than a dozen organizations, including the Pentagon, the CIA and the National Security Agency. (more)

"They are spying on us with Jinns." (Hey, I only pass the stories along.)

An Iranian cleric has accused Israel of using “jinn” to spy on Iran and its allies.

Iranian TV has broadcast a segment where Waliullah Naqi Borfer, an expert in the supernatural jinn of Arab mythology, said that Jews have long experience in manipulating jinn and Israel has tried to use the creatures to perform espionage on Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.

The Israelis were unsuccessful in their attempts, however, according to Borfer.

He did not give details. (more) (video)

Air Force One - Gets TEMPEST TSCM Tested

When it's time to make sure that communications from and to the aircraft of the president of the United States are safe from eavesdropping, who do you call? The Air Force's 346th Test Squadron.

Part of the 688th Cyberspace Wing, which itself is part of the 24th Air Force, based at Lackland Air Force base here, the 346th is tasked with making sure that electronic emissions aboard all the service's aircraft are secure. Even Air Force One.

As part of CNET Road Trip 2014, I've come to Lackland, located in this south-central Texas city of 1.3 million, to see just how the Air Force "hardens" its aircraft from unwanted eavesdropping. Though I came to hear technicians talk about their efforts on board any number of the service's planes, I wasn't expecting to hear about their recent work to secure communications on Air Force One. (more)