PrivacyLens Can Turn You into a Stick Figure

A new camera could prevent companies from collecting embarrassing and identifiable photos and videos from devices like smart home cameras and robotic vacuums. It’s called PrivacyLens and was made by University of Michigan engineers.

PrivacyLens uses both a standard video camera and a heat-sensing camera to spot people in images from their body temperature. The person’s likeness is then completely replaced by a generic stick figure, whose movements mirror those of the person it stands in for. The accurately animated stick figure allows a device relying on the camera to continue to function without revealing the identity of the person in view of the camera.

That extra anonymity could prevent private moments from leaking onto the internet, which is increasingly common in today’s world. more

FutureWatch: Electronic Dog Noses are Evolving

Generative AI has proven it can spit out a sound, an image, and written thoughts in mere seconds. But what about smells?

Osmo — a startup founded by a former Google researcher and backed by Google Ventures — thinks that scent is the next frontier for our computers. more

Wait… What do we need this for, other than the obvious applications in the fragrance industry, and medical uses, like detecting cancer. Perhaps the technology could also have electronic eavesdropping detection uses, like sniffing our covert surveillance devices.

Kevin's analysis...
Specially trained dogs have been used to sniff out covert electronic items, like cell phones in prisons, for quite a while now. The secret to detection is the device's electronic circuit boards. They contain these compounds: triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO) and hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (HPK). This second compound is also found on CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, the old tech floppy disks.

FutureWatch: Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) professionals have many types of technologies at their disposal for detecting illegal electronic surveillance devices. To name a few... Non-Linear Junction Detection, Infrared Thermography, and Radio-frequency Spectrum Analysis. We are now well on our way to adding EDN to our kit.

The Fake Spy Who Dazzled D.C.

Gaurav Srivastava dreamed of being a player in the murky world of clandestine operations.

His goal was to build a private military and intelligence operation, funded by natural resources, he told business partners. It would be akin to the notorious Wagner Group, only with the blessing of the U.S. instead of Russia. Leaving associates with the impression he had high-level contacts in the intelligence community, he said he wanted to do business in difficult places and muscle bad guys out of strategic markets... In reality, Srivastava wanted to use some of the money to pay for a villa in swanky Pacific Palisades... more

Spy History: Did Lucille Ball's Fillings Help Capture Japanese Spies?

Here is the comedienne relating this anecdote to talk show host Dick Cavett in 1974:

But is this story true? 

That assessment hinges on two elements: Did Lucille Ball really pick up some type of radio transmission through her dental fillings, and did that event lead to the discovery and capture of Japanese spies operating an underground radio station? Fact checked by Snopes

Thousands of Corporate Secrets Were Left Exposed

This Guy Found Them All...

If you know where to look, plenty of secrets can be found online. Since the fall of 2021, independent security researcher Bill Demirkapi has been building ways to tap into huge data sources, which are often overlooked by researchers, to find masses of security problems. This includes automatically finding developer secrets—such as passwords, API keys, and authentication tokens—that could give cybercriminals access to company systems and the ability to steal data.

In total, Demirkapi has found more than 15,000 active secrets of all kinds.

Within the vast number of exposed keys were those that could give an attacker access to the digital assets of companies and organizations, including the potential to obtain sensitive data. For instance, a member of Nebraska’s Supreme Court had uploaded details of usernames and passwords linked to its IT systems, and Stanford University Slack channels could be accessed using API keys. more

Increase Your Spy Resistance - Dumb Down Your Mobile Phone

The MP02 4G phone from Punkt .... It's a 'dumbphone' in the true sense of the word – it can make calls and send messages (though SMS or Pigeon), and offers a calendar too. 

But the Punk MP02's secret weapon is its 4G hotspot. This means when I want to switch off, I can stick my sim card in the Punkt phone and 'disconnect'. But if I'm carrying, say, my iPad mini in my bag, I can tether the 4G connection to it at the press of a button, giving my access to the likes of music and maps when needed.

But perhaps the best thing about the Punkt MP02 is the aesthetic. Conceived by industrial designer Jasper Morrison, the phone has a delightful retro and somewhat brutalist 1970s-inspired look. I've been asked whether it's a calculator, which just about sums it up. In a world of 'Y2K' dumbphone designs, it's refreshing to see something that stands out. more

Bonus: The MP02 is the first voicephone to offer a downloadable privacy feature that uses the Signal protocol to provide free, encrypted Internet-based calls and texts worldwide via Wi Fi or mobile data (subject to data charges).

Pakistan's Former Spy Chief Arrested

Pakistan's former spymaster - who was once tipped for the army's top job - has been taken into military custody. 

Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has been accused of abusing his power and raiding a private property development business during his time as head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. 

It is incredibly rare for someone of Gen Hameed's rank to be arrested in Pakistan, and has sparked widespread speculation, with many linking the move to his close ties with former prime minister Imran Khan...Gen Hameed could not be reached for comment. more

FutureWatch: The AI Polygraph, or Who's Zoomin' You

PolygrAI - A Technology That Provides Real-Time Risk Assessment And Sentiment Analysis

How it Works
PolygrAI is a fusion of advanced computer vision algorithms and extensive psychological research designed to discern the validity of human expressions. The software meticulously analyzes a spectrum of physiological and behavioral indicators correlated with deceit. For instance, when a person tells a lie, they might unconsciously exhibit decreased blinking or an erratic gaze—these are the tell-tale signs that PolygrAI detects.

The system vigilantly computes a ‘trustfulness score’ by monitoring and interpreting subtle changes in facial expressions, heart rate variability, and eye movement patterns. This score is adjusted in real-time, offering a dynamic gauge of credibility.

Furthermore, PolygrAI assesses the voice for sudden shifts in tone and pitch—parameters that could betray an individual’s composure or reveal underlying stress. more Lifetime access ($100) for beta testers.

Click to enlarge.

History: How to Build a Bugging Device in 1917

Want to build a bug; known as a Detectograph back in 1917? 

Just write to a magazine, like The Electrical Experimenter, and they would tell you. Things were pretty simple back then, but the parts were not cheap. The average full-time worker's wage was $13.21 per week.

Security Camera Catch: Checking Her Mate... with poison

A chess player has been suspended by the Russian Chess Federation and is reportedly facing time in jail after she allegedly tried to poison her rival at the chessboard during a tournament.

Amina Abakarova, a 40-year-old chess coach from Makhachkala in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, is accused of trying to poison her rival, 30-year-old Umayganat Osmanova...

Security camera footage shows the incident where Abakarova calmly walked over to the board where Osmanova was supposed to appear 20 minutes later. It was reported that she'd previously asked if cameras were in operation and been told that they weren't. She then smeared what is said to be potentially deadly mercury from a thermometer. more

How to Fight a Corporate Espionage Accusation

via SPODEK LAW
What Constitutes Corporate Espionage Fraud?
Corporate espionage fraud involves illegally obtaining confidential business information from a competitor to gain an unfair advantage. This can include:

• Stealing trade secrets or proprietary technology
• Hacking into computer systems to access sensitive data
• Using deception to obtain confidential documents
• Bribing or blackmailing employees to reveal inside information
• Industrial sabotage to damage a competitor’s operations

Common Defenses Against Corporate Espionage Charges
1. Lack of Intent
2. Information Was Not Actually a Trade Secret
4. Public Availability
5. Whistleblower Protections
6. Statute of Limitations

Key Legal Precedents in Corporate Espionage Cases

• United States v. Hsu (1999): Established that attempted corporate espionage is prosecutable, even if no actual trade secrets were obtained.
• United States v. Chung (2011): Clarified that the government must prove the defendant knew the information was a trade secret, not just confidential.
• United States v. Aleynikov (2012): Found that software source code did not qualify as a trade secret under the Economic Espionage Act (later overturned).
• United States v. Nosal (2016): Ruled that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act applies to theft of trade secrets by former employees.

Strategies for Defending Against Corporate Espionage Charges

• 
  Challenging the evidence: 
• Scrutinize how the evidence against you was obtained and push to suppress any improperly gathered information.
• Negotiating with prosecutors
• Presenting alternative explanations:
• Demonstrating lack of economic benefit
• Highlighting inadequate security measures
• Leveraging expert witnesses
• Pursuing civil resolutions

Greater detail appears in the original article, here.

Russian Spy Parents Reveal Identity to Their Children

How would you react if you found out your parents were foreign spies from a country where you couldn’t even speak the language? 

The prisoner exchange that secured the freedom of journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, as well former Marine Paul Whelan and more than a dozen others from Russian captivity also generated one mind-boggling anecdote seemingly straight out of a Soviet-era spy novel.

Among those swapped were Anna Dultseva and Artyom Dultsev, Russian spies who had been posing as an Argentinian couple in Slovenia. Not even their school-age children, who spoke Spanish with their parents, knew their true origins — until the parents revealed their identities after their release on the plane to Russia. more

How to Boost an Auction - Mention the Word Spy

The holder of Jeffrey Epstein's "little black book" believes it could hold the answer to suspicions that the late sex offender was a foreign spy. 

Eager for the cryptic scribbles and numbers to be investigated, the anonymous owner is putting the book up for online public auction on Aug. 16, with the goal of selling it to somebody capable of tracking down those named in it. more

Doc Boners: Recording Patients with Hidden Cameras

CA - An email sent to patients of a California chiropractic clinic informed them that a hidden camera was found inside an office bathroom and a chiropractor was arrested, according to a new lawsuit.

Dr. Nicholas Vanderhyde, 40, who was arrested in June, is accused of “strategically” hiding the camera in a cabinet to record patients, including children, and their families undressing at The Joint Chiropractic’s office in Valencia, a lawsuit filed in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County says...

According to the complaint, The Joint Chiropractic knew Vanderhyde was a sexual “predator” before another employee discovered the camera, equipped with a battery pack, inside a cabinet. more

Doc Boner II: MA - The owner of a Peabody chiropractic business is facing charges that he recorded nude visitors in his clinic after a hidden spy camera was found in a bathroom last week. more

Doc Boner III: NJ - Chiropractor charged after hidden camera found in bathroom at Springfield, NJ office. more

In other recent spy cam news...

Swim coach accused of hiding camera in changing room and recording teens.

Target shopper sees man record her in dressing room, then starts chasing him.

Girls were secretly recorded at Forever 21 and Six Flags by married couple.

Hidden camera filming through hole in trash can found in hospital bathroom.

FutureWatch: Eavesdropping on YOU, by Looking at Your Face

A Stanford University psychologist named Michal Kosinski claims that AI he's built can detect your intelligence, sexual preferences, and political leanings with a great degree of accuracy just by scanning your face, Business Insider reports.

Though Kosinski says his research should be seen as a warning, his work can feel more like a Pandora Box. Many of the use cases for his research seems pretty bad (like AI security scanners and robcops), and simply publishing about them may inspire new tools for discrimination. (Oops, forget what I just said.)

There's also the issue that the models aren't 100 percent accurate (yet), which could lead to people getting wrongly targeted. (e.g. Being a treehugger is not a sexual preference.) more