NY - Elliott Associates has accused another hedge fund of spying and stealing proprietary trading technology.
The $10 billion New York-based hedge fund, run by Paul Singer, filed suit today against Cedar Hill Capital Partners alleging it of scheming to “literally steal the software in order to use it for its own trading activities,” branding the activity “nothing short of an overt act of corporate espionage.” (more)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
In-house NSA
A rapid way to spot insider threats from individuals within an organization such as a multinational company or military installation is reported in the current issue of the International Journal of Security and Networks. The technology uses data mining techniques to scour email and build up a picture of social network interactions. The technology could prevent serious security breaches, sabotage, and even terrorist activity.
Gilbert Peterson and colleagues at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson AFB, in Ohio are developing technology that could help any organization sniff out insider threats by analyzing email activity or find individuals among potentially tens of thousands of employees with latent interests in sensitive topics. The same technology might also be used to spot individuals who feel alienated within the organization as well as unraveling any worrying changes in their social network interactions. (more)
Gilbert Peterson and colleagues at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson AFB, in Ohio are developing technology that could help any organization sniff out insider threats by analyzing email activity or find individuals among potentially tens of thousands of employees with latent interests in sensitive topics. The same technology might also be used to spot individuals who feel alienated within the organization as well as unraveling any worrying changes in their social network interactions. (more)
New Gadget Can Spy On Text Messages
Suspicious spouses can check out their husband or wife's deleted texts with a new gadget. The £76 ($149.00) device can get all the data off a mobile telephone's sim card - including messages and numbers that have been deleted. The information can then be transferred to a PC or laptop through a USB port. BrickHouse Security say it is ideal to "spy on your wife, husband, teens or colleague". (more)UPDATE (5/28/08)
(source)
Comments from secret sources who KNOW...
"Could not read any more information than I could with SIMCon or SIM Seizure. Save your money." - S.H.
"Interesting marketing strategy, but the statement on their website that "This is the only SIM Card reader in the world that can actually see the *deleted messages*" is completely false. It is certainly not the _only_ product. You can do the same thing with any SIM/smartcard reader and a copy of Smartcard Commander (manually) or many other SIM analysis packages do it automagically (such as SIM Analyzer Pro), and it will cost you less than half of what Brickhouse is charging for this product. Deleted SMS's are very very simple to recover, as only one byte of the SMS entry changes to mark it as "deleted." Recovery of SMS from the SIM will depend on whether the phone stores SMS (and the other data this product claims to recover) on the SIM card or on the phone itself. Not all GSM phones store SMS/phonebook/etc to the SIM, and it can be a user-defined option where to store the data. Also, a typical SIM card may only hold a maximum of 30 SMS messages." - P.K.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Alert - The Wikileaks.org ruling affects you, too.
Quick review...(from Jan. 9, 2008)
"WikiLeaks.org is developing an uncensorable version of WikiPedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis."
Every coin has it light side and dark side.
The flip side of this coin is extortionography.
"What is Extortionography?"
Using audio / video / photographic or other evidence for personal or monetary gain, or to force a desired result or outcome.
"Do [insert demand here] or I will send [insert audio, video or other info-leak here] to WikiLeaks!"
------------------------
First blowback...
(from Feb. 20, 2008)
Recent days have brought two federal court decisions with disputed First Amendment legitimacy.
In San Francisco, District Judge Jeffrey White acceded to a request by a Cayman Islands bank to shut access to the Web site Wikileaks.org, which "invites people to post leaked materials with the goal of discouraging 'unethical behavior' by corporations and governments," as the New York Times reports.
In this case, the bank, Julius Baer Bank and Trust, accused "a disgruntled ex-employee" of giving stolen documents to Wikileaks in violation of banking laws and a confidentiality agreement. (more)
------------------------
This weeki...
Free speech advocates immediately hailed as a victory the decision on Friday of a federal judge to withdraw a prior order turning off the Web address of the site Wikileaks.org ...
“Maybe that’s just the reality of the world that we live in,” Judge White said. “When this genie gets out of the bottle, that’s it.” (more)
------------------------
"What does this mean to me?," you ask yourself.
- The court has given extortionography the green light for now.
- Don't assume your business information is protected from leakers.
- Reassess your information security procedures, today.
- The most damning leaks are always the audio and visual leaks.
- Conduct eavesdropping and spycam detection audits frequently.
Need help? Call us.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Survey - More Women Hiring Private Investigators
Women are increasingly employing private investigators to check on their cheating husbands, a new survey of divorce lawyers shows today.
With extra-marital affairs the main reason for the break-up of marriage, more than two in three lawyers surveyed last year had at least one client who had used a private investigator to find out if their spouse was being unfaithful.
In two thirds of the cases it was women who were checking on husbands, the survey of 100 lawyers by Grant Thornton’s forensic and investigation services shows. (more)
Private investigators: no longer in the shadows
Once it was the murky world of dirty raincoats and skulking in shadows. But the private investigator is now fast becoming a standard aid to divorce.
Paul Hawkes, 49, has run his own firm, Research Associates, in West London, for 31 years. “Last year I had probably 100 to 200 cases involving checking on extra-marital affairs,” he said. “Ten years ago it would have been fewer 50.”
One reason for the change was that women in particular, who were the bulk of the clients, were now far more “pragmatic” and “not prepared to suffer in silence or sweep things under the bed. Now they want to know what is going on.” (more)
With extra-marital affairs the main reason for the break-up of marriage, more than two in three lawyers surveyed last year had at least one client who had used a private investigator to find out if their spouse was being unfaithful.
In two thirds of the cases it was women who were checking on husbands, the survey of 100 lawyers by Grant Thornton’s forensic and investigation services shows. (more)
Private investigators: no longer in the shadows
Once it was the murky world of dirty raincoats and skulking in shadows. But the private investigator is now fast becoming a standard aid to divorce.
Paul Hawkes, 49, has run his own firm, Research Associates, in West London, for 31 years. “Last year I had probably 100 to 200 cases involving checking on extra-marital affairs,” he said. “Ten years ago it would have been fewer 50.”
One reason for the change was that women in particular, who were the bulk of the clients, were now far more “pragmatic” and “not prepared to suffer in silence or sweep things under the bed. Now they want to know what is going on.” (more)
Friday, February 29, 2008
SpyCam Story #437 - Pinhole PIN Bandits
UK - Police investigating a bank card cloning scam at a petrol station found a small, drilled hole in the ceiling above a chip-and-pin machine.
It is thought the hole, at a BP garage in Lincoln, was used to conceal a covert camera to record the pin numbers of unsuspecting motorists.
Lincolnshire Police said on Friday they had received more than 200 reports of fraudulent transactions from people who filled up at the petrol station, on the A46 at Damons Roundabout.
Victims' cards were used as far away as India and Dubai in what the force said was a national scam, not unique to the county. (more)
It is thought the hole, at a BP garage in Lincoln, was used to conceal a covert camera to record the pin numbers of unsuspecting motorists.
Lincolnshire Police said on Friday they had received more than 200 reports of fraudulent transactions from people who filled up at the petrol station, on the A46 at Damons Roundabout.
Victims' cards were used as far away as India and Dubai in what the force said was a national scam, not unique to the county. (more)
Basic Email Security Tips
Chad Perrin at TechRepublic has some excellent tips...
There is a lot of information out there about securing your email. Much of it is advanced, and doesn’t apply to the typical end user. The following is a short list of some important security tips that apply to all email users...
1. Never allow an email client to fully render HTML or XHTML emails without careful thought.
2. If the privacy of your data is important to you, use a local POP3 or IMAP client to retrieve email. This means avoiding the use of Web based email services such as GMail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! Mail for email you wish to keep private for any reason.
3. It is always a good idea to ensure that your email authentication process is encrypted, even if the email itself is not. (lazy man's email encryption)
4. Digitally sign your emails. As long as you observe good security practices with email in general, it is highly unlikely that anyone else will ever have the opportunity to usurp your identity for purposes of email, but it is still a possibility. (What is a digital signature?)
5. If, for some reason, you absolutely positively must access an email account that does not authorize over an encrypted connection, never access that account from a public or otherwise unsecured network. Ever. Under any circumstances.
Be aware of both your virtual and physical surroundings when communicating via email. Be careful. Trust no one that you do not absolutely have to trust, and recognize the dangers and potential consequences of that trust.
Your email security does not just affect you; it affects others, as well, if your email account is compromised. (full article with greater tip detail)
There is a lot of information out there about securing your email. Much of it is advanced, and doesn’t apply to the typical end user. The following is a short list of some important security tips that apply to all email users...
1. Never allow an email client to fully render HTML or XHTML emails without careful thought.
2. If the privacy of your data is important to you, use a local POP3 or IMAP client to retrieve email. This means avoiding the use of Web based email services such as GMail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! Mail for email you wish to keep private for any reason.
3. It is always a good idea to ensure that your email authentication process is encrypted, even if the email itself is not. (lazy man's email encryption)
4. Digitally sign your emails. As long as you observe good security practices with email in general, it is highly unlikely that anyone else will ever have the opportunity to usurp your identity for purposes of email, but it is still a possibility. (What is a digital signature?)
5. If, for some reason, you absolutely positively must access an email account that does not authorize over an encrypted connection, never access that account from a public or otherwise unsecured network. Ever. Under any circumstances.
Be aware of both your virtual and physical surroundings when communicating via email. Be careful. Trust no one that you do not absolutely have to trust, and recognize the dangers and potential consequences of that trust.
Your email security does not just affect you; it affects others, as well, if your email account is compromised. (full article with greater tip detail)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
TSCM Technology - Keeping Pace
The tools of the trade change fast in the world of TSCM.
Blink, and you're sweep business is history.
Here are three examples of the latest tools...
Recently
Too many digital radio signals.
Some of them flash on/off, quickly. Some frequency hop, quickly. Some hide within other signals. This year, a new instrument came out of the R&D labs called RSA6114A . It never blinks. It catches it all.
NOW
Too many digital radio signals.
How can one identify them all? This week, a new instrument came out of the R&D labs called H600 RFhawk Signal Hunter. It knows all. It tells all... at a reasonable price.
The Future
Having Superman x-ray vision would be a big help in finding eavesdropping devices. A new instrument is in the R&D labs called LEXID. Handheld x-ray vision. Just point, and see!
TSCM challenges do not become easier with time. You can, however, count on us to keep pace and slightly ahead.
Blink, and you're sweep business is history.
Here are three examples of the latest tools...
Recently
Too many digital radio signals.
Some of them flash on/off, quickly. Some frequency hop, quickly. Some hide within other signals. This year, a new instrument came out of the R&D labs called RSA6114A . It never blinks. It catches it all.NOW
Too many digital radio signals.
How can one identify them all? This week, a new instrument came out of the R&D labs called H600 RFhawk Signal Hunter. It knows all. It tells all... at a reasonable price.
The Future
Having Superman x-ray vision would be a big help in finding eavesdropping devices. A new instrument is in the R&D labs called LEXID. Handheld x-ray vision. Just point, and see!
TSCM challenges do not become easier with time. You can, however, count on us to keep pace and slightly ahead.
Unsecured Wi-Fi Could Compromise Your Identity
CBS3.com - Special Report...
The wireless internet signal you rely on for convenience could be making things easier for internet intruders. Police said hackers could be using your computer to download illegal music, child porn, or even your bank information.
Using a simple can antenna from his car, George Sandford can burglarize homes from hundreds of yards away out in the open and without wearing a mask.
"You can open bank accounts. You get drivers licenses, you can get practically anything you want," Sandford said.
All by using relatively low tech equipment, just about anyone with knowledge can hack into computers using unsecured wireless internet or Wi-Fi signals of unsuspecting people...
"I can build a body of information about you, your back accounts," Sandford said.
Jamie Smith spoke to one unsuspecting resident, "We were able to get onto your internet just a few seconds ago," and Rebecca Hansen of Swarthmore responded, "No."
Rebecca is a client of Tech Guides Incorporated and George Sandford is far from a thief. He is actually Tech Guides' security expert. He sat down and showed Rebecca how to secure her Wi-Fi something everyone should do.
"Not securing your wireless networking is pretty much putting a sign on your house saying 'Hey, we're open,'" Sanford said. Only about half of homes with Wi-Fi are locked. If you don't your computer's connection could be slowed down by others accidentally using your Wi-Fi. (complete story with video)
• Directions for securing your Wi-Fi
The wireless internet signal you rely on for convenience could be making things easier for internet intruders. Police said hackers could be using your computer to download illegal music, child porn, or even your bank information.
Using a simple can antenna from his car, George Sandford can burglarize homes from hundreds of yards away out in the open and without wearing a mask.
"You can open bank accounts. You get drivers licenses, you can get practically anything you want," Sandford said.
All by using relatively low tech equipment, just about anyone with knowledge can hack into computers using unsecured wireless internet or Wi-Fi signals of unsuspecting people...
"I can build a body of information about you, your back accounts," Sandford said.
Jamie Smith spoke to one unsuspecting resident, "We were able to get onto your internet just a few seconds ago," and Rebecca Hansen of Swarthmore responded, "No."
Rebecca is a client of Tech Guides Incorporated and George Sandford is far from a thief. He is actually Tech Guides' security expert. He sat down and showed Rebecca how to secure her Wi-Fi something everyone should do.
"Not securing your wireless networking is pretty much putting a sign on your house saying 'Hey, we're open,'" Sanford said. Only about half of homes with Wi-Fi are locked. If you don't your computer's connection could be slowed down by others accidentally using your Wi-Fi. (complete story with video)
• Directions for securing your Wi-Fi
Global Info Survey - CIO's Get Smart
A growing number of organizations recognize information security can provide more than just protection of corporate assets, with the delivery of IT and operational efficiencies and improving overall business performance emerging as critical objectives. That is the word from Ernst & Young's 10th annual global information security survey. The survey canvassed nearly 1,300 senior executives in more than 50 countries. (more)
Abusive Teacher Caught On Tape
A Houston mother, who said her daughter was well-behaved at home, was worried about what was going on in her child's classroom because the girl had been suspended four times for bad behavior.
Teacher: 'Y'all Are Just Stupid Kids'
So, Diana Mijares decided to secretly bug her daughter's backpack and was shocked to hear what was on the tape.
"It made us concerned," Mijares said on "Good Morning America" today. "It was enough and we needed answers."
Megan Mijares' digital tape recorded mostly mundane moments at Memorial Elementary School's prekindergarten class, but then it captured the teacher yelling at the group of 4- and 5-year-olds. All of it happened without Megan's or her teacher's knowledge.
"You're just a bad kid," the teacher says on the six-hour tape. "You're mean to me, so I get to be mean to you."
The teacher, who was not identified, continues to harshly scold the children.
"You are all just stupid kids. I swear to God," the teacher says. "You are just all stupid kids." (more) (video)
Teacher: 'Y'all Are Just Stupid Kids'
So, Diana Mijares decided to secretly bug her daughter's backpack and was shocked to hear what was on the tape.
"It made us concerned," Mijares said on "Good Morning America" today. "It was enough and we needed answers."
Megan Mijares' digital tape recorded mostly mundane moments at Memorial Elementary School's prekindergarten class, but then it captured the teacher yelling at the group of 4- and 5-year-olds. All of it happened without Megan's or her teacher's knowledge.
"You're just a bad kid," the teacher says on the six-hour tape. "You're mean to me, so I get to be mean to you."
The teacher, who was not identified, continues to harshly scold the children.
"You are all just stupid kids. I swear to God," the teacher says. "You are just all stupid kids." (more) (video)
"Grab the binoculars. The girls are headed for the Blue Lagoon!"
Regime revives Fiji spy agencyThe interim Cabinet will revive the National Security Council and the Fiji Intelligence Services. A statement from the interim Cabinet said this was a move to combat threats of terrorism against Fiji. (more)
Liechtenstein reveals industrial spying probe
Liechtenstein, focus of international investigations over tax fraud, said on Wednesday a man convicted after stealing data from a Liechtenstein bank was now being investigated for industrial espionage...
"The investigations concern suspicion of spying out business secrets for the benefit of a foreign party," the Office of the Public Prosecutor said in a statement. (more)
"The investigations concern suspicion of spying out business secrets for the benefit of a foreign party," the Office of the Public Prosecutor said in a statement. (more)
German high court conditionally approves government data spying
Germany's Constitutional Court has determined that any data stored or exchanged on PCs is private and protected by the country's constitution -- just not if you're a suspect.
The court determined that data collection directly encroaches on citizens' rights, but that authorities will be allowed to spy on suspicious individuals with high court approval. (more)
The court determined that data collection directly encroaches on citizens' rights, but that authorities will be allowed to spy on suspicious individuals with high court approval. (more)
2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey:
Over Half of All Employers Combined Fire Workers for E-Mail & Internet Abuse
From e-mail monitoring and Website blocking to phone tapping and GPS tracking, employers increasingly combine technology with policy to manage productivity and minimize litigation, security, and other risks. To motivate compliance with rules and policies, more than one fourth of employers have fired workers for misusing e-mail and nearly one third have fired employees for misusing the Internet, according to the 2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey from American Management Association (AMA) and The ePolicy Institute. (more)
From e-mail monitoring and Website blocking to phone tapping and GPS tracking, employers increasingly combine technology with policy to manage productivity and minimize litigation, security, and other risks. To motivate compliance with rules and policies, more than one fourth of employers have fired workers for misusing e-mail and nearly one third have fired employees for misusing the Internet, according to the 2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey from American Management Association (AMA) and The ePolicy Institute. (more)
PartnerSpy vs. PartnerSpy
In Scotland, where punches are not pulled, a daily newspaper instructs its readers, "How To Spy On Your Partner." For us, of course, it is a cautionary tale. These tactics may be employed by anyone, against anyone.
Partner vs. Partner is only one of many snoop scenarios. Here are some others:
- Employees vs. Management
- Ambitious Executive vs. Unsuspecting Executive
- Competitor vs. You
- Defendant vs. Plaintiff
- News Media / Protest Groups vs. Your Company
Being aware of 'everyman' spy technology is the first step toward protection. The second step is actively looking. Which, by the way, is what we do best for businesses and governments worldwide.
How To Spy On Your Partner
Feb 27 2008 By Craig McQueen
Lipstick on collars or smelling of a strange perfume used to be how cheating husbands got caught out. But in these days of big divorce settlements, spurned partners are gathering evidence the hi-tech way.
One US firm has produced a SIM card reader that opens text messages AFTER they've been deleted - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Other surveillance gadgets used today would look at home in spy films. They're legal and freely available from websites spystoreuk.com, spycatcheronline.co.uk and brickhousesecurity.com
Here are a few of the best: (described in detail here)
- HIDDEN CAMERAS
- MOBILE PHONE TRACKING
- WIRELESS BUGS
- PHONE RECORDERS
- GPS TRACKING
- COMPUTER KEY LOGGING
- THE TEDDY CAM
- INTERCEPTOR SOFTWARE
- VEHICLE TRACKING
Partner vs. Partner is only one of many snoop scenarios. Here are some others:
- Employees vs. Management
- Ambitious Executive vs. Unsuspecting Executive
- Competitor vs. You
- Defendant vs. Plaintiff
- News Media / Protest Groups vs. Your Company
Being aware of 'everyman' spy technology is the first step toward protection. The second step is actively looking. Which, by the way, is what we do best for businesses and governments worldwide.
How To Spy On Your Partner
Feb 27 2008 By Craig McQueen
Lipstick on collars or smelling of a strange perfume used to be how cheating husbands got caught out. But in these days of big divorce settlements, spurned partners are gathering evidence the hi-tech way.
One US firm has produced a SIM card reader that opens text messages AFTER they've been deleted - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Other surveillance gadgets used today would look at home in spy films. They're legal and freely available from websites spystoreuk.com, spycatcheronline.co.uk and brickhousesecurity.com
Here are a few of the best: (described in detail here)
- HIDDEN CAMERAS
- MOBILE PHONE TRACKING
- WIRELESS BUGS
- PHONE RECORDERS
- GPS TRACKING
- COMPUTER KEY LOGGING
- THE TEDDY CAM
- INTERCEPTOR SOFTWARE
- VEHICLE TRACKING
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
SpyCam Story #436 - SpyCam Goes to School
from "blammocamo"...
"I 'hid' my camera and caught some clips of what people were doing during spare period." (boring video) (many many more boring videos)
We've come a long way from the days of Alan Funt. SpyCam'ing is an acknowledged worldwide pass-time. One second you are anonymous, the next second your are a star on youtube.com. Laws are always about 10-years behind the technology. Look for spycams to make some creative legislation.
In the meantime, at least take some steps to protect your workplace and the intellectual property kept there.
Ideas...
- Establish security policy which includes videography.
- Conduct periodic sweeps for video bugging devices.
- Learn to recognize the spycamer's tricks. (1) (2) (3), for example.
"I 'hid' my camera and caught some clips of what people were doing during spare period." (boring video) (many many more boring videos)
We've come a long way from the days of Alan Funt. SpyCam'ing is an acknowledged worldwide pass-time. One second you are anonymous, the next second your are a star on youtube.com. Laws are always about 10-years behind the technology. Look for spycams to make some creative legislation.
In the meantime, at least take some steps to protect your workplace and the intellectual property kept there.
Ideas...
- Establish security policy which includes videography.
- Conduct periodic sweeps for video bugging devices.
- Learn to recognize the spycamer's tricks. (1) (2) (3), for example.
FREE Password Cracker
Here is how it works in geek-speak...
RainbowCrack is a general propose implementation of Philippe Oechslin's faster time-memory trade-off technique. In short, the RainbowCrack tool is a hash cracker. A traditional brute force cracker try all possible plaintexts one by one in cracking time. It is time consuming to break complex password in this way. The idea of time-memory trade-off is to do all cracking time computation in advance and store the result in files so called "rainbow table". It does take a long time to precompute the tables. But once the one time precomputation is finished, a time-memory trade-off cracker can be hundreds of times faster than a brute force cracker, with the help of precomputed tables.
Bottom line...
Your cat's name never was a good password anyway. Change it. (help)
RainbowCrack is a general propose implementation of Philippe Oechslin's faster time-memory trade-off technique. In short, the RainbowCrack tool is a hash cracker. A traditional brute force cracker try all possible plaintexts one by one in cracking time. It is time consuming to break complex password in this way. The idea of time-memory trade-off is to do all cracking time computation in advance and store the result in files so called "rainbow table". It does take a long time to precompute the tables. But once the one time precomputation is finished, a time-memory trade-off cracker can be hundreds of times faster than a brute force cracker, with the help of precomputed tables.
Bottom line...
Your cat's name never was a good password anyway. Change it. (help)
National Lottery operator employee spied on rivals
UK - A manager at Camelot, the national lottery operator, used false identities to gather intelligence on rival companies, according to an official investigation.
Alexia Latham, a media relations manager, used three aliases to glean information over a 10-month period as Camelot fought off competitors to win a lucrative 10-year licence...
Camelot, which has run the UK lottery since it started in 1994, was awarded a new 10-year licence by the NLC last August.
Following a close competition, the company beat off a rival bid from Sugal & Damani, which runs state lotteries in India. The new licence will begin in February next year. (more)
Alexia Latham, a media relations manager, used three aliases to glean information over a 10-month period as Camelot fought off competitors to win a lucrative 10-year licence...
Camelot, which has run the UK lottery since it started in 1994, was awarded a new 10-year licence by the NLC last August.
Following a close competition, the company beat off a rival bid from Sugal & Damani, which runs state lotteries in India. The new licence will begin in February next year. (more)
Turn your iPhone sideways, and "Open Channel D"
The Incredible World of SPY-Fi: Wild and Crazy Spy Gadgets, Props, and Artifacts from TV and the Movies
by Danny Biederman
from Publishers weekly...
Even people who aren’t big spy movie fans know that James Bond gets to play with some great gadgets. The same goes for the casts of Mission: Impossible, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and I Spy.
Biederman has been immersed in the spy world, at least as Hollywood depicts it, from the time of his youth in the 1960s, when he was introduced to a world of "spies, gadgets, adventure, and beautiful women—everything that a ten-year-old boy could possibly want."
Since then he has collected over 4,000 props from various sets, amassing such an impressive trove that in 2000 the CIA asked him to exhibit it at its headquarters.
This book tells the story of each TV series and movie through Biederman’s props, which range from the coat hook used in U.N.C.L.E. to open a secret passageway, to the gold sofa that adorned James West’s private railroad car in The Wild Wild West.
Executive Briefing - "Wiretapping Made Easy"
from forbes.com...
Silently tapping into a private cellphone conversation is no longer a high-tech trick reserved for spies and the FBI. Thanks to the work of two young cyber-security researchers, cellular snooping may soon be affordable enough for your next-door neighbor.
In a presentation Wednesday at the Black Hat security conference in Washington, D.C., David Hulton and Steve Muller demonstrated a new technique for cracking the encryption used to prevent eavesdropping on global system for mobile communications (GSM) cellular signals, the type of radio frequency coding used by major cellular service providers including AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ), Cingular and T-Mobile. Combined with a radio receiver, the pair say their technique allows an eavesdropper to record a conversation on these networks from miles away and decode it in about half an hour with just $1,000 in computer storage and processing equipment...
Who will be the customers for their innovative espionage technique?
Hulton and Muller say they aren't sure yet. (more)
Silently tapping into a private cellphone conversation is no longer a high-tech trick reserved for spies and the FBI. Thanks to the work of two young cyber-security researchers, cellular snooping may soon be affordable enough for your next-door neighbor.
In a presentation Wednesday at the Black Hat security conference in Washington, D.C., David Hulton and Steve Muller demonstrated a new technique for cracking the encryption used to prevent eavesdropping on global system for mobile communications (GSM) cellular signals, the type of radio frequency coding used by major cellular service providers including AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ), Cingular and T-Mobile. Combined with a radio receiver, the pair say their technique allows an eavesdropper to record a conversation on these networks from miles away and decode it in about half an hour with just $1,000 in computer storage and processing equipment...
Who will be the customers for their innovative espionage technique?
Hulton and Muller say they aren't sure yet. (more)
SpyCam Story #435 - Bottoms Up
UK - A council worker has been arrested on suspicion of spying on women in the toilets at Coventry's historic Council House. The arrest came after police were called in following a complaint by a victim. There are fears that a man may have somehow concealed himself underneath the floorboards of the toilets and filmed unsuspecting victims on his mobile phone. (more)
Industrial Espionage in Brazil
Brazil - Brazilian police said on Tuesday they were treating the theft of strategic data from Brazil's state-run energy giant Petrobras as a case of industrial espionage.
Petrobras confirmed last Thursday that four laptops and two RAM memory chips were stolen in late January from a transport container owned by the U.S. oil-field service company Halliburton, a longtime Petrobras business partner.
The data came from a drilling ship in the Santos basin, where a huge new oil reserve was recently discovered. The find could make Brazil one of the world's major oil producers...
Caetano confirmed it was not the first case of data robbery from Petrobras. The company reported similar cases to police about a year ago but said they did not involve important information.
He faulted the security in the latest case. (more)
Petrobras confirmed last Thursday that four laptops and two RAM memory chips were stolen in late January from a transport container owned by the U.S. oil-field service company Halliburton, a longtime Petrobras business partner.
The data came from a drilling ship in the Santos basin, where a huge new oil reserve was recently discovered. The find could make Brazil one of the world's major oil producers...
Caetano confirmed it was not the first case of data robbery from Petrobras. The company reported similar cases to police about a year ago but said they did not involve important information.
He faulted the security in the latest case. (more)
Pellicano Wiretapping Case
The case is scheduled to resume March 5th. The Huffington Post claims they have the Witness List: "Chris Rock, Stallone, Bert Fields, Tom Cruise and hundreds more." The list of 244 people, however, has made the rounds and wound up here. Rambo says he is willing to testify, "Why not? I don't want to be left out." Stallone said he wasn't surprised to hear the allegations that such activity occurs in Hollywood. "In this town, nothing seems as it is," Stallone said. "There's so much skullduggery." (more)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Eavesdropping on private chats is... art!
Conversations from thousands of internet chatrooms, message boards and other public forums have been transformed into an electronic art piece. Described as a unique portrait of the internet, the electronic art - called the Listening Post – forms a free exhibition at the Science Museum in London.
The piece samples text fragments of uncensored and unedited internet conversations over 231 small electronic screens standing approximately 4m high and 5m wide. The text is accompanied by computer-synthesized voices reading or singing the words that surge, flicker and disappear over the screens.
Listening Post is a collaboration by sound artist Ben Rubin and statistician and artist Mark Hansen, who wanted to address the question: "What would 100,000 people chatting online sound like?" (more)
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