Let the backlashing begin... (satire)

NY - Officials with the Lincoln-Edison Charter School have proposed establishing a middle school with the theme of "Homeland Security." Students would receive instruction in emergency response, computer security and other issues related to "Homeland Security." ...
(one course mentioned)
ADVANCED INTEL 201 - Basic Wiretapping: What'd Daddy Say About That Lady? - Students will hone their wiretapping skills by listening in on their parents' phone calls. Students will learn how to properly interpret statements such as "Junior's acting kinda weird lately" and "What's that clicking noise?" (more)

Idol's Idol Car Bugged

UK - Music mogul Simon Cowell has vowed to step up his security after a bugging device was reportedly found under his car.

The American Idol judge became suspicious his movements were being monitored after repeatedly spotting a mysterious biker at supposedly private meetings. And his fears were confirmed when a security sweep uncovered a hi-tech tracking device attached to the undercarriage of his $211,000 (GBP140,000) Bentley Continental. (more)

If you are going to peep and eavesdrop, don't...

• pick on a female,
• with a gun,
• who, oh by the way... is an FBI Agent,
• who, oh by the way... will shoot your sorry...

SC - ...man faces criminal charges after he was shot during a scuffle with an FBI agent outside her home... Ronnie William Pennington, 59, of 116 William St., was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and peeping Tom, eavesdropping or peeping, according to warrants... He tried to get away, and she grabbed him... The man hit her with his hands as he tried to escape... The woman, who was not injured, fired a handgun at the man, striking him in the left buttocks... (more)
The initial investigation lead officers believe the shooting was justified. (imagine that)

"Heavy breath, ok, another heavy breath. Humm."

VT - A Woodford man, who apparently used a stethoscope to eavesdrop on his ex-girlfriend, was charged with stalking Tuesday by Vermont State Police.

Police arrested Ryan Nystrom, 23, after a witness spotted a young man perched on a residential back porch roof, next to a bedroom window early Tuesday morning.

A police report says the victim and her new boyfriend were in the bedroom at the time of the incident. (more)

I'm Dreaming of a Spy Christmas

New spy tank transmits video and audio
...the Spy Video ATV-360, can handle nearly anything in its path since it is, as the name indicates, and all-terrain vehicle. With a simple push of a remote button, the ATV’s camera will transmit a 360-degree scan of its surroundings. OK. No one is in the kitchen, it’s safe to proceed.

The ATV’s track-based movement allows it to climb over obstacles while being controlled remotely up to 75 feet away. The video images it sends back are displayed on an LCD lens built into a pair of glasses. A single earbud helps the spy hear what’s going on around the ATV. (more)

Wireless SpyCam Built into a Wristwatch!
"A normal but luxury metal wristwatch has one smallest camera inside. Just press the power switch; it begins transmitting high quality color video with sound to our supplied 2.4GHz wireless MPEG-4 DVR up to 300 feet away. Put the DVR in a bag or on a belt. Then, just press one button. It will start to transmitter video and audio simultaneously. This also works as a normal watch." (more)

Wireless SpyCam Helicopter
The Draganflyer X6 is a remotely operated, unmanned, miniature helicopter designed to carry wireless video cameras and still cameras. Operate the Draganflyer X6 helicopter with the easy to use handheld controller while viewing what the helicopter sees through video glasses... The Draganflyer X6 helicopter uses 11 sensors and thousands of lines of code to self-stabilize during flight. This means the Draganflyer X6 is easier to fly than any other helicopter in its class. (more with video)

1966 Telephone Encryption Device

Wiretap-proof telephone
This scrambler keeps private phone conversations safe from wiretappers and eavesdroppers. Fitted to an ordinary handset, it needs no electrical connection, has its own power source. To hear, a person needs an unscrambler coded identically. Delcon Division, Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif., sells it for $275, keeps your name and code locked in its vault. (more)

Unsold units were later turned into platform shoes :)
Just kidding.

Email Sinks Two Anchors - One Stays Anchored

PA - Former Philadelphia TV anchor Larry Mendte has learned his fate for spying on his co-worker's computers.

Mendte was snooping on former CBS 3 co-anchor Alycia Lane's emails and releasing personal information about her to the media. His punishment for his evil ways?
• Six months house arrest
• He must wear an electronic monitoring device
• $5,000 fine
• 250 hours of community service
• Three years probation
• Special filtering device on his personal computer
• No contact with Lane

Mendte, 51, had pleaded guilty to one felony count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization and obtaining information, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid.

He had accessed Lane's emails thousands of times according to prosecutors. Lane fired back at Mendte in September by filing a suit in the Common Pleas Court. Lane accuses Mendte of invading her privacy and helping to cause her demise by leaking information to the press. (more) (background)

The Year's Biggest Data Breaches, and 8 Tips

In Pictures: The Year's Biggest Data Breaches
In Pictures: Eight Ways To Guard Your Online Privacy

Queen's Electric Teapot 'Bugged'

UK - The samovar was identified as a potential bugging device following a recent sweep by the security services.

The ornate red and yellow urn was presented to the Queen by a Russian aerobatics team about 20 years ago, at the tail end of the Soviet era. It reportedly became a favourite of the Queen Mother, who put it in a corner of a room in the Aberdeenshire estate and apparently showed it off to visitors.

Security services apparently suspected that the complicated eastern European wiring could have concealed a listening device. If true, the teapot could have listened in to the Queen's conversations with prime ministers, world leaders and members of her family.

One retainer told the Daily Express: "The samovar was always a bit of an enigma. No one could work out what the Russians thought we were going to do with it. "The wiring looked as if it came from a Second World War tank and it was not exactly pretty. "No one ever considered it a security risk until a recent sweep by these spooks with their electronic devices. They swept everywhere imaginable, public and private rooms, and the first thing to go was the samovar." (more)

The Russian side of the story...
Mikhail Lyubimov, who served in the Russian secret services in Britain for several decades, says that the story may be a canard, since the alleged bugging model referred to by the Daily Express is both ineffective and useless.

"Buckingham Palace and the Queen were never objects of great interest to us, since the Queen doesn't have an active role in Britain's governance,” he points out.

Moreover, Lyubimov states that the electric device is unlikely to have been a regular guest at government meetings or any negotiations that the Queen might have conducted with important visitors.

Nevertheless, the ex-secret agent recalls an equally strange story, involving a Russian souvenir. In the 1960s, the US ambassador to Russia was presented with a wooden eagle, which stood in the corner of his office for several years before it was discovered that there was a bug embedded in it. (more) (The Great Seal Bug)

A Security Hole So Big Most People Miss It... Wi-Fi

A tip from Roger A. Grimes, Security Adviser, InfoWorld...
"Secure your wireless networks. In today's world, there are few valid excuses for not using WPA2, 802.11i, or 802.1x to secure them. Even "guest" networks. Secure them... Use security management tools and scripts to enforce security policy across as many computers as you can. (more)

Wi-Fi Espionage Trick – WiPhishing
Hackers use an authorized SSID to trap mobile professionals into accessing the illegal access point and thus gaining access to information and data... This type of attack can occur when a mobile professional's laptop or PDA has been configured to automatically connect to an access point using an SSID such as Linksys or tmobile. [result] ...they have connected to an unauthorized access point... the connection was made without their knowledge. (more)

Wi-Fi Espionage Trick – Evil Twin
A hacker prevents access to an authorized Wi-Fi access point and re-directs a mobile professional to a false access point where information or access to networks can be obtained by the unauthorized person. The unauthorized user can also gain access to VPN client software. (more)

Solutions:
• Force laptop wireless cards off when plugged into the corporate LAN.
• Force laptops to connect to company authorized wireless LANs only.
• Force laptops to ignore adhoc connections.
All are easy to implement, and will operate automatically.

Solution Resources:
• Full Solution
• Partial Solution

Additional Recommendation:
• Conduct periodic independent Wi-Fi Security Audits which take into account legal compliance. (more)

What could George Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus and Jackie Chan possibly have in common?

How about a new family comedy titled The Spy Next Door? Reuters is reporting that the three are now in Albuquerque, N.M., as shooting has already begun on the film. (more) (more)

Corporate Espionage: The hack at an all-time high

Criminals are breaking into personal and corporate computers to steal critical information and money. Don't believe it's not serious -- or that it can't happen to you.

If you haven't gotten the memo, the bad guys are after your money or your company's money... Today's malicious hackers (not all of them, but most of them) and their malware creations are out to steal your money or your identity (which is used to steal your money).

If you find malware on your PC...
• back up your data,
• format the hard drive,
• re-install everything,
• change every password or PIN you used on that computer since its last verifiable clean state,
• and actively monitor your bank account and credit report.

Letting an anti-malware program remove the infection and calling it a day is no longer acceptable.

Find out how you and your company can stay safe, even when you're watching the bottom line: "Good security in recessionary times" (more)

Twitter Stalkers

"Sometimes you want to follow someone on Twitter, but you don't want them to know you're following them. We present to you TweetStalk ‒ the simple way to stalk Twitter users without having to follow them." (more)

Moral - Stop your confidential Twittering!

Spies' Demise - November 2008

Iran - An Iranian businessman convicted of spying for Israel has been executed, according to a statement released today by Iran’s judiciary.

Ali Ashtari was reportedly hanged on Monday. The manager of a telecommunications and security equipment company who dealt with the Iranian military... found guilty of cooperating with the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad...

Iranian state TV showed the balding Ashtari calmly giving what was billed as the confession of a Mossad spy. Ashtari reportedly met with Israeli spooks abroad who gave him surveillance technology to monitor high ranking officials in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

“The Israeli spies gave him equipment with built in bugs to be sold to high ranking (military) officials so that Mossad could eavesdrop on everything they said on phones and other telecommunication devices,” said an Iranian journalist who asked not to be named. (more)
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UK - The man accused of murdering former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London said in a British newspaper on Saturday he was prepared to come to Britain to be questioned about the case. (more)
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China - A London-based rights group said Saturday that China was preparing to execute a Chinese businessman convicted of spying for Taiwan, and urged Beijing to halt the execution. (more)
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Germany declined to comment on Saturday on reports that three Germans arrested on suspicion of throwing explosives at an EU office in Kosovo were intelligence officers. (more)
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Isreal - The end of George W. Bush's term in office marks a golden opportunity for the release of Jonathan Pollard, imprisoned in the US for more than 20 years now, his wife Esther wrote in an emotional plea to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Saturday evening. (more)
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Iran - Reported was the arrest of Hossein Derakshan, a Canadian-Iranian who pioneered blogging in Iran and was called the "blogfather" there... He returned to his native Iran from his adoptive Canada last month and various media reported his arrest this week. A website reported that Derakshan confessed to spying for Israel. (more)
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How spying was done at BexarMet

TX - Secretly recorded phone conversations, snapshots of computer screens and a program that tracked computer keystrokes all were part of a strategy by former General Manager Gilbert Olivares to spy on top managers at Bexar Metropolitan Water District, according to a court document obtained by the San Antonio Express-News...

“This confirms how pervasive this was over there,” said Elliott Cappuccio, an attorney for two employees who have sued BexarMet over the wiretaps...

When the recordings began, Hopkins said he also launched programs on the computers of Morin, Garza and Oranday. The programs captured every computer keystroke and took screen snapshots about every 30 seconds. (more)

Bank Security Stank - Databanks Shrank

During the past year, banks have lost more of their customers' personal data than ever before. Countrywide Financial may have become a poster child for U.S. financial institutions ruined by poisonous subprime loans--but junk assets, it turns out, weren't the only element of Countrywide's inner workings that were rotten.

So, allegedly, was one senior financial analyst in the company's subprime mortgage division. According to the reports of FBI officials who arrested him in August, 36-year-old Rene Rebollo spent his Sunday nights last summer copying a total of more than 2 million of Countrywide's customer records to a flash drive and selling the data to identity thieves. Rebollo's case isn't as unique as banks would like to believe... (more) (slide show)

Security Tip #413 - Invisible Secrets (Steganography)

Invisible Secrets 4 hides your private data into innocent looking files, like pictures, or web pages.
It also features: strong encryption algorithms; a locker that allows you to password protect certain applications; a password management solution and a real-random password generator; a shredder that helps you destroy beyond recovery files, folders and internet traces; the ability to create self-decrypting packages; secured password transfer.
Version 4.6 features: Windows Vista compatibility. Free trial. (more)

Security Tip #412 - Free Laptop Theft Alarm

Afraid that someone will take your laptop?
Now there is a simple and free solution to this problem!
Laptop Alarm will ring a loud alarm if someone will try to steal your laptop!

When the laptop is disconnected from AC-power (someone pulls the AC adapter plug out) or someone removes or moves the USB mouse the alarm will go off. Version 1.2 adds Mouse movement detection. (more)

Grab a coffee.
Watch a thief steal several laptops in broad daylight!

Obama's Cellphone Records Breached

Verizon Wireless disclosed late Thursday that several of its employees accessed and viewed President-elect Barack Obama's personal cellphone account, and said it planned to discipline workers for the privacy breach... The company said it has put all employees with access to the account on leave, with pay, as it sorts out which of those workers accessed the account without a justifiable business purpose. (more)

UPDATE: Verizon Wireless has fired an unspecified number of employees it said had accessed President-elect Barack Obama's old cell phone records without permission. The firings ended an internal investigation into the matter. (more)

Moral: Your information... if they want it, they will get it.

How well you protect your information determines how fast they move on to easier prey. Don't look like lunch. Take an information security specialist to lunch. ~Kevin

FutureWatch - 21st Century Loudspeakers

Imagine a loudspeaker that...
• does not use a magnet
• is ultra-thin (nanometer thickness)
• does not vibrate
• is transparent
• is flexible (enough to be made into clothing)
• can be integrated into a computer or TV screen

Welcome to the world of the Transparent Carbon Nanotube Thin (CNT) Film Loudspeaker.

"Ok, so how does it work?" I hear you say.

When AC electricity courses through carbon nanotubes, it creates heat. Unlike conventional speakers which bump air molecules to create a sound wave, CNTs don't move; they change temperature. It is this temperature oscillation which bumps the air molecules, thus creating sound. Heat is soooo cool!

New idea? No, the thermophone was invented before 1886 and was upgraded in the 1920's. It worked, but not very well. Right idea, wrong materials.

It took 21st Century carbon nanotubes to make this flag sing. (flag)

Why are we interested?
Well, hot cool technologies are always intereting. But, our interests are more sinister. Did you know... many conventional speakers can also be used as microphones. This has made for some interesting eavesdropping installations for us to discover. If nanotube speakers have the same capability... the future will be even more interesting for us. Can't wait to test one! ~Kevin

FutureWatch - GPS Tracking to be made illegal?

GA - It is now legal for anyone to track someone with a hidden GPS device on a car. Now, one Georgia lawmaker is introducing a new bill to make the practice against the law.

Georgia State Representative Kevin Levitas said after watching a FOX 5 special report, he decided to take action to stop people from following others with a hidden GPS device.

"My law would prohibit a stranger from going up, or even somebody that knows that person, from going up to their car without their consent whether in a public place or private place and placing a GPS tracking device," said Rep. Levitas. (more)

Private Investigators and spouse-spies will be the ones affected most. Corporate espionage types won't care. Doesn't matter. Businesses hire specialists like us to find these things for them.

Three Very Amazing Video Cameras

• Fog Penetrating,
• X-Low Light,
• Car Key Fob CamCorder

View the short movie clip of this tricky fog-busting CCTV camera. Amazing!

Now, take a look at their extremely low-light level camera. Sit down... 0.00009 lux F1.4, 570 lines resolution, B&W. Basically, this is a camera which allows you to 'see in the dark' as long as it is not totally dark. Add a few IR LEDs in the area and voila, it's daytime!

Their latest... A car key-fob covert camera which records (3.1 megapixels still and 460x480 movie) up to 90 minutes (with time/date stamp) then downloads into your computer via USB. Yes, it records the sound, too.
(more)

Security Source Tip #207 - CCTV Made Easy

Have a CCTV equipment question on Sunday?
Need a wide selection?
Need a decent price?
Need all the correct parts and pieces at your door by Tuesday?
"Who you gonna call?"

Welcome to Surveillent!

Surveillent was created to provide small businesses and the non-typical low-voltage installation companies (electrical contractors, IT cabling companies and installation-only firms) an opportunity to take advantage of our security-industry knowledge and expertise. All of the highly visible security brands we offer are available on eBay and if you do not see what you are looking for, contact us and we will try and get it for you.

Through our store on eBay today, businesses and resellers who do not have the in-house security staff can take advantage of Surveillent's expertise to make those buying decisions the right ones, the first time. Many small businesses and low-voltage contractors simply cannot afford and do not have the resources to hire an outside security consultant or engineering firm to help them make those purchasing decisions.

This is where Surveillent makes a difference. We are not here just to sell you parts. Our greatest value is to provide you with the smarts necessary in order to make the right decisions from the start.

I saw this scenario in action this week.
The system worked, and worked well.

Source: Surveillent, Inc., Presales Support, Chris Jahnke, (612) 275-1401, surveillent.net

Real Thought Police at a Real University. Whowouldhavethunkitwouldreallyhappen?

via the National Post...
Canada - Just who is Queen's University trying to kid? The school may call its new political-correctness cops "facilitators." It may insist they will not be eavesdropping on private conservations, "preaching" to students they overhear using "offending terms," serving as "disciplinarians" or being judgmental. But administrators are simply deluding themselves with euphemisms if they swallow their own tripe.

The half-dozen speech monitors employed by Queen's dean of student affairs to wander campus and listen for mentions of racist, sexist, homophobic or other "non-inclusive" language, are nothing more than thought police.

The simple act of determining what terms are and are not "offending" is judgmental. Singling students out for "a respectful and educational dialogue" about how their "derogatory terminology" might lead to "marginalization or exclusion" of identifiable groups is the epitome of judgmentalism. Intruding on students' chats with dorm mates or interrupting their joke telling in the cafeteria is the very definition of eavesdropping, even if Queen's wants to insist it is not. (more)

From Queen's University website...
"Queen's is one of Canada's leading universities with an international reputation for scholarship, social purpose, spirit and diversity."

US Court Orders Halt to Sale of Spyware, and then changes their mind...

United States of America - At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. District Court has issued a temporary restraining order halting the sale of keylogger spyware.

According to the FTC’s complaint, the Florida-based CyberSpy Software, LLC marketed and sold RemoteSpy keylogger spyware to clients who would then secretly monitor unsuspecting consumers’ computers. The FTC seeks to permanently bar the unfair and deceptive practices and require the defendants to give up their ill-gotten gains.

According to papers filed with the court, the defendants provided RemoteSpy clients with detailed instructions explaining how to disguise the spyware as an innocuous file, such as a photo, attached to an email. When consumer victims clicked on the disguised file, the keylogger spyware silently installed in the background without the victims’ knowledge. This spyware recorded every keystroke typed on the victim’s computer (including passwords); captured images of the computer screen; and recorded Web sites visited. To access the information gathered and organized by the spyware, RemoteSpy clients would log into a Web site maintained by the defendants.

Defendants touted RemoteSpy as a “100% undetectable” way to “Spy on Anyone. From Anywhere.” (more)

UPDATE (12/3/08 - from a RemoteSpy press release)
RemoteSpy is once again available for sale and users of the popular software can once again access their accounts. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asked the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (case no. 6:08-cv-1872-ORL-31GJK) to issue an injunction to:
(1) stop the sale of RemoteSpy, the best remote computer monitoring tool on the market;
(2) prevent current RemoteSpy customers from using the product;
(3) freeze the assets of the company and its CEO, Tracer Spence; and
(4) prevent CyberSpy and Spence from operating any other business without the FTC's consent.
The Court refused to take such punitive actions, instead simply requiring CyberSpy to do what it had already offered to do: change its promotional materials and advertising practices to make it clear that the software is not designed or intended to be used to monitor any computer without the owner's knowledge and consent. (more)