A cautionary tale, excerpted from...
Chained Exploits: Advanced Hacking Attacks from Start to Finish
"Phoenix knows that Mr. Minutia has been spying on him for some time now. Phoenix sees Mr. Minutia at his desk, shuffling through papers, whenever he leaves his desk to go to the copy machine. Phoenix notices Mr. Minutia walk over to his desk whenever he is on the phone to eavesdrop on his conversations. Now Mr. Minutia has taken it to the next step by reading all of Phoenix’s e-mails and reviewing the Web sites Phoenix views.The word hypocrite echoes in Phoenix’s mind. He knows his boss spends the majority of his time at work surfing the Internet. Phoenix is not sure what his boss is looking at, but Phoenix is determined to find out because he suspects it might not be work related. Then Phoenix can approach Mr. Minutia with a taste of his own medicine and expose his Internet-surfing habits. Phoenix begins to plot how he is going to spy on his boss." (more)
Make sure your employees are not spying on you.
Hey, there are textbooks writing about this.
Inspect for electronic surveillance regularly.
NC - The state auditor's office has more than 234 laptop computers that lack encryption software to guard against security lapses, a political newsletter reported today.The Insider, an e-mail newsletter published by The News & Observer, cited correspondence from George Bakolia, the state's chief information officer, showing that the software has not been a high priority for the auditor's office.Bakolia's office issued standards in December 2007 calling for state agencies to put encryption software on laptops. (more)
via Forbes magazine...On Thursday researchers at Finnish cybersecurity firm F-Secure said they have spotted the first known instance of iPhone "spyware" called Mobile Spy, a piece of commercial software that sells for $99 a year. (more)
W. Mark Felt, the former FBI second-in-command who revealed himself as "Deep Throat" 30 years after he tipped off reporters to the Watergate scandal that toppled a president, has died. He was 95. (more)
...by you, if you have a computer network to protect. His name is Gideon J. Lenkey. This is his story..."The job starts like any other. We park down the street so we can just barely see the target. We wait patiently to get the rhythm of the smokers popping in and out of the side door. Waiting until no one's there, we walk up, holding cigarette butts (neither of us smokes) and wait for the door to open. Crush the butt into the ash tray, nod to the person holding the door, and we're in. Now to find an empty office or conference room -- any place we can access the company network.This time we're lucky -- there is a dark conference room not far from the smoking door, so we don't have to walk the halls for very long. We go in, close the door, there is a PC in the corner as there usually is these days. We're almost done, I think. In 15 minutes we'll be back in the car snickering about how easy it was and suggesting that stupidity should be more physically painful..."What happens next is not what you expect. (more)
Retina-X Studios, LLC, announced today the immediate availability of Mobile Spy for the Apple iPhone. Using this groundbreaking iPhone spy technology, users can silently monitor incoming and outgoing text messages (SMS) and call information of children or employees - even if activity logs are erased. (more)Spybusters Tip #387
Keep in mind that this only for 2nd generation iPhones (3G), and it only let's the spy see a log of calls and SMS text messages. There is no eavesdropping on the call itself. Installation requires "jailbreaking" the iPhone first.
The manufacturer's spyware removal instructions.
(Not yet updated to include iPhone, but should be soon.)
Press ‘3’ for corruptionYou can no longer buy a Senate seat from Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but you can buy “his” ringtones. FunMobility.com, a company based in Pleasanton, Calif., has released five new “Blagotones”... Two of the funniest ringtones are called “Wiretap” and have such quotes from an impersonator saying, “If I don’t get what I want ... I’ll just take the Senate seat myself” and “Our recommendation is to fire all the [expletive] people ... and get us some editorial support” (referring to Blagojevich’s alleged attempt to pressure the Chicago Tribune). (more)This was my first close look at the ringtone biz.
Did you know these things cost $8.99 ...per month!?!?
Sorta takes the edge off of Blago's alleged crimes.
Germany - German prosecutors on Wednesday said one person has been arrested in a scandal at Deutsche Telekom AG that involved monitoring managers' call records to track possible leaks.
Media reports have identified the suspect as Klaus T., a former head of Telekom's division for internal investigations. According to the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, he is suspected of fraud for embezzlement and authorizing payments for business that violates company policy. (more)
Is your computer acting a little freaky?Are you seeing random mouse movements?Is the 'caps lock' turning on and off by itself?Is your computer typing random garbage?Or, burping up odd phrases?"Who you gonna call?"In this case, not us!Spybusters Tip #386 to the rescue...
Check your USB ports for this.
In a chilling, unapologetic interview with ABC News, the vice president did nothing to dispel his reputation as the hardest of hard-liners in the war on terror... Wiretapping? "It's worked. It's been successful," he said, brushing off constitutional quibbles. (more)No doubt about it. Bugs and wiretaps are extremely effective... which is why businesses inspect their sensitive areas quarterly to make sure electronic surveillance is not being used against them!
UK - A police inquiry into the leaking of information, which ended with a judge clearing a Milton Keynes journalist, cost £205,000 it has been revealed. (more)Conversely, preventing leaks is cheap.
Ohio - The State Legislature House Concurs with the following Senate Amendment...HB 74 SPYING -- To make spying or eavesdropping upon a minor in a state of nudity for the purpose of sexual gratification or arousal a felony of the fifth degree under all circumstances. 93-0 (more)
TURKEY - Embassies wiretap phone conversations, expert claim. Computer and Program Engineers Foundation head Yılmaz Sönmez has claimed that foreign embassies in Turkey frequently wiretap phone conversations.“Wiretapping is conducted quite easily in Turkey. Even a 17-year-old youngster can do it. Anyone who has YTL 500 ($327.00) can download wiretapping programs available on the Internet. It is foreign embassies that are most busy bugging phones in Turkey,” Sönmez asserted while briefing a parliamentary commission established to examine allegations that a top Republican People’s Party (CHP) member had been bugged. (more)
UK - Once, Britain was the most watched nation in the world, with more than 4 million CCTV cameras monitoring our every move.But now in these difficult economic times, it seems that Big Brother isn't actually watching, in fact no one is.As cash-strapped police forces and councils around the UK are forced to tighten their belts in the recession, CCTV cameras around town centres are being left unmanned as they can't afford to pay anyone to watch out for crime as it happens. (more)
You might catch him at the Dubai Marriott attending...ISS World - Hi Tech Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Gathering Conference/Expo 24-26 February 2009"TeleStrategies invites you and your colleagues to attend Intelligence Support Systems for Lawful Interception, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Gathering Conference and Exhibition scheduled on 24-26 February 2009 at JW Marriott Hotel, Dubai.
This ISS World program will feature over 91 LEA/Intell Electronic Surveillance and Communications Monitoring Training sessions and over 40 vendors exhibiting the latest in High Technology Network Interception, Intelligence Gathering and Criminal Investigation products."
Five Conference Tracks... • Lawful Interception Solutions and Products
• Organized Crime, Criminal Investigative Analysis and Intelligence Gathering
• Telecom Call Data Retention and Handoff Solutions
• Mobile Location, Surveillance and Signal Intercept
• LEA/Intell/DoD Communication Monitoring and Surveillance Training(more)
A. Freelance spying!The recent cyber attack on the U.S. military's classified computer network has been traced to a front company run by several former Russian KGB or Federal Security Service spies... (more)
CA - Hollywood's disgraced private investigator to the stars shuffled in shackles into a federal courtroom Monday and was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a celebrity wiretapping scandal.
The sentence was close to the 16 years sought by federal prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer ordered Pellicano to forfeit $2 million. The judge did not give the former sleuth credit for time served, meaning he will serve nearly all of the sentence.
Dressed in a green jailhouse jumpsuit, Anthony Pellicano, 65, blew a kiss to family members as he was led into court. (more)
via Wired...The PR company's email begins thus: "You've never seen a camera like this." And it's true. The Digital Window from Scallop Imaging is a rather neat mix of hack and paranoia, a device cobbled together from five cellphone camera lenses, an Ethernet powered box and software which stitches the whole lot together for a seven megapixel, 15 frames per second, 180º view.
To further increase employee paranoia, you'll never know when the camera is looking at you. Because of the 180º view and high-definition, a digital zoom combined with digital pan mean the the cameras never move when looking around. (more) (more) (manufacturer)
"Fast, efficient and easy to use, these 10-bladed scissors cut and shred at the same time. They slice through credit cards, destroy personal documents, paperwork, and bills so no one can see your discarded private information." (more)
CA - Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano isn't the only person imprisoned as a result of his wiretaps of the rich and famous. His victims say they have never been able to free themselves from the emotional and financial fallout caused by his crimes.A former reporter says she has nightmares about being hunted and raped. A mother copes with her daughter being mocked by other kids and their parents. An actress who once appeared in a popular television series says she has found little work since.They are among the victims who submitted letters to the federal judge who is scheduled to sentence Pellicano on Monday. The former private eye is in custody after being convicted of a total of 78 counts, including wiretapping, racketeering and wire fraud, in two separate trials earlier this year. (more)
Egyptian club Al Ahly's coach Friday angrily accused Mexican side Pachuca of spying on a team training session ahead of their crucial Club World Cup clash. "Three spies from Pachuka came to inspect our practice today. It's not fair. We didn't watch their practice. It's not fair," said coach Manuel Jose after their training session on Friday. (more)
Researchers at ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, say they've developed new analysis technology that can reconstruct the images inside a person's brain and display them on a computer screen, according to Pink Tentacle, an English-language blog that covers news from Japan. Pink Tentacle picked up the info from Japan's Chunichi Shimbun daily newspaper...Although the technology is still in the early phases of development, it paves the way for applications that until now have only been the stuff of science fiction, such as reading minds for interrogation purposes, eavesdropping on dreams as people snooze... And researchers at the University of Sheffield in England believe that fMRI is more useful than polygraphs, which have been shown to have false positives and negatives, in determining whether someone is lying. (more)
UK - Teenagers in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury are being fitted with James Bond-style spy cameras in a bid to catch out rogue shop keepers who sell alcohol to underage buyers.
Teenagers are fitted with the cameras, which match buttons on their clothes, by specialist police teams. They are then monitored as they enter off-licences and supermarkets and attempt to buy alcohol. Sounds and images are relayed back to police officers outside the premises who can then take action.
During the past three years Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Police have carried out more than 500 test purchase operations. (more)
Welcome to the SpyCam Story 500 milestone.
Here, we feature news stories about video spying.
This Scrapbook feature started when a security director asked me, "How can I show my boss electronic eavesdropping is real and I am not just being paranoid?" Interesting problem. There are no 'illegal eavesdropping statistics' to quote.
Keep in mind, the media only reports spying failures; the one's who got caught. Successful spying is totally invisible. Like commercial airline stories; you never read about the successful landings.
The solution to the security director's conundrum...
• Track sales of eavesdropping devices.
• Track eavesdropping failures as reported by the media.
• Factor in... Most spycam, bug and wiretap failures are handled privately. They never make it to the lawsuit level, and media attention.
• Factor in... Not all media stories make it to my attention.
• Factor in... Many spycam stories are in such bad taste I exclude them.
Now, we see the tip of the spyberg.
Security directors use this proof to substantiate their Eavesdropping Detection Audit budgets.
And now (drum roll)...
SpyCam Story #500
Extortionography - From Winehouse to the Big HouseUK - The man who sold video footage to a London tabloid showing Amy Winehouse engaged in what appeared to be drug use was sentenced to jail on Friday... Johnny Blagrove, and his girlfriend, Cara Burton, had filmed Ms. Winehouse, without her knowledge and sold the footage to The Sun for about $75,000. Mr. Blagrove and Ms. Burton admitted that they had offered to supply drugs to Ms. Winehouse and other celebrities. The police said that the couple had kept a list of celebrities they planned to record taking drugs. A judge sentenced Mr. Blagrove to two years in prison; Ms. Burton was ordered to perform two years’ community service. (more)
There were no tigers to catch, and it's not really the right season to be fishing shirtless, so Russian Prime Minister [ex-spymaster] Vladimir Putin renamed a mountain this week. There is a 10,788-foot peak in North Ossetia that had previously been without a name. Putin claimed naming rights, dubbing it the Peak of Russian Counterintelligence Agents, seriously, naming it after the country's spies. (more)Meanwhile, Google ogles an eye that spies at 2,233,440 feet!GeoEye 1, a satellite launched into polar orbit on September 6 that can "see" objects on Earth as small as 16 inches (0.41 meter) in size in black-and-white mode or 64.6 inches (1.64 meters) in color. Images from the GeoEye 1, which stands 20 feet (6.1 meters) high and weighs more than 4,300 pounds (1,950 kilograms), so impressed Google that the Internet search giant plans to add the satellite's high-resolution, digital color photos to Google Earth next month. (more) (sample photos)
A cautionary tale, excerpted from...
