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CERTIFIED TECHNICAL SECURITY INVESTIGATOR - AIKEN, SC
This is a long term contract position for Savannah River Site located in Aiken, SC. Must be a U. S. Citizen.

DUTIES:
Performs all duties and responsibilities described for a Certified Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) Technician contained in DOE M 470.4-4, "Information Security", Section E, and "Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Program"; and as an alternate TEMPEST and Protected Transmissions System (PTS) Coordinator as detailed in DOE M 205.1-3, "Telecommunications Security".

Serves as the Savannah River Site (SRS) primary POC and subject matter expert on Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) issues. Provides TSCM support to all SRS activities, as directed by DOE-SR TSCM Program Manager. This includes ensuring that specified areas are free from audio or optical technical surveillance devices and that equipment being introduced into those areas has not been manipulated to surreptitiously provide information to unauthorized persons or foreign governments... (more)

SpyCam Story #509 - "Yo, ho ho..."

UK - A Royal Navy petty officer was jailed for two years today for spying... Tom Paul Opie, 36, cut holes in the ceiling and wall of a changing room to secretly film the women on his mobile phone... Plymouth Crown Court heard that his 18-year Navy career has now ended in disgrace and his wife has left him in disgust. (more)

Your Third Eye Has an Indelible Memory

The VIEVU PVR-PRO 2 is an enhanced WEARABLE video recording device for use by consumers and professionals wishing to capture their daily events or protect themselves from liability.

The design enables the camera to be attached to the user so that their perspective is captured during their routine daily events.

Video files are downloaded to a PC via simple drag-and-drop. Once transferred, the files can be edited or uploaded to your favorite video sharing site. The camera operates via an on/off switch which also serves as a lens cover.

VIEVU PVR-PRO can record and store approximately 4 hours of video and audio in SVGA quality format. (more)

Industrial Espionage - Sony Ericsson Ripped Off

A number of stolen prototypes of Sony Ericsson mobile phones were found at the home of a company employee, Swedish police said on Wednesday.

Sony Ericsson is keeping quiet about the situation. A spokesman at the company confirmed that a number of prototypes were involved, but wouldn't elaborate on any of the details, Computer Sweden reported...

What the person was planning to do with the phones -- which are worth about 750,000 Swedish kronor (US$90,000), according to the police -- and what kind of devices were stolen remains unclear.

Prototypes can be very valuable to the competition, because they show where a company is heading in the long term, according to Chris Hazelton, research director for mobile and wireless at The 451 Group. (more)
Think of all the similar competing cell phones which debut at the same time. Just coincidence? Example: iPhone vs. LG KE850 (photos courtesy engadget.com)

Secret Maps in "Monolpoly" Pieces! True or False

Did the British Secret Service, MI-5, send specially packaged versions of the popular board game "Monopoly" to prisoners of war in Germany during World War II?

Did these games have escape maps hidden inside the playing pieces?

Check your answers here.

Nortel Goes Chapt. 11 - Spying Concerns to Blame

As Nortel files for bankruptcy... a less-discussed factor may have scuttled the struggling networking company's last hope for a savior: concerns over Chinese cyberspying...

The most interested potential acquirer of the Ethernet division may have been Chinese company Huawei... The Shenzhen-based networking giant has a murky history of cooperation with its homeland's authoritarian regime, and concerns over Huawei's government ties, according to some industry-watchers and security analysts, may have spooked Nortel's customers that carried sensitive U.S. government data and scuttled the Chinese company's offer...

The Chinese company has long been searching for an opportunity to expand to North America...

Given Huawei's history, a tie-up with the company would raise the specter of a hidden back door in a router or switch, siphoning that data to foreign spies. (more)

Our Favorite Spies - Patrick McGoohan

Los Angeles - Patrick McGoohan, an Emmy-winning actor who created and starred in the cult classic television shows "Secret Agent" ("Danger Man") and "The Prisoner" has died. He was 80.

McGoohan died Tuesday in Los Angeles after a short illness, his son-in-law, film producer Cleve Landsberg, said Wednesday.

McGoohan won two Emmys for his work on the Peter Falk detective drama "Columbo," and more recently appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson film "Braveheart." But he was best known as the title character Number Six in "The Prisoner," a surreal 1960s British series in which a former spy is held captive in a small village and constantly tries to escape. (more) (The Prisoner tribute) (Amazon - Secret Agent, The Prisoner)

Where are the real TSCM spy jobs?

These might be harsh times in the jobs market, but it seems there is still plenty of work for people who can provide their own dark suits and sunglasses. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States's famed law enforcement agency, is seeking to fill thousands of posts as it embarks on the biggest recruitment drive in its 101-year history.

The vacancies include 850 special agents... There are a further 2,100 "professional staff positions" available behind the scenes: jobs include intelligence analysts, fingerprint experts, language specialists and electronics technicians, presumably for help with wire-tapping and other hi-tech eavesdropping. (more)

Our Favorite Spies - Robert Vaughn

by Christopher Arnott, Arts & Literature, New Haven Advocate
...the least-remembered star of the lot, Robert Vaughn. His timing is good — the successful 40-DVD complete "U.N.C.L.E." box set was released a year ago. But after U.N.C.L.E. was cancelled... history got in his way. While the reminiscences of his cool-hero counterparts are little more than fleshed-out filmographies, Vaughn's adventures take place in the real world...

Vaughn cured Martin Luther King's hiccups. He rode the funeral train of his assassinated friend Bobby Kennedy from New York to Washington following the ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral, events he describes in compelling detail. As the first major Hollywood celebrity to speak out openly against the Vietnam War, Vaughn went on "Firing Line," William F. Buckley's TV show, to debate him; Buckley was unprepared for Vaughn's clear grasp of the issues. The show's in-house referee declared the debate a draw...

...he had to be hustled out of his hotel into the sanctity of the International Hotel, Vaughn nearly lost all the interviews he'd compiled with survivors of the McCarthy-era Hollywood blacklist, data he was compiling for his master's thesis (later published as Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting)...

Robert Vaughn emerges, with all the derring-do of his immortal Napoleon Solo character, as the most authoritative voice of a time when overlooking major social issues in favor of more warmed-over Hollywood lore seems like heresy.

Referring to his book, A Fortunate Life by Robert Vaughn...
Vaughn doesn't shy away from sensationalism and candor — he drops names as avidly as the professional hanger-on George Hamilton. But his mix of honesty, integrity, loyalty, political passions, cultural context and open-eyed excitement at the world around him lifts his book above the tired nostalgia of his blue-eyed buff-boy brethren — it fits the present-day Obama era. "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."'s old enough to be a great-grandfather, but man, he's still hip. (more) (Amazon - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)

What can hide in books and record for 69 hours?

This credit card size digital voice recorder measures in at just 6.5 millimeters in thickness and features 1GB of built-in storage, a flip-out USB connector, and flush-mounted controls. It can also be used as a MP3 player and USB flash drive. It records in high quality WAV file format and files can be easily copied or deleted just as with a standard USB storage device.

With only 36g weight the Ultra-thin Digital Voice Recorder offers a 69-hour recording time and built-in Li-Ion battery that is rechargeable via USB connection. (more)
Why do we mention it?
So you know what you are up against.

Old News. Still Scary. Bugged Keyboards.

via the manufacturer's web site...
The Hardware KeyLogger Keyboard Edition looks and behaves exactly like a normal keyboard, but it keeps a record of all keystrokes typed on it. The recording process is totally transparent to the end user. The keystrokes can be retrieved by an administrator with a password.

We buy all the keyboards from keyboard manufacturers, and then convert them... The keyboards are not marked in any way, so you will have a "stealthy" keyboard that can be slipped unnoticed into your corporate and/or home environment... We also offer "slightly-used" keyboards for our corporate customers upon request (the Hardware KeyLogger chip inside is new). These keyboards look just like your everyday keyboard that has been on your desk for a while, so they can be placed into your corporate environment with ease. You may also send in your own keyboard, which we will convert to the Hardware KeyLogger Keyboard Edition. (source)

Inspector Suspended for Illegal Eavesdropping

Portugal - An inspector of the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) was suspended for 18 months, the hardest penalty before the compulsory retirement, for involvement in illegal listening and monitoring... discovered a net of illegal espionage that eavesdropped, monitored and followed people. (more)

"Hey Kids! Works like the real House Arrest kind!"

via the manufacturer...
Num8 is the world’s first GPS locator device that has been specifically designed with children in mind. It tells you exactly where your child is, anytime — at home or even abroad. All you need is a mobile phone or a computer to find their precise location.

And unlike similar locator products, num8 has been cleverly concealed in a child’s digital watch that is securely fastened to your child and cannot be removed or deactivated without your knowledge. (more)
24-hour time?!?! Don't most kids have it hard enough comprehending the concept of 12-hour digital time?

Why Tap It When You Can Own It?

From the reality is stranger than fiction file: Concerns about spying may have killed, or at least stalled, a plan for Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. to buy some Nortel (NT) assets.

According to a Forbes piece published today, Nortel’s plans to hand off its Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) division to Huawei for $400 million were scuttled over concerns about Chinese cyber-spying.

“The Shenzhen, China-based networking giant has a murky history of cooperation with its homeland's authoritarian regime,” the Forbes piece reads. “And concerns over Huawei's government ties, according to some industry watchers and security analysts, may have spooked Nortel's customers that carry sensitive U.S. government data and scuttled the Chinese company's offer.” (source) (more)

Illegal Corporate Wiretapping Brings Disruption

Remember Bexar Metropolitan Water District General Manager, Gilbert Olivares? (background) His indictment last August included 12 counts of Illegally Intercepting Oral Communications. He was accused of wiretapping his employees. The organization was knocked off its pins... and still hasn't recovered.

Texas - The Bexar Metropolitan Water District's board asked Gov. Rick Perry to appoint a lone conservator to guide and advise the agency as it tries to emerge from years of troubled management. (more)

Security Director's Budget Booster
Bexar is an excellent example of illegal bug and wiretap fallout.
Aside from the immediate damage, colateral damage often includes:
• defending wrongful termination suits,
• hiring replacement employee costs,
• crippled employee morale,
• PR nightmares,
• stockholder suits,
• and general public embarrassment.

Budget for Eavesdropping Detection Audits with all this in mind. Proactive audits are an essential element of a complete security program.

Well, duh... DECT

The DECT Forum, the worldwide association of the home communication industry, has taken note of reports about possible security issues of DECT wireless telephony systems. The DECT Forum assures that it takes such reports seriously and will consider these investigations...

The DECT Forum also states that it is a criminal act to eavesdrop telephone conversations. It is impossible to accidentally eavesdrop on telephone conversations and therefore the risk for users is very low. Only those with a clear criminal energy and intent and a sophisticated knowledge would be capable of eavesdropping. (more)
I feel better now, don't you?

Amazing Stories #102 - The Bored Spy

Canada - A B.C. Mountie has been docked eight days’ pay by an RCMP disciplinary board after skipping 35 days of work because he got bored during a one-year secondment to Canada’s spy agency. (more)

SpyCam Story #508 - "Oh no, not the Ganesha!"

A long, interesting story which details several incidents, laws and general concerns about spycams in India, Australia and Southeast Asia...

Take care before you change clothes, before you take a shower. You could be on camera. That cute little bug inside the bathroom cabinet, behind the dressing table mirror, could make you an actor very soon...

The spycam can be concealed in many innocent looking objects, like toys, radios, clocks, speakers, smoke alarms, even Ganeshas. Some of them come with night vision and are powered by mains adaptor or battery. An audio facility is available on most covert cameras, which picks up speech up to 20 feet away. (more)

FutureWatch: Tesla Was Right

Walking around Fulton Innovations' showcase at the Consumer Electronics Show, it's easy to think that 2009 will be the year of wireless electricity.

A blender whirs wireless, and a laptop powers up without a battery. Like a modern day version of the 1904 World's Fair, it's the miracle of electricity without a plug in sight. The devices are all powered by electromagnetic coils built into the charging surface. (more)

FutureWatch: As wireless power (ecoupled) becomes ubiquitous, expect parasitic bugs, wiretaps, voice recorders and spycams to creep into these environments. With free unlimited power and no need for batteries, these devices will become incredibly smaller in size.

UPDATE 1/21/09 - This year probably won't be the tipping point for wireless electricity. But judging from all the new techniques and applications of this awe-inspiring technology, getting power through the airwaves could soon be viable. (more)

"Watch your head."

A spying device for the incredibly introspective, or just a great gift for your special someone...

"360 degree mirror 7 panel system is the first mirror ever that allows you to see any part of your head. Open up the 7 panels to see completely around your entire head, or pull the 360 degree arms strait forward and have a double mirror within inches of your face." (more)

...or, make one surveillance camera do the work of several cameras.

More 'How-to-Spy' Websites

Security Directors
Show to the boss that,
"If they can read, they can spy.
If they can spy, they will spy."
• http://www.how-to-spy-computers.info/
• http://www.e-stealth.com/
• Spy on any Bluetooth equipped cell phone for $9.54
• Spy Transmitters on Ebay click click click click click click click
• Yes, Ebay has a special section called "Bugs & Transmitters."
• Homemade Spy Gear
• Make Magazine's Homemade Spy Gear (video)
• Dress like a spy. :)

Electronic Eavesdropping Audits
are no longer an optional budget item.
Call me to begin your quarterly inspections. ~Kevin

Private Security Company Wiretapping 'Service' Busted

In another twist to Peru's oil-kickback scandal, police have arrested five people for allegedly recording the telephone conversations that revealed the scheme.

Attorney General Gladys Echaiz on Thursday announced the arrest of two active and three retired naval officers who ran a private security company that allegedly ran a black market wiretapping service. A civilian woman who worked at the company, Business Track SAC, was also arrested...

Investigators have not revealed if Business Track was hired to tap the lobbyists' telephone lines or who fed the tapes to the news media...

Jailed lobbyist Romulo Leon testified to the state attorney's office that Business Track sold the tapes to Petro-Tech Peruana S.A., a company competing with Discover Petroleum for contracts in a September public auction...

Petro-Tech has repeatedly rejected links to the wiretaps but acknowledged Friday that it hired Business Track in 2006 to audit its computer security systems...

Business Track offers "information security" services and equipment, according to its Web site, including the detection of wiretaps on telephone lines, cell phone service blockers, polygraph test equipment and voice distorters. (more)

R/C spy plane claim two al-Qaeda chiefs

Predator drones, operating with impunity in the skies above north-west Pakistan, have claimed their latest high-profile victims, it was confirmed yesterday...

Both have been linked to suicide bomb attacks in Pakistan in recent months and were on the FBI's most-wanted list over the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. (more)

An Eavesdropper Reminisces

Billed as the most embarrassing book ever written about the private life of an African leader, a former Nigerian president is portrayed by his first wife as a sly, violent, vindictive womaniser...

What ensues is an almost slapstick riot of affairs and breathless high politics punctuated with domestic violence and desperation. And it's one in which Mama Iyabo is happy to name names. In the early 1970s her particular nemesis was an older married woman called Mowo Sofowora. One evening, she recalls: "I was eavesdropping on the phone downstairs while Obasanjo was in the bedroom. They had spoken for about 30 minutes when she then said she was having a headache. I had heard enough, so I butted in: 'It's that headache that will kill you, shameless married woman dating a younger man'. On hearing my voice, Obasanjo charged downstairs to beat me and we had one of the many fights that had come to define our marriage." (more)

20 Minute Video About Cell Phone Bugging

Cell Phones are being used as bugs, taps, tracking, spying.

Here are 20 minutes of various video clips about how it works. (video)