"How small are GSM bugs?"

A. They can be as small as a Compact Flash card.

This is a question I hear frequently, along with...

"How expensive are they?" 

($20 to $80)

"Where are people getting these?" 

(ebay and on-line spy shops)

"How do they work?" 

Plug in a SIM card and hide it. Call the listening device using any phone, from anywhere in the world. Or... some models will call, or text, you whenever it hears someone in the vicinity talking!

"How do you find them?" 

In 2009, Murray Associates developed a proprietary test - Digital Surveillance Location Analysis™ (DSLA™) - which plots the location of these normally dormant devices on a computer screen map, using triangulation.

Ain't this a kick in the head? (again)

Erin Muller says she found a GPS tracking device attached to the undercarriage of her car two weeks ago ... and Erin tells TMZ she believes her ex Michael Lohan is the one who put it there. Muller claims her dad found the device -- which can track the whereabouts of her vehicle in real time -- while he was checking for an oil leak... According to Muller's lawyer, cops are investigating the situation as a felony eavesdropping case -- and, as a result, Erin says she's so paranoid that she's going to have her apartment swept for bugs. (more)

Leave a key under the mat, Erin...

Michael Lohan has released an audio tape exclusively to RadarOnline.com which he says proves that his ex-fiance Erin Muller broke the restraining order against her, ultimately leading to her arrest on Thursday. (more)

And you thought TSCM was difficult in China...

China - Four private detectives from Liaoning province have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven to eight months in Chaoyang district court for running an illegal operation... The men registered their private detective agency in February 2009, describing it as a "business consultancy." Detective agencies are not legal in China. The men were accused of tracking, photographing and locating people between February and August 2009. (more)

If you need TSCM advice/assistance in any country, please call us, we can help you do it legally.

Out of the Box Malware

Security researchers report that malware has been discovered on a Vodafone HTC Magic smartphone running Google's Android operating system. The discover comes just days after battery producer Energizer acknowledged that the Windows software it had been distributing for its Duo USB charger was infected with a Trojan. (more)

Eavesdropping as Entertainment

You have to be sharp to keep up with the changing social mores. While "don't stare" "don't point your finger" are withstanding the changing social landscape, "don't eavesdrop" has not. Hundreds of thousands of Web sites now specialized in eavesdropping as entertainment.

One example, as reported by the Sun Sentinal... 

"Today, I was working at Publix ringing up some 70 year old woman. She says ‘Man, you're a fast cashier, I like my men fast!' and then gives me a wink. I got really nervous and didn't know how to respond, so not thinking, I quickly said, ‘Yeah, me too.' FML"

Murdoch’s News of the World censured for bugging on an “industrial scale”

UK - A report by the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee has exposed the contempt that the mass circulation Sunday newspaper, News of the World (NoW), part of Rupert Murdoch’s media giant News International, has for basic democratic rights, parliament and the rule of law.

Its 167 pages, part of a wider inquiry into press standards, libel law reform, privacy and press regulation, found that the newspaper had lied about the extent to which its journalists had illegally hacked into the phones of the police, the military, royals, government ministers, celebrities and other well-known people in the top echelons of British society—in what was described by one MP as hacking on a “near industrial scale.” (more)

UK Football Team Bugged - "In the future, all rooms will be swept for such surveillance devices."

Video reports from BBC (video) and Sky News (video).

Olympic-level Surveillance Equipment Bargains

Now that the Paralympic games are wrapping up, Honeywell Building Solutions is beginning the final stage of its $30 million security contract with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police here: the removal of all the equipment that’s been installed to protect the 18 Olympic venues. But what to do with the roughly 1,300 Panasonic IP cameras, Computar lenses, 4,000 Xtralis PIRs, etc.? (more) (the list)

X-Ray Vision ?!?!

In the distant future private investigators may no longer need to peep through the cut-out holes in their newspapers, thanks to researchers at the ESPCI in Paris, who have discovered a way to see through various opaque materials. (more)

UK Football Team Bugged

UK - The FA have launched an investigation to uncover the culprits behind bugging the England camp last week. The Daily Mail says lawyers have already been instructed to prevent the illegal tape from being published. 

England were left facing yet more potential disruption to their World Cup plans when it emerged that a six-hour recording of team meetings was in existence. 

Last night, FA officials still had no knowledge of who committed what amounts to a serious breach of privacy laws — or the contents of the tape. 

Speculation remains that the sensitive tape includes Capello discussing tactics with his staff, as well as players talking about private matters that could cause some embarrassment to members of Capello’s first team, as well as World Cup bonuses. (more)

Sir Alex Ferguson, has spoken of his concerns about the news that one of Fabio Capello's team-talks was bugged during England's preparations for their friendly against Egypt last week.

Ferguson was speaking from personal knowledge after a device was planted in the home dressing room at Old Trafford before a game against Chelsea in 2005 and the tape was offered to newspapers.

'It happened to us once before,' Ferguson said. 'I would be concerned about it. Preparation involves discretion and secrecy. (more)

Sports is not a game. It is a business. A big money business. Electronic surveillance is as likely to occur against a professional sports team as it is at any other business.

Sports teams should seek local counterespionage help by adding their country name to this search.

And thus began the long parade of frogmen...

United Arab Emirates

Police in Dubai Wednesday ordered spies to leave the Persian Gulf...

"Those spies that are currently present in the Gulf must leave the region within one week.

If not, then we will cross that bridge when we come to it," said a lieutenant general with the Dubai police. (more)

Insider-Trading Wires & Taps

NYC - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan equipped several cooperating witnesses with recording devices to try to obtain information about targets in the Galleon insider-trading probe, people familiar with the matter say... A total of 21 individuals have been charged in the Galleon case. At least eight individuals have pleaded guilty and are cooperating against other defendants... Criminal prosecutors also are using evidence obtained from wiretapped telephone calls. (more)

Cell Phone Spying (video)

Cell Phone Privacy
Everything you need to know about protecting your privacy while using mobile and cordless phones.

Quote of the Week - Corporate Spies

“In an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment, the balance seems to be shifting away from governments and toward corporate and even private individuals, who have access to more intelligence and information-gathering abilities than many governments in history ever had.” (more)

Eamon Javers, author - Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage

How Elvis Presley Got an "Ultra-Secure" Passport...

...a fascinating and unsettling story by Mark Nestmann.

Elvis died in 1977. But that didn’t prevent hackers from inserting his digital photo into a U.K. passport, and using it at a self-service passport machine at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to gain clearance to board a plane.

This incident occurred in September 2008. But this security vulnerability persists, as proven by the recent assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas operative, in a Dubai hotel on January 20. (more)

I created the Elvis passport using Photoshop and images from the net to provide a sense of what can be done with digital manipulation. This amateur creation only took about 15 minutes to make. Professional artists at government spy agencies devote more time to their projects. Their creations are almost indistinguishable from authentic documents.

Supervisors order surveillance sweeps for 'bugs'

Although Eavesdropping Detection Audits are a generally accepted good business practice, they rarely make news. This report details the costs, frequency and rational behind the effort. 

CA - San Bernardino County supervisors spent $22,500 last month to sweep their offices and other parts of the government center for secret recording devices and other hidden surveillance equipment.
The first sweep of the fourth and fifth floors of the county building occurred Jan. 23, and the purchase order provides for four more sweeps at undisclosed future dates...

In all, David Wert, county spokesperson said, the county has spent $42,865 on sweeps in recent years but refused to disclose when previous sweeps occured...

In a brief statement, Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Ovitt said that: "All surveillance measures taken by the County are to ensure integrity in the decision-making process as well as the safety of those who work at the county. We work hand-in-hand with public safety officials while developing these measures to ensure those objectives are met."

Wert said taxpayers are put at risk when sensitive information relating to official county business is leaked because it opens the doors for potential costly litigation.

"It puts the taxpayers at a disadvantage in the courtroom and at the negotiating table," he said. (more)

If you are not protecting your organization's operational integrity, please give me a call. I can help you develop a rational and effective eavesdropping detection program with a strong overall counterespionage component.

Chinese Take Out

FBI surveillance video made public reveals details of a Chinese espionage operation to obtain secrets from the Pentagon through a group of Americans who spied for China. 

The rare video footage was the high point of a multiyear investigation into Chinese espionage carried out by a ring of military intelligence agents operating from Guangzhou, China. 

The tape, made public by CBS' "60 Minutes," was recorded in 2007 with two cameras hidden in a rental car during the investigation of Pentagon analyst Gregg W. Bergersen. The video reveals Bergersen pocketing a wad of about $2,000 in cash from Kuo Tai-shen, a Taiwanese-born spy for the People's Republic of China. (more)

CBS News Video

"Give thy thoughts no tongue."

Whatever you do, whatever you see this season, do not miss Oregon Shakespeare Festival's production of "Hamlet."

 

Director Bill Rauch and Dan Donohue have dragged Shakespeare's venerated classic into the world of 2010 and given us an edgy, topical and intimate examination of those dastardly doings in Denmark...

It is Rauch's vision to put Hamlet into current time and place. ... Rauch's Denmark is a full-blown security state. Even the ancient castle walls come equipped with security cameras, guards with assault rifles. Claudius and Polonius don't have to eavesdrop on Hamlet and Ophelia — she wears a wire. In this milieu, Hamlet's irrational acts and speech throw everyone off balance, making them that much more vulnerable. (more)

SpyCam Story #572 - A Deranged Design

Indianapolis - Metro police are investigating an unusual case of voyeurism. Police arrested 40-year-old David Delagrange for spying on women with an elaborate camera system. Investigators say Delagrange, an engineer from Fort Wayne, rigged the sophisticated system in his right shoe and operated it through a cable in his pants. Monday, police showed the wiring they reportedly found inside his jeans. They say the wires connected to a tiny camera. "It was kind of sticking out, just in front of the cuff of the pants, over the tie of the shoe," said Sgt. Mount. (more)

SpyCam Story #571 - Act Naturally

Australia - Mark Robert Stratford, 49, was employed as director of drama at Lauriston Girls' School. The former drama teacher of a Melbourne girls' school has pleaded guilty to installing a spy camera to capture students undressing. (more)

Security Director News - See through their eyes

Awesome new technology with a major security impact. 

Yes, it has been tried before. But, never this slick, and with hardware you already own.

What if you were able to locate any member of your field staff — and see what they are seeing in real time? 

What if you could be in ten places at once?

Or 100, or even 1,000? 

That would be very powerful.

Now, what if anyone on your team could simultaneously view critical information appearing on a computer screen back at headquarters or at a remote location? 

That would open up a whole new world of possibilities. 

Reality Mobile has made it possible to share any kind of information with anyone in your organization at any time. 

Bonus... You can do all of this with equipment you probably already own. And it works virtually anywhere on the planet.
("How it works" video)

Attention uniform manufacturer!
Time to incorporate CCTV button cameras into your designs.

Remember when teachers only had extra eyes ...in the back of their heads?

UPDATES
• The lawsuit.
• Detailed technical insights on how this was accomplished.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now investigating whether the school broke any federal wiretap laws when it remotely spied on a student at home, an anonymous official told the Associated Press.
• A federal grand jury has also subpoenaed the school for records related to the so-called "security" measures implemented on the laptops that allowed officials to activate the webcams to see people using them, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• County DA - "We're going to be looking into the situation to see if a criminal investigation is warranted.
• A federal judge ordered the Pennsylvania school district to stop activating the cameras.

PA - A suburban Philadelphia school district remotely activates the cameras in school-provided laptops to spy on students in their homes, a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday (2/11/10) alleged...

Michael and Holly Robbins of Penn Valley, Pa., said they first found out about the alleged spying last November after their son Blake was accused by a Harriton High School official of "improper behavior in his home" and shown a photograph taken by his laptop.

An assistant principal at Harriton later confirmed that the district could remotely activate the webcam in students' laptops. (more) ("How Television Benefits Your Children")

Security Alert - Social networking could leave your home at risk

...to highlight just how many people are leaving themselves vulnerable through what they disclose on the internet, a Dutch website called Please Rob Me is posting live updates sent by users declaring when they are not at home - and thus at risk of burglary.

The ever-increasing amount of information we post on social networking sites is leaving us vulnerable to criminals.

Whether it's birthdates, home addresses or where we're planning to go on holiday, these details can be a goldmine to criminals. ...mentioning that you're stuck at work might seem innocent enough, you've actually just advertised to burglars that your home is going to be empty for some time. (more)

Newspaper's Royal Hack Attack

UK - A British Parliament investigation concludes that Murdoch-owned tabloid News of the World hacked phones " on industrial scale"—including those of police, military, and government officials—in pursuit of gossip on royals. NotW's owner, New International, tried to blame it all on one "rogue reporter," but the Parliament's report says it is "inconceivable" that one guy did this alone. (more)

Rhode Island - Wiretap Update

RI - A federal appeals court has overturned a jury verdict that punished the city of Providence for illegally recording hundreds of thousands of phone calls at the city’s public safety complex.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston on Tuesday released the decision. It says the city and its officials are shielded from the lawsuit because of “qualified immunity,“ which means government officials can’t be sued for doing their jobs.

A federal jury in 2008 awarded about $525,000 to the more than 100 people who sued after having their calls recorded. (more)