The Hero of Watergate - Security Guard, Frank Wills ...his sad story.

Frank Wills - Security Guard
The Hero of Watergate

A native of Savannah, Georgia, Wills moved to Washington D.C. in 1971. He took an $80. per week job as a security guard with a company called GSS manning the midnight-to-7 a.m. shift at the Watergate office complex.

Wills' claim to fame...
Wills (24 years old) stumbled upon a "third-rate burglary" taking place in an office leased to the Democratic National Committee.

In the early morning of June 17, 1972, while making rounds, he noticed a piece of adhesive tape covering the door latch on a door between the basement stairwell and the parking garage. Wills suspected the cleaning crew (they left earlier) had taped over the door latch to prevent it from locking. He removed the tape and went on with his duties.

Meanwhile… James McCord, the leader of the buglers and a former CIA employee, noticed the tape was missing. Rather than calling off the intrusion, he just re-taped the door.

Wills made his rounds again – at approximately 1:55 am – and saw the tape had been replaced. It was not the cleaning crew! Wills called the police.

If Wills had not performed his security guard duties diligently, there probably would not have been a Watergate scandal.

The result... Eavesdropping alters American history, and a president resigns.

Washington DC police arrested five men wearing surgical gloves and carrying bugging equipment in the sixth-floor offices of the Democratic National Committee.

Recognized...
Wills received recognition for his efforts. He received an awards from the Democratic Party and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (the Martin Luther King Award - its highest honor). He played himself in the movie "All the President's Men" starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman - written by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

For a while, he was sought after by the Washington press corps. Attorney Dorsey Evans was his agent. Reporters were charged as much as $300 for interviews. Some paid. Plans were made for him to lecture, but were abandoned as his 15 minutes of fame waned.

Forgotten...
In 1973 - he left GSS due to their unwillingness to provide paid vacations. He had trouble finding full-time employment after that. In the Washington Post he was quoted as saying... "I don't know if they are being told not to hire me or if they are just afraid to hire me." By the late 70's, he had moved in with his ailing mother.

In 1983 Wills was sentenced to a year in prison for shoplifting – a pair of sneakers.

On the 25th anniversary of the break-in (1997) Wills was bitter. In a Boston Globe interview, he said: "I put my life on the line. If it wasn't for me, Woodward and Bernstein would not have known anything about Watergate. This wasn't finding a dollar under a couch somewhere."

Gone...
Frank Wills died broke on September 27, 2000 at age 52 in a hospital in Augusta, Georgia. Brain tumor.

Bob Woodward said, "He's the only one in Watergate who did his job perfectly."

50 Years Ago Today – Watergate

The full story is here.

Watergate Break-In 50th Anniversary Video

Former Counsel and staff of the Senate Watergate Committee, along with the special prosecutors, lawyers and journalists who played a role in the political scandal, mark the 50th anniversary of the break-in. video

Spend the night at the Watergate

7 Movies to Watch on the 50th Anniversary of Watergate

Just coincidence? 

You decide.

“History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” This observation, attributed to Mark Twain, is particularly apt as the 50th anniversary of the “third rate burglary” at the Democratic National Committee’s Watergate building office that led to the only resignation of a US President, coincides with the 2022 televised hearings of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

50 years of Watergate in pop culture (podcast - 28 minutes)

Watergate related news the Security Scrapbook has followed over the years.

Drone Zapper – 40 in one blow!

Aerial drones are essentially the new improvised explosive devices (IEDs)—they’re relatively cheap and easily weaponized. Weaponized swarms of drones working together on a mission are an asymmetric threat that can quickly turn into an ugly situation...

An arms race of sorts is quietly underway to be able to counter any countermeasures against drones...

The U.S. Air Force deployed Raytheon Intelligence & Space’s first high-energy laser weapon system (HELWS) overseas...

HELWS is a 15-kW-class laser weapon system that fires a silent near-infrared beam of light to shoot down a drone or deliver what’s known as a “hard kill” within the defense realm. It’s capable of taking out at least 40 drones coming at it, and has a fairly long (yet undisclosed) range. more

FutureWatch: An App to Find Wi-Fi Spycams & More

Hidden IoT devices are increasingly being used to snoop on users in hotel rooms or AirBnBs. We envision empowering users entering such unfamiliar environments to identify and locate (e.g., hidden camera behind plants) diverse hidden devices (e.g., cameras, microphones, speakers) using only their personal handhelds.

Imagine a user walking into an unfamiliar environment such as a hotel room or Airbnb. Nowadays, the user has to be wary of wireless Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices being used to spy on them. These devices could be installed by the owner or by a previous guest. This threat is not just hypothetical...

...we want to empower users so that as they enter an unfamiliar space, they can run an app on their personal handheld (e.g., phone or tablet). This app would report a list of detected and identified devices and their corresponding locations. 

“Detect,” here, means knowing that there is some device (i.e., binary notification), “identify” entails knowing what type of device it is (e.g., type=camera), and “localize” entails knowing the device’s location in the physical space (e.g., behind the plants). While cameras in particular are imminent privacy threats, in general we want to detect/identify and localize diverse hidden IoT devices, as these could also be potential threats for tracking users. more

Kids Culture Child Care in Dover, NH Indicted on Wiretapping

An owner of the Kid's Culture childcare center is “vehemently” denying and disputing a state agency's report stating it used excessive disciplinary tactics and did not follow state staffing regulations, among other infractions...

According to the report, staff at first denied there were video cameras and denied the use of timeouts or other punishments of the children during visits by investigators on March 16, March 19 and April 6. When confronted with the videos, the report states, staff then denied the cameras were trained on the bathroom area, which the report states was also proven to be untrue. more

What Can a Private Investigator do for Your Business?

Businesses can go under for several reasons, sometimes they simply aren’t profitable whereas other times something sinister is happening underneath that most business owners aren’t aware of.

Corporate espionage is bigger than you may think and if you have a product or industry secret that your competitors would love to get their hands on then hiring a private detective can help. There are many ways your competitors may use to steal your business data, some of which could be installing malware on your company computers or bugging your office or meeting rooms.

A private detective can be hired to search your business for electronic bugs and get rid of them accordingly. If you think this is a work of fiction and it doesn’t happen you would be mistaken. Bugs are placed in businesses and private residents illegally all of the time. more

Researchers Develop Anti-Eavesdropping Algorithm for Smartphone Mics

At Columbia University, a team of researchers has successfully created a program that can block out audio spying through microphones found in smartphones and connected audio devices that require voice use.

This algorithm works by using predictive voice technology: that is, it can recognize human speech and instinctively generate audible background noise like muffling or whispers in order to camouflage the user’s words.

The technology works in real-time as the algorithm is able to create the obstruction while a person is speaking to a voice-controlled device or conversing with a friend.

But why create such an algorithm in the first place?

The problem stems from advertiser eavesdropping. While this is an issue that has not been proved or disproved, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that backs it up. more

What You Should Know About Trade Secrets

A Webinar Series for Start-ups: Part I & II

Part I - Introductory Session

Partners Melanie Seelig and Mauricio Uribe kicked off a two-part, comprehensive discussion on trade secrets. The presentation served as an introduction to the topic and provided more general information.

View live presentation: Video Link

View on SlideShare: Knobbe Martens Webinar Series for Start-ups: What You Should Know About Trade Secrets - Part I

Part II - Detailed Discussion

Partners Melanie Seelig and Mauricio Uribe continued the two-part, comprehensive discussion on trade secrets. The presentation focused on a more detailed exploration of the topic and strategic implications for various scenarios.

View live presentation: Video Link

View on SlideShare: Knobbe Martens Webinar Series for Start-ups: What You Should Know About Trade Secrets - Part II

View and download the full presentation below. Knobbe Martens Webinar Series for Start-ups: What You Should Know About Trade Secrets - Part I and II

View more webinars on our Vimeo home page: Knobbe Martens on Vimeo

View more Knobbe Martens slide presentations here.

The CIA Shares How to Travel Like a Spy

Staying in a high-rise hotel on vacation this summer? ... The CIA is offering these tips and more to Americans... “Call it travel tradecraft,” the agency said, publishing the new advice on its website. 

“Whether you’re off to a bustling city or a secluded getaway this summer, we hope these CIA ‘travel tips’ help you journey with more confidence and safety.” 

Some of the guidance is standard practice for seasoned travelers... But some of their advice is more spook savvy...

“Don’t look like an easy target,” the guidance reads... “You’ll want to be alert and maintain situational awareness, especially in an unfamiliar country.”

Once you have arrived at your destination, the CIA suggests familiarizing yourself with the emergency escape routes. more  The CIA Tips

Arrested for Gifting Women Make-up Mirrors with Built-in Spycams

A man in China has been arrested after a small vanity mirror he gifted to a female coworker was discovered to have a hidden spycam built into it.

The man, whose surname is Zhang, is the owner of an online hidden camera store, and has reportedly sold over 200 similar spycam devices as the one he had gifted.

The female coworker, surnamed Li, stated that Zhang had told her to keep the mirror on for 24 hours a day, otherwise the circuit board would catch on fire...

A suspicious Li contacted the seller of the make-up mirror, who then told her to check for cameras. When she did, she found four high-definition pinhole cameras and five 32 GB memory cards inside.

“One of the recordings on a memory card was marked ‘2019’ so I realized I was probably not the first victim,” Li wrote... more  more

50 Spy Movies That’ll Keep You On The Edge Of Your Seat

As kids, all of us loved play-pretend games, and though there's a myriad of variations, one theme that was by far the most thrilling of them all - playing spies on a secret mission. 

Such secrecy and importance sure seemed thrilling, and emulating the super cool tricks we saw on the cinema screens felt like the best thing in the world. Naturally, most of us grew out of these play-pretend frolics, but the infatuation with everything spies hasn't gone anywhere. And what's a better way to relive these thrilling fantasies than by watching some of the best spy movies ever made? 

So, here we are with our list that'll cater to even the pickiest spy movie connoisseur and give you some pretty decent choices for your next adventurous viewing... more

I Would be Shocked if I am Not Being Spied On: Elon Musk

On the micro-blogging site Twitter, Musk posted a picture, which reads "Does anyone else feel like they are being watched?".

While replying to that, a user wrote "you are 24/7 on all your devices and online services, including your own Starlink. In your case it is not just mass surveillance. You are a priority target".

"I would be shocked if I am not being spied on haha. My only ask is that anyone spying on me please not affect call quality too much or I cannot hear what is being said!" Musk said in a reply to the user. more

Corporate Espionage is Entering a New Era

Companies need to take it more seriously...

In May a jury awarded Appian, whose headquarters are in McLean, Virginia, a whopping $2bn in damages after it had accused Massachusetts-based Pegasystems of illegally snooping on it to gain a competitive edge.

The trial revealed that Pegasystems executives had referred to a contractor hired to obtain some of the ingredients of Appian’s secret sauce as “our spy” in internal documents, and had dubbed the overall spying effort “Project Crush”...

The episode illustrates how interest in business espionage, and learning how to foil it, has broadened. Snooping is no longer mostly centred on a few “sensitive” industries that have long been vulnerable, such as defence and pharmaceuticals. It is increasingly used to target smaller companies in surprising sectors, including education and agriculture. It has, in short, become more of a general business risk. more

‘American Idol’ Winner Accused of Bugging LSU Student’s Dorm

American Idol winner Laine Hardy has been accused of bugging his ex-girlfriend’s dorm room at Louisiana State University so he could listen in on her conversations, according to a warrant obtained by WBRZ. 

The 21-year-old country singer was arrested Friday on charges of interception and disclosure of wire, electronic or oral communication. Investigators allegedly found several recordings on the device, including some of Hardy’s “very distinguishable” voice. 

In a vague Twitter post, Hardy acknowledged on Thursday that he’d received a warrant over “allegations” and was “cooperating” with the cops. “I humbly ask for privacy at this time,” he wrote. more

The Associated Press reported that Hardy’s ex-girlfriend and her roommate found the alleged listening device, which looked like a phone charger, in their dorm room on April 6. She reported it to LSUPD the next day, and officers noted in a police affidavit acquired by the AP that they found recordings from a 10-day span in February. more

New Countermeasure Against Unwanted Wireless Surveillance

Smart devices are supposed to make our everyday lives easier. At the same time, however, they are a gateway for passive eavesdropping. 

To prevent possible surveillance of the movement profile within one’s home, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy, the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the Cologne University of Applied Sciences have developed a novel system for protecting privacy in wireless communication.

Almost all Internet-of-Things devices, such as voice assistants, locks and cameras, rely on wireless connections based on high-frequency radio signals... passive eavesdroppers can still exploit sensitive information from intercepted radio frequency signals... Attackers can perceive such effects from a distance and, by applying simple statistical methods, conclude, for example, that a person is currently moving in the monitored room... this method known as “adversarial wireless sensing”...

With their approach, the researchers are the first in the world to propose IRS as a practical countermeasure against passive wireless eavesdropping attacks. more

Why Casinos Are Spying on Their Ultra-Rich Clients

An integral part of how the casino lavishes services on its members is by monitoring their movements on the premises — with the help of facial-recognition cameras in recent years.

Of the 400 cameras in the building, 10 are linked to a face-scanning system. Whenever a member enters the building or one of its private gambling rooms, staff get pinged on their phones.

Clients, for their part, accept this Orwellian scrutiny as necessary to enhance their experience. “It’s the expectation,” says Ryan Best, the surveillance and security manager at the casino who set up its facial-recognition system up in 2018. 

Several luxury hotels in nearby Mayfair have recently introduced similar systems to alert everyone to arriving VIPs, he says. more

Researchers Developing Anti-Eavesdropping Quantum Network

While quantum computers offer many novel possibilities, they also pose a threat to internet security since these supercomputers make common encryption methods vulnerable. Based on the so-called quantum key distribution, researchers at TU Darmstadt have developed a new, tap-proof communication network.

The new system is used to exchange symmetric keys between parties in order to encrypt messages so that they cannot be read by third parties. In cooperation with Deutsche Telekom, the researchers led by physics professor Thomas Walther succeeded in operating a quantum network that is scalable in terms of the number of users and at the same time robust without the need for trusted nodes. 

In the future, such systems could protect critical infrastructure from the growing danger of cyberattacks. In addition, tap-proof connections could be installed between different government sites in larger cities. more

Series: Types of Industrial Espionage

Industrial espionage refers to various activities performed to gain an unfair competitive advantage, rather than for national security purposes. As we discussed in a previous article, the ways in which industrial espionage can affect a company are numerous and include theft of trade secrets and disruption to operation.

Section 1832 of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (the “Act”) criminalizes the theft of trade secrets “intended for use in interstate or foreign commerce, to the economic benefit of anyone other than the owner.” The trade secret owner is required to take “reasonable measures” to keep the information secret. 

For individuals, convictions in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832 can result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years or a monetary penalty, or both. For organizations, the fine may be “not more than the greater of $5,000,000 or 3 times the value of the stolen trade secret . . . including expenses for research and design and other costs of reproducing the trade secret.” Section 1832 requires that the products be “produced for” or “placed in” interstate or foreign commerce. more

One excellent reasonable measure is the Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) inspection, conducted periodically. 

Ex-Coca-Cola Chemist Sentenced for Stealing $120 Million Trade Secret

A Chinese chemical engineer was sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing trade secrets on drink can coatings to establish a Chinese company backed by the Chinese government.

Xiaorong “Shannon” You, 59, was sentenced on Monday by a federal judge in Greeneville, Tennessee, on the charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage and wire fraud. In addition, she is ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release.

“Stealing technology isn’t just a crime against a company,” Acting Assistant Director Bradley S. Benavides of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said in a release. “It’s a crime against American workers whose jobs and livelihoods are impacted.” more

Extra Credit...
How to Turn a Coke Can Into an Eavesdropping Device

U.S. Spy Chief Reiterates ‘Overclassification’ Concerns

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told senators Tuesday that the overclassification of data is a national security concern—a sentiment the nation’s top spy previously voiced in a January memo.

“Overclassification is a national security problem,” said Haines, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee alongside Defense Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier.

“This is a challenge as you ideate from a democratic perspective but also a challenge from the national security perspective,” Haines continued in an exchange with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “It’s a very challenging issue.” more

Chinese CCTV Cameras on British Streets Contain Hidden Microphones

Chinese-made surveillance cameras in Britain are made by companies linked to human rights atrocities and can pick up sound with hidden microphones, with this capability able to be activated remotely, according to the British government’s “snooping tsar”. more

We're shocked... that Brit techs didn't clip the microphones out before installing them.

Things Often Mistaken for Eavesdropping Bugs

“Is this a bug?” is a question we are often asked.

Usually the answer is, “I understand why you are asking is this a bug. Some bugs do look similar to this. But, here is what you actually found.”

Real electronic eavesdropping devices are getting smaller. So are lots of other little electronic bits which are part of our everyday lives. Distinguishing between the two can be tricky. 

If the object you found makes you think, is this a bug, keep reading. You stand a good chance of finding your answer here...  more

The Colorful Side of Eavesdropping & Wiretaps

Russian fighters have been sharing tips with one another about how to deliberately damage their own equipment and hamper Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war plans in Ukraine, according to recordings of alleged Russian troops’ phone calls that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) intercepted...

In one regiment, one Russian soldier allegedly said they’ve been pouring sand into the tanks’ fuel systems to clog them up.

“I don't follow stupid orders, I simply refuse,” one fighter can be heard telling a comrade. “The motherf*cker sent me to tanks, motherf*cking piece of shit. I f*cked it up and that's it.”

When the fellow Russian soldier on the other end of the line heard the unit wasn’t punished for the insubordination, he indicated he might repeat the tactic later in his own unit...

Inspired by the Russians’ intercepted phone calls, Ukraine’s government encouraged other Russian troops to disobey orders and refuse to attack, echoing earlier calls to surrender and abandon the war path. more

KeyTap3 Exploit Knows What You Type Keyboard Eavesdropping

A new KeyTap3 exploit might explain how some websites are able to track and offer recommendations for an item you just searched for. 

Programmer Georgi Gerganov doesn’t use any Bluetooth, WiFi, or RF-based methods to eavesdrop on your keyboards, but rather a normal microphone. That’s right, it essentially captures audio of you typing before using that information to generate a cluster map of clicks with similar sounds.

It then analyzes those clusters and utilizes statistical information about the frequency of the letter n-grams in the supposed language of the text. 

The algorithm realizes that some of these letter combinations are used more frequently in certain languages, like English, and then begins guessing. 

Try it out here if you have a clicky mechanical keyboard. This exploit would most likely not fare well against Samsung’s SelfieType, an AI-powered keyboard. more

Air Force Officer Spycam'ed Kids in Family Member’s Bathroom

An Air Force officer is going to prison after federal prosecutors say he used a hidden spy camera to record children using the bathroom and bathing at his family member’s home, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland...

In October 2020, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in New York was notified by an adult woman, who has not been named, that Ort put a round, “black spy camera in (her) bedroom while visiting (her) home,” the news release said. Ort visited this adult’s home in Syracuse to visit her family, according to the plea agreement. 

This woman found the hidden camera with an SD card, and after reviewing the card, she “discovered a video of a minor female using the bathroom... Then, Ort was seen “entering the bathroom and adjusting the camera.” more

Your Password-less Future

Apple, Google, and Microsoft announce support for passwordless sign-in...

In celebration of 2022 Word Password Day, Apple, Google and Microsoft announced plans to expand support for a sign-in standard from the FIDO alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that aims to eliminate passwords altogether.

The passwordless sign-in involves the use of a FIDO credential called passkey, which is stored on a phone. When signing into a website, users would need to have their phone nearby, as they will have to unlock it for access.

“Once you’ve done this, you won’t need your phone again and you can sign in by just unlocking your computer. Even if you lose your phone, your passkeys will securely sync to your new phone from cloud backup, allowing you to pick up right where your old device left off,” Google explains. more

New Algorithm to Shield Conversations from Eavesdropping AI

The thought that our gadgets are spying on us isn't a pleasant one, which is why a group of Columbia University researchers have created what they call "neural voice camouflage." 

This technology won't necessarily stop a human listener from understanding someone if they're snooping (you can give recordings a listen and view the source code at the link above). Rather, this is a system designed to stop devices equipped with microphones from transmitting automatically transcribed recordings. It's quiet – just above a whisper – but can generate sound specifically modeled to obscure speech in real time so that conversations can't be transcribed by software and acted upon or the text sent back to some remote server for processing...

According to Vondrick, the algorithm his team developed can stop a microphone-equipped AI model from interpreting speech 80 percent of the time, all without having to hear a whole recording, or knowing anything about the gadget doing the listening. more

Man Accused of Hiding Cameras at Gym... again

A Shelby Township man accused two years ago of hiding cameras to spy on people at a tanning salon is at it again, Wayne County prosecutors allege.

Brian Michael Maciborski, 40, allegedly placed a camera in the ceiling grate of a gym's tanning bed area to record a 24-year-old Westland woman on Feb. 23, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. more

9 Potential Signs of Corporate Espionage

If you suspect that your business has been a target of corporate espionage, it’s essential to take action immediately — from doing an in-house investigation to hiring a private professional. If you see any of the below signs, don’t ignore them, but also take care not to make any unfounded accusations or statements. Keep your thoughts closely held and get the evidence first.

(summary - full text here)
1. Unexplained or sudden changes in practices
2. Changes in business relationships
3. Unusual computer activity
4. Becoming defensive or secretive about work
5. Equipment or files go missing
6. Unexplained drops in sales or profits
7. Employees quitting suddenly
8. Accessing computer files without permission
9. Corporate secrets leaked to the press

Spybuster Tip #823 – Investigative Steps 

1. Hire a competent professional corporate counterespionage consultant. 

2. Have them conduct a Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) bug sweep. You need to eliminate the possibility of electronic surveillance before you start accusing people.

3. Follow your consultant's advice about how to proceed. The investigative process will be customized from this point on.

Investigating Corporate Espionage - Quiz & Worksheet

Instructions: Choose an answer and hit 'next'. You will receive your score and answers at the end. (You can take the actual quiz here. Sign-up for an account is required.)

Quiz Question 1 of 3

What is corporate espionage?

A. Using illegal activities to discover proprietary, internal information about a company, its actions, and its products.

B. Using legal activities to discover proprietary, internal information about a company, its actions, and its products.

C. Looking through public records for information about a competitor.

D. Examining federal regulations to find out what a company can legally claim about a product.

Worksheet

1. What is competitive intelligence?

A. Information gained through ethical, legal means about a competitor, the market, and federal regulations

B. Information gained through unethical, illegal means about a competitor, the market, and federal regulations  

C. Any information that can be used against a competitor.

D. Racing competitors to find information.

2. What are trade secrets?

A. All public information about a company's product

B. Information about a company's external procedures

C. Proprietary information about a company's products, processes, and procedures that can only be obtained internally.

D. All answers are correct.

Caught on Camera: ‘Peeping Tom’ Seen Spying into Home

The New Orleans Police Department released footage of a man they suspect was caught on camera spying into a home window.

According to the report, the alleged ‘Peeping Tom’ was captured on video surveillance taking photographs/ and/or video of the inside of an occupied residence in the 3000 block of Robert Street with his cellular device.The video, which appears to be from a ‘Ring’ doorbell camera, is time-stamped at 11:19 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6.

The NOPD is seeking the public’s help in identifying the accused suspect. more

Google Searches for Eavesdropping Up 47% in Past Week

Google searches for eavesdropping up 47% in past week - Worldwide
Wednesday, April 6, 2022 - Tuesday, April 12, 2022. 

Videoconferencing Apps May Listen Even When Mic is Off

Kassem Fawaz's brother was on a videoconference with the microphone muted when he noticed that the microphone light was still on—indicating, inexplicably, that his microphone was being accessed...

Fawaz and graduate student Yucheng Yang investigated whether this "mic-off-light-on" phenomenon was more widespread. They tried out many different videoconferencing applications on major operating systems, including iOS, Android, Windows and Mac, checking to see if the apps still accessed the microphone when it was muted.

"It turns out, in the vast majority of cases, when you mute yourself, these apps do not give up access to the microphone," says Fawaz. "And that's a problem. When you're muted, people don't expect these apps to collect data."...

Turning off a microphone is possible in most device operating systems, but it usually means navigating through several menus. Instead, the team suggests the solution might lie in developing easily accessible software "switches" or even hardware switches that allow users to manually enable and disable their microphones. more

Professional Dealing With Illegal Electronic Surveillance

Not so long ago surveillance has been considered a government or spy agency priority. However a lot has changed.  

The rapid research and development in information technologies and electronic devices, along with their shrinkage in size has made surveillance obtainable to each of us. All you have to do is Google for GSM tracker, spy camera, hidden voice recorder. Don’t be surprised to see hundreds of thousands or even millions of espionage gear offers... 

Detecting the bugging devices is not an easy and simple work. The term describing this type of activity is TSCM which is the abbreviation of Technical Surveillance Counter Measures. TSCM survey is a service provided by qualified personnel to detect the presence of technical surveillance devices and hazards and to identify technical security weaknesses that could aid in the conduct of a technical penetration of the surveyed facility. 

A TSCM survey normally consists of a thorough visual, electronic and physical inspection inside and outside of the surveyed facility. In conducting surveillance protection one has to be familiar with the tapping methods; hardware and software products; engineering solutions used for this purpose as well as their unmasking signs. Without this knowledge it is not possible to detect a well hidden bug. more

China Could Turn its Commercial Satellites into Espionage Platforms

China is reportedly developing an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system that could turn low-cost commercial satellites, already orbiting the Earth, into powerful espionage platforms. Reports suggest it could have a success rate roughly seven times higher than existing technology.

The new system is being developed by Chinese military researchers, who say it is capable of tracking moving objects as small as a car with extraordinary precision... more

Spy Games: Russian Intelligence Personnel Expelled from Western Embassies

As part of the multi-layered response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, Western nations have expelled personnel from Russian embassies in their respective countries. 

Estimates of the number of Russian diplomatic personnel booted from EU and NATO member states range from 120 to nearly 400.  

Foreign Policy reports that at least 394 officials have been expelled since the February invasion began. Germany alone has expelled 40 members of the Russian delegation, a significant number and a substantial action by a country, like many others, that imports Russian natural gas. The stated reason for these expulsions is to protest Russia’s war in Ukraine, though the expulsions will do little to impact the war. more

Wiretap Suit: Law firm's Managing Partner had a 'Fixation' with Employee Surveillance

The managing partner of a Chicago law firm apparently monitored his employees with video cameras and a telephone system that allowed recording of phone calls, according to a lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Chicago.

The April 7 suit claims that the law firm’s managing partner, Edward “Eddie” Vrdolyak Jr., had a “fixation with audio and video surveillance.”

The suit cites “information and belief” that the firm’s offices in Chicago and Nashville, Tennessee, were equipped with a network of audio and surveillance cameras that Vrodyak monitored from several video screens in his office. more

When New York City Was a Wiretapper’s Dream

by Brian Hochman, Director of American Studies and Associate Professor of English, Georgetown University

On February 11, 1955, an anonymous tip led two New York Police Department detectives and two New York Telephone Company investigators to an apartment on the fourth floor of a residential building at 360 East 55th Street in midtown Manhattan. 

In the back bedroom of the unit, the group discovered a cache of stolen wiretapping equipment that turned out to have direct lines into six of New York City’s largest telephone exchanges: PLaza 1, 3, and 5; MUrray Hill 8; ELdorado 5; and TEmpleton 8. 

The connections blanketed an area of Manhattan running from East 38th Street to East 96th Street, a swath of the city’s most expensive real estate.

“There wasn’t a single tap-free telephone on the east side of New York,” professional wiretapper Bernard Spindel remarked of the arrangement. (Spindel was in all likelihood the source of the anonymous tip.) News of the discovery made the front page of the New York Times a week later. more

A History of Wiretapping in the United States

A podcast by, Brian Hochman, Director of American Studies and Associate Professor of English, Georgetown University

Our privacy was not first invaded by J. Edgar Hoover. They’ve been listening in for far longer than that. Wiretapping is nearly as old as electronic communications. Telegraph operators intercepted enemy messages during the Civil War. Law enforcement agencies were listening to private telephone calls as early as 1895. Communications firms have assisted government eavesdropping programs since the early 20th century―and they have spied on their own customers, too. 

Such breaches of privacy once provoked outrage, but today most Americans have resigned themselves to constant electronic monitoring. How did we get from there to here? 

Hochman explores the origins of wiretapping in military campaigns and criminal confidence games, and tracks the use of telephone taps in the U.S. government’s wars on alcohol, communism, terrorism, and crime. more

The ‘Eavesdropping Scam’ — The Newest Scam Call Tactic

 How It Works

The Eavesdropping Scam is quite sophisticated. First, the scammer calls a potential victim from an unknown number and, since 79% of unknown calls go unanswered, leaves a voicemail. In the message, the scammer is heard talking to another person about the potential victim, claiming: “I’m trying to get ahold of them right now.” Similar to the Wangiri Scam, the Eavesdropping Scam relies on the victim being so interested that they choose to call back. Once the victim returns the call, the scammer can run a variety of scams, most commonly offering fraudulent tax relief services.

The Eavesdropping Scam deploys both a new tactic (leaving non-descriptive voicemails to get a call back) and a new script (pretending to discuss the recipient). 

The scam avoids most call protection services because it does not feature any of the typical scam call markers:
1) The calls use legitimate numbers,
2) people call the numbers back,
3) the call sounds very personal despite being a mass volume robocall, and
4) the content of the voicemail is so vague that it does not include any common fraud-related keywords. more

Last Month in Spycam News

TX - The Dallas Cowboys recently paid a $2.4 million settlement stemming from allegations of voyeurism against Rich Dalrymple, the team's former head of public relations, levied by several members of the organization's cheerleading squad. more

A cautionary tale... I was retained this past year as an expert witness in a spy camera case. The client was a victim of a spycam secreted in a chain restaurant restroom. I am pleased to tell you our side just won their lawsuit. The defendant settled for an undisclosed amount.

Businesses that have expectation-of-privacy areas need a Recording in the Workplace Policy and an inspection program in place.

Canada - Police are searching for a suspect after a woman reported being recorded while in a change room at a Metro Vancouver mall. more

Canada - Man jailed 30 months for hiding 'spy cameras' in bathroom to catch his roommate’s teen-aged daughter. more

UT - A man suspected of using his phone to film a female in a North Logan Walmart changing room was charged in 1st District Court on Friday. more

Canada - A former property manager in the Annapolis Valley has pleaded guilty to a charge of voyeurism involving a two-way mirror. more

S. Korea - Co-published by TIME and Field of Vision, the documentary Open Shutters follows Jieun Choi, a journalist in South Korea investigating the country’s plague of spycams. more

Canada - A 23-year-old man has been charged after allegedly hiding a cellphone in a women’s washroom at an Ajax hospital. more

CT - A local man was charged with voyeurism Saturday after a juvenile discovered a cellphone hidden in the bathroom of a residence. more

FL - On March 10th, OPD released a video of 28-year old Justin Wright setting up a camera at a Circle K gas station in the city. more

Singapore - After getting away with taking upskirt videos at a shopping mall because the victim did not report him to the police, a Singaporean man continued committing voyeuristic acts on colleagues and his in-laws. more

OH - Ex-funeral home owner pleads guilty... he installed a camera in the women’s bathroom at the former Slack and Wallace Funeral Home. more

UT - Ex-Sandy Fire captain faces 15 felony counts, accused of secretly filming girls undressing...he had been “hiding cameras in a home business space where teenage girls would undress,” more

TN - Families Notified Of 30 Cleveland Middle School Girls Captured On Covert Camera Placed By Teacher more

FL - Man placed phone on bottom of shopping cart, recorded under women’s dresses at grocery store. more

UK - Former Leeds soldier who hid spycam in girls' changing room jailed after admitting voyeurism charges. more

Singapore - Ex-NTU researcher jailed for taking upskirt photos of 400 women over 6 years. more

Northern Ireland - A disgraced guest house owner who narrowly avoided jail after he was caught filming men and boys in toilets is now challenging the sentence that kept him out of prison. more

Singapore - Ex-teacher jailed 10 weeks, fined for taking voyeuristic videos of colleagues, students and policeman more

Vietnam - A woman from Vietnam hacked off her husband’s penis after using a spy camera to see him indulging in inappropriate behavior with his niece. more

Reddit - Looks like my cat Beans found the pet cam I set up to spy on him from work. video

FL - A Sarasota acupuncturist ...used a spy camera that doubled as a functional pen to record the patient undressing. more

SC - A Virginia Beach man has been arrested for allegedly recording inappropriate video of a student on the Medical University of South Carolina campus. more

UK - Hospital chiefs say they have been working closely with police after a man was charged with filming a woman in its toilets, and then attempting to blackmail her on social media into paying £1,000. mor

WA - An Oregon man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for recording people using the restroom at a Vancouver hospital and possessing child pornography. more

AR - Ashton Jaleel Thomas, 26, of Springdale, was arrested on suspicion of committing multiple acts of video voyeurism at the changing rooms in a Rogers Goodwill store. more

Singapore - A 40-year-old man used spy cameras to film videos of female friends and co-workers using the toilet in several locations, including his home, his friends' homes and his workplace. more 

• You don't have to be a victim. Learn how to spot spycams in places where you expect privacy.
  

SpyCam stories have become commonplace and the techniques used, repetitive. We continue to keep lose track of the subject for statistical purposes, but won't bore you with too many details. Only links to the stories will be supplied unless there is something useful to be learned.