Corporate TSCM Information Security Inspections - Myths, Excuses & Reality

There are some myths and excuses that really need to be debunked.

(Not sure what a TSCM inspection is. Check here first.) 

TSCM SECURITY INSPECTION MYTHS and EXCUSES

Espionage is a Covert Act

Excuse: “I don’t see that we have a problem. No one is bugging our offices and boardroom.” 

 

Reality: The first rule of espionage is, “Be invisible.” You won’t know if you are being eavesdropped on if you never check.

Fear of being Labeled Paranoid

Myth: Peer pressure from upper management. 

 

Reality: Most top management appreciate proactive security thinking from their staff.

Lack of Awareness

Excuse: Yes. 

 

Reality: A lack of awareness of the risks associated with electronic eavesdropping, or the need for TSCM security inspections is common. Management may be unaware of TSCM as an available countermeasure.

Cost

Myth: TSCM inspections can be expensive. The costs involved in hiring a professional TSCM specialist, or purchasing specialized equipment, and conducting regular inspections can be a deterrent to scheduling TSCM inspections. 

 

Reality: Espionage losses are more expensive, much more. Hiring a TSCM specialist is very cost-effective, if you hire a competent firm. TSCM inspections are cheap insurance. Actually, better than insurance; TSCM can prevent the loss in the first place.

Perception of Low Risk

Excuse: Some businesses may believe that the risk of electronic eavesdropping is low in their industry or specific workplace. They might assume that their organization does not hold valuable or sensitive information that would attract eavesdroppers. 

 

Reality: Being “in business” means having a competitive advantage, and others do want it.

Lack of In-House Expertise

Excuse: Conducting TSCM inspections requires specialized knowledge and equipment. If a business does not have the expertise in-house they may choose not to pursue these inspections. 

 

Reality: Hiring an information security consultant–who has TSCM as their speciality–is the solution.

 

More TSCM Security Inspection Myths & Excuses

Fear of Disruption

Myth: TSCM security inspections can temporarily disrupt normal business operations. The process involves sweeping the premises, potentially causing interruptions or inconveniences to employees or ongoing activities. Some businesses might be reluctant to undergo such disruptions. 

 

Reality: Most inspections are conducted after business hours. When necessary, a TSCM team will assume the same dress and demeanor as employees, have a plausible reason for being in the area, and will work around employees so as not to disturb them.

Trust in Existing Security Measures

Excuse: Businesses may have confidence in their existing security measures, such as physical security, cybersecurity, or access controls. They might believe that these measures are sufficient to protect against eavesdropping and thus forego TSCM security inspections. 

 

Reality: Experience has shown that do-it-yourself security measures are never sufficient to protect against eavesdropping and other forms of information loss. TSCM inspections always identify vulnerabilities and provide recommendations for improvement.

Lack of Legal or Regulatory Requirements

Excuse: Depending on the industry or geographical location, there may be no legal or regulatory obligations that mandate TSCM inspections. In the absence of such requirements, businesses may choose not to prioritize these inspections. 

 

Reality: The financial success of a business should be a more effective motivator than a legal requirement.

Perception of Invasion of Privacy

Myth: TSCM security inspections are invasive or a breach of employee privacy. They might fear that conducting such inspections could harm employee morale or create an atmosphere of distrust. 

 

Reality: Employees appreciate security measures which protect their livelihood and personal privacy. When an employer demonstrates care for information security, employees will act more carefully too.

Limited Resources

Excuse: Small businesses or those with resource constraints may prioritize other operational needs over TSCM security inspections. They might allocate their limited resources to other critical areas or invest in measures they perceive as more immediate concerns. 

 

Reality: Defense is mandatory for survival. Budget waste and misallocation can usually fund TSCM security inspections without added expense, once corrected.

Overconfidence

Excuse: Some businesses might have a sense of overconfidence in their security measures, believing that they are already adequately protected against electronic eavesdropping. This false sense of security can lead to complacency and a disregard for TSCM inspections. 

 

Reality: These businesses are at-risk.

Carefully assess the risks in your workplace. Schedule TSCM security inspections, because… corporate espionage is not a myth.

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Murray Associates is an independent technical information security consulting firm. They provide electronic surveillance detection and counterespionage services to business, government and at-risk individuals.

Headquartered in the New York metropolitan area, a Murray Associates team can assist you quickly, anywhere in the United States, and internationally.

Ring to pay $5.8M - Staff & Contractors - Snooping on Videos

Ring, the Amazon-owned maker of video surveillance devices, will pay $5.8 million over claims brought by the Federal Trade Commission that Ring employees and contractors had broad and unrestricted access to customers’ videos for years.

The settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday. The FTC confirmed the settlement a short time later. News of the settlement was first reported by Reuters.

The FTC said that Ring employees and contractors were able to view, download, and transfer customers’ sensitive video data for their own purposes as a result of “dangerously over-broad access and lax attitude toward privacy and security.”

According to the FTC’s complaint, Ring gave “every employee — as well as hundreds of Ukraine-based third-party contractors — full access to every customer video, regardless of whether the employee or contractor actually needed that access to perform his or her job function.” The FTC also said that Ring staff and contractors “could also readily download any customer’s videos and then view, share, or disclose those videos at will.”

The FTC alleged on at least two occasions Ring employees improperly accessed the private Ring videos of women. In one of the cases, the FTC said the employee’s spying went on for months, undetected by Ring. more

Taiwan Raids 8 Companies for Alleged Tech Espionage

The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) raided eight technology companies with ties to China between May 22-25 for allegedly seeking to steal technology from Taiwanese companies and poach IT staff.

To counter attempts by China to engage in industrial espionage, the MJIB sent 112 investigators to raid eight companies allegedly posing as firms backed by Taiwanese or foreign investors, reported CNA. After investigators searched 25 locations in Taipei City, New Taipei City, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Chiayi County, and Taichung City, a total of 49 individuals were taken in for questioning...

The bureau vowed to continue cracking down on the illegal poaching of talent and theft of trade secrets to maintain the country's competitive advantage. more

Delete Alert - Android App iRecorder has Morphed Into Spyware

A screen recording app available in the Google Play store that was installed over 50,000 times functioned normally for months before it started spying on users, researchers say.

The app, iRecorder – Screen Recorder, was first uploaded to the Google Play store on September 19, 2021, according to Lukas Stefanko, a malware researcher with cybersecurity firm ESET.

Stefanko said that the app had no harmful features until a later update changed the code, likely in August 2022. After that date, malicious code allowed bad actors to make secret audio recordings and secretly transfer images, videos, saved web pages, and other files off of devices, according to ESET. 

Anyone who had downloaded the app before August 2022, might still have been exposed if they updated the app manually or automatically. It’s not yet clear if the developer or another actor is responsible for the update that converted the app into a Trojan horse.

The app is no longer available in the Google Play store, TechCrunch reports, but if you already have it on your phone you should uninstall it and clear the app’s files. more

White House Plumbers...

...A Delightfully Funny Retelling of the Watergate Scandal

The Watergate scandal is not exactly new territory for screenwriters. From the 1976 classic All the President’s Men to, just last year, the excellent Gaslit, the story of the bungled covert operations that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974 has been raked over time and time again.

So White House Plumbers, created by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck – two writers who have previously worked on Veep and David Letterman’s 90s Late Show – needed to be pretty good to justify its existence. Thankfully, it was.

The five-episode comedy drama focuses on E Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux), ex CIA and FBI agents respectively, who were hired by Nixon’s White House to run a dirty tricks unit. more

Deepfake Social Engineering Scams

Deepfake social engineering scams have become an increasingly scary trend among cybercriminals to socially engineer victims into submission. 

The threat actors are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) voice cloning tools to disperse misinformation for cybercriminal scams. 

It doesn’t take much for an audio recording of a voice – only about 10 to 20 seconds – to make a decent reproduction. The audio clip extracts unique details of the victim’s voice. A threat actor can simply call a victim and pretend to be a salesperson, for example, to capture enough of the audio to make it work. more

Here are some actual deepfake audio recordings – some humorous, some cool, but all that in some form can be used maliciously:
• CNN reporter calls his parents using a deepfake voice. (CNN)
• No, Tom Cruise isn’t on TikTok. It’s a deepfake. (CNN)
• Twenty of the best deepfake examples that terrified and amused the internet. (Creative Bloq)

Alleged Russian 'Spy' Whale Spotted in Sweden

An alleged former Russian spy whale has been spotted off the coast of Sweden... 

Having spent years travelling slowly southwards from Norway's far north, the whale has sped up his movements out of Norwegian waters in recent months. 

OneWhale said the reason behind his sudden hastiness was unclear... 

He was discovered wearing a harness fitted with a GoPro camera mount and clips bearing the inscription "Equipment of St Petersburg". more

Spying in Alaska

Chinese citizens posing as tourists but suspected of being spies have made several attempts in recent years to gain access to military facilities in this vast state studded with sensitive bases, according to U.S. officials...

Many of the encounters have been chalked up to innocent mistakes by foreign visitors intent on viewing the Northern Lights and other attractions in Alaska, officials say. Other attempts to enter U.S. military bases, however, seem to be probes to learn about U.S. military capabilities in Alaska, according to multiple soldiers familiar with the incidents but who were not authorized to speak publicly about them.

Not everyone who appear to be tourists in Alaska, are, in fact tourists, one Army officer said. Instead, they are foreign spies. more

Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West (book)

Coming, June 6th, 2023

SPIES, by  Calder Walton  (pre-order)

Spies is the history of the secret war that Russia and the West have been waging for a century. Espionage, sabotage, and subversion were the Kremlin’s means to equalize the imbalance of resources between the East and West before, during, and after the Cold War. There was nothing “unprecedented” about Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. It was simply business as usual, new means used for old ends.

The Cold War started long before 1945. But the West fought back after World War II, mounting its own shadow war, using disinformation, vast intelligence networks, and new technologies against the Soviet Union. Spies is an inspiring, engrossing story of the best and worst of mankind: bravery and honor, treachery and betrayal. The narrative shifts across continents and decades, from the freezing streets of St. Petersburg in 1917 to the bloody beaches of Normandy; from coups in faraway lands to present-day Moscow were troll farms, synthetic bots, and weaponized cyber-attacks being launched on the woefully unprepared West. It is about the rise and fall of eastern superpowers: Russia’s past and present and the global ascendance of China.

Mining hitherto secret archives in multiple languages, Calder Walton shows that the Cold War started earlier than commonly assumed, that it continued even after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, and that Britain and America’s clandestine struggle with the Soviet government provides key lessons for countering China today. This fresh reading of history, combined with practical takeaways for our current great power struggles, make Spies a unique and essential addition to the history of the Cold War and the unrolling conflict between the United States and China that will dominate the 21st century. more

Australian Spy Camera Ads from the 1880's

Not very covert by today's standards, but interesting.

The Dog Cam... Send the dog into an area by himself, blow the dog whistle, dog wags tail connected to the shutter. Fingers crossed, you got the shot.

The Pot Shot... or, The Detective Camera. Lens peeks through a buttonhole. The bull taking a shot at the photographer, taking a shot of the kangaroo is a bit of a non sequitur. 

Spy News: Qatar Deep Six'es Sub Company & Some Employees

Qatar Shuts Down Submarine Company Dahra After Alleged Espionage

The submarine was shut down by Qatar due to many of its employees being accused of spying for Israel in August 2022. Reports say that 75 employees have been impacted, most of which were former Indian Navy officials, were asked to go home. more

But not all...

Qatar Is Sentencing Eight Officials Of This Submarine Company To Death
The investigation into Dahra Global commenced last August when Qatari intelligence agencies detained eight ex-Indian Navy personnel holding senior positions within the company...Qatari authorities claim to possess electronic evidence supporting their allegations of wrongdoing. more

The White House Plumbers, or The Buttcrack Buggers

This five-part limited series imagines the behind-the-scenes story of how Nixon’s political saboteurs, E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux), accidentally toppled the presidency they were zealously trying to protect… and their families along with it. 

Chronicling actions on the ground, this satirical drama begins in 1971 when the White House hires Hunt and Liddy, former CIA and FBI, respectively, to investigate the Pentagon Papers leak. After failing upward, the unlikely pair lands on the Committee to Re-Elect the President, plotting several unbelievable covert ops – including bugging the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex. Proving that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction, White House Plumbers sheds light on the lesser-known series of events that led to one of the greatest political scandals in American history.

From the producers of Succession and Veep...White House Plumbers comes to HBO Max on May 1, 2023. more

China’s ‘Men in Black’ v. Foreign Corporate Sleuths

In China, foreign consultants are learning to expect a knock on the door. 

First, police raided the Beijing office of US due diligence group Mintz in March. Weeks later, there was a similar visit to the Shanghai premises of Bain, the blue-chip US consultancy. Police have also visited one of the China offices of expert network Capvision, according to at least four people familiar with the matter, as part of an emerging number of raids on international consultancies operating in the world’s second-largest economy...

While Bain is known for its management consulting work, the incidents at Mintz and Capvision — a network whose members are available for chats with clients about an industry they have worked in — have thrown the spotlight on the world of corporate investigations in China, which also includes companies such as Control Risks, Kroll, FTI and Blackpeak... Even in ordinary times, due diligence is inherently risky in China. more

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One person prevented from leaving China this year is a Singaporean executive at the US due-diligence firm Mintz Group, after a raid in March that led to its Beijing office being shut down, according to three people familiar with the matter. The company, the executive and China’s Public Security Bureau did not respond to requests for comment. more

The First Digital Security Rule of Traveling

(We know our clients already know this, but reminders help.)

The first digital security rule of traveling is to leave your usual personal devices at home. Go on your trip with “burner” travel devices instead.

Aside from the potential for compromise or seizure by authorities, you also run the gamut of risks ranging from having your devices lost or stolen during your trip. It’s typically way less dangerous to just leave your usual devices behind, and to bring along devices you only use when traveling. This doesn’t need to be cost prohibitive: You can buy cheap laptops and either inexpensive new phones or refurbished versions of pricier models. (And also get privacy screens for your new phones and laptops, to reduce the information that’s visible to any onlookers.)

Your travel devices should not have anything sensitive on them. If you’re ever coerced to provide passwords or at risk of otherwise having the devices be taken away from you, you can readily hand over the credentials without compromising anything important. more

FutureWatch - Brain Eavesdropping

On Monday, scientists from the University of Texas, Austin, made another step in that direction. In a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the researchers described an A.I. that could translate the private thoughts of human subjects by analyzing fMRI scans, which measure the flow of blood to different regions in the brain...

In the study, it was able to turn a person’s imagined speech into actual speech and, when subjects were shown silent films, it could generate relatively accurate descriptions of what was happening onscreen. more

Companies Doing Business in China Need to be Aware of New Espionage Laws

China's updated law on espionage could be the latest point of concern for foreign companies. The amended anti-espionage law broadens the definition of national security. But it falls short of defining what exactly constitutes "National security". 

China's expansive anti-spying law to take effect July 1

Wider scope of national security puts foreigners at greater risk, analysts say. more

China has widened its already sweeping counter-espionage law. Experts say foreign businesses should be worried. more

China widens ‘already breathtaking’ scope to arrest foreigners for espionage
Authorities can swoop over anything they deem relevant to national security in toughening of law already used against expatriates or Chinese contacts. more

Hugh Grant Accuses The Sun Used 'Bugging' to Obtain Private Information

The Sun newspaper used "burglaries to order" and "breaking and entering" to obtain private information through "bugging, landline tapping and phone hacking", Hugh Grant has claimed in court.

The 62-year-old actor made the allegations in a witness statement read out as part of his lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN) - the publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World.

The British star attended the final day of a hearing at London's High Court where NGN is bringing a bid to have claims by him and Prince Harry thrown out. more

The Chatbot-Centric Wiretapping Lawsuit Against Old Navy

Court Refuses to Toss Out Chatbot-Centric Wiretapping Lawsuit Against Old Navy

Old Navy cannot escape a lawsuit accusing it of running afoul of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) by way of its use of a sophisticated chatbot feature on its e-commerce site. Despite Old Navy’s bid to get the case that Miguel Licea lodged against it in August 2022 dismissed in its entirety, Judge Sunshine Sykes of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California sided with the plaintiff, in part, finding that his CIPA Section 632.7 claim against Old Navy for eavesdropping can move ahead. more

ChatGPT Corporate Secrets: Not Made for Each Other

‘ChatGPT Corporate Secrets’ — doesn’t seem to be a healthy combination at all, as the clouds of data breach threats continue to loom large over the brave new world of AI chatbots...

For the uninitiated, this is not the first time that ChatGPT has created a controversy... But this time, the concern is quite grave for businesses, as ChatGPT might expose customer information and trade secrets. There have already been a few cases, enough to raise the alarm bell and send shockwaves across the tech world.

Let’s delve deeper with the story and figure out the important aspects about the Chatbot corporate espionage...

Team8, which happens to be an Israel-based venture firm, has recently published a shell-shocking report which argues that over-exposure to generative AI tools like ChatGPT can cause major problems to businesses by revealing corporate secrets and user data. more

Kim Jong Un Says North Korea’s 1st Spy Satellite is Ready for Launch

Many experts question whether Pyongyang has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past launches.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has built its first-ever military spy satellite and that he planned to launch it on an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday.

Previous missile and rocket tests have demonstrated that North Korea can send satellites into space, but many experts question whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past launches. more

Peyton Manning Reveals His Counter-Measures to Avoid Getting Bugged

The New England Patriots had to face a couple of damning scandals during their golden era. While Deflategate is the more popular one, Spygate isn’t far behind. The thought of the Patriots eavesdropping on their opponents may seem like an exaggeration. However, it was enough to convince Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and prompt him to take some rather weird measures.

Allegedly, the Patriots had a very bad habit of recording opposition coaches from non-designated zones. Something for which the team and their coach, Bill Belichick, received heavy fines. However, there were a few, including Manning, who believed the Patriots had installed hot mics in the locker room, which gave rise to some pretty hilarious paranoid outcomes.

During live coverage of the Packers vs Giants game in 2021, Peyton revealed to his brother that he was paranoid about letting his plans get leaked while visiting the Gillett Stadium. “Every time I played against New England, I used to talk to my receivers in the showers,” he said. “Don’t talk about a play next to my locker because I know it’s bugged. Very strange to see seven guys hanging out in the shower.” more

Spies That Don't Come in From the Cold

China Rivals US Foothold In Antarctica, Builds Base With Potential To Eavesdrop On Neighbors

China is looking to expand its presence in Antarctica by resuming construction on the country’s fifth station in the region.

“While the station can provide tracking and communications for China’s growing array of scientific polar observation satellites, its equipment can concurrently be used for intercepting other nations’ satellite communications,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a new report. more

Top Harvard Scientist: Alien mothership might be spying on us from orbit...

Prof Avi Loeb claims we shouldn't dismiss the possibility that we have already been visited by extraterrestrial life.

It’s a conspiracy theory so prevalent it has entered the mainstream. Everyone, it seems, has heard of the idea that the US government is sitting on proof that extraterrestrials exist and have been visiting Earth for decades.

It’s easy to dismiss such stories, but seriously, could there be even a small amount of truth in it? Could extraterrestrial probes really be functioning near Earth? We don’t know. But Harvard astronomer Prof Avi Loeb’s Galileo Project aims to investigate... more

Quiz - Would You Make a Good Spy?

Test yourself for fun. Learn what makes a good spy. (Before you hire any TSCM inspection / counterespionage consultant make sure they know what makes a good spy, too.)

This quiz was originally published in, A Handbook for Spies, 1980, Wolfgang Lotz (a real spy), Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, NY and is available at amazon.com.

The following questionnaire has been designed to determine the degree of your suitability as a prospective secret agent. The results of this test will also indicate what type of spy or agent you are likely to become – for example, an informer, a “stinker”, a double agent, a resident, master spy, a spymaster.

These terms will be explained later. For the present you should approach the test with an open mind. You will not have to show your answers to anyone, and therefore you can afford to be absolutely honest in your replies.

There are three to five possible answers to each question. Mark the one that is closest to the truth, and after you have answered all ten questions, award yourself the number of points indicated in the key that follows the questionnaire. An evaluation of your point total and an analysis of each of the questions follows. You may study it at your leisure only after completing the test. (If you want an honest and comprehensive appraisal, don’t look ahead now.) THE SPY QUIZ

Australia urges U.S. to Drop Espionage Case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Australia - A cross-party group of Australian politicians has called on the United States to drop an espionage case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and allow the Australian citizen to return home.

In an open letter to U.S. Attorney-General Merrick Garland, 48 members of Parliament and the Senate, including 13 from the ruling Labor Party, said the case against Mr. Assange would “set a dangerous precedent for all global citizens, journalists, publishers, media organizations and the freedom of the press.” more 

This Week in Spy News

• FBI arrests 21-year-old Air National Guardsman suspected of leaking classified documents more

• Norway expels 15 Russian diplomats accused of spying more

• China accused of spying to create passenger jet more

• South Korea opposition calls for probe into US spying more

• South Korea says leaked US intel document 'untrue', amid spying allegations more

• Putin Approved Arrest of US Reporter on Spying Charges more

• Ukrainian hackers say they have compromised Russian spy who hacked Democrats in 2016 more

• The ‘nice, ordinary’ family suspected of being Russian spies more

• GCHQ gets first woman to lead UK spy agency more

• Man suspected of being Stakeknife, Britain’s top spy in IRA, dies more

• Malfunctioning Russian Missile May Have Saved RC-135 Spy Plane more

• Israeli Mercenary Spies Attacked iPhones Through Malicious Invitations to Calendar more