"Take it Down" Law Signed - Thank Nancy Mace

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) shared photos of her “naked silhouette” on Capitol Hill Tuesday, alleging that they were taken without her consent by her ex-fiance.

“Freedom is not a theory. It is the right to breathe. It is the right to dress and undress, to sleep without someone’s camera filming your naked body,” the congresswoman said during a House Oversight Committee hearing. “The Founders wrote liberty in parchment, but hidden cameras erase it in pixels.”

“I speak not just as a lawmaker, but as a survivor.” more

Take it Down law signed. more

A North Korean Agent Applied for a Job - A Halloween Question Tripped Him Up

The hiring team at Kraken, a U.S.-based crypto exchange, noticed immediately that something was off about “Steven Smith,” a would-be IT worker who applied for a software engineering job in early October. 

But it wasn’t until they compared Smith’s email to a list of those suspected to be part of a hacker group that their suspicions were confirmed: Smith was a North Korean operative.

Kraken could have just tossed the application. Instead, Kraken’s chief security officer, Nick Percoco, decided to take a closer look at Steven Smith...

The interview was scheduled for Halloween, a classic American holiday—especially for college students in New York—that Smith seemed to know nothing about.

“Watch out tonight because some people might be ringing your doorbell, kids with chain saws,” Percoco said, referring to the tradition of trick or treating. “What do you do when those people show up?” Smith shrugged and shook his head. “Nothing special,” he said. more

Find Out if Someone is Spying on Your Facebook Account

Unless you fly strictly under the radar, your Facebook account has valuable data about you—like who you speak with the most and what you talk about. It can also be a treasure trove of other personal details like your family members, close friends, and social plans.

You should be the only one to control your account. To ensure this, periodically verifying that everything’s secure is a wise idea...

On a PC
Meta buries this info in its account center. To go directly there, head to https://accountscenter.facebook.com/password_and_security/login_activity. 

You can also navigate there manually:

• Open the Facebook website in your browser
• Click on your profile icon at the top right of the window
• Choose Settings & privacy
• Select Settings
• Under Accounts Center in the upper left, click on See more in Accounts Center
• Choose Password and security
• Under Security checks, click on Where you’re logged in

A pop-up will appear with a box showing your name and the device you’re currently using, plus a small number showing the other devices logged in. more

Going Away This Holiday Weekend? Hide Your Stuff

Caught on camera: Jet Ski stolen in broad daylight from Amityville driveway. (Oh, the horror!)

A bold thief made off with a $25,000 Jet Ski in broad daylight Wednesday, and the crime was caught on doorbell camera.

Chris Montalbano, the homeowner and victim, said he was stunned by how quickly and confidently the theft unfolded. “Pretty brazen, didn’t seem like they cared,” Montalbano said. “I believe it was a guy — had his hood on. Just real quick. They knew what they were doing.” 

Montalbano noted that the surveillance cameras mounted above his garage mysteriously went dark during the theft. He suspects the thief may have used a signal-jamming device to disable the system. more

This is not an isolated incident. There have been many stories recently about thefts and break-ins being aided by the jamming of wireless security cameras. If you are going away consider placing several covert cameras, with internal video storage within your home and looking outside from windows. They are inexpensive. Some are listed here.

Enjoy the Long Weekend: CIA Officers Reveal Their Top Spy Movies

SPYSCAPE asked real-life CIA officers to pick their all-time favorite spy movies and we’ve got the low-down on 15 of the most realistic and entertaining films of the espionage genre. 

Here are the SPYEX team’s favorite flicks, chosen especially for SPYSCAPE readers! more

1. A Most Wanted Man (2014)

2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

3. Red Joan (2018)

4. The Little Drummer Girl (1984)‍

5. Argo (2012)

6. Syriana (2005)

7. The Good Shepherd (2006)

8. The Hunt for Red October (1990)

9. Spy (2015)‍

10. Three Days of the Condor (1975)

11. North by Northwest (1959)

12. The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1965)‍

13. The Amateur (1982)

14. Ill Met By Moonlight, aka Night Ambush (1957)

15. The Third Man (1949)

Vatican to Deactivate Mobile Phone Signals

All mobile phone signals will be deactivated in the Vatican today (7) ahead of the highly secretive conclave to elect the next pope, Italian State media reported.

The Vatican also plans to use signal jammers around the Sistine Chapel to prevent electronic surveillance or communication outside the Conclave that will see 133 Cardinals vote on who will succeed Pope Francis and lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Phone signal will be cut off at 3.00 pm local time (9.00 am ET) today, an hour and a half before the Cardinals are scheduled to proceed to the Sistine Chapel to begin the papal conclave, Italian state broadcaster RAI reported on Monday. more

So get down without your phone,
Comfort knowing you're not alone,
Bow your head with great respect,
And disconnect, disconnect, disconnect!

NSO Group Pegasus Spying Software Fined $168 Million in Damages

Unconvinced by NSO Group Technologies’ argument that it couldn’t – and shouldn’t – pay punitive damages for using WhatsApp to plant its Pegasus software on unsuspecting surveillance targets around the world, a federal jury in California walloped the Israeli company with a verdict awarding $168 million in damages today...

“The jury’s verdict today to punish NSO is a critical deterrent to the spyware industry against their illegal acts aimed at American companies and our users worldwide,” Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, said in a statement. 

“This is an industrywide threat, and it’ll take all of us to defend against it.” more

How Apple's Network can be a Potential Tracking Tool

George Mason University researchers recently uncovered a way for hackers to track the location of nearly any computer or mobile device. Named "nRootTag" by the team, the attack uses a device’s Bluetooth address combined with Apple's Find My network to essentially turn target devices into unwitting homing beacons. 

"It's like transforming any laptop, phone, or even gaming console into an Apple AirTag - without the owner ever realizing it," said Junming Chen, lead author of the study. "And the hacker can do it all remotely, from thousands of miles away, with just a few dollars." 

The team of Qiang Zeng and Lannan Luo—both associate professors in the Department of Computer Science—and PhD students Chen and Xiaoyue Ma found the attack works by tricking Apple's Find My network into thinking the target device is a lost AirTag. AirTag sends Bluetooth messages to nearby Apple devices, which then anonymously relay its location via Apple Cloud to the owner for tracking. Their attack method can turn a device—whether it's a desktop, smartphone, or IoT device—into an "AirTag" without Apple's permission, at which point the network begins tracking. 

In experiments, they were able to pinpoint a stationary computer's location to within 10 feet, accurately track a moving e-bike's route through a city, and even reconstruct the exact flight path and identify the flight number of a gaming console brought onboard an airplane. Zeng gave an alarming example: “While it is scary if your smart lock is hacked, it becomes far more horrifying if the attacker also knows its location. With the attack method we introduced, the attacker can achieve this.” more

FutureWatch: Apple is Developing AirPods with Cameras

Apple is ‘actively developing’ a version of AirPods with integrated cameras. This tech is unlikely to make an appearance in AirPods Pro 3, which are expected to debut this year – but nonetheless, it’s in the pipeline. Apple wants your AirPods to better understand your environment, but why?
Visual Intelligence integration

With the iPhone 16 lineup, Apple introduced Camera Control. This new button is great for taking photos and adjusting camera settings, but it also unlocked a new feature: Visual Intelligence.

Visual Intelligence is a powerful tool that helps users learn about the world around them, and allows users to take action based on the physical context around them. You can add an event flyer to your calendar, for example, or tap into the power of ChatGPT or Google to help learn about something you don’t understand. more

Apple’s iPhone Warning—400 Million Chrome Users Must Now Act

Apple’s video warning for iPhone users to stop using Google Chrome doesn’t mention Google Chrome — it doesn’t need to. It plays on the browser’s reputation for tracking and privacy infractions, which just took another hit. But it also hides a clever message that makes its warning clear. Hundreds of millions of iPhone users need to take note.

Last summer, Google backtracked on its promise to kill tracking cookies for Chrome’s 3 billion users. Don’t worry, it said, it’s temporary. It proposed a one-click “don’t track me” for Chrome with parallels to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency. 

But it has now backtracked again — and this time it’s worse. Cookies are here to stay. “We’ve made the decision to maintain our current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome, and will not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies." more

Secret Cameras Found in Bathrooms

Police are searching for the person who hid multiple cameras in a Hermosa Beach dance studio bathroom used by children, parents and employees.

A parent made the disturbing discovery Saturday morning at the dance studio in the 1100 block of Aviation Boulevard, the Hermosa Beach Police Department announced in a news release.

Police officers arrived at the studio around 9:30 a.m. and found that multiple cameras were hidden in bathrooms at the studio. The parent who found the cameras turned them over to staff who then contacted police, according to authorities. more

"This is like a safe and sacred place for many children for the last over 25 years. So, I'm horrified," Liliana Somma, the owner of School of Dance and Music, said through tears.

Now, Somma is taking every precaution she can think of... "Also, we bought these regular sweeping devices that we're going to be doing throughout the day, which I think everyone should be doing," Somma said. "But that's what we're going to be doing. That's newly purchased. We also added cameras in the hallway so we can see who is coming in and out of the studio itself." more

"Sweeping devices" alone are not an effective remedy. You need to know what to look for, and where to look. You need THIS.

A Professional Electronic Surveillance Operation Described

Serious corporate espionage spying, or government surveillance operations; the preparation and execution of surveillance measures are very similar. Hear how a real operation is accomplished in this short podcast...

I WAS NEVER HERE

True spies work in all sorts of far-flung locales - but some assignments are closer to home. For Andrew Kirsch, a Special Operations officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the suburbs of Toronto hold as much intrigue as Moscow or Baghdad. Vanessa Kirby joins Andrew on a nail-biting infiltration mission to unmask a home-grown terrorist, right in his back yard. Listen here.

P.S. This is why you will never know if your company Boardroom has been bugged by a pro. Learn more here.

Get the lucky T-shirt.

EU Hands Out Burner Phones to US-bound Staff Over Spying Fears

Is today's US-EU alliance truly trusted? Who would have thought that today, nothing better illustrates what "trusted ally" really means than EU officials being handed burner phones before visiting the US to protect themselves from potential "espionage." 

 
The Financial Times reported on Monday that European Commissioners and senior officials travelling to the IMF and World Bank spring meetings next week have been given the new guidance to take basic phones and laptops. "They are worried about the US getting into the commission systems," FT quoted one official as saying. "The transatlantic alliance is over," the report said, quoting another anonymous EU official. more

Cameras Are Popping Up in Eldercare Facilities

Roughly 20 states now have laws permitting families to place cameras in the rooms of loved ones. Facility operators are often opposed...

Though they remain a contentious subject, cameras in care facilities are gaining ground. By 2020, eight states had joined Minnesota in enacting laws allowing them, according to the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care: Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington.

The legislative pace has picked up since, with nine more states enacting laws: Connecticut, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. Legislation is pending in several others. California and Maryland have adopted guidelines, not laws. The state governments in New Jersey and Wisconsin will lend cameras to families concerned about loved ones’ safety. more

Spy Quote of the Week

via The Hustle...

"I smashed my old phone with an axe and put it down the drain at my mother-in-laws's house."

Not a movie scene, but: the directions former Rippling employee-turned-corporate spy Keith O’Brien said he received from a Deel attorney (and carried out) to destroy evidence in an ongoing legal battle between the two HR tech companies, according to a recent court filing via TechCrunch.

Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz is accused of hiring O’Brien to collect intel on competitor Rippling — product road maps, customer accounts, sales leads, etc. — in a four-month-long scheme, according to the lawsuit. O’Brien’s compensation? Allegedly just $6k a month. Not exactly hush money, it seems.

Google: Human Surveillance Isn't Enough - Target Dolphins

Imagine trying to crack a language where every "word" is a complex pattern of clicks, whistles, and burst pulses. That's what Google's DolphinGemma AI model is tackling, running on waterproofed Pixel phones in the waters of the Bahamas.

The system, announced on Google's blog, makes use of 38 years of underwater recordings from the Wild Dolphin Project (WDP), the longest-running study of its kind. These recordings capture everything from mother dolphins calling their calves with unique signature whistles to aggressive "squawks" during confrontations. The AI processes these vocalizations in real-time, searching for patterns that could unlock the dolphins' communication code. more

Is Your Phone Secretly Listening to You?

Here’s a simple way to find out...

To test if your phone is listening to your conversations, start by openly discussing a unique topic that you’ve never searched for or discussed previously while your phone is turned on next to you. It’s crucial that this be something that isn’t related to your usual interests or search queries.

Spend a day or two discussing this topic out loud with your phone next to you the whole time. Make sure that you don’t search about this topic on any of your devices—not just your phone.

During this time, pay close attention to the ads you’re served while online—ads on social media feeds, websites you visit, apps you use, and those on your smart TV if you have one. Then, if you begin seeing ads about the topic you chose to discuss, chances are you’ve confirmed the eavesdropping and caught your phone red-handed. more

Not Far from Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems in Grover's Mill, NJ

“Sushi John"-  SPYcy Roll'ed by ICE

An alleged sushi-slinging spy is in ICE custody. 

Ming Xi Zhang, known as “Sushi John,” the 61-year-old owner of Ya Ya Noodles in Montgomery Township, NJ, was arrested March 24 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Newark.

Zhang was convicted in April 2024 of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government and sentenced to three years’ probation. In May 2021, he pleaded guilty to having served as an agent of China in 2016 without notifying the U.S. Attorney General.

ICE says he legally entered the U.S. in 2000 but later “violated the terms of his lawful admission.” more

"Sushi John" + "Ya Ya" = "John Ya Ya" 

One of the 46 Yoyodyne Employees (Red Lectroids)?

We checked. No relation.

Installing Hidden Cameras Around the Office - MrBeast Sues

MrBeast has a new game: work for Beast Industries without stealing company secrets. 

According to Jimmy Donaldson (better known as MrBeast) and his company, a former employee failed the challenge. In a complaint first spotted by Polygon, MrBeast is suing a former contractor for allegedly breaching his contract, stealing trade secrets, and—certainly the most creepy of the accusations—installing hidden cameras throughout the company offices...

In addition to discovering the documents had been downloaded, Beast personnel apparently also spotted cameras installed around the office after Nabors’ departure. According to the complaint, Nabors was “well-known among colleagues to surreptitiously record meetings.” The complaint accuses Nabors of installing and operating the cameras. more

When was the last time you checked your offices for covert cameras and bugs. Find out.

The Affidavit of a Rippling Employee Caught Spying for Deel Reads Like a Movie

On Wednesday, Rippling publicly released the affidavit of the Rippling employee who testified that he was working as a spy for the HR tech company’s arch rival Deel.

And the account, coupled with Rippling’s lawsuit filed against Deel a couple of weeks ago, reads like a corporate espionage movie script, complete with a sting operation and a smashed phone.

It’s the latest escapade between the two. TechCrunch has documented the most Hollywood-esque parts of the testimony below, but be aware that this is only one side of the story — the side Rippling wants everyone to know, as its PR machine has blasted it out, and CEO Parker Conrad tweet-stormed about it.

To recap: Rippling, a workforce management platform, very publicly announced on March 17 that it was suing Deel over this alleged spying, leveling charges ranging from violation of the RICO racketeering act (often used to prosecute members of the Mafia) to misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition. more

This Week in Spy News

• Trump fires top boss at NSA, nation's elite spy agency

• Where and Why to Spy? How does the Intelligence Community focus its collection and analysis?

• Russia Releases Mysterious Objects In Earth's Orbit, Internet Abuzz With Spy Mission Claims

• The alleged Deel spy just admitted to corporate espionage in a major scandal rocking the HR world

• Secrets, spy tools and a 110-year-old lemon are on show in an exhibition from Britain’s MI5

I Asked AI How to Bug a Room...

I asked AI how to bug this room. It did. 

Then, it tried to take my job! https://lnkd.in/eUCaiCDj

Threat Actors Allegedly Selling SnowDog RAT Malware With Control Panel on Hacker Forums

A new Remote Access Trojan (RAT) dubbed “SnowDog RAT” is malicious software purportedly marketed for $300 per month. It appears to have been specifically developed for corporate espionage and targeted attacks on business environments.

The malware advertisement, discovered on Thursday, April 3, 2025, describes sophisticated capabilities that could threaten organizations worldwide.

According to a ThreatMon post shared on X, the advertisement claims that SnowDog RAT offers an extensive array of intrusion and persistence features that make it particularly dangerous. more

Lawsuit Alleges Pharmacist Hacked Hundreds of Computers to Watch Women Undress

A recently filed class action lawsuit accuses a former pharmacist at the University of Maryland Medical Center of having hacked into hundreds of computers.

Court documents say Matthew Bathula targeted at least 80 of his coworkers, most of whom are women pharmacists, residents, and other medical professionals.

Bathula allegedly accessed their computers using passwords and usernames extracted from UMMC computers and was able to gain access to their personal email, texts, photo libraries, and "private and sensitive electronically stored information."

He also allegedly downloaded partially nude photographs and recordings, photographs, and recordings depicting the women breastfeeding their children.

The complaint states Bathula activated internet-enabled cameras in patient treatment rooms to watch and record his coworkers he knew to be pumping breast milk at work and accessed home security cameras remotely to spy on the women in their homes, recording all of them in multiple stages of undress, in private family interactions, and having intercourse with their husbands.

Bathula accessed at least 400 computers, per court documents, and the active spying went on for at least a decade. more

Spying on Children: Dino, the Stool Pigeon Dinosaur

Dino is a plush toy recommended for children ages 4-9. They play with it. It plays back, as only an AI chatbot can. It answers questions, creates interactive stories, can handle jokes, and even help with math homework. Pretty clever, and only $249.00, if you can get one. Production is currently not mass. 

Cute idea. Innovative, but not totally original. Toy companies have been offering "interactive" dolls for a long time. I am guessing we are all too young to have had a Thomas A. Edison talking doll, introduced in 1887. Zipping into the early 1960's there was Chatty Cathy, by Mattel. Still drawing a blank? How about Furby from the late 1990's. All these toys were "interactive" in that the child made them speak, and these responses were limited.

Welcome to the 21st Century! Interactivity is really here. Dino supposedly can "AI think" and answer. Since I have never seen a Dino in the wild, supposedly will have to do based on the website's claims.

"So, Kevin, how is this Spy News?!?!"

Dino has another talent. It can squeal. Its interactions zap to an app faster than you can say, "You dirty rat." 

• Tell Dino you raided the cookie jar, your parents will know. 
• Ask Dino where to hide the [fill in the blank] you stole, they will know. 
• Tell Dino you hate your parents and are plotting revenge, they will know. 

The gotchas are infinite, kid. Keep your knees loose. (JS)

This Week in Corporate Espionage News

• Corporate espionage in Canada: how HR leaders can guard against insider threats

• Deel and Rippling corporate espionage case takes a turn as accused ‘spy’ agrees to cooperate

• US is increasingly vulnerable to espionage threats, analysts warn

• Former Spy: Unstoppable AI-Powered Threats Target All

• Russian espionage group focused on corporate espionage, mainly targeting organizations in the US

• North Korea hackers go after business executives in latest info-stealing scheme

• DOGE Purge Is Boosting China’s Espionage Activities Against U.S.

• '$35 million gone in one call': Deepfake fraud rings are fooling the world's smartest firms: Impersonating CEOs for wire fraud to creating fake hostage videos for extortion

This Week in Spy News

• Putin’s Spy Hunters Grab Ukrainian Informants On Mission To Infiltrate Russian Military

• Trump administration is pointing spy satellites at US border

• Your TV is watching you

• Texas AG investigating insurance company accused of spying on lawmakers, journalists, other Texans

• FBI director avoids committing to investigate Signal leak

• Czech Republic blocks Chinese satellite investment over fears of espionage

Man Charged with Installing Eavesdropping Device

A Missouri man was charged with installing an eavesdropping device in an Oak Grove home Wednesday night.

Oak Grove Police told WKDZ that 34-year-old Manual Alvarez was arrested after a camera was found in the headboard of a bed in the home of a woman with whom Alvarez had a child in common.

Alvarez reportedly claimed he put in the camera due to things being stolen and said it was not hidden. more

A Chinese Spy Network is Targeting Former US Officials Laid Off by Musk and Trump

A network of companies linked to a Chinese tech firm has been attempting to recruit recently laid-off U.S. government employees. This campaign, uncovered by analyst Max Lesser, seeks to exploit the vulnerabilities of federal workers affected by mass layoffs. 

While the companies involved remain obscure, the operation's methods resemble those used in previous Chinese intelligence activities. The U.S. government is aware of the potential risks and is urging former employees to remain cautious about such offers...

Lesser, who shared his findings with Reuters, warned that "the network seeks to exploit the financial vulnerabilities of former federal workers affected by recent mass layoffs." These recruitment efforts closely resemble previous tactics used by Chinese intelligence to obtain valuable information under the guise of employment opportunities.

A Web of Fake FirmsFour companies—RiverMerge Strategies, Wavemax Innovation, and two others—are allegedly part of this recruitment network. Their websites share overlapping designs, are hosted on the same server, and exhibit other digital connections, raising suspicions of a coordinated effort. Lesser’s research, along with Reuters' investigation, found that all four companies’ websites were hosted alongside Smiao Intelligence, an obscure Chinese internet services firm. more

Student: Allegedly Secretly Recording Videos in Girls' Restroom

A now-former student at the Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology is facing felony charges after police say he recorded videos inside a girls’ restroom multiple times.

The most recent incident occurred on Feb. 25, but warrants reveal the teen is accused of similar actions at least 13 times since October 2024.

According to a police report, the 17-year-old male student entered the girls’ restroom and took a picture or video of a 17-year-old female student without her consent. Investigators collected the student's cell phone as evidence.

Officials credited a student's vigilance in reporting the incident, which led to swift action by administrators. more

Not So Secure: Drones Can Now Listen to Underwater Messages

Cross-medium eavesdropping technology challenges long-held assumptions about the security of underwater communications.

Researchers from Princeton and MIT have developed a method to intercept underwater communications from the air, challenging long-standing beliefs about the security of underwater transmissions.

The team created a device that uses radar to eavesdrop on underwater acoustic signals, or sonar, by decoding the tiny vibrations those signals produce on the water’s surface. In principle, the technique could also roughly identify the location of an underwater transmitter, the researchers said. more

Cool Spycraft at the Tip of Your Finger

Only $3.18.

This is a Near-Field Communications (NFC) chip. Very small. Very thin. NFC is a short-range wireless technology that enables data exchange between two devices within ~4 cm. The chip contains a small amount of memory, a radio antenna, and a controller. It can be operated in one of two modes. 

• Passive: No battery, powered by the electromagnetic field from the reader. 
• Active: Has its own power source and can initiate communication.

How you might want to put your new spy power to work...

1. Covert Information Drops

• Spy embeds NFC tag in a common object (book, card, clothing tag).
• The chip links to a hidden or encrypted file or payload.
• Handler taps the object with a phone to retrieve information without direct contact.

2. Target Tracking
• Spy plants an NFC tag on a person or vehicle.
• The chip contains a unique ID or triggers background logging when scanned by compromised devices.
• Useful in tight surveillance environments.

3. Access Credential Spoofing
• Clone an NFC badge or card to gain unauthorized access.
• With a reader and software, a spy can harvest data and replicate a target’s access card.

4. Payload Delivery
NFC chip programmed to:
• Open malicious URLs.
• Trigger phone actions (e.g., Bluetooth pairing, contact injection).
• Launch scripts on rooted devices or with social engineering.
• Planted in public items (posters, flyers, seats, hotel room items).

5. Dead Drops with Geofencing
• NFC chip triggers a secure drop message only when tapped in a specific location.
• Adds plausible deniability; nothing visible unless in context.

6. Asset Authentication & Deception
• Tag gear or documents with NFC chips claiming authenticity (e.g., fake origin metadata).
• Alternatively, verify real gear during handoff using known chip signatures.

7. Remote Trigger Mechanism
• NFC tag acts as a trigger for another device (e.g., when tapped, it signals a hidden recorder to start transmitting).

From The Security Scrapbook Archives - "The Talking Dog" (joke)

 From The Security Scrapbook Archives - "The Talking Dog"

FutureWatch: Sophisticated & Smart Surveillance Electronics To Become Smaller and Cheaper

Texas Instruments says it has shrunk the size of the smallest microcontroller unit in its industry with a new MCU the size of a black pepper flake.

The MCU packaging is only 1.38 square millimeters in size... TI says the product is aimed at small products including medical wearables, earbuds, stylus pens and electric toothbrushes. The product includes a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter and has 16KB of flash memory and 1KB of SRAM and runs at 24MHz...

TI says the microcontroller costs 20 cents per unit in quantities of 1,000, which means a company could get an army of robot spiders project started for as little as $200.

Vinay Agarwal, vice president and general manager of MSP Microcontrollers at TI: "With the addition of the world's smallest MCU, our MSPM0 MCU portfolio provides unlimited possibilities to enable smarter, more connected experiences in our day-to-day lives."

William Luk, a consultant and technology expert at Quandary Peak Research, said the MCU shrinkage opens up opportunities in areas where miniature devices weren't previously possible.

"One of the important verticals for micro-devices is in healthcare and surgical: smart pills, embedded sensors, or even surgical devices that can reach places like never before," Luk said. more

Bank of Ghana - Planted Spy Devices at Home

Retired Colonel Festus Aboagye has accused former Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, of installing unauthorized electronic surveillance equipment at his residence, allegedly linked to the central bank.

The claim follows a controversial search conducted by National Security operatives at Dr Addison’s residence, which Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin condemned, alleging that personal belongings, including cash and jewellery belonging to Addison’s wife, were seized.

However, Rtd. Col. Aboagye insists that the operation was based on credible intelligence suggesting Dr Addison had set up surveillance devices that enabled remote monitoring of BoG activities.

Speaking on TV3, he stated, “Monitoring is a very diplomatic word. This is spying, this is surveillance,” adding that sources within National Security had confirmed the presence of such “back door electronic devices” at Addison’s home.

He emphasized that no former BoG Governor had the authority to install systems that allowed remote oversight of the bank’s operations. more

"The Wildest Stories of Corporate Espionage We've Ever Heard"

Video Podcast Episode 689: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) break down the craziest stories of corporate espionage in history. — Show Notes: (0:00) Rippling vs Deel (10:21) The British East India Company (17:11) Oracle vs Microsoft (21:28) Coke vs. Pepsi (24:14) Uber vs. Waymo (26:03) U.S. Intellectual piracy (28:10) Wiz sells for $32B (39:40) A case for Glassdoor (45:54) Marc Lore's new thing (51:52) Money, Status, Power

Using Drones for Peeping, Burglaries on Rise: “It’s Gotten Dramatically Worse”

It's attack of the drones as flying cameras stalk stars and serve as burglary lookouts, all while becoming tougher to detect. But security companies are offering high-tech solutions...

Illicit drone use has not only continued despite states passing strict laws but in recent years has proliferated, says Mike Fraietta, an FAA drone pilot and founder of security company Gargoyle Systems. Drone security systems are on the rise as companies and event producers look to secure their airspace. Professional, military-grade drone-detection systems — the kind used for sporting events, for instance — can cost about $200,000...

Drones are typically detected by their noise or the radio frequency (RF) an operator uses to pilot the craft. Fraietta says the technology is innovating in three ways: using AI to program portions of a preplanned flight path instead of relying on RF, making drone wings quieter, and using a wire like a kite string. “A tethered drone sounds silly at first,” he says. “But they’re fiber optic wires that also allow for 4K streaming, and the drone is not detectable by the police looking for a radio frequency. So they’re able to get away and move drones a lot quicker and quieter than a year ago.” Such teathers can literally be miles long. more

Notes From ‘Watchers’ of Spy Kim Philby Made Public

A new exhibition at the National Archives in London will reveal the extent of MI5 operation to expose the British double agent...

Secret surveillance of Britain’s ­notorious double agent, Kim Philby, made public for the first time in archived documents, reveals how keenly the Security Service wanted to confirm or disprove early suspicions of his high-level treachery.

In daily bulletins submitted to MI5 in November 1951, undercover operatives describe how Philby, codenamed Peach, moved about London...

Philby, who later worked for the Observer as a Middle East correspondent, has been called the “Third Man” because he was suspected by both MI5 and the Americans of being the elusive double agent who had tipped off the two spies before they could be questioned, allowing them to flee to Moscow via France...

Philby finally fled to Moscow, handing over a written confession to his old MI6 friend, Nicholas Elliott. He had been accused by Flora Solomon, a former girlfriend, who said he had once tried to recruit her...

Philby spent 25 years in Moscow, instructing trainee spies in the techniques of “tradecraft”. When he died, in 1988, he received full KGB honours. more

An El Cheapo Laser Listener (<$30.)

With the availability of electrical components, building a laser microphone from scratch is possible. Using three components, with an optional fourth, users can listen to distant audio [sort of]. The build is straightforward if a device accepts and records mono audio input.

As SomethingAboutScience explains, a laser microphone works by shining a laser beam at a window or picture frame in a room. The beam’s reflection is captured by a photodiode, which converts the vibrations through the glass into audio. A red light laser isn’t necessary; a covert infrared laser can be used instead.

For a more in depth look at laser eavesdropping, click here.

RIP: Oleg Gordievsky, KGB Spy Who Defected to the UK - 86

Oleg Gordievsky, a Soviet KGB officer who helped change the course of the Cold War by covertly passing secrets to the UK, has died at home in England.

Gordievsky died on March 4 in England, where he had lived since defecting in 1985. Police said on Saturday that they are not treating his death as suspicious. 

Historians consider Gordievsky one of the era’s most important spies. In the 1980s, his intelligence helped avoid a dangerous escalation of nuclear tensions between the USSR and the West. more

Dr. Seuss on Surveillance

Dr. Seuss wrote a story about a Hawtch-Hawtcher Bee-Watcher who had a rather peculiar job. He was tasked with keeping an eye on his town’s only lazy bee. 

The idea was that if a bee is watched, it’ll work harder, right? 

Well, guess what? That didn’t seem to work at all! So, they decided to assign another Hawtch-Hawtcher to watch the first one, and then another to watch the second… and so on. Before you know it, the entire town was watching each other watch a bee!

HR Tech Firm Sues Rival for Corporate Espionage

HR software provider Rippling has sued competitor Deel for allegedly planting a spy in its Dublin office to steal trade secrets, court documents [PDF & VERY interesting] showed on Monday. Rippling claims the employee, identified as D.S., systematically searched internal Slack channels for competitor information, including sales leads and pitch decks.

The company discovered the alleged scheme through a "honeypot" trap -- a specially created Slack channel mentioned in a letter to Deel executives. When served with a court order to surrender his phone, D.S. locked himself in a bathroom before fleeing, according to the lawsuit. "We're all for healthy competition, but we won't tolerate when a competitor breaks the law," said Vanessa Wu, Rippling's general counsel. Both companies operate multibillion-dollar HR platforms, with Rippling valued at $13.5 billion and Deel at over $12 billion. more

“The world has changed.

Corporate Espionage is the new Healthy Competition.

You need Operational Privacy to compete.”

counterespionage.com

UPDATE - HR giant hired plumbers to search toilets for phone after fears alleged corporate spy in Dublin flushed it away. more