Friday, January 13, 2017

Wake for the Spycam Monkey

How do you photograph skittish wildlife up close and personal? Design a camera robot that looks just like them. That’s the idea behind Spy in the Wild, a new documentary series on BBC.

While the producers anticipated using the disguised cameras to get unique shots, they didn’t anticipate what would happen when a group of Langur monkeys thought the animatronic camera had “died.”

The new series, which aired Thursday in the U.K. on BBC and is set to premiere in the U.S. on PBS on February 1, aims to capture what wildlife videographers often have a hard time finding: emotions.

A preview for the series shows the monkeys interacting with the camera, but where it really starts to get interesting is when one monkey tries to play with the fake Langur and ends up bringing it into a tree — and letting go.


With animatronics only in the face, the Langurs appear to think the camera monkey has died. The unexpected turn of events allows the crew to film how the animals react when one of their own die. The monkeys gather around the motionless camera and older Langurs pull younger monkeys into a hug. more

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Bizarre Noise-Cancelling Mask Stops Eavesdropping

A bizarre electronic muzzle claims to be able to keep phone conversations private by making them inaudible to anyone in the vicinity.

Not only does this enable the wearer to speak in private, it also means that those around them won't have to listen to any irritatingly loud conversations.

The Hushme is worn around the mouth and hooks up to an app on the user's smartphone over Bluetooth .

When not in use, it can be snapped apart and worn loosely around the neck like a pair of headphones.

Showcased at the CES tech show in Las Vegas last week, the unusual device features built-in microphones for active voice suppression. What's more, 'voice masking mode' enables the user to choose from a selection of audio affects including Darth Vadar, R2-D2 or a Minion. more

Is your TSCM team searching for contemporary eavesdropping devices?

Excerpted from an article by Alan Earl, BJ
What if a TSCM sweep conducted the night prior to the client’s important meeting detected no suspicious transmissions and the real time monitoring also indicated no suspect communications? Does that mean no eavesdropping took place?

Not necessarily….Audio and or video data could have been recorded and scheduled to be transmitted at a later date. This eavesdropping technique is often termed as Store and Forward Bugging.

Children and computer enthusiasts around the world have in recent years embraced the Raspberry Pi as a platform to learn coding and build IoT devices. For less than $100...

In a scenario where the Raspberry Pi with camera and or microphone was hidden within a board room and the mobile phone as a tethered WiFi AP in a nearby room or even outside the building, both powered with a power pack or mains AC, an extremely powerful and possibly challenging to locate (from an RF perspective) store and forward bug could easily eavesdrop on sensitive information.

...contemporary bugging devices and techniques require contemporary TSCM methodologies to counter that threat, utilizing modern technology to detect and locate them; eavesdropping techniques have evolved as technology has. more

PI Alert - Some Video Transmitters Are Operating on Illegal Frequencies

In what it calls an "extremely urgent complaint" to the FCC, ARRL has targeted the interference potential of a series of audio/video transmitters used on unmanned aircraft and marketed as Amateur Radio equipment...

ARRL cited the Lawmate transmitter as an example of problematic devices.
Some of the transmitters operate on frequencies between 1,010 and 1,280 MHz. "These video transmitters are being marketed ostensibly as Amateur Radio equipment," the League said, "but of the listed frequencies on which the devices operate, only one, 1,280 MHz, would be within the Amateur Radio allocation at 1,240-1,300 MHz." Even then, ARRL said, operation there would conflict with a channel used for radio location.

ARRL said the use of 1,040 and 1,080 MHz, which would directly conflict with air traffic control transponder frequencies, represented the greatest threat to the safety of flight. The use of 1,010 MHz, employed for aeronautical guidance, could also be problematic.

ARRL cited the Lawmate transmitter and companion 6 W amplifier as examples of problematic devices being marketed in the US. Each costs less than $100 via the Internet. The device carries no FCC identification number.

"[T]he target market for these devices is the drone hobbyist, not licensed radio amateurs. The device, due to the channel configuration, has no valid Amateur Radio application," ARRL told the FCC. "While these transmitters are marked as appropriate for amateur use, they cannot be used legally for Amateur Radio communications." In the hands of unlicensed individuals, the transmitters could also cause interference to Amateur Radio communication in the 1.2 GHz band, ARRL contended.

The League said it's obvious that the devices at issue lack proper FCC equipment authorization under FCC Part 15 rules, which require such low-power intentional radiators to be certified. more



Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Legal Ramifications of Having a Dashcam in Your Car

By
We've all seen the hilarious footage of a customer car being taken on a joyride by a mechanic, with the whole ordeal recorded by the customer's dashboard camera. Hapless technicians and porters flog cars, often with the dash cam right in front of them preparing to make them YouTube stars.


Are there any potential legal ramifications to the car owner for any of this? Believe it or not, yes. Here is what you need to know about your dash cam, from a legal perspective.

Many states have eavesdropping statutes. And this means I have to insert the normal caveat here: This WILL vary wildly from state to state. But in general terms, eavesdropping statutes govern whether you can record a conversation without the consent of some or all of the participants to the conversation. more

Industrial Espionage: Razer offers $25,000 to retrieve laptop prototype stolen at CES 2017

California-based gaming firm Razer, which showcased its three-screen gaming laptop prototype titled Project Valerie to the world at CES in Las Vegas, said that the laptops have gone missing from its tech show booth.

Company CEO Min-Liang Tan wrote on his Facebook page: "I've just been informed that two of our prototypes were stolen from our booth at CES today."

"Anyone who would do this clearly isn't very smart," he added. The post hinted that it was a potential industrial espionage and it is being taken "very seriously". 

Razer is now offering $25,000 (£20,600) for any "original information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction" of those involved in the theft. As Tan said in his post "This reward offer is good for one year from the date it is first offered, unless extended by Razer. Information about the theft can be sent to legal@razerzone.com. more

Monday, January 9, 2017

Attorney Indicted for Installation of an Eavesdropping Device

KY - A local attorney was indicted Friday by a Christian County grand jury on charges of eavesdropping, according to court documents.

A summons was issued for Sands Morris Chewning, Hopkinsville, on charges of eavesdropping, second-degree unlawful transaction with a minor and installation of an eavesdropping device. The court documents state the incident occurred Sept. 9, 2016. No other details are available.

Also indicted was Cherie H. Sherrill, Crofton, for eavesdropping, unlawful transaction with a minor and installation of an eavesdropping device. A summons was also issued for Sherrill. more

Everything You Wanted to Know About a Career in Executive Protection...

...but were afraid to ask ...or, didn't know who to ask.

The Executive Protection Institute (EPI) in New York City has an entry-level course which explains all. EPI was founded in 1978 and now incorporates the famous EP school founded by Dr. Richard W. Kobetz. He still teaches there.

The following is the course description.
-----

 

Overview
This is an informative 2-Part Webinar Series designed to introduce men and women to the professional career field of personal protection and provide an overview and refresher for experienced practitioners.

Course Content                                               Topics Covered Include
Who is qualified?
Advance Work
Protective Measures
Where is the work?
Preventive Strategies
Traits Required
When to start?
Threat Assessment
Responsibilities
What assignments can I expect?
Choreography
Operations
Why consider this career?
Risk Management
Countermeasures
How much money can I earn?
   

This Webinar series is for those who are curious or have an interest in the field of Providing Personal Protection. For individuals involved in other security careers, law enforcement, military, business, law, teaching, computers, sales, service industry and students; those who are considering another career or planning their retirement job. This is also an excellent overview and refresher for those currently involved in Executive Protection. An opportunity to learn the difference between "bodyguard" work and professional personal protection from the first school to consider Personal Protection as anew professional career and continues to teach worldwide since being founded in 1978.

This 2-Part Webinar Series will be conducted over two 3-hour evening sessions. Attendees will receive an invite to the virtual classroom after registration is confirmed.
-----
The course is being held in NYC on January 13th from 9am-5pm. It will also be given as an on-line webinar on January 18 & 19 from 7pm to 10pm (EST).

While it's not free, it's affordable, and could change your life. more

Sunday, January 8, 2017

The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) - Try Not to Need It

The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), signed into law on May 11, 2016 by President Obama, has received wide industry praise from manufacturers including Boeing, Caterpillar, Corning, Eli Lilly and Co., General Electric, Honda, IBM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, ...

Government officials point out that trade secrets are worth $5 trillion to the U.S. economy, and losses can cost between $160 billion and $480 billion a year. Government data further points out that trade secrets comprise as much as 80 percent of the value of a company’s knowledge portfolio.

DTSA, which extends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, essentially gives trade secret owners the option of using federal law to file trade secret lawsuits. Prior to DTSA, only state law authorized these lawsuits. more

It took too long to get this good law, but try not to need it. Once your secrets are out the damage is done. Besides, it's far cheaper to conduct regularly scheduled Information Security Surveys with TSCM to protect your information, than it is to go to court. (TSCM - Technical Surveillance Countermeasures, aka debugging sweep.) ~Kevin

Idiocracy (2017) - Man Tries Burglarizing a Spy Shop

FL - Police say an attempted burglar chose an odd target which was a spy shop that sells, of all things, surveillance equipment. 

According to the manager of Spy Spot Investigations Spy Store in Deerfield Beach, the would-be burglar was, no shocker here, caught on camera.

Tannenbaum said suspect was caught on one of the surveillance specialty store's many cameras as he picked up a rock and headed straight for the store's front door. more with video

SpyCam News - The Covert Case of the Double Takedown

UK- Israel's ambassador to the UK has apologised after a senior member of his staff was secretly filmed saying he wanted to "take down" Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan.

Israeli Embassy senior political officer Shai Masot made the comment in footage filmed in a London restaurant... It was recorded in October 2016 as part of an investigation by Al Jazeera. more with video

Aside from the obvious, this story is important because it showcases the audio and video capabilities of today's spy cameras. If this has you personally concerned for your privacy (and it should), check out spycamdetection.training. ~Kevin

Australian Police Make a Good GPS Point

West Australian police are urging beachgoers to keep their valuables safe this summer, with a particular warning to those who use navigation devices...

Acting Senior Sergeant Martin said... navigation devices in particular posed a risk because owners usually programmed in their home location.

"If they leave their keys down at the beach sand, the offenders will grab the keys off the beach, walk up to the car park, find which car the keys belong to, they'll have access to that Navman, press that home button and now they've got keys and the location where those keys can be utilized and burglaries committed." more 

Spybusters Tip # 815 - Do not enter your exact home location into your GPS device, smartphone, laptop, etc. Your town center is close enough. Hopefully, you know the rest of the way home. ~Kevin

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Odd-Ball - Anti Facial Recognition to Debut at Sundance Film Festival

HyperFace is a new kind of camouflage that aims to reduce the confidence score of facial detection and recognition by providing false faces that distract computer vision algorithms...

HyperFace will launch as a textile print at Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2017.
Prototype

HyperFace works by providing maximally activated false faces based on ideal algorithmic representations of a human face. These maximal activations are targeted for specific algorithms. The prototype is specific to OpenCV’s default frontalface profile. Other patterns target convolutional nueral networks and HoG/SVM detectors... HyperFace reduces the confidence score of the true face (figure) by redirecting more attention to the nearby false face regions (ground).

Conceptually, HyperFace recognizes that completely concealing a face to facial detection algorithms remains a technical and aesthetic challenge. Instead of seeking computer vision anonymity through minimizing the confidence score of a true face, HyperFace offers a higher confidence score for a nearby false face by exploiting a common algorithmic preference for the highest confidence facial region.

In other words, if a computer vision algorithm is expecting a face, give it what it wants. more


Sunday, January 1, 2017

Wiretapping — Olmstead v. United States (1928)

via Popular Mechanics...
For as long as people have communicated via wires, other people have been finding ways to listen in on their communications. After the telegraph was invented in 1837 and the telephone in 1876, detectives like the Pinkertons quickly realized the usefulness of tapping phone lines, for reasons varying from personal to corporate espionage. States and government agencies like the Justice Department acted slowly in response to the phenomena, passing laws and regulations without consistency.

Roy Olmstead
These laws would be ultimately challenged by one of the largest Constitutional undertakings of all time: Prohibition. Ray (sic) Olmstead was a cop-turned-bootlegger out of Seattle, known as "the Good Bootlegger" for his insistence of only selling alcohol imported from Canada and refusing to let his employees carry guns. But running his operation like a more traditional business opened Olmstead up to the same structural flaws of a business, which allowed federal agents to wiretap and then raid him.

Olmstead sued, claiming his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated, the Supreme Court disagreed in a 5-4 decision. Chief Justice and former President William Howard Taft believed in a strict interpretation of the Fourth Amendment, one that could only rely on physical presence and sight. The telephone just didn't feature into the equation.

However, it was the dissent that truly lasted. Given by Justice Louis Brandeis, it begins to focus on the future in a way that sounds downright prophetic today. "The progress of science," Brandeis wrote, "in furnishing the Government with means of espionage is not likely to stop with wire-tapping. Ways may someday be developed by which the Government, without removing papers from secret drawers, can reproduce them in court, and by which it will be enabled to expose to a jury the most intimate occurrences of the home. Advances in the psychic and related sciences may bring means of exploring unexpressed beliefs, thoughts and emotions." more


Light Bulb with Internet Streaming Camera Debuts at CES

NV - One of the products on show at CES is a lightbulb made by Bell & Wyson with an internet-streaming camera built into its body. video

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Security Director Alert - Russian Cyber Activity, GRIZZLY STEPPE

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a Joint Analysis Report (JAR) that details Russian malicious cyber activity, designated as GRIZZLY STEPPE. 

This activity by Russian civilian and military intelligence services (RIS) is part of an ongoing campaign of cyber-enabled operations directed at the U.S. Government and private sector entities.

DHS recommends that network administrators review the Security Publication for more information and implement the recommendations provided.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Home Invasion? Domestic Violence? Shout "Alexa" (before "help") for Documentation

Can amazon echo be used against you in a court of law? Have you ever wondered if “Alexa” is really spying on you?

Homicide investigators in Arkansas want Amazon to hand over a potential suspect’s “echo” transcripts. Brad Young of Harris-Dowell and Fisher Law Firm says Amazon has so far refused two requests.


“Amazon’s position is, is that the echo only records 60 seconds of information and then writes over if for the next 60 seconds,” Young says. “So, their position is that it would only have 60 seconds of information.”

However, when you ask your Echo a question, it is saved by Amazon as well as by Apple when you query Siri. Young says his legal personal opinion is that there is an expectation of privacy for things that are said – not queried.

“….when you ask Echo ‘Find what’s the best way to dispose of a dead body’ if that were the question, that information is saved,” Young says. “That information is available if it is a query posed to a device.”

Companies say it’s encrypted and no one can access it. Young says this has become a completely new “legal territory.” more additional info

Seriously, Alexa could become an omnipresent digital ear-witness. ~Kevin  

Secretary Arrested for Eavesdropping — Now Her Boss Suddenly Leaves

NY - Several town councilors confirm Supervisor Manny Falcone announced a sudden leave of absence at a meeting Wednesday evening...

Councilors say Falcone oversaw the duties performed by his former secretary Ellen Colelli. Colelli was arrested weeks ago, accused of eavesdropping. The felony charge brought by State Police accuses Colelli of listening to town employees by using video surveillance equipment that was installed inside the Geddes town office building...  Falcone has not been charged with a crime. more

Flying Tom's Last Peep

UAE - A 28-year-old man died after falling from a high rise building in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, 
while spying on ladies living in the opposite building. The witness told police that the deceased fell due to imbalance while standing and looking into the rooms of the ladies.

Sharjah Police said that they received a call about the incident at the operation room and soon arrived at the site. The man was found dead in a pool of blood. He was rushed to Al Kuwaiti Hospital and then to forensic laboratory. more

Warsaw Waiter Wiretapping

Poland – A Polish court has sentenced a businessman and two waiters convicted in the illegal wiretapping of top Polish politicians in Warsaw restaurants to prison terms.

The court set a prison sentence of 2½ years to Marek Falenta, the businessman convicted of masterminding the wiretapping, and lesser sentences to two waiters involved. A third waiter must pay a fine.

The release of those tapes sparked a political scandal in 2014 that contributed to the loss of power last year of Civic Platform, the centrist party that governed Poland for eight years. more

Extra credit: Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter

Mobile Security: The InfoWorld Deep Dive

As iPhones, iPads, and Android devices become increasingly standard business equipment, IT organizations struggle on how to manage and secure them, and the data that runs through them.

Click to enlarge.
This guide, available in both PDF and ePub editions, explains the security capabilities inherent to each major mobile platform and where using third-party tools make sense -- and where they don't.

It also walks you through the factors to consider in terms of risk for your corporate data, and outlines a rational way to protect that data without getting tied up in knots.  more

Click to enlarge.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Android Phones (700 Million) Have Spying Firmware Pre-installed

The term “mobile phone security” is something of a joke these days, with the number of exploits, bugs, and breaches that are endlessly assaulting us and putting our personal information at risk. So, when security outfit Kryptowire sounded the alarm on Chinese company Adups for using its pre-installed apps to spy on Android users with Blu smartphones, it wasn’t exactly a shock.

Now, however, the impact of Adups alleged spying is growing in magnitude, and it’s dragging other Android device manufacturers into the quagmire.

Adups is a company that facilitates over-the-air updates for mobile devices, so its firmware is pre-installed on lots of devices. However, the firmware does much more than it claims, and has the ability to snoop in areas that it shouldn’t, and without the user ever knowing. That information can then be collected by Adups for whatever purposes it desires.

Trustlook, another digital security firm, dug deeper on what devices utilize Adups and could be used by the Chinese company to scrape your private information, and the list is absolutely massive. Trustlook says that over 700 million Android smartphones have Adups firmware installed that puts the user at risk of having text messages, call histories, and device information collected without their knowledge or consent. more

Recorder Found Hidden in the End of a Flashlight

via John Van de Luijtgaarden

"I was just asked to confirm a finding... Got a message with a bad picture of a round black "thingie" inside the end part of a Mag-Lite.

I immediately recognized this one as the EDIC type 16 recorder (B30 model). It is now to wait for the exact type and how much it has been recording. It's memory capacity can run up to a 300 hours sadly the battery cannot.



A great hiding place for a naughty tool in a strategic place !! The Security main office / control room... Keeping you informed"

Last Minute Holiday Gifts for Your Favorite PI

Ho, ho, ho.

more more button video

Monday, December 19, 2016

Reality Spyware Documentary - Find My Phone

What happens to a smartphone after it's stolen? That was the question that a film student in Amsterdam had in mind when he produced a short documentary about a smartphone thief and their stolen goods. On the surface, it might not sound like the most avant-garde idea out there. But here's what made it interesting: the student procured material for his documentary by spying on the thief using a bugged smartphone.

The student, a certain Anthony van der Meer, intentionally had a phone of his stolen – one that he loaded with software called "Cerberus."

As The Next Web reported, the software gave him access to the device location, its features, and its contents – all of which he could retrieve when he wanted. The software also allowed him to make use of the phone's camera and microphone so he could spy on the thief.


For 2 weeks, that's exactly what der Meer did. He spied on the thief, tracking his moves, which resulted in the documentary posted above called Find My Phone – almost the namesake of the Apple app "Find My iPhone" used to find one's phone or disable it after being stolen. more

Excellent work, Anthony! ~Kevin

Vintage "Spy" Ads

  

Spying Feeds the Monkeys ...in real life

Do Not Feed The Monkeys: Voyeuristic Spying Game Launches In 2017

from the press release...
“We all have a natural tendency to wonder about other people’s lives. Sometimes the best stories are kept secret … all in the name of privacy. It begs the question: Why miss out on life’s best experiences because they’re not your own? We’re trying our hand at an answer with Do Not Feed the Monkeys. Hope you enjoy the ride!” more

There's a New Law in Town - Wiretapper Bounty Hunter

The Seventh Circuit revived wiretap claims against a woman who used an email-autoforwarding program to show that the husband she was divorcing had cheated on her.

In a concurring opinion, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner questioned the usefulness of allowing litigants to use the wiretapping law as a means of concealing misconduct.

“I don’t understand why law should promote dishonesty and deception by protecting an undeserved, a rightly tarnished, reputation,” Posner wrote.

Posner also found it relevant that adultery is illegal in Illinois, where the Epsteins are divorcing.

We might compare Mrs. Epstein to a bounty hunter — a private person who promotes a governmental interest,” he wrote. “She has uncovered criminal conduct hurtful to herself, and deserves compensation, such as a more generous settlement in her divorce proceeding.” more

Security Scrapbook Tip # 519 - Avast Ye Porch Pirates

Shipping companies like FedEx and UPS expect to deliver a record number of packages this holiday season...
Law enforcement officials are concerned that a record number of thieves could be following the trucks and attempting to steal the packages from porches before customers get home...

Hoping to stop "porch pirates" from taking packages, Seattle entrepreneur Michael Grabham invented a Frisbee-sized device called The Package Guard.
When delivery drivers place parcels on top of the $69 device, customers receive an alert via text message, email, or through an app. If a thief tries to remove the packages from the pressure-sensitive pad, a piercing alarm sounds.

The device can also be set up to send electronic alerts to neighbors if a theft is underway, according to the company’s website. more

Thursday, December 8, 2016

TSCM Team Finds "Plug Bug" Eavesdropping Device

Japan - An eavesdropping device was found in a waiting room for conservative members of the Mito Municipal Assembly, local city government officials and other sources told the Mainichi Shimbun on Dec. 7.

Example of a "Plug Bug"
Ibaraki Prefectural Police seized the device and are investigating the case which they suspect could constitute trespassing into the building and violation of the Radio Act.

According to Mito Government officials, it was tipped off about the bug on Dec. 6.

Specialized workers hired by the local government began searching for the device from the evening of Dec. 7 and found it in a waiting room for three assembly members from "Suiseikai" -- a conservative parliamentary group -- on the first floor of the temporary two-story prefabricated assembly building. The bug plugs into an electric outlet. more

The example shown operates like a cell phone, but looks (and also operates) as a USB charger. It is powered 24/7, and may be called from a cell phone anywhere in the world. BTW, it can  also automatically call the eavesdropper when it detects sound. Available on eBay for $14.79. 

Don't you think its time to have your offices and conference rooms checked? ~Kevin

Business Espionage: ThyssenKrupp AG Technical Trade Secrets Stolen

Germany - Technical trade secrets were stolen from the steel production and manufacturing plant design divisions of ThyssenKrupp AG in cyber attacks earlier this year, the German company said on Thursday.

"ThyssenKrupp has become the target of a massive cyber attack," the industrial conglomerate said in a statement.

In breaches discovered by the company's internal security team in April and traced back to February, hackers stole project data from ThyssenKrupp's plant engineering division and from other areas yet to be determined, the company said. more

Most "cyber" attacks are made possible by internal security vulnerabilities. Regular information security audits conducted by independent consultants greatly reduce this risk. ~Kevin

Chatty Kathy's Grandkids May be Criminals

Internet-connected toys pose privacy risks to children, and their parents often aren’t aware, according to advocacy groups for children and consumers.

A complaint filed Tuesday with the Federal Trade Commission alleges that two talking dolls—My Friend Cayla and I-Que Intelligent Robot, both made by Genesis Toys Inc.—collect and use personal information from children in violation of rules prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices.

The complaint was drafted by several groups, including the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, a coalition of groups dedicated to ending child-targeted marketing, and Consumers Union. The groups also filed complaints with data protection, consumer protection and product safety regulators for the European Union, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Norway. more grandma

Monday, December 5, 2016

Pharmacy Bandits Nailed by GPS Cough Syrup

CA - The suspects had no idea that the bottle of cough syrup perched on a shelf at a Tustin pharmacy contained something more than cough relief. 

It wasn’t until the nondescript package was removed from the small Newport Avenue business by burglars that its secret ingredients went to work.

Concealed inside the bottle of cough syrup was a GPS device that began tracking the medicine thieves’ every move, according to police investigators...

Tustin police spokesman Lt. Robert Wright said investigators decided to drop the small piece of technology into a bottle of cough syrup after a half-dozen pharmacy burglaries this year. more

Friday, December 2, 2016

14 Year Old Kid Violates Wiretap Law ...again

PA - Police say a western Pennsylvania teen who recorded his principal making threatening comments toward him has a history of secretly recording school officials.

Chief Allen Park tells The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Churchill police charged the 14-year-old Woodland Hills High School student with violating Pennsylvania's wiretap law earlier this year.

Park says the boy recorded a September meeting called to settle a dispute with another student without permission and then posted the audio on Facebook.

The teen now finds himself at the center of the controversy surrounding Principal Kevin Murray, who was placed on leave Wednesday after the boy produced a recording where Murray can be heard saying he would punch him in the face. more
 sing-a-long

Pennsylvania is a 2-party consent sate, meaning all parties to a recorded conversation must agree to the recording. 

And no, the principal is not me. I live in New Jersey... where the last words recorded might be, "Take him for a ride." ~Kevin

UPDATE - One of our sharp readers from Pennsylvania points out that the kid may not have broken the law after all. An exemption was amended to the state law in 2012...

§ 5704. Exceptions to prohibition of interception and disclosure of communications.

(17) Any victim, witness or private detective licensed under the act of August 21, 1953 (P.L.1273, No.361), known as The Private Detective Act of 1953, to intercept the contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication, if that person is under a reasonable suspicion that the intercepted party is committing, about to commit or has committed a crime of violence and there is reason to believe that evidence of the crime of violence may be obtained from the interception.

DHS Whimps Out on IoT Protections

On November 15, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

issued guidance to help stakeholders account for security in the development, manufacturing, implementation, and use of IoT devices.

The set of nonbinding principles and suggested best practices for IoT device security includes the following... more

Come on, DHS. Talk to Congress about regulations. ~Kevin

Spycam News: Security Check Nabs 'Moonlighting' Spy

TX - An employee of the National Security Agency in San Antonio is facing prison time for taking his agency's spying mission a little too far...

James Johannes pleaded guilty in Federal Court in San Antonio on Thursday to sneaking around outside the homes of his neighbors, and using his smart phone to take videos of little girls who were undressing, peeking through their windows and open doors.

Johannes was nabbed in a rather unconventional way. He was attending a meeting at Fort Sam Houston, and as he left, military police asked to check his cell phone. It is standard procedure to check the cell phones of people in secure areas to make sure there is no classified material on them.

The guards found videos of an underage girl getting undressed and stepping into the shower.

Other similar images were found on Johannes' cell phone, and one of the girls recognized him...because he was a youth leader at their church. more

UK Politicians Exempt Themselves from Extreme Spying Laws

UK - Politicians have exempted themselves from Britain's new wide-ranging spying laws.

The Investigatory Powers Act, which has just passed into law, brings some of the most extreme and invasive surveillance powers ever given to spies in a democratic state. But protections against those spying powers have been given to MPs. more

Thursday, December 1, 2016

The Martini Olive Bug, or who was Hal Lipset?

He was a private investigator in San Francisco, and chief investigator for Sam Dash on the Senate Watergate Committee...

Francis Ford Coppola considered the implications of the professional eavesdropper when he made The Conversation... It should come as no surprise that Hal Lipset was hired as technical consultant for the picture.

Lipset spoke in Congress using the famous "bug in the martini olive" and other secret surveillance devices that he and his staff pioneered...

In 1964, Time Magazine wrote, "Hal Lipset, a seasoned San Francisco private eye, maintains a laboratory behind a false warehouse from where his eavesdropping ‘genius,' Ralph Bertsche, works out new gimmicks such as a high-powered bug that fits into a pack of filter-tip cigarettes..."

His first chance to go public on the national scene occurred the previous year when he was invited to testify before the Senate Constitutional Rights Subcommittee... "First I thought I’d dazzle them with an array of miniature devices they had never seen before; then I would surprise them by playing back my own testimony from a recorder I had hidden before the hearing."

The great idea worked too well. Lipset’s appearance was seen as a clever but ominous sign of   snooping running amok.
... the next time he was invited to Washington to speak before a Senate subcommittee - this one in 1965 to hear testimony specifically on eavesdropping - he renewed his efforts...

"We came up with the "bug in the martini olive" idea, it didn’t seem all that unusual. The martini glass was simply another example of how ingenious these devices could be."

The glass held a facsimile of an olive, which could hold a tiny transmitter, the pimento inside the olive, in which we could embed the microphone, and a toothpick, which could house a copper wire as an antenna. No gin was used - that could cause a short.

It was the bug in the martini olive that made Lipset "the real star of the day," as UPI reported. Hardly an ominous indication of private snoopers taking over the world, this little olive with its toothpick antenna became a "playful" and charming toy.
                                  ---
This is the very condensed version of his story. The full story is here,  as excerpted from his biography, "The Bug in the Martini Olive," by Patricia Holt, Little Brown, 1991 ~Kevin

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Angry Birdmen of Malta v Scientists in Eavesdropping Spat

Malta - The FKNK Federation for Hunting and Conservation – Malta, said on Friday said that BirdLife Malta was...

“possibly desperately resorting to illegal and corrupt methods to abolish the traditional socio-cultural practice of live-finch capturing from the Maltese islands,” claiming that BirdLife had been using electronic devices to eavesdrop on private mobile phone conversations.

Possibly, a false GSM base station known as ‘IMSI catcher’ or similar was used to intercept the trappers’ mobile traffic in the immediate area,” the hunting federation said.

But MaltaToday has learnt that the would-be “eavesdropping equipment” are actually antennae set up for 15 to 20 minutes in different locations to establish accurate GPS positioning data as part of a research study on coastal land-sliding being carried out by an Italian team of experts on behalf of the University of Malta and with the full cooperation of local authorities. more

Telephone Eavesdropper Learns The Beatles Were Right

UK - A multi-millionaire property developer strangled a burlesque dancer after bugging her home
and learning that she was planning to “fleece him”, a court heard yesterday.

Peter Morgan, 54, had been paying Georgina Symonds, a 25-year-old single mother, up to £10,000 a month to stop seeing other men after meeting her while she was working as an escort.

He decided to murder her after listening in to a telephone conversation in which she told a male friend that she was planning to leave Mr Morgan, a jury was told. more sing-a-long

Personal Security: Your Internet Vanishing Act May Begin Here

Just FYI...
I have not tested this. Use at your own risk.

Remember... If it's "free" you're not the consumer, you're the product.
~Kevin
 
via Dan Misener, for CBC New
With all the fake news, toxic speech, and online scams out there, you might be feeling like now is a good time to scale back your online footprint. 

There's a new tool that promises to help you do just that — by essentially deleting yourself from the internet.

It's called Deseat.me, and it does one thing and one thing only — it displays a list of all the online services you've ever signed up for.

So if you had a MySpace account in the early 2000s, it'll probably show up in Deseat. If you created an avatar in Second Life, it's likely to show up as well. And of course, so will things like your Facebook or Twitter accounts...

To use Deseat.me, you first log in using a Google account. Then, once it knows your email address, it can find any accounts that have been linked in any way to that Google account.

Now, it will ask for some things which may sound creepy — it will not only ask to view your email address, but also to view your email messages and settings. Based on my experience, Deseat.me scans through your email archives to find sign-up confirmation messages from various services. more

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Business Espionage: The Darknet - Where Industrial Trade Secrets are Sold

Ludwig Sandell, Dignato AS general manager, expressed his concern over how the darknet is a place where sensitive industrial trade secrets can be exchanged without repercussions.

To be more precise, he feels there are multiple local companies affected by espionage, which could significantly hurt their business if these details fall into the wrong hands...

...industrial trade secrets of a Norwegian wind power project run by Statoil are up for grabs on the darknet as we speak. The data itself was found on a memory stick – which was either lost or stolen – and includes vital measurement information. For the company itself, having that information leak to the public could spell the end of their business rather quickly. more

Are your company secrets for sale on the darknet?
Hire a service to find out. ~Kevin

Japanese Singer Calls Police to Report Spycam... gets arrested.

Fallen Japanese pop star Aska has been arrested on drugs charges after calling police to tell them he was being spied on at home by a hidden camera, police and reports said Tuesday.

The singer -- one half of folk rockers Chage and Aska -- was slurring on the call when he insisted he was being watched, Jiji Press and other media said.

Police who visited his Tokyo home on Monday arrested the 58-year-old on suspicion of using stimulants and MDMA, a force spokesman told AFP. more

Brooklyn Prosecutor Allegedly Wiretapped Cop Love Interest's Cell Phone

NY - A Brooklyn assistant district attorney was arrested this week for allegedly wiretapping two cell phones so she could hear conversations between a cop love interest and another woman.

According to a criminal complaint, Tara Lenich, 41, forged judges' signatures to authorize the wiretapping of the aforementioned unidentified cop's cell phone, as well as a phone belonging to an unidentified woman. Lenich, who was in charge of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau at the DA's office, may have been romantically attached to the cop, and tabloid reports speculate the wiretapped woman was his new love interest.

The complaint says Lenich forged warrants related to the wiretapping at least 20 times, using different judges' names, between August 20, 2015 and November 25, 2016. Lenich allegedly called the wiretapping a "secret outside investigation" when discussing it with colleagues. more

Monday, November 28, 2016

Spybuster Tip #715: How to Prevent Hacker Wi-Fi Attacks

If your Wi-Fi name (SSID) is on this list, you're at risk. 
If you ever used a Wi-Fi whose name (SSID) is on this list, you're at risk.

The list consists of approximately the 5000 most common SSIDs.

If a hacker uses this list to broadcast SSIDs, your laptop or phone may automatically connect to them. At that point, they see everything you do; user names, passwords, etc.

In a nutshell, program your device so that it does not automatically connect to a Wi-Fi SSID to which it has previously connected. Purge your previous connections list just to be sure.