The Cell Phone Jammer Conundrum

Commentary by Richard Roth, Chicago Technology Examiner...
Why would anyone want to “jam” or block a cellular phone? In truth its already done by the federal government in certain areas to prevent the detonation of bombs by simply dialing a lethal number.

However, many businesses would also like to use them as well. Movie theaters and restaurants for one, prisons and financial institutions as well, but in the city of Chicago along with most other municipalities doing so is illegal. In fact, each country has unique laws. The UK and Japan allow you possess but not use jamming technology.

The equipment exists to block cellular networks and also GPS tracking, and can readily be purchased over the internet regardless of the fact it is technically illegal. It is sold by two groups of people. The first are legitimate distributors who and supply the government with cellular and more sophisticated radio frequency signal blocking equipment, and the second group, which is everybody else who imports them for resale, largely from China.

The question is “should civilians or at least business’s be allowed to use this equipment?" If the federal government can, why can’t its citizens? When federal officials make public appearances such as the president’s recent inauguration he was protected from bomb detonated cell phones. Shouldn’t everyone have the right to such protection? (more)

Monthly Poll Results - "Assuming You Wouldn't...

Assuming you wouldn't get caught,
what is the least payment
you would want
to plant an eavesdropping device at work,
just once?
(click chart to enlarge)

Top 100 Network Security Tools

Still, the best list around. (more)

Cellcrypt Secure VoIP Heading to BlackBerry

Cellcrypt, a British vendor of software for encrypting cell phone calls, is getting a product ready for North America's beloved BlackBerry.

The company sells software to enterprises, government agencies and individuals who want to make sure their mobile phone calls are private. Its Cellcrypt Mobile product is a downloadable, phone-based application that encrypts VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) calls all the way from one handset to the other. Unlike other cell encryption systems, it allows users to make calls pretty much as they would normally, and even to use international roaming, according to Ian Meakin, Cellcrypt's vice president of marketing...

The software doesn't come cheap: A license for one user costs about £2,500 (US$3,732) per year. (more)

Ex-Corrections Cop Cops Bugging Plea

MI - A Gladstone man, accused of illegally accessing the county jail's computer system and possessing child porn on his home computer, pleaded no contest to a lesser charge in court this week.

William James Johnson, 34, of 127 Michigan Ave., Gladstone, was charged in August with three counts of unauthorized access to a computer while working as a corrections officer at the Delta County Jail from 2004-07. He was also charged with possession of child sexually abusive material on his home computer...

The four charges were dropped after he pleaded 'no contest' Thursday to one count of attempted eavesdropping-installing/using device. The lesser charge is a one-year misdemeanor and carries a maximum $1,000 fine.

Security Director Alert - GSM Pen

Your CEO is holding sensitive negotiations, thinking the playing field is level. It isn't.

The opponent has an invisible team of advisers helping out... in real time. Your side is stymied at every move, thwarted at every turn, every advantage you thought you had, evaporated.

What happened? How did they do it?
How can YOU stop it from happening again?

Here is what you might be up against (from the seller's web site)...

"All you have to do is to connect the pen to your cell phone (via Bluetooth); make or receive calls like you do regularly. The GSM pen connects to the phone as a regular Bluetooth headset. The spy earpiece receives the signal from the phone through the GSM pen (via wireless induction).

Arrange with your partner - outside the area - who will be giving you all the necessary information, using any phone (cell, home or public phone).

Put the spy earpiece into you ear and just before you enter the room make a call to your partner.

The microphone located on the GSM pen is very sensitive. It lets your partner hear everything you say, even a whisper.

Their answer can be clearly heard by you, but nobody else. After you are done you can easily take the earpiece out from your ear with the help of the ejection cord."

This Alert also applies to:
• Educators. Final Exam time is near.
• Proctors at professional certification exams.
• Police surveilling suspects who may be secretly communicating.
How YOU can stop this from happening again...
Call me.

Business Espionage - Starwood Stung

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. sued Hilton Hotels Corp. late Thursday, accusing its rival of using stolen confidential Starwood documents to develop a new luxury hotel chain.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in White Plains, N.Y., alleges that Ross Klein and Amar Lalvani, two former Starwood executives who joined Hilton last summer, stole more than 100,000 electronic and paper documents containing "Starwood's most competitively sensitive information."

"This is the clearest imaginable case of corporate espionage, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition and computer fraud," the complaint alleges.

In addition to monetary damages, Starwood is seeking a court order that could, in effect, force Hilton to cancel the rollout of the Denizen Hotels chain, which it unveiled last month. (more)

Cell Phone Spying

Cell phone questions we receive...
"Can someone...
...listen in on my calls?
...listen to my voice mail messages?
...remotely steal my contacts list?
...send fake texts from my phone?
...activate my microphone 24/7?
...make my phone dial someone else?
...get a text stating the length of my call?
...get a text when I use my phone?
...send me texts using a fake number?
...get my new phone number when I switch SIM cards?
...get a text message with the numbers I call and receive?
...track where I am on a computer map using the phone's GPS?
...track where I am on a computer map even if my phone lacks GPS?
...can they do all this from anywhere in the world?
...record my calls using my phone's own internal memory?
...trick me into installing spyware by making it look like a game?
Isn't this illegal to do in the United States?"
Yes.
See...
(investigative video news report)
(more stories about cell phone spying)

Cell Phone Eavesdropping in India

India - Is your mobile under 'unofficial' surveillance? The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has recently sent a report to the Centre about mobile phone companies sharing unauthorised information about clients with influential police officers.

The report says that sensitive and personal information about mobile phone users in Gujarat is being passed on illegally to police officials, without following legal procedures.

The report also hints that duplicate numbers are being made available to cops, allowing them to eavesdrop on conversations real time. (more)

Town Clerk Recall - Illegal Eavesdropping Cited

MI - A former Hamburg Township official has started the process to recall current township Clerk Matt Skiba, a person he says is the most objectionable politician he's ever seen.

Mike Bitondo, a former township trustee, filed recall petition language with the Livingston County Clerk's office on April 9...

Bitondo claims Skiba treats the public and township employees and officials with "disrespectful, accusatory and condescending behavior," that he's demanded employees sign pledges of loyalty to him, that he secretly records conversations he has with employees and the public and that he's used a remote listening device to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. (more)

Lost your clerk's job? Have I got a job for "Q".

Britain's domestic spy agency — MI5 — is hunting for "Q".
MI6's sister organization, which carries out surveillance on terror suspects inside Britain and gives security advice to the government, is searching for someone to lead its scientific work.

"Looking for a chief scientific adviser to lead and coordinate the scientific work of the security service so that the service continues to be supported by excellent science and technology advice," MI5's Web site ad reads....

Mobile phones equipped with sensors for detecting chemical, biological or radioactive agents are already in the works. Others, such as supersensitive eavesdropping devices, will likely be rolled out for the 2012 Olympics in London. (more) (application)

SniffJoke - A Grass Roots Net Protection Effort

SniffJoke is a software you run on your computer that injects randomly generated traffic in your normal one. While it does not affect the normal communication and the content exchanged with a remote host, it has a noisy effect on the operation of a third element eavesdropping on your conversation (be it a sniffer, a passive interceptor or a Chinese trojan).

The data it injects makes the reconstruction of TCP streams very arduous (eg: wireshark, xplico). As in any concealment technique, an expert professional can understand the general flow of the transaction by reading one packet at a time, but this analysis cannot be automated, so: if they’re after you they will get you, but with this software you could consider yourself safe against mass-targeted attacks. (more)

Anatomy of a TSCM PR Fiasco

Chapter 1 - The Disgruntled Turn TSCM Into a Four Letter Word

Canada - Embattled Vaughan Mayor Linda Jackson used taxpayers' money to have her city hall office swept for listening devices last year, a practice borrowed from her predecessor and archrival, Michael Di Biase.

Through a Freedom of Information request, residents Gino and Mary Ruffolo, former supporters turned Jackson critics, uncovered an invoice showing the mayor's office paid Protech Consult Services $2,730 for equipment and labour for "manual and electronic counter surveillance."

"It appears the taxpayer is paying for Jackson's office to be swept for bugs," Mary Ruffolo said yesterday. "What is going on? Why is the poor taxpayer paying for this?" (more)

"What is going on?"
Yellow journalism. Scandal-mongering. Sensationalism. This is not news.

"Why is the poor taxpayer paying for this?"
Inspections for illegal electronic surveillance (TSCM sweeps) are a generally-accepted security practice. Both governments and businesses routinely conduct inspections for electronic surveillance.

In local government, for example, inspections can prevent fraud in negotiations and bidding; saving taxpayers money.

Not ferreting out illegal electronic surveillance is just negligence.


Chapter 2 - The Opportunistic Smell Blood

Ursula Lebana has a $50 solution to Vaughan Mayor Linda Jackson's political problems – and 2 cents worth of advice.

"People never believe it, but 90 per cent of the time, it's the person you trust the most," says Lebana, who opened Canada's first "spy shop" back in 1991 and can attest to the fact that Cold Wars are still being waged in offices, marriages and even babies' bedrooms around the world.

And for $50, the embattled Jackson, who spent $3,000 in taxpayers' money last year to have her office swept for listening devices, could have rented one of Lebana's do-it-yourself bug detectors.

Lebana has armed everyone from entrepreneurs to parents with electronic surveillance gadgets since she hung a few Bond posters on the walls of her Yonge St. Spy Tech store and created the first Teddy cam to help parents keep an eye on their child's nanny. (more)

If you even remotely think that "one of Lebana's do-it-yourself bug detectors" can help you, then you will definitely be interested in buying this book to go along with it.

Top actress’ cell phone cloned to eavesdrop (update)

Korea - Prosecutors cleared the chief of Sidus HQ, a major entertainment agency, of replicating a cell phone of top actress Jeon Ji-hyun, 27, to track her phone calls and text messages.

Sidus was investigated for alleged hiring an expert to access phone records and messages of the actress in late November 2007, shortly before her contract with the company was to expire.

Sidus CEO Chung Hoon-tak and two other executives were under investigation for eavesdropping on Jeon, who signed with Sidus while still in high school more than 10 years ago.

The outside expert, who was hired to help copy and rig Jeon's handset, was given a one-year jail sentence last month. (more) (background)

3 Skimmers in 1 Week PINed

via Ben Popken...
Three different ATM skimmers were found this week and reported on blogs, raising the question of what the heck is going on considering these are supposed to be a rarity. First, our reader Dan found a skimmer on a WaMu/Chase ATM in LA. Gizmodo picked up the story and subsequently their reader Sean Seibel found a skimmer on a Chase ATM in Manhattan's East Village. Then this kid Nick McGlynn found a setup similar to the one Sean did, also on a Chase ATM. Now, when our reader Dan took the credit-card snagging device skimmer to the police he said they, "got a big kick out of the skimmer, saying they'd never seen one in person." (more) (background)

Security Alert - Be careful at ATMs and gas stations.
• If the card slot 'looks weird' (too big, cheesy, off-color, etc.), skip it.
• Cover your fingers when entering your PIN – to block overhead cameras or telescope voyeurs.
• Think you've been had? Call the branch manager or the cops, quickly.

Need A Gift? Everyone likes spy gear...

On a mission for spy gear?
Find it here...
The International Spy Museum Store features all things espionage for Real spies, Kid Spies, the Spy-curious, and Spy-Wannabes.

Check out these doormats, for example...

Fly Spies - l’Entreprenant & High Flying Lowe

Thinking about all the modern spy drones and insect-like flying surveillance bugs makes minds boggle.

Remember the good old days when spies floated?

The first decisive use of a balloon for aerial observation was performed by the aérostat l’Entreprenant ("The enterprising one") at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794. The following year, during the Siege of Mainz an observation ballon was employed again. However, the French military use of the balloon did not continue un-interrupted as in 1799, Napoleon disbanded the French balloon corps.

The Intrepid was a hydrogen gas balloon or aerostat built for use by the Union Army Balloon Corps for aerial reconnaissance purposes during the American Civil War. It was one of seven balloons constructed for the Balloon Corps and was one of the four larger balloons designed to make ascensions to higher elevations with a larger lift capacity for telegraph equipment and an operator. It was the balloon of choice for Chief Aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe overlooking the Battle of Fair Oaks.

The fateful flight over the Battle of Fair Oaks was instrumental in saving the fragmented army of Union Army General Samuel P. Heintzelman from what would have been sure defeat at the hands of the Confederates. via Wikipedia.com

You know some jerk will call Homeland Security.

Robot/People art by Kacie Kinzer...
In New York, we are very occupied with getting from one place to another. I wondered: could a human-like object traverse sidewalks and streets along with us, and in so doing, create a narrative about our relationship to space and our willingness to interact with what we find in it? More importantly, how could our actions be seen within a larger context of human connection that emerges from the complexity of the city itself? To answer these questions, I built robots.

Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.

Every time the robot got caught under a park bench, ground futilely against a curb, or became trapped in a pothole, some passerby would always rescue it and send it toward its goal. Never once was a Tweenbot lost or damaged. (more with video)
New Yorkers are too cool. Our spies tell us more Flying Dutchman Bots will be appearing on the streets. Updates to follow!

Spy Tie

Spy Tie comes with a pocket remote control so you can snap the looks on peoples faces when they see your incredibly ugly new cravat.

Also good for business espionage and private investigator work.

You can find Spy Tie here, right next to the ad for the digital microscope. You know, the one that says お肌・頭皮のチェックに！(Check the skin on the scalp!)

Mobiusly Loopy, Infinitely Idioic or Smart?

We now have spycams watching the people who watch spycams.

"Why???" you may ask...

...because the people watching CCTV images back in the control rooms often have too many screens to monitor at once, and so may miss the criminal or antisocial activities they are there to spot.

To the rescue of Big Brother's limited attention capabilities come Ulas Vural and Yusuf Akgul of the Gebze Institute of Technology in Turkey, who have developed a gaze-tracking camera system that watches the eyeballs of CCTV operators as they work. It then automatically produces a summary of the CCTV video sequences they have missed during their shift. (more)

PIN Crackers Nab Holy Grail of Bank Card Security

Hackers have crossed into new frontiers by devising sophisticated ways to steal large amounts of personal identification numbers, or PINs, protecting credit and debit cards, says an investigator. The attacks involve both unencrypted PINs and encrypted PINs that attackers have found a way to crack, according to the investigator behind a new report looking at the data breaches. (more)

Business Espionage - Software Swipe

NJ - Yan Zhu, also known as “Westerly Zhu”, age 31, a Chinese citizen in the U.S. on a work visa, was arrested this morning by FBI agents at his residence, 9 Victor Street, Apt 26, Lodi, New Jersey, on charges of theft of trade secrets, conspiracy, wire fraud, and theft of honest services fraud announced Weysan Dun, Special Agent In Charge. The investigation, code named “Westerly Winds”, began in November of 2008 based on a complaint from the victim company. (more)

"Wolfgang, this is the wrong funkybuddha club."

UK - Three German journalists breached the tight security cordon around the April 2 Group of 20 summit in London and managed to eavesdrop on the three-hour discussion between heads of governments...

Despite wearing the wrong identification badges Marc Hujer, Wolfgang Reuter and Christoph Schwennicke walked unchallenged into the G20 “listening room”, where government officials were listening in on talks between government heads such as Barack Obama, the US president, and Nicolas Sarkozy, his French counterpart, said one person present during the incident. “It’s not that they sneaked in, they just walked in.”

The reporters went on to write a detailed account of the discussions, which appeared in Spiegel, the weekly magazine, on April 6, detailing the debate that led to the drafting of the final summit communiqué and repeatedly using verbatim quotes from the discussions. (more)

We see similar tactics attempted at corporate off-site meetings we protect. Everything from "blenders" (people who meld with the herd) to pre and post meeting "paper-hunter-gatherers." Make sure you have a knowledgeable counterespionage specialist watching over your meetings. They will do more than just catch bugs.

The Annoy-a-tron 2.0 Strikes Again

Word went out on the wires yesterday to police and private forensic examiners...
Does anyone recognize the device in the attached photograph?

A female RP found it taped under her computer desk in her bedroom. The device is about 1.75" x 2.25". It has 3 batteries, a 2-position switch (on-off?), a 6-position sliding switch (frequency?), a cogwheel (volume or recording level?), a speaker or microphone, and possibly a reset switch. It has no ports and was not connected to anything.

Correct answers (including mine) sprayed in faster than an AA-12 ejecting shells!

Yes! The Annoy-a-tron 2.0 strikes again.

Kinda makes you wonder about forensic geeks :]Dumb-de-dumb-dumb

Take a security hint... from the most profitable company in the world!

via The Wall Street Journal...
The whole country is now worried about the specter of cyber attacks that will bring down the electricity grid. Big Oil is worried about another kind of cybersecurity: eavesdropping.

Exxon spent $222,985 last year on security for chairman and chief executive Rex Tillerson. The bulk of that went for standard-issue stuff: a car and driver, and residential security. But just over $9,000 apparently went... “for mobile phones and other communications equipment for conducting business in a secure manner.”...

...corporate chieftains—especially globe-trotting oil execs–can’t live in a communications-free bubble, which would explain Exxon’s expenditure on Mr. Tillerson’s secure mobile phones.

“If you’re a high-profile person, you’re going to be a target. Especially for big oil companies, when so many countries want to know what they are thinking, what their strategy is, it makes sense,” says James Andrew Lewis, senior fellow for technology and public policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies...

Michael Klare, author of “Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy,” says electronic surveillance could touch executives anywhere from Moscow to their home office in suburban Dallas. “It might not only be state competitors that would be using this technology, it could be corporate competitors that would want to listen in on conversations,” he says.

Espionage in the oil business dates back to the industry’s earliest days and hasn’t remitted. Two hard drives belonging to Brazilian oil company Petrobras and containing vital data on giant offshore oil deposits were stolen last year. Brazilian authorities called it “industrial espionage.”

Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers declined to comment on the specifics of Mr. Tillerson’s phone. All he would say is: “Security of information is a vital part of our business controls and we take it very seriously.” (more)

Phones are just the tip of their information security iceberg.
Want Exxon-smart protection?
Click here.

Security Risk: 802.11 FHSS networks

Rob Havelt, practice manager for penetration testing at Trustwave's SpiderLabs unit, will demonstrate how easy it is to attack legacy 802.11 FHSS networks, which are often seen as inherently secure because so few off-the-shelf tools are available for remote eavesdropping.

The 802.11 FHSS technology has been outmoded in most wireless applications, but it is still commonly used in warehousing facilities because it works so well with inventory management equipment, such as handheld bar-code scanners and printers.

Often, no controls are in place between these networks and corporate LAN environments, leaving a large hole for hackers to penetrate, according to the company. (more)

SpyCam Story #525 - Yet another Landlord

ND - Skylar Holte and Heather Sondrol, claim Wahpeton resident Anthony Siemieniweski, their landlord, had placed a camera with a microphone in a heating vent in their bedroom.

Siemieniweski, who lives next door, allegedly ran wires from the camera to his house, which when plugged in, would allow him to view and hear anyone in the bedroom of the rental home. The charges, sworn by Wahpeton Police Officer April Jose, state Siemieniewski set up the camera approximately two years ago.

Siemieniewski is now scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 7. (more)

Mr. Roger's Fascist Neighborhood

AZ - Slow economy pushes sales of spycams at home, work
As the economy teeters and people look for new ways to protect themselves and their property, the hidden surveillance market is booming says Rick Rogers, owner of Extreme Surveillance.

Rogers said his Scottsdale business has seen a 20 percent increase since the economic downturn began.

"If you're doing your job and you're doing what you should be doing, then you shouldn't have any issues with being watched," said Rogers. (more with video)

"By that pseudo line of logic you could dispose of the whole Bill of Rights." James Lawrence Fly - U.S. Senate, Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary, Wiretapping for National Security: Hearings on S. 832, S. 2753, S. 3229, H.R. 8649, 83rd Cong., 2d sess., 1954, 230, 250, 15, 118; U.S. House, Subcommittee no. 3, Committee on the Judiciary, Wiretapping for National Security: Hearings on H.R. 408, H.R. 477, H.R. 3552, H.R. 5149, 83rd Cong., 1st sess., 1953, 4, 86. (more)

Proper Public Eavesdropping Etiquette...

...by Al Kratina, The Gazette
Canada - I worry about Montreal's eavesdroppers. Every week, they provide this very page with the overheard morsels in the box at right, many of which sound like contributors have been hiding under the desk of Gossip Girl script meetings.

But there's an art to eavesdropping, a delicate balance between subtle espionage and outright home invasion. And I'm concerned some of our eavesdroppers might inadvertently blur the lines and end up either imprisoned or nursing a nasty staph infection caused by rifling through a target's refuse.

So, I spent an afternoon testing out a few techniques, and came up with these four helpful pointers...

1. Wear headphones
2. Pick a high-traffic location
3. Don't listen to high school kids
4. Don't dress like a sex offender from a 1930s movie
(more)

Smoke in Pokomoke as they Duke it out

MD - A local blogger was charged with wiretapping after he allegedly recorded a conversation between himself, his wife -- a City Council candidate -- and Pocomoke City Mayor Michael McDermott and later posted it on a Web site.

According to court documents, William Burke -- an auctioneer who along with his wife, Stephanie Burke, publishes pocomoketattler.com -- used a digital recorder March 27 to tape about 37 minutes of a conversation with McDermott on the steps of Pocomoke City Hall...

The attributed post links to a short audio clip of a man saying, "Hey, you know what, I have a plan for you. Why don't you move?" and states the speaker is McDermott.

Burke was charged with wiretapping two days later. If found guilty, he could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $10,000. Burke will go before a judge for a preliminary hearing May 7.

The Maryland Annotated Code states it is illegal to record a conversation unless "all of the parties to the communication have given prior consent."

University of Maryland Media Law Professor Deborah Nelson said there is a lot of legal gray area with the situation since the recording was made in a public area. (more)

Sacrier Than An Escaped Bumper Car

UK - New CCTV cars that could capture drivers on film using mobile phones or eating at the wheel are being used in a road safety pilot by Greater Manchester Police.

The small smart cars have a 12 foot mast with a camera attached to them to film the behaviour of drivers.

Anyone whose behaviour is considered distracting could face a fine and points on their licence. (video)

Coronation Street Sweeps

UK - Every star in Coronation Street fears they could get the sack as recession-hit ITV slashes its budget, The People can reveal.

And to add to the panic, Corrie bosses have launched the biggest mole hunt in the show's 49-year history after a spate of damaging leaks about secret storylines and unrest among the cast.

Senior production staff have been ordered to hand over records of their phone calls while script conference rooms have been electronically swept for bugs...

During the meeting where producers, script editors and other senior staff discuss storylines, they were stunned to see an eavesdropping expert sweep the conference room for BUGGING devices.

And in another shake-up to keep confidential Corrie info in-house, the meetings previously held in hotels were moved to ITV's Quay Street studio complex in Manchester where the show is filmed. (more)

"I'm a Seoul man..."

Listenin' to ya on every mode
Good buggin' I got a truck load
I'm a Seoul man...

S. Korea - The National Intelligence Service (NIS) is engaging in more wiretapping than before. Wiretaps are five times more than what they were eight years ago, and of all government wiretaps, those by the NIS accounted for 98.5 percent. Cases like these cause members of the public to suspect the NIS is abusing its power. This suspicion is leading to a growth of opposition to a bill to revise the Communications Secrecy Protection Act Tong Bi Beop, proposed by the administration of President Lee Myung-bak and his ruling Grand National Party (GNP), which would make it possible to intercept mobile phone and internet communications. (more)

I park my truck up on a side street
I learned how to bug ya before I could eat
I'm a Seoul man...

In this cartoon, a citizen protest the wiretapping,
however, a member of the National Intelligence Service agency says,
“Don‘t you be curious about this kind of matter."

Well grab a phone and I'll pull you in
Steth-o-scope and tie up all the loose ends
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm a Seoul man
You're a Seoul man
I'm a Seoul man
I'm a Seoul man
I'm a Seoul man
I'm a Seoul man

Cell Phone - Dead Giveaway

WA - A man who fatally shot his five children and killed himself had just discovered his wife was leaving him for another man, authorities said...

The night before, the father and his eldest daughter went in search of his wife, Angela Harrison. The daughter used a GPS feature in her mother's cell phone to find her with another man at a convenience store in nearby Auburn, said Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff. (more)

Security Director takeaways...
Aside from the eavesdropping and text spyware vulnerabilities, GPS can also be a security issue (for bad or good). Get to know the capabilities of the corporate cell phones you are specifying for your executives.
• Do not give them more features than they really need.
• Make them aware of features which could be used against them. (Google Latitude, for example.)
• Caution them about opening email attachments or temporarily loosing physical control of their phones. Both are opportunities to plant spyware.
• Swap out phones with factory fresh phones on a regular basis for high-value executives. It is cheap insurance against spyware attacks.
• Remember our warning back in December? (this one) Although the news report mentions a cell phone GPS I suspect it is more likely someone slipped a GPS tracker, like Zoombak, into her car. Check your executive vehicles periodically for items like these.

Kyrgyz Base Klaimz

"This station can eavesdrop the whole world -- every fax, every e-mailed letter. Every call from a mobile or landline phone is being recorded and processed. Billions of messages are being intercepted."

Who said it?
A. немного цыпленок (Russian to English)
B. 小的鸡 (Chinese to English)
C. The official web site. (more)
D. Russian state television who accused the United States of spying on China and Russia after secretly turning its only remaining air base in Central Asia into a state-of-the-art surveillance center. (more)

"How to Hack & Spy Through Anyone's Webcam"

Well, not exactly a 'how to' but a funny reality check nonetheless. Beware of Geeks bearing thumbdrive gifts! ~ Kevin (more)

Thus driving intelligence agencies, nuts.

Skype has become the world's single largest provider of international calls, surpassing even incumbent telcos like AT&T. (more)
Skype's strong encryption has been providing the illusion of "untappable" communications to many groups security agencies would like to monitor. (more)

Spooks Speak... once a year

...advance notice for next year...
According to organizers, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, an FBI special agent, an investigator for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a British historian, and a former Member of British Parliament will be the headliners this year for the sixth annual International Spy Conference... "This year it's about the role of lady spies who were responsible for many of the most daring intelligent operations of the modern era - while others played a notorious role working against the US," added Reeves. "And the role of sex in real-life spy adventures has been center stage though the ages." (you just missed it)... The Raleigh Spy Conference has been a unique convention that is known across the world for bringing espionage experts and former spies together in one place. (more)

The role of sex in real-life spy adventures...

"Appearing at next year's Raleigh Spy Conference..."
Germany - A German spy has been arrested for treason after allegedly giving away important secrets to his Kosovar translator with whom sources say he was having an affair.

The 42-year-old man, named only as Anton Robert K., was working in the Balkans when he developed an ‘intimate’ relationship with translator Murat A., 28, according to a report in Der Spiegel magazine.

He was arrested last Tuesday near Stuttgart, the magazine said, after returning from Pristina, where until 2008 he had been working undercover in a German government office. (more)

Well, ain't that a kick in the (thunk) Ow, my toe!!!

This just proves... if you can dream it, it can be. Remember, Flubber?
A unique goo-like substance, which upon strong impact immediately locks itself into a solidified form and then back into goo, was created by a British company. The material, which was dubbed “d3o,” is already being used in a range of shock-absorbing products, including footwear and ski attire. The company has recently been granted 100,000 pound by the UK Ministry of Defense for the development of impact-proof helmets fitted with d3o which should be able to reduce the kinetic energy of a bullet or piece of shrapnel by half.

The material was engineered using something called “intelligent molecules.” "When moved slowly, the molecules will slip past each other, but in a high-energy impact they will snag and lock together, becoming solid. In doing so they absorb energy,” explained Richard Palmer, the inventor of the substance who created the company d3o (which now sells the goo like substance with the same name). Once the pressure is relieved, the material restores itself to its original flexible state. (more) (video - 21st Century Black Adder hits Baldrick with shovel) (Weekend project with your kids. Make your own Flubber!)

"Mickey Big Ears" Snoops On The Polizei

Free, with Mickey Maus, Issue 12 - A police band radio! Hold on...
Issue 12 of the German Mickey Maus magazine came bundled with a Chinese-made novelty radio. The problem: said radio was reportedly able to tune into the normally secure police-band channels.

The German police were first alerted to this rather odd eavesdropping through concerned parents, who were wondering why Mickey was calling an Alle Punktnachricht (All Points Bulletin).

A copy of the white mini-radio, about the size of two matchbooks, was picked up by several of Hamburg's finest so that they could conduct further tests on the radio's limits. (more)

I will be in Hamburg on assignment in 3 weeks and will look into this further. Need anything inspected in the EU? Call me now. ~ Kevin

Spy School

OH - Sinclair Community College begins offering classes designed to help students land jobs as intelligence analysts, either with the government or defense contractors.

The courses for the spring quarter are titled Introduction to Intelligence Community and Fundamentals of Remote Sensing in Intelligence. Each has already attracted 29 students in advance registration, said Surinder Jain, Sinclair's interim associate dean for science, mathematics and engineering. Students seeking to take the courses must be U.S. citizens, Jain said.

Jain said he is encouraged by the student interest and hopes to have additional, related course offerings in place this fall.

It is the latest Miami Valley college to offer such courses in partnership with the Advanced Technical Intelligence Center for Human Capital Development. The Beavercreek school is leading the region's effort to train a new generation of intelligence analysts to help U.S. authorities keep an eye on what the nation's enemies are doing. (more)

Eavesdropper-Stopper Copper Fired - Hits Jackpot

MI - For the second time in two years, a former Iosco County sheriff's deputy has sued his department and landed a six-figure settlement.

Anthony Eno receives $215,000 in the most recent agreement, reached last month. The sum is to be paid by Iosco's insurance carrier, county officials say.

Eno sued the Iosco sheriff department in 2008 after then-Sheriff Michael Fischer fired him for ''substantial charges of misconduct,'' the department said at the time.

Eno denied any misconduct, alleging instead that his dismissal was an act of retaliation for his role as ''whistle blower'' in a previous case. In that 2006 case, Eno helped investigators prosecute a former undersheriff for eavesdropping. (more)

Airbusted

Germany - Aircraft maker Airbus has admitted to spying on its staff in an attempt to uncover potential corruption. It is the second high-profile case this year of a company admitting to snooping on its workers in Germany.

Airbus ordered checks on all staff working in Germany from 2005 to 2007, the company acknowledged. The checks were to see if workers' bank account numbers matched those of suppliers. No wrongdoing was found.

The head of Germany's national rail operator Deutsche Bahn resigned this week after the company also admitted to spying on thousands of its employees. (more)

World Leader 'unaware' of alleged Chinese spying

Australia - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he has not been told that Chinese spies tried to infiltrate his email and listen to his phone calls when he visited Beijing for last year's Olympics.

The Australian newspaper is reporting Chinese spies have repeatedly tried to tap into the Prime Minister's email and mobile phone communications, Government and business IT networks and foreign embassies in Canberra.

The newspaper reports that China directly targeted Mr Rudd last August, saying he and his staff were under constant cyber attack from Chinese authorities trying to access laptop computers and mobile phone calls. (more with full audio report)

What's wrong with this story?
A. Mr. Rudd had been properly briefed, but diplomatically downplayed the incident.
B. Mr. Rudd needs a more open channel with his intelligence staff.
C. Like many leaders (public and private sector), naive arrogance blinds caution.

In case there is any doubt that spying is very real, look at some of my first-hand experiences, here and here. ~ Kevin

Security Director Budget Booster - CCTV TLC

via Fred D. Miller - CPP, CHS L-III, SRG Security Resources Group...
"It’s amazing how many times we are asked for specifications to replace an older camera system when just a little TLC is needed to dramatically improve its performance.

We’re not talking about trying to revive a totally dead horse or the complete upgrade of an old system to perform like new, which can be as costly as total replacement. But rather spending a modest amount to coax a couple more useful years out of a legacy if not ailing system. With today’s economy that kind of economics makes good sense to us.

So, here are a few tweaks that may help to resurrect a dying system which you may be able to do in-house. I would note though, that PM [preventive maintenance] should be conducted at regular intervals even on brand new equipment.

• Make a list of all equipment, where it is located and what it views. Note its apparent operating condition or problem. For example; camera #1, main lobby door, washed out view.

• Physically inspect every camera, component and connector, particularly if co- axial cable is used, as even slightly corroded connections will result in poor video. If in doubt at all, replace the connection with new.

• Thoroughly clean camera housings – particularly if they were located in an area where they were apt to accumulate dirt, dust, smoke film etc.,

• Clean camera lenses with lens cleaner [not a window cleaning product which may remove or damage the lens coating] If it is a varifocal lenses [auto iris etc] readjust as necessary. “Exercise” the lens motor or mechanism to assure it works freely,

• Check the placement of the camera so that it is not washed out by lighting, sunlight, or glare from nearby glass [curtain] walls,

• Make sure cameras view what you intended them to view and readjust their mounts if need be.

• If VCRs are being used, purchase good quality head cleaning tapes. Use them initially and then on a scheduled basis. If you are using a DVR, dust and heat are among the more common enemies of this equipment, so good ventilation [cooling] and housekeeping are important.

Whether you are using VCRs or DVRs refer to their respective operating manuals before attempting any PM maintenance on your own . . . it's delicate equipment."

Fred Miller is a well-known independent security consultant. His firm, SRG Security Resources Group, is located in Lafayette Hill, PA.

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