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Thursday, March 8, 2012
Info Security in 2 Steps - Train Your Humans, Have Your Technical Vulnerabilities Checked and Patched
There’s a famous saying that “amateurs hack systems, while professionals hack people.” The point is that security technology designed to stop hackers, spies, phishers and frauds are always compromised by timeless human weaknesses: inattention, incompetence and complacency.
The only thing standing between your company’s information systems and the people who are out to compromise them is employees. Technical security vulnerabilities can be patched but humans are always vulnerable. (more) (need patching?)
Do Company Execs Know Sensitive Data When They See It? Many in IT Say No
Today’s companies, clearly very good at collecting data, seem “less savvy when it comes to how to classify and manage it.”
That’s the conclusion of a survey among 100 IT executives and others conducted by global consulting firm Protiviti, which finds that there is “limited or no understanding of the difference between sensitive information and other data” at nearly a quarter of the companies participating in its survey.
The report is titled “The Current State of IT Security and Privacy Policies and Practices." Its topics: how organizations classify and manage the data they accumulate; specifically how they ensure customer privacy when they handle sensitive data, and how they comply with federal and state privacy laws and regulations. (more)
That’s the conclusion of a survey among 100 IT executives and others conducted by global consulting firm Protiviti, which finds that there is “limited or no understanding of the difference between sensitive information and other data” at nearly a quarter of the companies participating in its survey. The report is titled “The Current State of IT Security and Privacy Policies and Practices." Its topics: how organizations classify and manage the data they accumulate; specifically how they ensure customer privacy when they handle sensitive data, and how they comply with federal and state privacy laws and regulations. (more)
Jamming on the Bus, or The Cell Phone Vigilante
PA - A man in Philadelphia decided he'd had enough with listening to his fellow bus passengers blab away on their cellphones. But instead of buying himself some noise-cancelling headphones or politely asking people to pipe down, he chose to fight back with a handheld device that jams their signals.
"I guess I'm taking the law into my own hands," he told NBC10, which caught him red-handed with the illegal jammer, "and quite frankly, I'm proud of it."
Those who ride the bus with the man say he should be ashamed, not proud. (more)
Monday, March 5, 2012
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Course Growing
India - "We started ethical hacking courses in 2009 with five students which has increased to approx 200 students today," said Jyoti Chandolia, assistant manager, corporate education sales at Udyog Vihar-located Mercury Solutions Ltd, the first ethical hacking training centre to come up in the city authorised by the International Council of E-Commerce consultants (EC-Council).
"Hacking is not legal in India and this particular course can distinguish black hat hackers (bad guys) and white hat hackers (good guys) after being certified as a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). The main objective behind this is to make people aware that CEH course is not all about how to hack but also to scan and protect IT systems and networks of an organisation," she added.
The EC-Council is a member-based organisation that certifies individuals in various e-business and information security skills. It is the owner and creator of the world-famous CEH, Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) as well as many others programmes, that are offered in over 60 countries through a training network of more than 450 training partners globally. (more)
The EC-Council is a member-based organisation that certifies individuals in various e-business and information security skills. It is the owner and creator of the world-famous CEH, Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) as well as many others programmes, that are offered in over 60 countries through a training network of more than 450 training partners globally. (more)
Former US Marine, Accused CIA Spy, to be Re-tried in Iran
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“The sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court … The case has been sent back” to the court for retrial, prosecutor general Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei told a press conference, ISNA reported. (more)
Poison Text Messages and Malicious Mobile Apps on the Rise
Nearly one in five mobile phone users have experienced some type of security threat with their device. That's the finding of a Cloudmark survey of 1,000 cellphone users, scheduled to be released Tuesday.
Poison text messages, nearly non-existent in the U.S. a few years ago, grew 300% in 2010 and 400% in 2011, accounting for about 1% of all text messages. "We've gone from totally clean to a trickle," says Rachel Kinoshito, head of Cloudmark's security operations. "Most people are seeing about one a month."
Poison text messages, nearly non-existent in the U.S. a few years ago, grew 300% in 2010 and 400% in 2011, accounting for about 1% of all text messages. "We've gone from totally clean to a trickle," says Rachel Kinoshito, head of Cloudmark's security operations. "Most people are seeing about one a month."
That foothold is part of a broader concern. Variations of scams that infest the Internet, through PC browsers, have begun spreading on a meaningful scale through mobile devices. And it looks like the bad guys are just getting warmed up. (more)
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Business Espionage: Spy Who Stole DuPont's Secrets Pleads Guilty
A former DuPont Corp. scientist has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit economic espionage for a company controlled by the Chinese government and agreed to testify against others charged with stealing secrets of a manufacturing process sought by China.
Tze Chao, 77, a DuPont employee from 1966 to 2002, admitted Thursday in a San Francisco federal court that he had provided confidential information about DuPont's titanium dioxide process to the Chinese-controlled Pangang Group Co. (more)
Tze Chao, 77, a DuPont employee from 1966 to 2002, admitted Thursday in a San Francisco federal court that he had provided confidential information about DuPont's titanium dioxide process to the Chinese-controlled Pangang Group Co. (more)
Japanese Acoustic Ray Gun Silences Blabbing Godzillas
Tired of listening to a boring talk, a lecture or a colleague rattling in the office? The Japanese have found an answer to your woes. You can now silence the talk with a speech jamming gun.
When used the gun, an inbuilt microphone picks up the words being said and then plays it back 0.2 seconds later. According to an explanation provided by the two inventors, the human brain interprets this echo effect as silence. (more) (Kazutaka Kurihara's Website) (Speech Jammer Research Paper)
Kazutaka also has a flare for the dramatic. Watch as the jammer comes into view to do its deed. Reminds me of those wonderful Japanese 1950's horror movies.
Computer Mouse with Ears ...and its own Cell Phone
UK - Innocent-looking, regular office equipment are now increasingly being used by employers to monitor staff in Britain.Employers use tools such as calculators and clocks that come with built-in cameras and listening device, to keep a track of their employees.
Now, even the regular PC mouse is no longer innocent. A variant, spy mouse, that looks the same as the normal mouse, comes with a listening device and a SIM card embedded in it. A phone call is used to activate the device, which then captures sounds and conversations within a 10-metre radius. (more) (many spy mice)
SpyCam Story #656 - This Week in SpyCam News
SpyCam stories have become commonplace and the techniques used, repetitive. While I will continue to keep lose track of the subject for statistical purposes, I won't bore you with the details. Only links to the stories will be supplied unless there is something useful to be learned.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Spy School - Monitor a Twitter Account Without Following It
Investigator's Tip: "Monitoring an opponent’s Twitter account is an important part of opposition research. If you would like to keep up with someone’s Tweets, but not actually publicly follow the author, try using Twitter to RSS. This service allows you to enter the name of a public Twitter account and create an RSS feed for popular RSS readers like Google Reader, Yahoo, Bloglines, and Newsgator." — Larry Zilliox, Investigative Research Specialists, LLC
Don't be a twit. Make your sweet tweets private.
Read up on how to protect your tweets here,
and don't approve any "twitter to RSS" requests.
NSA-Level Cell Phone Security (No, you can't have one.)
The US National Security Agency has modified Google’s Android operating system to create smart phones that use powerful encryption to protect every call. The “Fishbowl” devices were announced today at the RSA security conference in San Francisco by Margaret Salter, the agency’s Technical Director, who said she hoped to encourage companies to adopt some of ideas used in the system.
Such was the interest in the NSA’s presentation that this reporter – and most others – weren't able to gain access to the room where the demo was held. Australian IT publication SC Magazine did, though, reporting that Salter said 100 Fishbowl phones are being used to test the new technology. The Fishbowl phones allow fully encrypted calls that can be used to discuss the most classified information. Commercially available phones would require NSA employees to “speak in code”, SC say. The NSA has made rough specifications of the system available online. They show that Fishbowl phones make calls using a Skype-style VOIP app that routes connections through NSA servers. (more)
Just in time to celebrate "International Speak Like A Spy Day"
We use words to tell each other what we mean. Words illuminate reality. But sometimes, and it seems increasingly so in these troubled times, words can be used to conceal truth.
This is why “The Dictionary of Espionage” is so timely and will appeal to the average citizen who is made vaguely uneasy when he is told that his government is engaged in “surgical strikes” against our enemies, which on occasion, unfortunately, result in “collateral damage” - that is, the U.S. government set out to kill someone but ended up killing someone else.
In this accessibly written book, Washington author Joseph C. Goulden illuminates and defines much of the standard jargon of the intelligence community with refreshing asides about many of spying’s urban legends - many of which may or may not be true.
Informed by remarkable access to the intelligence community, the book, first issued in 1986, has been significantly updated and contains a foreword by Peter Earnest, the founding executive director of the International Spy Museum in Washington and a former CIA operations officer. (more)
Friday, March 2, 2012
Smartphone Spyware Reaches the Drive-By Infection Stage
(summary) A team of researchers infected a Google Android smartphone, live, in front of a packed audience of computer security buffs to prove how mobile malware is now on the cusp of the big time... "drive-by" attack...the attack did not require a phone be jailbroken and would work on any of the devices using Webkit*...such an attack would be possible on the iPhone because of the root access obtained via the browser vulnerability...the point we are making: drive-by attacks will hit the phone just like the PCs.
The technique: The attack followed several steps: the first was a text message delivered to the smartphone appearing to come from the mobile carrier requesting a system update via a link. Once clicked, the drive-by link delivered the first part of the malware to the phone to elevate access (root) privilege, then cause it to crash. It then automatically rebooted, executing the second part of the malware and hijacking the phone's communications. (more)* Webkit - "Webkit is a tool used by Apple, Google and RIM to render HTML websites in Safari, Chrome and Android, and the latest versions of the BlackBerry."
Now that you know how this works, I'm sure you won't click on any text links unless you are 100% certain are safe. ~Kevin
Young Lawyers Win Suit Against Secret Wiretapping Powers
Georgia’s Constitutional Court has decided that parliament did not have the right to give prosecutors powers to conduct secret wiretappings.
Tamar Khidasheli and Georgian Young Lawyers Association filed a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court regarding the law of Georgia on Operational Investigative Activities, which gave the police extended powers during investigation. (more)
Tamar Khidasheli and Georgian Young Lawyers Association filed a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court regarding the law of Georgia on Operational Investigative Activities, which gave the police extended powers during investigation. (more)
Colombia-Gate Continues
Colombia - Bernardo Moreno, former President Alvaro Uribe's then-chief of staff ordered the illegal wiretapping of judges, senators, and journalists, the former intelligence chief of Colombia's now-defunct intelligence agency DAS told the court Wednesday.
Former DAS executive Fernando Tabares reiterated the accusations in the trial against Mario Arangunen, the former director of Colombia's financial intelligence agency UIAF who is on trial for his alleged involvement in the wiretap scandal. (more)
Fernando Tabares news archive / Wiretap scandal news archive
Former DAS executive Fernando Tabares reiterated the accusations in the trial against Mario Arangunen, the former director of Colombia's financial intelligence agency UIAF who is on trial for his alleged involvement in the wiretap scandal. (more)
Fernando Tabares news archive / Wiretap scandal news archive
Judge Declares Illinois Eavesdropping Law Unconstitutional
IL - A Cook County Judge declared the state’s eavesdropping law unconstitutional Friday.
Judge Stanley J. Sacks read his ruling in the case of Christopher Drew, a Chicago artist who was charged with felony eavesdropping after he recorded his Dec. 2, 2009, arrest on State Street by Chicago Police.
“The Illinois Eavesdropping Statute potentially punishes as a felony a wide array of wholly innocent conduct,” he read. “A parent making an audio recording of their child’s soccer game, but in doing so happens to record nearby conversations, would be in violation of the Eavesdropping Statute.” (more)
Judge Stanley J. Sacks read his ruling in the case of Christopher Drew, a Chicago artist who was charged with felony eavesdropping after he recorded his Dec. 2, 2009, arrest on State Street by Chicago Police.
“The Illinois Eavesdropping Statute potentially punishes as a felony a wide array of wholly innocent conduct,” he read. “A parent making an audio recording of their child’s soccer game, but in doing so happens to record nearby conversations, would be in violation of the Eavesdropping Statute.” (more)
$140 Million Surveillance Balloon Popped
After spending more than $140 million, the Air Force is poised to pull the plug on its ambitious project to send a king-sized, all-seeing spy blimp to Afghanistan. Which is a bit of a strange move: Not only is the scheduled first flight of the 370-foot-long “Blue Devil Block 2” airship less than six weeks away...Not long ago, Blue Devil and its kind were being pushed as the future of aerial surveillance. Instead of a drone’s single sensor, Blue Devil would employ an array of cameras and eavesdropping gear to keep tabs on entire villages for days at a time. And with so much space aboard the airship, racks and racks of processors could process the data generated by those sensors in the sky, easing the burden on intelligence analysts currently overloaded by drones’ video feeds. Now, that lighter-than-air future could be in jeopardy, thanks to a series of schedule delays, technical complications and, above all, inflated costs. (more)
New Delhi Gummy Bugs
India - BJP on Friday dubbed the reports of alleged bugging of Defence Minister AK Antony's office as a "serious" matter which should be thoroughly probed and wondered what the reasons were for spying on the cabinet minister.
"The Defence Minister who is responsible for defending our borders, his own office borders are not secure. The reports of the bugging of his office is a matter of serious concern," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
The BJP pointed out that this is not the first case of bugging of the office of a Cabinet minister as there were earlier reports that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office was also bugged.
"Then, it was maintained that chewing gums were stuck at 12 places in the Finance Minister's office. We hope this time too, the same excuse is not made. This matter cannot be taken lightly and the truth should be told to the country," Javadekar said. (more)
Sing along...
"The Defence Minister who is responsible for defending our borders, his own office borders are not secure. The reports of the bugging of his office is a matter of serious concern," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
The BJP pointed out that this is not the first case of bugging of the office of a Cabinet minister as there were earlier reports that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office was also bugged.
"Then, it was maintained that chewing gums were stuck at 12 places in the Finance Minister's office. We hope this time too, the same excuse is not made. This matter cannot be taken lightly and the truth should be told to the country," Javadekar said. (more)
Sing along...
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Menwith Hill Eavesdropping Base Undergoes Massive Expansion
UK - America's largest eavesdropping centre in Britain, Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire, is being expanded in a multimillion-pound programme as it becomes increasingly vital to US intelligence and military operations, according to a study of the controversial base released on Thursday.
The base, which plays a key role in the global network of the National Security Agency (NSA), GCHQ's American partner, now includes 33 radomes – commonly called "golf balls" after the white sheeting protecting the satellite receiving and transmission stations – and is undergoing a big construction programme.
The study describes the programme, called Project Phoenix, as "one of the largest and most sophisticated high technology programmes carried out anywhere in the UK over the last 10 years". Work on it has been reserved for US-based arms corporations including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, and their personnel with high-level security clearance, it notes. (more)
The study describes the programme, called Project Phoenix, as "one of the largest and most sophisticated high technology programmes carried out anywhere in the UK over the last 10 years". Work on it has been reserved for US-based arms corporations including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, and their personnel with high-level security clearance, it notes. (more)
"Houston, we have a problem."
That tidbit came in testimony Wednesday delivered by NASA Inspector General Paul K. Martin as he reported on the space agency's IT security track record. The loss of the ISS command code was symbolic of one glaring deficiency: a lack of data encryption on mobile devices. (more)
IKEA Spy Inquiry
In the latest twist in a damaging ‘spying’ scandal, Swedish furniture giant IKEA was on Thursday accused of “harassing” its employees after media reports emerged Wednesday that the company had illegally obtained police files on French workers, clients and union leaders.
The latest allegations centre on a former employee who told Europe 1 radio that she had been asked to profile her colleagues and to keep the information on a USB key and to avoid leaving it on company computers “for security reasons”. (more)
Privacy Check: Google's Privacy Policy Changes on March 1
via pcworld.com...
If you use Gmail, Google Docs, or any other popular G-service, you’re about to surrender a lot more personal information to the Googleplex...unless you take these steps to prevent it. 
1. Check the Dashboard Your first destination is Google Dashboard. It provides an overview of the information Google has stored on your account across many of its most popular services. To get started, go to google.com/dashboard and log in with your Google account (typically an email address). There, you can see much of the data that Google has on you--from your Google+ account to your Gmail account.
Take a few minutes to click through the various services and to review the information Google is storing. Then clear out any data you no longer want associated with your account.
2. Clear Your Google Web History
3. Tweak Your Ads Preferences
4. Liberate Your Data
If you want to remove some (but not all) of your personal data from multiple Google services, head over to Google Takeout, which lets you download a copy of your data from Google Buzz, Circles, Docs, Picasa Web Albums, Gmail contacts, and other tools and services. Get started by logging in to the Google Takeout page.
5. The Nuclear Option: Delete Your Google Account
(more)
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Security Chief Sentenced in Explosion Probe
WV - A federal judge sentenced a former Massey Energy Co. security chief to three years in prison for obstructing a criminal probe into the 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners in the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in four decades.
A jury in October convicted Hughie Elbert Stover of lying to federal investigators about a company policy of providing advance notice of federal inspections and of obstructing a federal criminal investigation into the blast by ordering the destruction of more than 50,000 documents. Mr. Stover, 60 year old, was the top security official at Massey's Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., at the time of the explosion. (more)
A jury in October convicted Hughie Elbert Stover of lying to federal investigators about a company policy of providing advance notice of federal inspections and of obstructing a federal criminal investigation into the blast by ordering the destruction of more than 50,000 documents. Mr. Stover, 60 year old, was the top security official at Massey's Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., at the time of the explosion. (more)
FutureWatch - Light Field Cameras
The first consumer light field camera has just been released. You'll never take another out-of-focus picture again.
"The very first light fields were captured at Stanford University over 15 years ago. The most advanced light field research required a roomful of cameras tethered to a supercomputer. Today, Lytro completes the job of taking light fields out of the research lab and making them available for everyone, in the form of the world’s first Lytro Light Field Camera" FutureWatch: Imagine this technology incorporated into CCTV surveillance cameras. No more waiting for the lens to focus. No more out of focus license plates, no more windy day auto-focus cognitive dissonance, no more fuzzy pictures of perps. Instant point, shoot and gottcha pix.
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Special Agent T-Shirt Contest #3
Contest Closed - We have a winner.
Who is this famous wiretapper? (Enter here.)
(Hint: the answer can be found at spybusters.com)
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The prize - our Limited Edition Special Agent Black T-Shirt. (Size: X-Large)
Answer: Gerard "Cheesebox" Callahan
Answer: Gerard "Cheesebox" Callahan
("How limited," I hear you say.)
Well, there are only three in the whole world! (one medium, one large, one x-large) And, they will be awarded in that order. So if you're a big Special Agent, this is YOUR contest.
We designed this custom t-shirt ourselves! It's easy, go to ooShirts.com. They have a DIY on-line design lab! All types of t's, all colors, all prices. These are the Champion brand with the logo on the left sleeve.
Shady Rat - Cell Phone Malware
A former McAfee researcher has used a previously unknown hole in smartphone browsers to plant China-based malware that can record calls, pinpoint locations and access user texts and emails.
Just as U.S. companies are coming to grips with threats to their computer networks emanating from cyber spies based in China, a noted expert is highlighting what he says is an even more pernicious vulnerability in smartphones. Dmitri Alperovitch, the formerMcAfee Inc. cyber security researcher best known for identifying a widespread China-based cyber espionage operation dubbed Shady Rat, has used a previously unknown hole in smartphone browsers to plant China-based malware that can commandeer the device, record its calls, pinpoint its location and access user texts and emails. He conducted the experiment on a phone running Google Inc.'s Android operating system, although he says Apple Inc.'s iPhones are equally vulnerable. (more)
Parasites are Not Supposed to Kill Their Hosts
Canada - An electronic stealth operation allegedly based in China hacks into Nortel Networks Inc., Canada's high-flying telecom superstar, loots its secrets for a decade and, says one cyber-security expert, contributes to the company's fatal implosion.
Queen's University professor David Skillicorn points out that after the hackers penetrated Nortel around 2000, they began stealing technical papers, research and development reports, and strategic business plans.
After that, Nortel couldn't compete for contracts "because the hackers had their technical knowledge, their financials, their bids, before they submitted them," Skillicorn told Postmedia News. "How can you compete in an environment like that? These hackers weren't into Nortel just out of curiosity. They were using the stuff they got."
A Wall Street Journal report quotes Brian Shields, a 19-year Nortel veteran who led the internal investigation into the hacking. Shields apparently found spy software so deeply embedded in company computers that it took years to realize the size and pervasiveness of the problem. (more)
Queen's University professor David Skillicorn points out that after the hackers penetrated Nortel around 2000, they began stealing technical papers, research and development reports, and strategic business plans.After that, Nortel couldn't compete for contracts "because the hackers had their technical knowledge, their financials, their bids, before they submitted them," Skillicorn told Postmedia News. "How can you compete in an environment like that? These hackers weren't into Nortel just out of curiosity. They were using the stuff they got."
A Wall Street Journal report quotes Brian Shields, a 19-year Nortel veteran who led the internal investigation into the hacking. Shields apparently found spy software so deeply embedded in company computers that it took years to realize the size and pervasiveness of the problem. (more)
Political Pots Calling Kettle Black?
via China Daily...
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is advertising for automated computer softwares (sic) that will monitor people's posts on social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter. The FBI's Strategic Information and Operations Center (SOIC) posted a tender for a "Social Media Application" on FedBizOpps.gov web on January 19.
The advertisement says the application will collect "open source" information and should be capable of sniffing through online media sites like news and social networking sites for keywords to help improve its real-time intelligence when it comes to current and emerging security threats.
Sources said some US government institutions have already used similar software to collect "open source" information, a practice that have been kept out of the knowledge of the public.
It is believed to be the first time the US government has admitted it will apply advanced technologies to monitor the public media. (more)
FutureWatch: Looking forward to an article about how this compares to their surveillance initiatives.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Android Toilet Paper - Five Apps for Wiping Data from Your Androids
If your phone gets lost or stolen — or if you decide to return or recycle it — you need to wipe it clean of your private data.1: Built-in Android reset - This built-in functionality is the easiest to use. Go to the restore from the Settings menu and reset.
If you lost your phone, or need some extra features, have one of these on board.
2: Mobile Security
3: Autowipe
4: Android Lost
5: Lookout Security & Antivirus
(more)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Smartphone Apps Your Personal Information
Most users are aware that Internet companies like to collect information on their clients so that they can target their adverts better. But the sheer extent of their spying is shocking. And it’s all buried in the small print of the license agreement few bother to read. Often the information collected has nothing to do with function of the application. (more)
News of the World phone hacking scandal could deepen and spread to the U.S.
The phone hacking scandal could deepen and spread to the U.S. after claims the private detective who hacked phones for the News of the World had American telephone numbers in his notes.Glenn Mulcaire, who was jailed in 2007 for illegally accessing mobile-phone messages, had the numbers of singer Charlotte Church’s Los Angeles agent and New York publicist among thousands of pages of notes seized by Scotland Yard detectives, it has been claimed.
Miss Church, 26, whose personal phones and those of her parents were hacked by Mulcaire for at least four years, settled a lawsuit against News International on February 23.
News International, which closed the News of the World in July in an attempt to contain public anger, still faces possible claims by more than 800 'likely' victims identified by police as they sift through 11,000 pages of Mulcaire’s notes. (more)
CONTEST ALERT - Wednesday Noon (EST) - Last Special Agent Shirt
The famous Security Scrapbook contest back!
Next Wednesday (noon EST) we will post a spy question. The first correct answer received wins!
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We post this alert to give everyone an equal chance, as readers of the e-mail version receive these posts the following next day.
The prize - our Limited Edition Special Agent Black T-Shirt.
("How limited," I hear you say.)
Well, there are only three in the whole world! (one medium, one large, one x-large) And, they will be awarded in that order. So if you're a big Special Agent this is YOUR contest.
Did you know you could design custom t-shirts yourself? It's easy. I made these myself at ooShirts.com. They have a DIY on-line design lab! All types of t's, all colors, all prices. These are the Champion brand with the logo on the left sleeve.
ooShirts also provides design help, if needed. They suggested I use brighter colors to have the logo stand out better. They were 100% correct, but I went with muted gray and red for a subtle look (Special Agents don't have to shout it.) The shirt shows the colors correctly. The enlargement is brightened to show the fine detail of the printing, just look at the dots! This was a test run for us. We're thrilled.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
SpyCam Story #655 - This Week in SpyCam News
NY - Corning police have made an arrest in connection with an alleged case of voyeurism at a Market Street tanning salon. Jesse R. Cady, 23, of Creek Side Drive, Cameron, is accused of secretly video-taping a woman while she was tanning at Beach House Tanning. (more)
UK - A Carlisle man has been accused of fitting secret cameras in bathrooms to spy on women and young girls. Mark Klein, 45, of Charles Street, appeared before the city’s magistrates’ court where he was charged with voyeurism and two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. (more)
KY - A bizarre and disturbing incident is playing out in Kentucky, where a star basketball player has been charged in connection with a video of a nude minor in his school's locker room and sharing the video to a host of other teenagers... 18-year-old Henderson County (Ky.) High senior basketball player Gavont Baker has been charged with video voyeurism and unlawful transaction with a minor in connection with a video of a nude teenager which was filmed in the Henderson locker room. (more)
GA - The voyeurism case involving the former deputy registrar of the Marietta office of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles is nearing a conclusion, with a plea agreement possible this week... The case began when the BMV office, located in the Frontier Shopping Center, was closed Sept. 23 by the Ohio State Highway Patrol after someone reported the discovery of a hidden camera in a bathroom at the office. (more)
NY - Tracy Gurnett, a Recreation Department staffer who has already sued the Town of Wheatfield once, has filed another notice of claim accusing town officials of spying on her by installing a video camera in her office. Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe and Town Attorney Robert O’Toole said this week that the surveillance camera was installed for security reasons and followed other cameras previously set up at other Recreation Department locations. Political sources told The Buffalo News that the camera was installed in the wake of suspicion that Gurnett was using the town photocopier in her office to run off copies of election fliers last fall for her live-in boyfriend, former Supervisor Timothy E. Demler (more)
NJ - Opening statements Friday in the trial of a former Rutgers student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate making out with another man focused on whether the defendant was malicious or just an 18-year-old boy acting his age. (more)
FL - Before Steinberg was investigated for cyberstalking, he voted against it. Rep. Richard Steinberg, a Miami Beach Democrat accused of cyberstalking a married Miami female prosecutor, has voted for several laws that crack down on stalking-–one as recently as this week. (such as) 2012 -- HB 215 – Video Voyeurism – (Vote: 1/25/2012, Judiciary Committee): The bill increases the penalties associated with video voyeurism offenses. The penalty for a first-time violation of “video voyeurism,” “video voyeurism dissemination,” or “commercial video voyeurism dissemination” is increased from a 1st degree misdemeanor to a 3rd degree felony. The penalty for a second or subsequent violation is increased from a 3rd degree felony to a 2nd degree felony. (more)
UK - A Carlisle man has been accused of fitting secret cameras in bathrooms to spy on women and young girls. Mark Klein, 45, of Charles Street, appeared before the city’s magistrates’ court where he was charged with voyeurism and two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. (more)
KY - A bizarre and disturbing incident is playing out in Kentucky, where a star basketball player has been charged in connection with a video of a nude minor in his school's locker room and sharing the video to a host of other teenagers... 18-year-old Henderson County (Ky.) High senior basketball player Gavont Baker has been charged with video voyeurism and unlawful transaction with a minor in connection with a video of a nude teenager which was filmed in the Henderson locker room. (more)
GA - The voyeurism case involving the former deputy registrar of the Marietta office of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles is nearing a conclusion, with a plea agreement possible this week... The case began when the BMV office, located in the Frontier Shopping Center, was closed Sept. 23 by the Ohio State Highway Patrol after someone reported the discovery of a hidden camera in a bathroom at the office. (more)
NY - Tracy Gurnett, a Recreation Department staffer who has already sued the Town of Wheatfield once, has filed another notice of claim accusing town officials of spying on her by installing a video camera in her office. Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe and Town Attorney Robert O’Toole said this week that the surveillance camera was installed for security reasons and followed other cameras previously set up at other Recreation Department locations. Political sources told The Buffalo News that the camera was installed in the wake of suspicion that Gurnett was using the town photocopier in her office to run off copies of election fliers last fall for her live-in boyfriend, former Supervisor Timothy E. Demler (more)
NJ - Opening statements Friday in the trial of a former Rutgers student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate making out with another man focused on whether the defendant was malicious or just an 18-year-old boy acting his age. (more)
FL - Before Steinberg was investigated for cyberstalking, he voted against it. Rep. Richard Steinberg, a Miami Beach Democrat accused of cyberstalking a married Miami female prosecutor, has voted for several laws that crack down on stalking-–one as recently as this week. (such as) 2012 -- HB 215 – Video Voyeurism – (Vote: 1/25/2012, Judiciary Committee): The bill increases the penalties associated with video voyeurism offenses. The penalty for a first-time violation of “video voyeurism,” “video voyeurism dissemination,” or “commercial video voyeurism dissemination” is increased from a 1st degree misdemeanor to a 3rd degree felony. The penalty for a second or subsequent violation is increased from a 3rd degree felony to a 2nd degree felony. (more)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Spyware Is Everywhere
Spyware is everywhere. Ask the experts. Almost every space can be bugged, and sting operations are easier than ever to carry out. Thanks to the Chinese genius for making vast volumes of low-cost gadgetry, spyware has become cheap, convenient and mean. It’s a great leveler of sorts: everyone can snoop on everyone else...
The bad news is that the corporate sector is the most eager user of spyware. It also has the money to use the most sophisticated devices available. ...
...there are 1,200 known ordinary telephone surveillance devices imported over the last couple of years by individuals, companies, private detective agencies and some State-owned firms... (more)
Special Agent T-Shirt Contest #2
Contest Closed - We have a winner.
This man invented one of the first electronic eavesdropping devices. It was used extensively by the private detective William J. Burns in the early 20th Century. What was this inventor's full name (He has a 3-word name)? (Enter here.)
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The prize - our Limited Edition Special Agent Black T-Shirt. (Size: Large)
Answer: Kelly Monroe Turner
("How limited," I hear you say.)
Well, there are only three in the whole world! (one medium, one large, one x-large) And, they will be awarded in that order. So if you're a big Special Agent, wait for the last contest.
We designed this custom t-shirt ourselves! It's easy, go to ooShirts.com. They have a DIY on-line design lab! All types of t's, all colors, all prices. These are the Champion brand with the logo on the left sleeve.
Business Espionage: Corporate Spy Get 6:1 Sentence Reduction
Rick van Lee, 63, is now with his wife in Singapore after an Indonesian High Court judge decided on Feb. 2 to reduce a lower court's sentence, according to a website set up by van Lee's friends and associates. (more)
SpyCam Story #654 - Today in Voyeurism News
IN - A man arrested and charged with voyeurism is out on bond after admitting he videotaped women who were undressing at a local tanning salon, court records said.
Stephen M. Fox, 32, of the 1600 block of Patriot Drive, told police he has taken videos of women there previously using his cellphone. Police found multiple videos of various women at what appeared to be the tanning salon. (more)
KY - Officers arrested Gavont Baker, 18, on a felony video voyeurism charge. The alleged incident took place before class one morning in late January. But Baker might not be the only student to face charges. Officers say up to five students, four of them being minors, could face charges in this case.
Authorities say, during the incident, a video was recorded of a minor who was not wearing clothes. That video was then allegedly shared with other students, prompting the school district to get involved. And because the video reportedly contained a minor, without clothes, and then was shared, it falls under the state's child pornography laws. (more)
Authorities say, during the incident, a video was recorded of a minor who was not wearing clothes. That video was then allegedly shared with other students, prompting the school district to get involved. And because the video reportedly contained a minor, without clothes, and then was shared, it falls under the state's child pornography laws. (more)
WA - The third hearing for Hoquiam teacher Wesley A. Phillips is scheduled for today at 1pm in Grays Harbor District Court #1. Phillips was released on bail from Grays Harbor County Jail on January 27th after his second hearing in District Court.
41 year old Phillips is charged with Communicating with a Minor for Immoral Purposes and Voyeurism. Both charges are Class C Felonies and each count carries a maximum sentence of 5 years. (more)
41 year old Phillips is charged with Communicating with a Minor for Immoral Purposes and Voyeurism. Both charges are Class C Felonies and each count carries a maximum sentence of 5 years. (more)
MA - Smartphones are convenient, pocket-sized gadgets that allow users to snap pictures or record videos on the fly, and in the wrong hands they can be dangerously invasive devices—especially on a college campus. That was the case early Friday morning when a woman showering at Warren Towers spotted an iPhone on the floor, apparently recording her. When she tried to squash the device with her foot, she cut it on a jagged tile. As she did, a hand reached into the shower and grabbed the phone. The suspected photographer immediately fled the bathroom. Friday’s peeping incident marks the third time in the past month that women have reported surreptitious shower photographers to the Boston University Police Department. (more)
Security Directors: FREE Security White Paper - "Surreptitious Workplace Recording ...and what you can do about it."
Security Directors: FREE Security White Paper - "Surreptitious Workplace Recording ...and what you can do about it."
People Who Snoop on Significant Others - Some Common Sense
Personally….I think they’re all nuts. I come from the train of thought that says what’s done in the dark always comes to light. I don’t have to snoop or look for evidence because your foolishness will catch up with you sooner or later. I just live my life and keep my eyes and ears open, but snoop, never, and just like I thought, everything came to life. Any man that has ever cheated and/or lied to me got found out because of his own slackness. Friends slipped up, accidental emails, chick got pregnant, etc. I’ve never had to become a female Sherlock Holmes to find out the truth. Besides, if you feel so strongly in your gut that something is going on then something usually is. Your instincts are usually all the evidence you need that something might not be right. The problem is most of us ignore our guts in favor of finding physical proof to substantiate what we’ve known all along. (more) (more thoughts)
GPS Jammer Crackdown Begins
UK - The illegal use of Global Positioning System (GPS) jammers in the UK has been revealed in a groundbreaking study. GPS jammers are believed to be mostly used by people driving vehicles fitted with tracking devices in order to mask their whereabouts. In one location the Sentinel study recorded more than 60 GPS jamming incidents in six months...
In 2009 Newark Airport in the US found some of its GPS based systems were suffering repeated interference. The problem was eventually traced back to a truck driver using a GPS jammer. (more)
FutureWatch: Expect the crackdown to expand.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Animal Abuse Covert Video Activism Leads to Politicians Being Prodded to Outlawing Cameras Instead of the Problem
“For politicians, it comes across looking like they’re trying to muzzle these groups,” said Wes Jamison, an associate communications professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida who studies interest-group activism, in an interview. “It’s putting restrictions on citizen ‘gotcha’ journalism.”
Media stories about animal welfare have a “significant, negative” effect on meat demand, especially poultry and pork, according to a 2010 study by economists at Kansas State University and Purdue University in Indiana on covert exposes and news articles. (more) (sample videos)
Enemies: A History of the FBI
In Enemies: A History of the FBI, author Tim Weiner used recently declassified intelligence files to write a comprehensive history of the FBI... Weiner said that Hoover disregarded privacy protections mandated by the constitution in order to obstruct the activities of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He ordered the FBI to bug King’s bedroom and repeatedly blackmailed the civil rights leader.
"When it came down to bugging bedrooms, you had to be careful not to get caught, but there wasn't anything to stop him," Weiner said. "He decided up to a point ... where the boundaries of the law [were] when it came to black bag jobs, break-ins, bugging, surveillance, the constitutionality of gathering secret intelligence on America's enemies — both real and imagined." (more)
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