Post #4000 - Slam Dunked Spycamer Mom Faces Slammer

A sneaky Texas mom, who tried to dig up dirt on her daughters’ high school basketball coach, came away with nothing, but now faces 20 years in prison for wiretapping. 

Prosecutors said Wendee Long, 46, a middle-school principal in Fort Worth, had one of her daughters plant a cellphone camera in a girl's locker room during halftime of a game on February 7, the Star-Telegram reported.

Long's two daughters played for Argyle High School, and they had complained that the coach, Skip Townsend, screamed at the players too much, investigators said. (more) (more)

Are the Androids Spying on You?

Are some mobile ads on Android devices acting as spies? According to one mobile security firm, the answer is yes. 

San Francisco-based Lookout Mobile Security, in a posting Monday on its corporate blog, said that "select ad providers" in free mobile applications are accessing personal information without the user's notification or consent, through the use of "adware." The personal information includes e-mail, phone numbers, and names...

Tip: Lookout Mobile Security is offering a free Ad Network Detector via Google Play. The Detector scans an Android phone and displays the kinds of ads, the ad networks, and the type of information that is being collected, so that a user can decide if a given ad-containing app should remain on the phone. (more)

News of the World - Mr. Big gets tapped.

Britain's Supreme Court took a step toward exposing the names at the heart of Britain's phone hacking scandal Wednesday, ruling that a private investigator convicted of eavesdropping for a Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid must reveal who ordered him to do it. 

Meanwhile, a police investigation into press wrongdoing triggered by the hacking revelations expanded beyond Murdoch's media empire with the arrest of a former reporter from the rival Mirror group.

Private eye Glenn Mulcaire was jailed briefly in 2007 for hacking the voicemail messages of royal aides on behalf of the now-defunct News of the World. (more)

Historical Earthquake Map - Interesting & Sobering

Guess what can trigger your business continuity plan faster than a spy stealing your trade secrets?

Phil's blog has a link to an enlarged version.

That's right. Mother Nature!

My friend and colleague, Phil Rothstein, Rothstein Associates, Inc., is an expert on keeping businesses running. Today, he posted some astounding historical maps on earthquakes and tornadoes. Have a look.

What!?!? You don't have a business continuity plan! Talk to Phil. Now.

Not All USB Spy Sticks Are Found This Easily

An attempt to infiltrate the corporate systems of Dutch chemical giant DSM by leaving malware-riddled USB sticks in the corporation's car park has failed.

Instead of plugging the discarded drives into a workstation, which would have infected the machine, the worker who first found one of the devices handed it in to DSM's IT department.

Sysadmins subsequently found an unspecified password-stealing keylogger, according to local reports by Elsevier.nl (Google translation here).

The spyware was designed to upload stolen usernames and passwords to a server under the control of hackers. This site was blocked by DSM's sysadmins, effectively thwarting the password-snatching object of the attack, so the company would be protected even should any other workers find and use the infected USB sticks on corporate laptops. It's unclear who was behind the plan, but regular cybercriminals or industrial spies are two strong possibilities. (more)

Data Diarrhea - Cell Tower Dumps

If you secretly suspected that nifty mobile device in your pocket was spying on you, your paranoia has just been richly rewarded.

As the New York Times reports, a Congressional inquiry into cell phone surveillance reveals that U.S. law enforcement agencies requested data from wireless carriers more than 1.3 million times last year -- or nearly 500 times the number of wiretaps approved over the same period.

That number is way larger than anyone expected. But the actual number of people spied on might be even higher, says the Times:

"Because of incomplete record-keeping, the total number of law enforcement requests last year was almost certainly much higher than the 1.3 million the carriers reported to [Senator] Markey. Also, the total number of people whose customer information was turned over could be several times higher than the number of requests because a single request often involves multiple callers. For instance, when a police agency asks for a cell tower "dump" for data on subscribers who were near a tower during a certain period of time, it may get back hundreds or even thousands of names." (more)

U.S. Wiretap Report 2011 (For the Period January 1 Through December 31, 2011)

The vast majority of law enforcement wiretaps in 2011 were for telephones (including mobiles) and only a tiny percentage included encryption, which in no case prevented officials from obtaining the plain text of the communications.

That's according to the latest annual U.S. Courts report on wiretapping by federal and state government-authorized wiretaps.

Of the 2,189 court-ordered intercepts, 95.6 percent of the 2,189 total were for some type of telephone, whether a plain old one, a cell phone or another type of mobile device. Only four were against some type of electronic device, including a digital pager, fax or computer. Another six were for oral communications (intercepted with a microphone) and 87 were for a combination of more than one intercept type. (more)

Libya Powers Up Old Spy Gear (The Who, you say!)

Libya's caretaker government has quietly reactivated some of the interception equipment that fallen dictator Moammar Gadhafi once used to spy on his opponents.

The surveillance equipment has been used in recent months to track the phone calls and online communications of Gadhafi loyalists, according to two government officials and a security official. Two officials say they have seen dozens of phone or Internet-chat transcripts detailing conversations between Gadhafi supporters. (more) (the gear) (sing-a-long)

In other news... Bull Poops Out

French technology company Amesys is offloading its business that sells Internet-interception equipment, a move that comes six months after it became public that Moammar Gadhafi's regime had been using the technology to spy on Libyans.

Bull SA, Amesys's parent company, said Thursday it had "signed an exclusivity agreement with a view to negotiating the sale of the activities" related to its Eagle interception product. Bull declined to identify the buyer. (more)

你好, 你好! Is anybody listening?

The Chinese government has “pervasive access” to some 80 percent of the world’s communications, giving it the ability to undertake remote industrial espionage and even sabotage electronically of critical infrastructures in the United States and in other industrialized countries.

The Chinese government and its People’s Liberation Army are acquiring the access through two Chinese companies, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd and ZTE Corporation, telecommunications experts have told WND.

With this access, the sources say, the Chinese are working on the other 20 percent. The two companies give the Chinese remote electronic “backdoor” access through the equipment they have installed in telecommunications networks in 140 countries. The Chinese companies service 45 of the world’s 50 largest telecom operators. (more)

So, how much can you make as an industrial spy?

Japan - Police have arrested two former employees of a Kawasaki-based machine tool maker on suspicion of duplicating confidential blueprints and smuggling them to a Chinese company. 

Industrial espionage: Confidential blueprints from Yoshizuka Seiki Co. in Kawasaki allegedly ended up in the hands of a Chinese company. KYODO 

Seiichi Furuya, 48, and Fumiaki Inoue, 57, were taken into custody Wednesday after allegedly copying blueprints belonging to Yoshizuka Seiki Co...

The Chinese company, a major press maker based in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, was found to have deposited about ¥42 million ($526,183.91) in Inoue's bank account, some ¥38 million ($476,071.16) of which was credited to an account held by Furuya, the police said.

Spy Satellites - The Next Amazing Generation

A new spy satellite launched into orbit on a secret mission for the U.S. military Friday (June 29), roaring spaceward atop the world's most powerful rocket in use today.

The NROL-15 reconnaissance satellite blasted off from a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 9:15 a.m. EDT (1315 GMT) to begin its classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. It rode a towering Delta 4-Heavy booster equipped with new RS-68A first stage engines — the most powerful liquid hydrogen rocket engines ever built, according to their manufactures.

The Ginsu...

The successful launch marked the second space mission in nine days by ULA to orbit a classified payload for the U.S. military. The next ULA launch will be an Atlas 5 rocket slated to loft another NRO spy satellite into orbit in August. (more)

Spy Drones - The Next Amazing Generation

The U.S. Navy has its sight set on this new drone that was recently unveiled by defense company partner Northrop Grumman.

Click to enlarge.

They've been working on the MQ-C4 Triton over the last several years, and it's now ready for test flights. (more)

Click to enlarge.

See what the drone offers >

SpyCam Found in Irish Slammer Slammed

Ireland - Prison chiefs have launched a probe after secret cameras that could have spied on staff were discovered at a top jail.  

Warders at Wheatfield lock-up in Dublin’s west were shocked to find the miniature devices in the tuck shop area which is run by prison officers.

They have demanded to know if there are spying kits in other slammers.

The Prison Officers Association has met senior management to find out why the spy cams were put there. Spokesman John Clinton said: “The POA is deeply concerned about a report of covert surveillance in a location solely used by staff." (more)

John "Jack" Caulfield, Nixon White House operative, dies at 83

John J. Caulfield, a security operative who was responsible for wiretaps and other so-called “dirty tricks” of the Nixon White House died June 17 in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 83. 

Mr. Caulfield was best known as the White House official who extended an offer of clemency, cash and future employment to James W. McCord Jr. if McCord, a convicted Watergate burglar, refused to testify against members of Nixon’s inner circle... Among other things, he revealed that the president’s brother, Donald Nixon, was under surveillance by the Secret Service and had a wiretap on his telephone. 

After Nixon was elected, Mr. Caulfield assumed a vaguely defined role as a White House staff assistant, with responsibilities that ranged from bodyguard to collector of intelligence.

Mr. Caulfield left the White House several months before the Watergate break-in occurred in June 1972 and was never prosecuted. But his Senate testimony did include some jaw-dropping revelations about the Nixon White House’s intelligence-gathering efforts. (more) (book)

Interesting: Caulfield received NYPD shield #911, June 1, 1953, long before the number took on greater meanings. It is also ironic that Nixon called upon 911 to solve his problems.

TSCM Employment Opportunity

Job Title: Security Specialist (TSCM Program Specialist)
Department: Department Of Transportation  

Agency: Federal Aviation Administration  

Job Announcement Number: AWA-AIN-12-MR78807-26265
SALARY RANGE: $91,426.00 to $141,735.00 / Per Year
OPEN PERIOD: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 to Wednesday, July 11, 2012
SERIES & GRADE: FV-1801-J
POSITION INFORMATION: Full Time - Permanent
DUTY LOCATIONS: 1 vacancy(s) - Washington DC
WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED: U.S. Citizens

(more)

Foreign Spying in US on the Rise

DC - Driven in part by the global financial crisis, foreign intelligence services, corporations and computer hackers have stepped up efforts to steal technology and trade secrets from American companies, the FBI’s top spy hunter told Congress on Thursday. (more)

Darwin Award - Surveillance Swipping Snitch Stunned when Caught

IL - An Alton man who was supposed to be helping investigators in an undercover probe now is now accused of making off with electronic surveillance equipment worth thousands of dollars. 

Twenty-seven-year-old William Cole is charged with felony theft and criminal damage to government property.

Investigators tell The (Alton) Telegraph that Cole was working with detectives on an undercover drug buy Monday when he allegedly bolted with the equipment.

Cole was found Tuesday at an Alton home and arrested by an officer who used a stun gun to stop him from fleeing. (more)

Staff Bugs & Wiretaps at South Africa Techno University

South Africa - The Tshwane University of Technology’s investigation into the illegal tapping of staff phones, in which top campus officials have been implicated, has claimed its first dismissal. The suspended head of internal audit at TUT, Vincent Dlamini, is being fired by the university after being found to have been involved in the “conspiracy”...

Dlamini was also found guilty of unlawful conduct, gross dishonesty, non-compliance with TUT policy, gross negligence, and actions that caused a breakdown in the relationship of trust between the employer and himself as a senior employee...
 

The bugging of the offices of senior managers at TUT was uncovered during Mosia’s investigation into the university’s affairs. Dlamini was among several officials who were suspended on disciplinary charges relating to the bugging. (more)

Fun Fact: Private Investigations on the Rise in India

India's Assn. of Private Detectives and Investigators has 1,200 members, up from 13 in 2005. Much of the industry's business involves premarital investigations. Growing demand spurred the recent opening of Kolkata's Anapol Institute, said to be India's first private-detective school. (more)

"We do Private Investigation either in Kitchen or in Bedroom or anywhere with evidence. We use all available modern Electronic Gadgets." Quote from a local agency.

FutureWatch: The rise of TSCM services.

"What say, you, we go out on the town and swing, baby? Yeah! "

He set up shop as a corporate security consultant, offering his dubious “operational experience” in intelligence to solve delicate problems for customers working in dangerous places...

Some people knew him as Kevin. He told others he was Richard. Everyone could see he had money to burn, and most people thought he was a British spy...

For about three years, until 2008, Halligen spent hundreds of thousands of dollars living large in Washington. He stayed in a Willard Hotel suite for months at a time and drank the days away at pricey Georgetown restaurants. He traveled everywhere in a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Town Car, set up high-tech offices in Herndon and bought a grand home in Great Falls.

Smart, charming and favoring black turtlenecks and sunglasses, Halligen told everyone that he was a spy, or a former spy, or connected to spies. He told friends that he was under such deep cover that he took over his fiancee’s place as a “safe house.”... (more)

Jersey Sure - Encrypted & Self-Destructing iPhone Email

Encryption is meant to keep your messages secret from any third-party eavesdropper–what security pros call a “man-in-the-middle” attack. 

But what about that more common problem, the man-on-the-other-end? Even trusted recipients of a message, photo or video can leak secrets, carelessly forward messages, let them fall into the wrong hands, or even betray the sender and dig up evidence years later–a lesson folks like Anthony Weiner and Adrian Lamo have illustrated all too clearly.

Wickr, a free application that launched in the iPhone app store Wednesday, aims to encrypt text, picture and video messages to prevent their interception by men-in-the-middle. But then, as the app’s name implies, those messages also delete themselves after just minutes or even seconds like a burning wick, leaving no trace behind even for forensic investigators. “We want to let people send messages that are easy, secure, and leave no trace,” says Robert Statica, one of the company’s founders and director of Center for Information Protection at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. (more)

Interesting: Radar Tracks Your Sleep, Then Wakes You Up

via Robert E. Calem, techlicious.com
...there's a new alarm clock available that was designed to help you avoid sleep inertia by monitoring your sleep cycles—without a wearable sensor—and waking you up only when you're sleeping most lightly. It's called the Renew SleepClock by Gear4 ($199.95 on gear4.com) and combines a motion sensing iOS-device docking station-clock radio with a dedicated app that both wakes you and tracks your sleep habits over time. 

The hardware transmits two channels of 10GHz radio frequency signals in a 45-degree beam. These signals bounce off your body and are received back at the device by a sensor, which then processes them and passes the data to the app. 

The app uses the data to discern your breathing pattern and monitor your movements. Based on these interpretations, the app knows when you've fallen asleep, how long you've slept, when you're sleeping lightly or deeply, and when your sleep has been interrupted (for example, when you get out of bed for a 2 AM bathroom break). 

In the morning, the app uses all the captured data to determine the best time to wake you up within a one-hour time slot that you've preset in one of two built-in alarms. (more)

MI5 Encounters and Counters "Astonishing" Levels of Cyber-Attacks

UK - MI5 is working to counter "astonishing" levels of cyber-attacks on UK industry, the organisation's chief has said.

In his first public speech for two years, Jonathan Evans warned internet "vulnerabilities" were being exploited by criminals as well as states...

In the speech on Monday night, Mr Evans spoke of MI5's efforts to tackle "industrial-scale processes involving many thousands of people lying behind both state sponsored cyber espionage and organised cyber crime".

"Vulnerabilities in the internet are being exploited aggressively not just by criminals but also by states," he said. "The extent of what is going on is astonishing." (more)

Businesses beware...

Cyber attacks by a foreign state resulted in a British company losing £800m ($1,247 million) in revenue, the head of MI5 revealed yesterday.  

This "was not just through intellectual property loss but also from commercial disadvantage in contractual negotiations", said Jonathan Evans. "They will not be the only corporate victims." (more)

It's not just in the UK, even tiny Malta has problems...

Malta - The government’s IT agency deals with about 100 cyber-attacks a month, attempts to retrieve information from the government’s online infrastructure. (more)

Teacher's Threat - Professor accused of bugging colleague's office

TX - A professor with the University of Texas-Pan American is free on a personal recognizance bond after being accused of planting a recording device in a colleague’s office.

FutureWatch: New office decor for college professors.

UTPA police arrested chemistry professor Hassan Ahmad on Thursday, according to a news release from the university. Ahmad appeared before an Edinburg municipal judge who formally charged him with one count of unlawful interception, use or disclosure of wire, oral or electronic communication and set a $20,000 personal recognizance bond. The charge is a second-degree felony, punishable by a prison term of two to 20 years and a fine of up to $10,000 upon conviction. The investigation began June 8 after another faculty member discovered a recording device in his office... (more)

Business Espionage - Saab Exec Cell Bugged

The head of Swedish defence group Saab alleged on Friday that his cell phone had been bugged repeatedly during negotiations with Switzerland over Saab's sale of 22 Gripen fighter jets.

"I am closely watched and I know that my cell phone has been bugged on several occasions. Text messages have also been sent from my cell phone, in both Swedish and English, on various occasions and to various contacts," Saab chief executive Haakan Buskhe told Sweden's Svenska Dagbladet in an interview.

He suggested he was a target of industrial espionage, but did not identify by name the people or companies which may have been behind the action. (more)

Western Australia Mining Company Reportedly Bugged

Australia - In the past week the buzz around Perth business circles has been that a WA mining company swept its offices recently and found a bug... 

It's the latest variant of other rumours: a cable with a microphone found behind the secretary's photocopier, or a USB device plugged into a computer to record keystrokes to hopefully purloin top secret codes.

Sorting fact from fiction in the shadowy world is tricky, with few executives willing to go on the record in what is an understandably sensitive area... (more)

Bikie TSCM... Fail

Australia - Paranoid Queensland criminals are hiring security experts to sweep their houses for bugs and other hidden police surveillance equipment, leaving detectives frustrated.

They can also buy sophisticated "bug detection" kits, noise generators, hidden camera scanners and phone tap detectors online and in-store for as little as $450.

While police spend months planning operations involving placement of listening devices, their targets can order kits that allow them to identify suspicious points and keep their clandestine activities under even closer wraps.

Bikie gangs, such as the notorious Finks, previously have used security experts to check their homes. (more)

Law enforcement loves stories like these. The more Bikie gangs (motorcycle gangs) rely on spy shop devices and less-than-ethical sweepers, the greater the Bikie's false sense of security. Easy collar. How do we know? The case went to court.

Court documents describe Finks member Tama Lewis talking, in 2008, about enlisting security firm OzSpy to sweep his home...

Business Espionage - Blueprint Blues to Reds

A previously unknown cyber worm preying on machinery blueprints has been exposed in Latin America. The new virus steals the blueprints and sends them to e-mail accounts registered in China. A number of machines in the US have been infected.

The worm dubbed ACAD/Medre.A targets the AutoCAD program used by architects, engineers, project managers and designers to create blueprints, including machines, buildings, household appliances and other inventions...

“ACAD/Medre.A is a serious example of suspected industrial espionage,” said Richard Zweinenberg, senior research fellow at ESET. (more)

"As always, should you or any of your Walmart Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

A public relations officer linked to Walmart posed as a journalist at a press conference held by a labor group highlighting tough working conditions in the warehouses that supply big retailers. 

Stephanie Harnett, a publicist working for Mercury Communications, which has been retained by Walmart to assist in its effort to open a new store in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles, claimed to be a student journalist called "Zoe Mitchell" when she turned up at the event on 6 June.

She then spoke to and recorded an interview with an activist from Warehouse Workers United...

The subterfuge only became apparent on Wednesday, when Harnett turned up at a different event and this time used her real name. She was spotted by members of WWU who recognised her and were stunned to see her handing out Mercury business cards with a completely different identity.

Walmart moved to distance itself from her actions on Thursday, and Mercury said neither it nor the retail giant had "approved, authorized or directed" her actions. It said she was no longer working for the firm. (more) (audio from the disclaimer experts)

Chinese Upgrade Eavesdropping Center

China has upgraded a key eavesdropping site in southeastern Fujian province opposite Taiwan, according to images taken by new commercial satellites, a U.S. weekly reported Monday.

Defense News reported from Taipei that according to an analysis of the high-definition satellite photos, the facility on Dongjing Shan, near Daqiu village in Fujian province, has been upgraded and can now cover all of Taiwan and even a U.S. base in Okinawa.

With the recent release of high resolution imagery of Google Earth and Terraserver, electronic intelligence specialists said they have spotted parabolic dishes not seen in previous lower resolution imagery from non-classified sources. (More)

...and then Canada's Privacy Commissioner heard about it!

Canada - The federal government has hit the pause button on its plan to eavesdrop at border points after confirmation Tuesday that some travelers at the Halifax airport were secretly recorded.

Privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart

But there were still many unanswered questions about the surveillance plan.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said he has told the Canada Border Services Agency to place audio monitoring on hold until a study of the privacy implications is complete. (more)

Corporate espionage via social media rampant in India

India - Over 35 per cent of companies operating in various sectors across India are engaged in corporate espionage to gain advantage over their competitors and are even spying on their employees via social networking Web sites, according to a just-concluded survey undertaken by apex industry body Assocham.

Mr D.S. Rawat, Secretary-General, Assocham.

Assocham carried out a covert survey during the January-May period and interacted with about 1,500 CEOs and EDs from diverse sectors in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai to ascertain the measures taken by India Inc to safeguard their data, plans, clients' details, products and other confidential and trade-related secrets.

Besides, Assocham representatives also interacted with about 200 private eye agencies, corporate spooks, detective firms, surveillance agencies and trained sleuths in the five cities, Mr D.S. Rawat, Secretary-General, Assocham, said in a statement here. (more)

And You Thought Spying Was a Lone Wolf Occupation

Turkey has arrested 49 military officers in the second phase of an operation to dismantle a military espionage ring in the country. 

 

Turkish newspaper Today’s Zaman quoted Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office as saying that the 49 arrestees were among the 51 officers against whom arrest warrants had been issued...

The officers are accused of blackmailing, and illegally obtaining military information. The gang reportedly used prostitutes to blackmail and obtain classified security information from high-ranking officers and senior bureaucrats.

The first phase of the operation was launched in May when 20 people were arrested for involvement in the espionage gang. (more)

Spybusters Tip #069: Business espionage also uses blackmail, and effort is even more massive. Don't let yourself slip into a compromising position. It's a quicksand pit.

Fake IDs from Internet Vendors Fool Experts

YIN - Overseas forgers from as far away as China are shipping fake driver's license and other IDs to the United States that can bypass even the newest electronic digital security systems...

Most troubling to authorities is the sophistication of the forgeries: Digital holograms are replicated, PVC plastic identical to that found in credit cards is used, and ink appearing only under ultraviolet light is stamped onto the cards...

The overseas forgers are bold enough to sell their wares on websites, USA TODAY research finds. Anyone with an Internet connection and $75 to $200 can order their personalized ID card online from such companies as ID Chief. Buyers pick the state, address, name and send in a scanned photo and signature to complete their profile.

YANG - For buyers from ID Chief and other companies, the easy-to-use online form does not come without risk. Buyers have reported identity theft and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt in their names after buying from the Chinese forgers, authorities say. (more)

Sports Espionage at Euro 2012

England's challenge at Euro 2012 almost was drastically undermined after the team's tactics were leaked to rival Sweden by a snooping journalist.

Ola Billger, 40, used binoculars to spy on England coach Roy Hodgson as he outlined his defensive plan to his team at a Kiev hotel ahead of last Friday's Group D clash.

The Swedish hack watched for 40 minutes and compiled detailed notes... (more)

Wiretap Law May Soon Include Email Snooping

Adel Abadir and Annabelle Zaratzian got divorced. It came out later that Adel knew too much about his ex-wife's income. He had placed spyware on her computer which secretly forwarded all her emails to him. She sued...

Zaratzian’s suit — first filed Dec. 3, 2010, in U.S. District Court in White Plains — is one of the first in the country to allege a more eye-opening charge: wiretapping, an accusation more reminiscent of Watergate and the Cold War than an otherwise run-of-the-mill divorce case.

Zaratzian’s definition of wiretapping depends on a novel legal theory, that auto-forwarding email represents a “contemporaneous” interception of electronic communications, and experts have been mixed on whether that definition will ultimately prevail in the courts. But if it does it could be the beginning of significant new interpretation of the law, opening up new legal avenues for those looking to sue, in addition to potentially more criminal prosecutions under federal wiretapping statutes, which haven’t been updated since a 1986 revision...

The case is now scheduled for a status conference June 18, before a potential trial later this year. (more)

Pennsylvania Wiretap Law Revamped

PA - Public safety trumped concerns about personal privacy on Wednesday as the state House of Representatives cast a lopsided vote in favor of the first overhaul of Pennsylvania's wiretapping law in 14 years.

The bill, which was sent to the Senate by a 145-52 vote, would ease restrictions on civilians secretly recording other citizens and expand the government's ability to tap cell-phone technology....

Another provision would allow conversations to be recorded without the consent of other parties if the person doing the recording believes it may provide evidence of a first-degree felony or a crime of violence. Current law bars all recordings unless all parties consent.

Even if a civilian makes an illegal recording, the bill would allow the government to use it as evidence in a criminal investigation and prosecution. (more)

Warrantless Wiretapping - The Backlash Begins

Sen. Ron Wyden teamed up with Colorado Democrat Mark Udall to block the Obama administrations effort to extend the surveillance law that has resulted in a broad warrantless wiretapping campaign of American citizens.

Wyden, who has long opposed the wiretapping program offered an amendment last week that would specifically prohibit such unauthorized surveillance. Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee voted overwhelmingly to reject that provision last week. (more) (video rebuttal)

SpyCam Story #661 - This Week in SpyCam News

SpyCam stories have become commonplace and the techniques used, repetitive. We continue to keep lose track of the subject for statistical purposes, but won't bore you with too many details. Links supplied.
 

Australia - A Sydney bus driver has been jailed for filming up the skirts of schoolgirls.

CT - IT employee fired, his company iPhone found live-streaming video of bathroom.

UK - 14-year-old girl in the shower notices shave box with ‘suspicious looking hole’ in it.

UK - Man with spy pen strikes again, and again...

LA - Rambo slams man 12-years for recording video of nude women tanning.

UK - Camera found in the staff lavatories at day nursery. Employee arrested.

Canada - Man who used cellphone to peep has avoided jail.

UK - Triple karate world champion (and spycam'er) has sentence chopped.
WI - Bedroom C.B. DeMille gets 90-days in jail, on weekends.
CT - Man accused of hiding cameras in public men's rooms returning to court.
TN - Evangelist pleads guilty in Tennessee... Charges in Texas and Mississippi next.
WA - Second dressing room spycam case this year at Olympia Goodwill store.
FL - Motel restroom spycam'er re-arrested.
CT - Weird. Spycam'ed mother of girl he'd been convicted of spying on six years ago.
UK - Victim trying on bras captures her spycam'er for police.
Canada - Dumb man using smart phone.
WA - Steven Powell, father-in-law of missing Utah mom Susan Powell, sentenced.
IL - Government not libel for secret videotape of employee changing into uniform.

CopCam Pen - I: lost it, forgot it, my llama ate it, ...

Bolivian custom officers will have to carry special pens, with a hidden micro-camera and voice recorder, as part of a government initiative to tackle corruption.

The measure was announced by customs director Marlene Ardaya, who will be issued with her own pen.

"They will work as an anti-doping mechanism in the department."

She explained that the voice recorders will remain active during all working hours.

The authorities said officials would be selected randomly to have the recordings in their devices checked. (more)

CopCam USA - Not to be outdone by the Wiphala of Qulla Suyu folks...

PA - Philadelphia police will test attaching video cameras to cops...

The cameras cost about $1,000 per officer and Taser provides departments with free one-year access to Evidence.com, which departments can use to upload and store their videos. (more)

What about the Pennsylvania wiretap law?

Pennsylvania's wiretap laws would prohibit audio recording. — Commissioner Charles Ramsey

FutureWatch - Look for a change in the law.

For those departments on a budget. 

The K-Mart Blue Light Special $19.99

Learn to be a Private Eye

People frequently ask me, "I am really interested in investigations, how can I get into the field?"

It is not an easy answer. There are many faucets to the field of investigations. One universal prerequisite is inquisitiveness. After that, it is simply training.

The folks over at PInow.com have just made my life easier by publishing The Top Private Investigation Training Programs across the US. This article focuses on private programs (as opposed to universities) and features classroom programs as well as online training options.

Want to learn? This is the first place to go.

Career Tip - Become a Business Espionage Security Specialist

Leading cyber experts warned of a shortage of talented computer security experts in the United States, making it difficult to protect corporate and government networks at a time when attacks are on the rise.

Symantec Corp Chief Executive Enrique Salem told the Reuters Media and Technology Summit in New York that his company was working with the U.S. military, other government agencies and universities to help develop new programs to train security professionals.

"We don't have enough security professionals and that's a big issue. What I would tell you is it's going to be a bigger issue from a national security perspective than people realize," he said on Tuesday.

Jeff Moss, a prominent hacking expert who sits on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council, said that it was difficult to persuade talented people with technical skills to enter the field because it can be a thankless task. (more)

...and this is at the end of the info-train. 
Before information ever enters a computer cattle car, it is vulnerable to theft in many other forms and places. This aspect of business espionage security is handled by analysts who concurrently conduct audits to detect electronic surveillance devices. There is a shortage of talented professionals in this field as well. ~Kevin

The Aerial Cameras Are Coming

Google and Apple are racing to produce aerial maps so detailed they can show up objects just four inches wide.


Hyper-real: 3D mapping services used by C3 Technologies (as purchased by Apple) will form the main part of the software giant's new mapping service

Google admits it has already sent planes over cities while Apple has acquired a firm using spy-in-the-sky technology that has been tested on at least 20 locations, including London.


All powerful: Apple's newly-acquired technology uses military-grade camera equipment to produce realistic 3D maps of big cities and residential streets

Google will use its spy planes to help create 3D maps with much more detail than its satellite-derived Google Earth images.

Great Surveillance Camera Clips Go Commercial

Surveillance cameras have migrated their way from security tools to movie plots (Sliver, Look and Surveillance to name a few), and now... commercials! Grab some American champagne and enjoy. ~Kevin

Surveillance Camera Disobedience

I only hope there is a happy face drawn on it.

William Lamson - NYC Artist

More Surveillance Camera Fun

Justice at Last for Hero Spy Pilot, Francis Gary Powers

More than 50 years after his U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union, iconic Cold War pilot Francis Gary Powers is to be posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

The medal, the third highest honour the U.S. military can bestow, was presented by Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz to Powers' grandson and granddaughter at a Pentagon ceremony on Friday.

Mr Powers' award is for exhibiting 'exceptional loyalty' during the long and intense interrogation that he endured while being held captive by the KGB and the Soviet Union for nearly two years... Powers was later killed while flying a KNBC helicopter in Van Nuys, California (more)

Some Fun Summer Reading about Private Investigators...

Who knows? You might be inspired to become a private detective novelist.

Fire up your Kindle and start with, How Do Private Eyes Do That? by Colleen Collins

Then read, How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths. by Shaun Kaufman and Colleen Collins, and start writing your own private detective novel.

The authors bill themselves as, "a couple of PIs who also happen to write." Visit them at their blog, Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes. It is full of great information about modern PIs and how they operate. They also provide tips for writers, like The Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make at a Crime Scene.