Speaking on background, one disgruntled NSA employee said “Go ahead, throw me in jail for an Espionage Act violation, that would be better than doing this job." (more)
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
NSA Quits Spying on Americans Out of Disgust
Citing an endless river of filth, vacuous conversations, idiotic Tweets and endless cat videos, the NSA announced it is “freaking done” with spying on Americans.
The NSA decision came only hours after thousands of analysts, following similar threats at CIA, said they planned to quit and apply for jobs as Apple Geniuses and Best Buy Geek Squad Support workers.
Speaking on background, one disgruntled NSA employee said “Go ahead, throw me in jail for an Espionage Act violation, that would be better than doing this job." (more)
Speaking on background, one disgruntled NSA employee said “Go ahead, throw me in jail for an Espionage Act violation, that would be better than doing this job." (more)
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage
In this penetrating work of investigative and historical journalism, Eamon Javers explores the dangerous and combustible power spies hold over international business.
Today's global economy has a dark underbelly: the world of corporate espionage. Using cutting-edge technology, age-old techniques of deceit and manipulation, and sheer talent, spies act as the hidden puppeteers of globalized businesses... Readers meet the spies who conduct surveillance operations, satellite analysts who peer down on corporate targets from the skies, veteran CIA officers who work for hedge funds, and even a Soviet military intelligence officer who now sells his services to American companies.
Intelligence companies and the spies they employ are setting up fake Web sites to elicit information, trailing individuals and mirroring travel itineraries, dumpster-diving in household and corporate trash, using ultrasophisticated satellite surveillance to spy on facilities, acting as impostors to take jobs within companies or to gain access to corporations, concocting elaborate schemes of fraud and deceit, and hacking e-mail and secure computer networks.
This globalized industry is not a recent phenomenon, but rather a continuation of a fascinating history. The story begins with Allan Pinkerton, the nation's first true "private eye," and extends through the annals of a rich history that includes tycoons and playboys, presidents and FBI operatives, CEOs and accountants, Cold War veterans and military personnel. (more)
Intelligence companies and the spies they employ are setting up fake Web sites to elicit information, trailing individuals and mirroring travel itineraries, dumpster-diving in household and corporate trash, using ultrasophisticated satellite surveillance to spy on facilities, acting as impostors to take jobs within companies or to gain access to corporations, concocting elaborate schemes of fraud and deceit, and hacking e-mail and secure computer networks.
This globalized industry is not a recent phenomenon, but rather a continuation of a fascinating history. The story begins with Allan Pinkerton, the nation's first true "private eye," and extends through the annals of a rich history that includes tycoons and playboys, presidents and FBI operatives, CEOs and accountants, Cold War veterans and military personnel. (more)
A Good Short Spy Story...
The green metal file box was about the size and shape of an ammunition case.
It was scuffed and serious-looking and packed tight with personal letters and papers that had belonged to my grandfather, who died in 1989. The line in the family had always been that he “did intelligence work in Washington after the war.” This file box gave up a better story: My grandfather was an operations officer with the C.I.A. from January 1948 to August 1951. But that revelation brought up another question: Why only three years? (more)
It was scuffed and serious-looking and packed tight with personal letters and papers that had belonged to my grandfather, who died in 1989. The line in the family had always been that he “did intelligence work in Washington after the war.” This file box gave up a better story: My grandfather was an operations officer with the C.I.A. from January 1948 to August 1951. But that revelation brought up another question: Why only three years? (more)
Dyson Project N223 - Coming Spetember 4th
FutureWatch: Teaser video suggests Dyson’s new vacuum cleaner may spy on you...
BAT Hauled to Court Over Spy Claims
Cigarette giant British American Tobacco (BAT) could have its dirty linen aired in court following a sensational high court application launched by local "value brand" producer Carnilinx for alleged "corporate espionage".
In the application, Carnilinx director Kyle Phillips claimed BAT paid Pretoria attorney Belinda Walter for commercially sensitive information she obtained while "infiltrating " the company and the FairTrade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) in 2012 and 2013. If this goes to trial, these spy claims could be extremely damaging for BAT, which is based in London and is the largest company listed on the JSE Securities Exchange, worth R1.26-trillion.
"BAT has used unlawful means to interfere in the business of the applicant. It has paid [Walter] monies to spy [on Carnilinx]," Mr Phillips claimed. (more)
"BAT has used unlawful means to interfere in the business of the applicant. It has paid [Walter] monies to spy [on Carnilinx]," Mr Phillips claimed. (more)
Start Protecting Your Trade Secrets - Yes, You Have Trade Secrets
Every company has information, business methods or techniques or a unique service delivery model that has competitive value worth protecting. Some information, processes and techniques may benefit from patent, trademark or copyright protection, but there is a much broader universe of your company's R&D, business analysis and process improvement that is potentially protectable as a trade secret.
The first step in securing that protection is to identify your trade secrets. Once trade secrets have been identified, you can then design documents and procedures to maximize the available protections and to preserve the value of your business.
Protectable trade secrets may be found in many aspects of your business. Common examples could include your marketing strategies, key analysis of your customers' purchasing habits and preferences, proprietary statistical models and the terms of your strategic alliances with business partners.
Less obvious, but no less important, examples could include an innovative risk management strategy, unique processes to continuously evaluate and improve the delivery of your products and services, or methodologies to assist in evaluating and responding to RFPs. (more)
Before you discuss all these things, make sure the room is not bugged. The folks at counterespionage.com can help.
Protectable trade secrets may be found in many aspects of your business. Common examples could include your marketing strategies, key analysis of your customers' purchasing habits and preferences, proprietary statistical models and the terms of your strategic alliances with business partners.
Less obvious, but no less important, examples could include an innovative risk management strategy, unique processes to continuously evaluate and improve the delivery of your products and services, or methodologies to assist in evaluating and responding to RFPs. (more)
Before you discuss all these things, make sure the room is not bugged. The folks at counterespionage.com can help.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Green Group Suggested Video Cameras to Spy on Farmer
An environmental group that stands accused of overstepping its inspection authority and trespassing across a Virginia farm also tried to have video cameras installed to monitor the property.
An officer of the Piedmont Environmental Council proposed that one of that group’s board members “runs a security company and could offer the use of security cameras to record visitors,” according to documents examined by The Daily Signal.
Documents obtained by The Daily Signal show the environmental group sought not only to monitor Liberty Farm through increasingly invasive inspections but also to install the video cameras to monitor visitors.
However, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, a quasi-state agency created by the state legislature to preserve open space, would not go along. (more)
Documents obtained by The Daily Signal show the environmental group sought not only to monitor Liberty Farm through increasingly invasive inspections but also to install the video cameras to monitor visitors.
However, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, a quasi-state agency created by the state legislature to preserve open space, would not go along. (more)
John Walker Jr., spy. Dead at 77.
John Walker Jr., a former American sailor convicted during the Cold War
of leading a family spy ring for the Soviet Union, has died in a prison
hospital in North Carolina, officials said Friday. (more)
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Oil Ministry to Install Cameras in Sensitive Locations to Guard Against Espionage
India - A lower-level functionary of the oil ministry, keen to deliver a copy of a file to a corporate (mole), made a fatal mistake while photocopying the paper: he forgot to remove the original document from the photocopier. This created a stir when an attendant spotted the paper while dusting the machine next morning.
The fate of the corporate mole is not clear but incidents such as these have resulted in the oil ministry moving rapidly to install surveillance cameras in sensitive locations to guard against espionage...
The surveillance system is intended to deter such moles or catch them red-handed. "The idea is to keep corporate lobbyists at bay. Cameras will be installed in sensitive locations of Shastri Bhawan," an oil ministry source said. (more)
The surveillance system is intended to deter such moles or catch them red-handed. "The idea is to keep corporate lobbyists at bay. Cameras will be installed in sensitive locations of Shastri Bhawan," an oil ministry source said. (more)
Video Review of the Spy Gear Undercover Spy Cam Phone
A $30.00 toy with some interesting possibilities...
How Anyone Can Turn Your Computer Into a Bugging Device
by Null Byte...
Now that nearly everyone and everyplace has a computer, you can use those remote computers for some good old "cloak and dagger" spying. No longer is spying something that only the CIA, NSA, KGB, and other intelligence agencies can do—you can learn to spy, too.
In this brand new series, we will explore how we can use the ubiquity of the computer to peek in on just about anyone and anyplace. Unlike the spy movies of yesteryear where the spy had to place a listening device in the lamp or in a houseplant, as long as there is a computer in the room, it can be used as a "bug."
We will examine how to turn that commonplace computer into our own bug to listen in on conversations, use as a spy camera, track Internet searches, and more. James Bond and Q have nothing on us!
In this first part, I will show you how to convert any computer, anywhere, into a listening device. As nearly every room now has a computer in it, you can put a bug in nearly every room, unnoticed and undetected. (more)
Tips:
• Don't open any Word or Excel files from anyone who might want to bug you.
• Reboot your computer often.
Now that nearly everyone and everyplace has a computer, you can use those remote computers for some good old "cloak and dagger" spying. No longer is spying something that only the CIA, NSA, KGB, and other intelligence agencies can do—you can learn to spy, too.
We will examine how to turn that commonplace computer into our own bug to listen in on conversations, use as a spy camera, track Internet searches, and more. James Bond and Q have nothing on us!
In this first part, I will show you how to convert any computer, anywhere, into a listening device. As nearly every room now has a computer in it, you can put a bug in nearly every room, unnoticed and undetected. (more)
Tips:
• Don't open any Word or Excel files from anyone who might want to bug you.
• Reboot your computer often.
Business Espionage: Corporations Spy on Nonprofits With Impunity
by Ralph Nader...
Here's a dirty little secret you won't see in the daily papers: Corporations conduct espionage against U.S. nonprofit organizations without fear of being brought to justice.
Yes, that means using a great array of spycraft and snoopery, including planned electronic surveillance, wiretapping, information warfare, infiltration, dumpster diving and so much more.
The evidence abounds.
For example, six years ago, based on extensive documentary evidence, James Ridgeway reported in Mother Jones on a major corporate espionage scheme by Dow Chemical focused on Greenpeace and other environmental and food activists...
This is hardly the only case of corporate espionage against nonprofits. Last year, my colleagues produced a report titled Spooky Business, which documented 27 sets of stories involving corporate espionage against nonprofits, activists and whistleblowers. Most of the stories occurred in the US, but some occurred in the UK, France and Ecuador. (more)
Here's a dirty little secret you won't see in the daily papers: Corporations conduct espionage against U.S. nonprofit organizations without fear of being brought to justice.
Yes, that means using a great array of spycraft and snoopery, including planned electronic surveillance, wiretapping, information warfare, infiltration, dumpster diving and so much more.
The evidence abounds.
For example, six years ago, based on extensive documentary evidence, James Ridgeway reported in Mother Jones on a major corporate espionage scheme by Dow Chemical focused on Greenpeace and other environmental and food activists...
This is hardly the only case of corporate espionage against nonprofits. Last year, my colleagues produced a report titled Spooky Business, which documented 27 sets of stories involving corporate espionage against nonprofits, activists and whistleblowers. Most of the stories occurred in the US, but some occurred in the UK, France and Ecuador. (more)
Friday, August 22, 2014
Denny’s Daily Zinger: Is a Thief Running Rampant in Your Office?
By Denny Hatch
Julian Assange (Wikileaks), Edward Snowden and Pfc. Chelsea (née Bradley) Manning became household names overnight.
They downloaded U.S. Government secrets. Diplomatic relations, American politics and military secrets were seriously compromised.
How'd it happen? Up to 4 million people
—including 500,000 government contractors—hold Top Secret clearances.
That's how.
The Lions Gate Film Studios' $100 Million Theft
In late July at Lions Gate film studios, a perfect copy of the upcoming Sylvester Stallone movie, "Expendables 3," was stolen. The film cost an estimated $100 million to produce.
It was immediately offered free all over the Internet on such sites as KickassTorrents, or KAT, and The Pirate Bay, or TPB, and a slew more.
Millions of co-conspirators downloaded the film for private viewing resulting in a box office catastrophe when it opened in theaters.
Reuters headline
August 11, 2014:
U.S. judge orders websites to stop 'Expendables 3' film piracy
Lotsa luck.
Takeaways to Consider
. Reach Denny at dennyhatch@yahoo.com.
Julian Assange (Wikileaks), Edward Snowden and Pfc. Chelsea (née Bradley) Manning became household names overnight.
They downloaded U.S. Government secrets. Diplomatic relations, American politics and military secrets were seriously compromised.
How'd it happen? Up to 4 million people
—including 500,000 government contractors—hold Top Secret clearances.That's how.
The Lions Gate Film Studios' $100 Million Theft
In late July at Lions Gate film studios, a perfect copy of the upcoming Sylvester Stallone movie, "Expendables 3
," was stolen. The film cost an estimated $100 million to produce.It was immediately offered free all over the Internet on such sites as KickassTorrents, or KAT, and The Pirate Bay, or TPB, and a slew more.
Millions of co-conspirators downloaded the film for private viewing resulting in a box office catastrophe
when it opened in theaters.Reuters headline
August 11, 2014:
U.S. judge orders websites to stop 'Expendables 3' film piracy
Lotsa luck.
Takeaways to Consider
- In your organization, who has the equivalent of Top Secret clearance?
- Who has keys to your digital vault and access to the most sensitive R&D?
- Does a system exist whereby every time a major asset is in transit-not in its usual place-it can be tracked by user?
- Should you monitor employees' email to see who in your organization may be feeling underpaid or contemplating retribution?
- Two-thirds of companies monitor employees' Internet
- Your future could depend on it.
. Reach Denny at dennyhatch@yahoo.com.
Friday, August 15, 2014
The 1-Click Conference Call Trick - Ease or Espionage?
from the website...
"We made CCALL because it’s a pain in the axx to enter conference codes from a mobile phone. If you've ever had a calendar invite with a long conference ID and scribbled it on the back of your hand to avoid jumping between the email, your calendar and your phone app then you understand why we did this."
Question: Do you think this a clever public service, or a clever social engineering eavesdropping / espionage trick? Doesn't matter. I know what I am telling my clients.
Question: Do you think this a clever public service, or a clever social engineering eavesdropping / espionage trick? Doesn't matter. I know what I am telling my clients.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Need a Reason to Buy an iPhone?
Spies hate iPhones...
The secrets of one of the world’s most prominent surveillance companies, Gamma Group, spilled onto the Internet last week, courtesy of an anonymous leaker who appears to have gained access to sensitive corporate documents. And while they provide illuminating details about the capabilities of Gamma’s many spy tools, perhaps the most surprising revelation is about something the company struggles to do: It can’t easily hack into your typical iPhone. (more)
Saturday, August 9, 2014
The NSA is Inventive - Just Look at Their Patents
What do a voice identifier, an automated translator, a "tamper-indicating" document tube, and a supersecure manhole cover have in common? They're all technologies for which the secretive National Security Agency (NSA) has been granted patents by the U.S. government, giving the agency the exclusive rights to its inventions.
The four technologies represent a tiny fraction of the more than 270 sleuthy devices, methods, and designs for which the nation's biggest intelligence agency has been granted a patent since 1979, the earliest year for which public figures are available. As the patent holder, the NSA can license the particular technology -- for a fee -- to anyone who wants to use it, so long as the patent hasn't expired.
The NSA's cryptologists and computer scientists have been busy over the years inventing methods of encrypting data, analyzing voice recordings, transferring digital files, and removing distortion from intercepted communications -- all things you'd expect from the world's largest and most sophisticated eavesdropping agency. And the digital spooks have patented gadgets straight out of a James Bond flick, such as tamper-indicating envelopes and finely tuned radio antennas. (more) (The List)
The NSA's cryptologists and computer scientists have been busy over the years inventing methods of encrypting data, analyzing voice recordings, transferring digital files, and removing distortion from intercepted communications -- all things you'd expect from the world's largest and most sophisticated eavesdropping agency. And the digital spooks have patented gadgets straight out of a James Bond flick, such as tamper-indicating envelopes and finely tuned radio antennas. (more) (The List)
More Bad Publicity About USB Security
Cyber-security experts have dramatically called into question the safety and security of using USB to connect devices to computers.
Berlin-based researchers Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell demonstrated how any USB device could be used to infect a computer without the user's knowledge.
The duo said there is no practical way to defend against the vulnerability.
The body responsible for the USB standard said manufacturers could build in extra security.
But Mr Nohl and Mr Lell said the technology was "critically flawed". (more with videos)
Berlin-based researchers Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell demonstrated how any USB device could be used to infect a computer without the user's knowledge. The duo said there is no practical way to defend against the vulnerability.
The body responsible for the USB standard said manufacturers could build in extra security.
But Mr Nohl and Mr Lell said the technology was "critically flawed". (more with videos)
Friday, August 8, 2014
China, Sex, Spycams and PIs... A Cautionary Tale
(June) A covert sex tape involving a senior executive and his Chinese lover was the trigger for a major investigation into corruption at British drugs giant GlaxoSmith-Kline...
The video of married Mark Reilly and his girlfriend was filmed by secret camera and emailed anonymously to board members of the pharmaceutical firm.
It led to an investigation that has rocked the £76billion company... (more)
(Yesterday) A British private investigator (PI) has been sentenced to two and a half years in jail by a Chinese court after becoming embroiled in a sex and whistleblowing scandal at the drug firm GlaxoSmithKline.
Peter Humphrey, 58, was also fined 200,000 yuan (£19,300), and his wife, Yu Yingzeng – a naturalised American citizen – was sentenced to two years and fined 150,000 yuan in the first case of its kind involving foreigners in China...
GSK had hired them to investigate why the company's then head of China operations, Mark Reilly, had been filmed surreptitiously having sex with his Chinese girlfriend in his guarded luxury home. (more)
Money Saving Spy Tips
1. No area you think is private is private until a competent TSCM team says so.
2. The "girlfriend" spy is an old trick.
3. Bugs, taps and spycams are old spy tricks. #3 used with #2 will cost you.
4. Executives: beware of #2, check for #3 frequently.
5. PIs, working in China has its risks.
6. Blackmail works, especially when state sponsored.
7. Proactive TSCM is far cheaper than a mess like this.
It led to an investigation that has rocked the £76billion company... (more)
(Yesterday) A British private investigator (PI) has been sentenced to two and a half years in jail by a Chinese court after becoming embroiled in a sex and whistleblowing scandal at the drug firm GlaxoSmithKline.
Peter Humphrey, 58, was also fined 200,000 yuan (£19,300), and his wife, Yu Yingzeng – a naturalised American citizen – was sentenced to two years and fined 150,000 yuan in the first case of its kind involving foreigners in China...
GSK had hired them to investigate why the company's then head of China operations, Mark Reilly, had been filmed surreptitiously having sex with his Chinese girlfriend in his guarded luxury home. (more)
Money Saving Spy Tips
1. No area you think is private is private until a competent TSCM team says so.
2. The "girlfriend" spy is an old trick.
3. Bugs, taps and spycams are old spy tricks. #3 used with #2 will cost you.
4. Executives: beware of #2, check for #3 frequently.
5. PIs, working in China has its risks.
6. Blackmail works, especially when state sponsored.
7. Proactive TSCM is far cheaper than a mess like this.
The Ford Motors Bugging Case - FBI Continues Investigation
The FBI has taken a computer disk and internal Ford e-mails in a continuing investigation of a former employee who was fired in June after the company found recording devices she had hidden in a building on its Dearborn, Mich., world headquarters campus.
Ford fired Sharon Leach, 43, a mechanical staff engineer who worked at Ford for 16 years, in late June after company security personnel saw her leave and return to the same conference room on multiple occasions. She told them she was recording conference meetings using the bugs...
According to court records, the FBI seized eight listening devices from Ford headquarters on July 11. It earlier had seized more than two dozen items from Leach's Wyandotte, Mich., home weeks earlier, including bank statements, tax records, a buy.com shipping bag, a Post-It note with numbers and a key chain with keys labeled "do not duplicate." (more)
According to court records, the FBI seized eight listening devices from Ford headquarters on July 11. It earlier had seized more than two dozen items from Leach's Wyandotte, Mich., home weeks earlier, including bank statements, tax records, a buy.com shipping bag, a Post-It note with numbers and a key chain with keys labeled "do not duplicate." (more)
Free Tip: Recover Files Locked by Cryptolocker Ransomware
If your computer files have been (or will be) held for ransom by Cryptolocker, bookmark this site... https://decryptcryptolocker.com/.
FireEye and Fox-IT have partnered to provide free keys designed to unlock systems infected by CryptoLocker.
These folks will analyze one of your locked files and send you the decode key, FREE.
FireEye and Fox-IT have partnered to provide free keys designed to unlock systems infected by CryptoLocker.These folks will analyze one of your locked files and send you the decode key, FREE.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Coming Soon - The "Pssst. Don't go walking there alone" App
SketchFactor is a navigation app that shows the relative sketchiness of an area. It's focused on improving city exploration on foot. SketchFactor empowers users to report sketchy experiences, read sketchy incidents, and get directions to where they need to go in the least sketchy way possible.
What does sketchy mean?
Sketchy means a number of different things. To you, it may mean dangerous. To someone else, it may mean weird.
What can I report?
You can report any sketchy incident you see fit. (more)
FutureWatch: If this gains traction, like Yelp, it will become a whole lot more than just a personal app. Police, criminologists, city planners, security consultants, taxi cab companies and more will find use for the data this generates. Imagine a real-time SketchFactor overlay for Google maps.
Sketchy means a number of different things. To you, it may mean dangerous. To someone else, it may mean weird.
What can I report?
You can report any sketchy incident you see fit. (more)
FutureWatch: If this gains traction, like Yelp, it will become a whole lot more than just a personal app. Police, criminologists, city planners, security consultants, taxi cab companies and more will find use for the data this generates. Imagine a real-time SketchFactor overlay for Google maps.
FBI Citizens Academy - Hey, corporate America, turn around and pay attention.
“The top secret, government, political secrets, all that top secret stuff that you kind of think about spies, probably less than 10% of what they are trying to go after.”
FBI experts say that 90% of what they go after, is industrial and trade secret espionage, and the target: students and executives from companies traveling abroad carrying trade secrets from their research and development at universities and companies.. And it's highly sought after.
“Every company, your research and development, it’s your next product down the road, and if I can steal that information and beat you to the market it's going to be devastating for you as a company.” (more) (video)
“Every company, your research and development, it’s your next product down the road, and if I can steal that information and beat you to the market it's going to be devastating for you as a company.” (more) (video)
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Nixon Tapes Released for 40th Anniversary of Resignation
Forty years ago this Friday, Richard Nixon became the first and only president of the United States to resign from office. He signed his resignation agreement, boarded a helicopter for San Clemente, Calif., and largely retreated into the shadows of history.
A decade later, he sat down with former White House aide Frank Gannon to share his own account of his final days in the Oval Office. Segments culled from those 30 hours of interviews were aired publicly just once, on CBS News. This week, The Richard Nixon Foundation and the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum are releasing a series of clips of those interviews in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the resignation.
In the first installments of the video series entitled “A President Resigns,” the disgraced president recalls learning that the infamous tape that became known as “the smoking gun” had been released. The tape revealed that Nixon had been aware of the break-in at the Watergate, despite his repeated denials. (more)
In the first installments of the video series entitled “A President Resigns,” the disgraced president recalls learning that the infamous tape that became known as “the smoking gun” had been released. The tape revealed that Nixon had been aware of the break-in at the Watergate, despite his repeated denials. (more)
Monday, August 4, 2014
FutureWatch: Eavesdropping on Potato Chip Bags... You may be next.
Researchers at MIT, Microsoft, and Adobe have developed an algorithm that can reconstruct an audio signal by analyzing minute vibrations of objects depicted in video. In one set of experiments, they were able to recover intelligible speech from the vibrations of a potato-chip bag photographed from 15 feet away through soundproof glass.
In other experiments, they extracted useful audio signals from videos of aluminum foil, the surface of a glass of water, and even the leaves of a potted plant. The researchers will present their findings in a paper at this year’s Siggraph, the premier computer graphics conference.
“When sound hits an object, it causes the object to vibrate,” says Abe Davis, a graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT and first author on the new paper. “The motion of this vibration creates a very subtle visual signal that’s usually invisible to the naked eye. People didn’t realize that this information was there.” (more)
In other experiments, they extracted useful audio signals from videos of aluminum foil, the surface of a glass of water, and even the leaves of a potted plant. The researchers will present their findings in a paper at this year’s Siggraph, the premier computer graphics conference.
“When sound hits an object, it causes the object to vibrate,” says Abe Davis, a graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT and first author on the new paper. “The motion of this vibration creates a very subtle visual signal that’s usually invisible to the naked eye. People didn’t realize that this information was there.” (more)
Spy Tradecraft FutureWatch - 3-D Room Scan Mapping
Despite the promise of Google's Movidius-equipped Project Tango, there are still no depth-sensing, SLR-stomping smartphones on the market. But Movidius thinks that could change soon, thanks to its brand new chip: the Myriad 2 vision processor unit (VPU).
"The Myriad 2 is going to provide more than 20x the power efficiency of the Myriad 1, and enable camera features that were not possible before in mobile devices," CEO Remi El-Ouazzane tells me. If you'll recall, Tango's original tech brought faster focus, improved depth of field, near-optical zooming and higher light sensitivity to smartphone cameras (and now, tablets).
It also let researchers scan a room in 3D to provide interior navigation, among other cool tricks. (more)
From a Security Scrapbook Blue Blaze Irregular...
So, letting uncleared persons into secure facilities just became even more stupid. With new processing chips, surreptitious video recording becomes even more dangerous. Movidius makes the chips. And Matterport makes the 3D modelling software. This is very cool but at the same time very disturbing. How many tradecraft applications will this have? Security managers should see, at least, the Matterport video.
"The Myriad 2 is going to provide more than 20x the power efficiency of the Myriad 1, and enable camera features that were not possible before in mobile devices," CEO Remi El-Ouazzane tells me. If you'll recall, Tango's original tech brought faster focus, improved depth of field, near-optical zooming and higher light sensitivity to smartphone cameras (and now, tablets).
It also let researchers scan a room in 3D to provide interior navigation, among other cool tricks. (more)
From a Security Scrapbook Blue Blaze Irregular...
So, letting uncleared persons into secure facilities just became even more stupid. With new processing chips, surreptitious video recording becomes even more dangerous. Movidius makes the chips. And Matterport makes the 3D modelling software. This is very cool but at the same time very disturbing. How many tradecraft applications will this have? Security managers should see, at least, the Matterport video.
USB - Unfixable Security Broken
It is well known that USB drives can be dangerous. Companies run strict screening policies and it has long been known that running unknown ‘exe’ files is a bad idea. But what if the threat was undetectable, unfixable and could be planted into any USB device be it a USB drive, keyboard, mouse, web camera, printer, even smartphone or tablet? Well this nightmare scenario just became reality.
The findings will be laid out in a presentation next week from security researchers Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell who claim the security of USB devices is fundamentally broken. More to the point they said it has always been fundamentally broken, but the holes have only just been discovered.
BadUSB
To demonstrate this the researchers created malware called ‘BadUSB’. It can be installed on any USB device and take complete control over any PC to which it connects. This includes downloading and uploading files, tracking web history, adding infected software into installations and even controlling the keyboard so it can type commands.
“It can do whatever you can do with a keyboard, which is basically everything a computer does,” explains Nohl... (more)
The short-term solution to BadUSB isn’t a technical patch so much as a fundamental change in how we use USB gadgets. To avoid the attack, all you have to do is not connect your USB device to computers you don’t own or don’t have good reason to trust—and don’t plug untrusted USB devices into your own computer. ...or, treat USB sticks the same way you would hypodermic needles. (more)
The findings will be laid out in a presentation next week from security researchers Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell who claim the security of USB devices is fundamentally broken. More to the point they said it has always been fundamentally broken, but the holes have only just been discovered.
BadUSB
“It can do whatever you can do with a keyboard, which is basically everything a computer does,” explains Nohl... (more)
The short-term solution to BadUSB isn’t a technical patch so much as a fundamental change in how we use USB gadgets. To avoid the attack, all you have to do is not connect your USB device to computers you don’t own or don’t have good reason to trust—and don’t plug untrusted USB devices into your own computer. ...or, treat USB sticks the same way you would hypodermic needles. (more)
Android Warning - Don't Click SMS Links Without Thinking First
A virus known as 'Andr/SlfMite-A' has been recently discovered that is spreading throughout the Android world through text messages (SMS)...
Andr/SlfMite-A virus sends SMSs, which includes a malicious link. If you unknowingly click on the embedded link within the SMS, then the virus easily get installed on your phone. Once the virus is downloaded onto your phone, it secretly sends text messages with malicious link to the first 20 contacts from your contact list.
These self-replicating 'worms' send SMSs to your contact list, thus playing with the trust that the receiver has in you. Just because the person from your contact thinks that the message is from you and hence is a genuine text message, they might just get tricked into clicking the link and unknowingly allow the virus to get installed onto their phone. (more)
Andr/SlfMite-A virus sends SMSs, which includes a malicious link. If you unknowingly click on the embedded link within the SMS, then the virus easily get installed on your phone. Once the virus is downloaded onto your phone, it secretly sends text messages with malicious link to the first 20 contacts from your contact list.
These self-replicating 'worms' send SMSs to your contact list, thus playing with the trust that the receiver has in you. Just because the person from your contact thinks that the message is from you and hence is a genuine text message, they might just get tricked into clicking the link and unknowingly allow the virus to get installed onto their phone. (more)
PI Tip #251 - Clean Up Your Crummy Surveillance Videos - FREE
VideoCleaner is FREE professional open-source video enhancement software. With VideoCleaner, you can brighten poorly lit scenes, increase detail clarity, correct the viewing perspective, reverse lens distortion, repairs VHS recordings, improve color contrast, isolate channels, and so much more.
VideoCleaner makes faint movements, distant traffic signal color changes, and small details obvious. You can annotate on-screen with text and highlighting, correct playback speed, provide sweeping or adjacent before-after views, and extract stills.
Being open-source means that you can customize VideoCleaner to fit your needs and delve deep into the science. Everything is free, even the support.
VideoCleaner is free without any purchase price, support or update fees. You are welcome to use VideoCleaner and its components for any legal purpose, personal or commercial, without any requirements or obligations beyond the open-source General Public License (GPL) of its components. You are free to redistribute this software in accordance with its associated GPL. (more)
VideoCleaner makes faint movements, distant traffic signal color changes, and small details obvious. You can annotate on-screen with text and highlighting, correct playback speed, provide sweeping or adjacent before-after views, and extract stills.
Being open-source means that you can customize VideoCleaner to fit your needs and delve deep into the science. Everything is free, even the support.
VideoCleaner is free without any purchase price, support or update fees. You are welcome to use VideoCleaner and its components for any legal purpose, personal or commercial, without any requirements or obligations beyond the open-source General Public License (GPL) of its components. You are free to redistribute this software in accordance with its associated GPL. (more)
Wealth Managers Enlist Spy Tools to Map Portfolios
Some of the engineers who used to help the Central Intelligence Agency solve problems have moved on to another challenge: determining the value of every conceivable investment in the world.
Five years ago, they started a company called Addepar, with the aim of providing clear and reliable information about the increasingly complex assets inside pensions, investment funds and family fortunes. In much the way spies diagram a communications network, Addepar filters and weighs the relationships among billions of dollars of holdings to figure out whether a portfolio is about to crash. (more)
Five years ago, they started a company called Addepar, with the aim of providing clear and reliable information about the increasingly complex assets inside pensions, investment funds and family fortunes. In much the way spies diagram a communications network, Addepar filters and weighs the relationships among billions of dollars of holdings to figure out whether a portfolio is about to crash. (more)
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Security Scrapbook Post #5000 - FREE SpyWarn™ Announcement
Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed and contributed to Kevin's Security Scrapbook over the years. 5000 is a milestone, and a good time for you to dig into the archives. Enjoy!
It is also a good time to let my clients (and potential clients) know about a new benefit of using Murray Associates services...
FREE SMARTPHONE SECURITY PROTECTION
1. Free Cell Phone MicSpike™ with Carry Container
Prevents phones from being turned into bugging devices.
2. Free Anti-Spyware Kit for Smartphones
Includes the MicSpike™ and more security items.
SpyWarn™ security kit works for all types of phones.
It is not available elsewhere. (patent pending)
Details and free smartphone security tips at...
https://counterespionage.com/sw.html
3. Free SpyWarn™ Android app.
A forensic evaluation for discovering spyware
infections on smartphones.
Details at... http://www.spywarn.com
4. Free book, "Is My Cell Phone Bugged?"
Amazon rated...
EXCLUSIVE
Available only to clients and those whose offices we inspect.
LIMITED TIME OFFER
This is the perfect time to add our Information
Security / TSCM* services to your security program.
*Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (aka, a bug sweep)
Download our introductory booklet.
http://www.counterespionage.com/download.html
Have questions? Need an estimate?
Just call me... from a "safe" phone.
+1-908-832-7900
Best regards,
Kevin D. Murray, CPP, CISM, CFE, MPSC
"Hey, what's your TSCM provider doing for you?"
It is also a good time to let my clients (and potential clients) know about a new benefit of using Murray Associates services...
FREE SMARTPHONE SECURITY PROTECTION
1. Free Cell Phone MicSpike™ with Carry ContainerPrevents phones from being turned into bugging devices.
2. Free Anti-Spyware Kit for SmartphonesIncludes the MicSpike™ and more security items.
SpyWarn™ security kit works for all types of phones.
It is not available elsewhere. (patent pending)
Details and free smartphone security tips at...
https://counterespionage.com/sw.html
3. Free SpyWarn™ Android app.
A forensic evaluation for discovering spyware
infections on smartphones.
Details at... http://www.spywarn.com
4. Free book, "Is My Cell Phone Bugged?"
Amazon rated...
EXCLUSIVE
Available only to clients and those whose offices we inspect.
LIMITED TIME OFFER
This is the perfect time to add our Information
Security / TSCM* services to your security program.
*Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (aka, a bug sweep)
Download our introductory booklet.
http://www.counterespionage.com/download.html
Have questions? Need an estimate?
Just call me... from a "safe" phone.
+1-908-832-7900
Best regards,
Kevin D. Murray, CPP, CISM, CFE, MPSC
"Hey, what's your TSCM provider doing for you?"
Monday, July 28, 2014
Son Bugs Mom's Phone - $500.00 Fine
IL - A judge has fined a Lincoln man $500 for bugging his 90-year-old mother’s phone.
Richard Stamler, 60, pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace last week, and Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen fined him...
Stamler’s sister called police March 28, 2013, after she found a recording device in the basement of their mother’s home that had been connected to the phone line and set to record any time someone in the house picked up a phone.
She told police she recognized her brother’s voice reciting date information on the tape. He admitted to police he recorded calls on his mother's phone, but didn't think it was illegal. (more)
Richard Stamler, 60, pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace last week, and Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen fined him...
She told police she recognized her brother’s voice reciting date information on the tape. He admitted to police he recorded calls on his mother's phone, but didn't think it was illegal. (more)
Snooping & Bugging: Five High Profile Cases (and this is just in India)
Was Nitin Gadkari's house bugged? The reported recovery of listening devices from Union Minister Gadkari's house has set tongues wagging in political circles, with Congress suggesting that this shows there is lack of trust among the NDA leaders. Even former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has demanded a probe into this matter.
However, this is not the first time that news of political leaders being snooped upon by their adversaries has surfaced in the media. Let's look back at some similar controversies from the past... (more)
However, this is not the first time that news of political leaders being snooped upon by their adversaries has surfaced in the media. Let's look back at some similar controversies from the past... (more)
Sunday, July 27, 2014
The FBI Speaks Out: Economic Espionage and Protecting Trade Secrets
When: 7/30/2014
From 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM
Where: Boston Bar Association
16 Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts
United States
Trade secret thefts, both domestic and international, cost U.S. companies billions of dollars per year. Over 85 percent of trade secret thefts involve employees and business partners. It is imperative to put a trade secret protection program in place. The FBI will show you why and how.
In a joint BBA/BPLA sponsored event, federal enforcement specialists Carmine Nigro and Ted Distaso, Brian Moriarty of Hamilton Brook Smith Reynolds, P.C., and Russell Beck of Beck Reed Riden LLP discuss methods of trade secret theft and best practices in theft prevention. (more) (register)
FYI - Just up the street from:
Cheers (pub)
84 Beacon St.
Boston, MA 02108
"Where everybody knows your name." (But that's another privacy issue.)
From 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM
Where: Boston Bar Association
16 Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts
United States
Trade secret thefts, both domestic and international, cost U.S. companies billions of dollars per year. Over 85 percent of trade secret thefts involve employees and business partners. It is imperative to put a trade secret protection program in place. The FBI will show you why and how.
In a joint BBA/BPLA sponsored event, federal enforcement specialists Carmine Nigro and Ted Distaso, Brian Moriarty of Hamilton Brook Smith Reynolds, P.C., and Russell Beck of Beck Reed Riden LLP discuss methods of trade secret theft and best practices in theft prevention. (more) (register)
FYI - Just up the street from:
Cheers (pub)
84 Beacon St.
Boston, MA 02108
"Where everybody knows your name." (But that's another privacy issue.)
Reports of India Minister Bedroom Being Bugged
India - Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said there should be an investigation into the report of bugging devices having been found in Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's residence and asked Government to explain the issue in Parliament.
"If Ministers' houses are bugged, then it is not a good omen. It should be investigated. How can it happen? it should be explained by the Government in the House," he told reporters at an Iftar get-together hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi
A media report has claimed that high power listening devices were found in the bed room at the 13 Teen Murti Lane residence here of Gadkari, the Road Transport and Highways Minister. (more)
"If Ministers' houses are bugged, then it is not a good omen. It should be investigated. How can it happen? it should be explained by the Government in the House," he told reporters at an Iftar get-together hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi
A media report has claimed that high power listening devices were found in the bed room at the 13 Teen Murti Lane residence here of Gadkari, the Road Transport and Highways Minister. (more)
Cost of Corporate Espionage in Germany Today
Every year, industrial espionage costs German businesses around 11.8 billion euros ($16 billion), according to a survey released Monday by the German security firm Corporate Trust.
Every second company in Germany has faced attacks - whether successful or not - with more than three-quarters of those surveyed registering financial losses as a result.
Corporate Trust said the survey reflected answers from 6,767 companies, some 40 percent of which estimated the damage from espionage had cost them anywhere from 10,000 euros to 100,000 euros.
Twelve percent said they lost more than 100,000 euros, and 4.5 percent said they lost more than 1 million euros. (more)
Corporate Trust said the survey reflected answers from 6,767 companies, some 40 percent of which estimated the damage from espionage had cost them anywhere from 10,000 euros to 100,000 euros.
Twelve percent said they lost more than 100,000 euros, and 4.5 percent said they lost more than 1 million euros. (more)
The Easy Fix to About 70% of Data Hacks
You never know when malware will bite. Even browsing an online restaurant menu can download malicious code, put there by hackers.
Much has been said that Target’s hackers accessed the giant’s records via its heating and cooling system. They’ve even infiltrated thermostats and printers among the “Internet of Things”.
It doesn’t help that swarms of third parties are routinely given access to corporate systems. A company relies upon software to control all sorts of things like A/C, heating, billing, graphics, health insurance providers, to name a few. If just one of these systems can be busted into, the hacker can crack ‘em all...
One way to strengthen security seems too simple: Keep the networks for vending machines, heating and cooling, printers, etc., separate from the networks leading to H.R. data, credit card information and other critical information. Access to sensitive data should require super strong passwords and be set up with a set of security protocols that can detect suspicious activity. (more)
Much has been said that Target’s hackers accessed the giant’s records via its heating and cooling system. They’ve even infiltrated thermostats and printers among the “Internet of Things”.
It doesn’t help that swarms of third parties are routinely given access to corporate systems. A company relies upon software to control all sorts of things like A/C, heating, billing, graphics, health insurance providers, to name a few. If just one of these systems can be busted into, the hacker can crack ‘em all...
One way to strengthen security seems too simple: Keep the networks for vending machines, heating and cooling, printers, etc., separate from the networks leading to H.R. data, credit card information and other critical information. Access to sensitive data should require super strong passwords and be set up with a set of security protocols that can detect suspicious activity. (more)
See Around Corners with Pocket Drone
Researchers at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center are developing a pocket-sized aerial surveillance device for Soldiers and small units operating in challenging ground environments.
The Cargo Pocket Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance program, or CP-ISR, seeks to develop a mobile Soldier sensor to increase the situational awareness of dismounted Soldiers by providing real-time video surveillance of threat areas within their immediate operational environment.
While larger systems have been used to provide over-the-hill ISR capabilities on the battlefield for almost a decade, none of those delivers it directly to the squad level, where Soldiers need the ability to see around the corner or into the next room during combat missions. (more)
The Cargo Pocket Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance program, or CP-ISR, seeks to develop a mobile Soldier sensor to increase the situational awareness of dismounted Soldiers by providing real-time video surveillance of threat areas within their immediate operational environment.While larger systems have been used to provide over-the-hill ISR capabilities on the battlefield for almost a decade, none of those delivers it directly to the squad level, where Soldiers need the ability to see around the corner or into the next room during combat missions. (more)
See around Corners. Turn Walls into Mirrors. Well, sort of...
The functional difference between a diffuse wall and a mirror is well understood: one scatters back into all directions, and the other one preserves the directionality of reflected light.
The temporal structure of the light, however, is left intact by both: assuming simple surface reflection, photons that arrive first are reflected first. In this paper, we exploit this insight to recover objects outside the line of sight from second-order diffuse reflections, effectively turning walls into mirrors. (more)
SpyCam'er Goes Free - Guilty or Not - You Decide
UK - A man who hid his phone in a toilet with the intention of filming his colleagues has been cleared of three charges of voyeurism – after magistrates accepted he has an extreme phobia of diarrhea and vomit.
A psychologist was called in to explain how Thomas Clark's actions were not as perverse as was being claimed by prosecutors.
The 28-year-old, from Barry Close in Tilgate, told a court he was petrified someone using the unisex toilet at his workplace before him might have suffered a bout of diarrhea or been sick.
Between November 1, 2012, and June 5, 2013, Mr Clark's phone was found on three occasions hidden in the toilet, by women he worked with at an office in Southgate.
On one occasion it was found in a bin, on another in a newspaper and on the third occasion in an Argos catalog. (more)
Yo, Barry... check it out.
A psychologist was called in to explain how Thomas Clark's actions were not as perverse as was being claimed by prosecutors.
The 28-year-old, from Barry Close in Tilgate, told a court he was petrified someone using the unisex toilet at his workplace before him might have suffered a bout of diarrhea or been sick.
Between November 1, 2012, and June 5, 2013, Mr Clark's phone was found on three occasions hidden in the toilet, by women he worked with at an office in Southgate.
On one occasion it was found in a bin, on another in a newspaper and on the third occasion in an Argos catalog. (more)
Yo, Barry... check it out.
Friday, July 25, 2014
NJ's Top Court Proposes Change to Spousal Immunity
New Jersey's Supreme Court is proposing an exception to the law that keeps conversations between a husband and wife private...
The state's highest court sided with the appeals court that marital communication does not lose its privacy just because it's heard by wiretap. But the justices proposed that the Legislature create a crime-fraud exception when spouses are jointly involved in criminal activity. (more)
The state's highest court sided with the appeals court that marital communication does not lose its privacy just because it's heard by wiretap. But the justices proposed that the Legislature create a crime-fraud exception when spouses are jointly involved in criminal activity. (more)
Ford - Listening Devices Found in Company Meeting Rooms
A former Ford engineer is being probed by the FBI after listening devices were found in meeting rooms at company offices.
Ford issued a statement saying that it "initiated an investigation of a now-former employee and requested the assistance of the FBI."
It also adds that Ford's offices were not searched by the agency. "Ford voluntarily provided the information and items requested in the search warrant. We continue to work in cooperation with the FBI on this joint investigation. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to provide additional details." (more)
(Sharon) Leach admitted hiding the devices under tables to help her transcribe meetings, her lawyer said...
The devices were installed before meetings but could not be easily removed, her lawyer said. The audio devices were left in the conference rooms and unintentionally recorded other meetings.
In all, Leach gave Ford security eight Sansa recording devices, her lawyer said. Those are the same devices listed on the FBI’s search warrant on July 11. (more)
Ford issued a statement saying that it "initiated an investigation of a now-former employee and requested the assistance of the FBI."
It also adds that Ford's offices were not searched by the agency. "Ford voluntarily provided the information and items requested in the search warrant. We continue to work in cooperation with the FBI on this joint investigation. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to provide additional details." (more)(Sharon) Leach admitted hiding the devices under tables to help her transcribe meetings, her lawyer said...
The devices were installed before meetings but could not be easily removed, her lawyer said. The audio devices were left in the conference rooms and unintentionally recorded other meetings.
In all, Leach gave Ford security eight Sansa recording devices, her lawyer said. Those are the same devices listed on the FBI’s search warrant on July 11. (more)
From the 'Things are Tough All Over' Files - Scottish Espionage Bankrupt
A renowned four-floor Old Town nightclub has been put up for sale after its parent companies plunged into administration.
Dozens of jobs are at risk while the future of Espionage – based inside India Buildings in Victoria Street – is thrashed out. (more)
What Cats Can Teach You About Personal Privacy
Ever posted a picture of your cat online?
Unless your privacy settings avoid making APIs publicly available on sites like Flickr, Twitpic, Instagram or the like, there's a cat stalker who knows where your liddl' puddin' lives, and he's totally pwned your pussy by geolocating it.
Mundy, a data analyst, artist, and Associate Professor in the Department of Art at Florida State University, has been working on the data visualization project, which is called I Know Where Your Cat Lives.
It's a data experiment that takes advantage of a furry monolith: some 15 million images currently tagged with the word "cat" on public image hosting sites, with more being uploaded at a rate of thousands more per day.
Mundy isn't even particularly a cat person. He could just have easily called the project "I know where your kid sleeps". Creepy? Oh yeah - much worse than kitty-stalking creepy. That is, of course, the point of the project... (more) (The Map)
Tip: Go tighten up your privacy settings. Better yet, turn off geo-location when taking photos. Ultimate better, stop posting.
Unless your privacy settings avoid making APIs publicly available on sites like Flickr, Twitpic, Instagram or the like, there's a cat stalker who knows where your liddl' puddin' lives, and he's totally pwned your pussy by geolocating it.
Mundy, a data analyst, artist, and Associate Professor in the Department of Art at Florida State University, has been working on the data visualization project, which is called I Know Where Your Cat Lives.
Mundy isn't even particularly a cat person. He could just have easily called the project "I know where your kid sleeps". Creepy? Oh yeah - much worse than kitty-stalking creepy. That is, of course, the point of the project... (more) (The Map)
Tip: Go tighten up your privacy settings. Better yet, turn off geo-location when taking photos. Ultimate better, stop posting.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Proof the Surveillance Society is Making us Crazy - CV Dazzle
This is how bad things are getting...
"The NSA made me slather my face in make-up... I had slathered the paint on my face in order to hide from computers. The patterns in which I applied the paint were important: To the pixel-calculating machinations of facial recognition algorithms, they transformed my face into a mess of unremarkable pixels. In the computer’s vision, my face caused a momentary burst of confusion. That’s why the patterns are called computer vision dazzle (or CV dazzle). When it works, CV dazzle keeps facial-recognition algorithms from seeing a face...
...more unexpected was what CV dazzle taught me about the physical world. It reminded me of another tech experiment I’d undertaken:
My phone’s Reminders app can tie a message to a specific place, it triggers an alert tone every time a user comes within 500 feet. I’d tried tying these reminders to a different kind of location—the 176 embassies and diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C. Whenever I got within a couple hundred feet of one, my phone sent me a little ping: “Iceland.” “Thailand.” “Equitorial New Guinea.”...
...here is the essence of CV dazzle’s strangeness: The very thing that makes you invisible to computers makes you glaringly obvious to other humans." (more) (official site cvdazzle.com)
Blank Reg would have loved this.
"The NSA made me slather my face in make-up... I had slathered the paint on my face in order to hide from computers. The patterns in which I applied the paint were important: To the pixel-calculating machinations of facial recognition algorithms, they transformed my face into a mess of unremarkable pixels. In the computer’s vision, my face caused a momentary burst of confusion. That’s why the patterns are called computer vision dazzle (or CV dazzle). When it works, CV dazzle keeps facial-recognition algorithms from seeing a face...
...more unexpected was what CV dazzle taught me about the physical world. It reminded me of another tech experiment I’d undertaken: My phone’s Reminders app can tie a message to a specific place, it triggers an alert tone every time a user comes within 500 feet. I’d tried tying these reminders to a different kind of location—the 176 embassies and diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C. Whenever I got within a couple hundred feet of one, my phone sent me a little ping: “Iceland.” “Thailand.” “Equitorial New Guinea.”...
...here is the essence of CV dazzle’s strangeness: The very thing that makes you invisible to computers makes you glaringly obvious to other humans." (more) (official site cvdazzle.com)Blank Reg would have loved this.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Turkey Arrests 70 Cops for Spying on Prime Minister
Turkey’s political system appeared to be sinking deeper into crisis on Tuesday, as nearly 70 police officers, some of them senior, were arrested for illegally wiretapping the telephones of senior government figures, including the Prime Minster and the intelligence chief. At least 67 members of the country’s police force were arrested in raids that took place on Tuesday all over Turkey, while warrants have reportedly been issued for over 100 people.
Many of the arrestees were seen being taken away in handcuffs by security personnel, including two former heads of Istanbul police’s counter-terrorism unit. Hadi Salihoglu, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, said in a written statement issued on Tuesday that the suspects were part of a criminal conspiracy that had wiretapped phones belonging to Turkeys’ Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as Hakan Fidan, director of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, known as MİT.
Thousands of other phone lines had also been wiretapped, he added, belonging to journalists and government administrators, including judges and military officials. (more)
Many of the arrestees were seen being taken away in handcuffs by security personnel, including two former heads of Istanbul police’s counter-terrorism unit. Hadi Salihoglu, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, said in a written statement issued on Tuesday that the suspects were part of a criminal conspiracy that had wiretapped phones belonging to Turkeys’ Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as Hakan Fidan, director of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, known as MİT. Thousands of other phone lines had also been wiretapped, he added, belonging to journalists and government administrators, including judges and military officials. (more)
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
South Park Man Kills Parents Over Imagined Phone Bugging
A South Park man is being held without bail after investigators say he murdered his mother and stepfather and then disposed of their bodies near the Duwamish River.
Longtime friends of Parenteau say the father of two had become increasingly more paranoid... "He thought they put something in his arm and were bugging his phone. He thought he was Jesus." (more)
Moral: The fear of privacy invasion is serious and deeply felt. When someone mentions it, take it seriously. It doesn't matter if it is real or imagined. It is real to them. Don't ignore the anguish. Try to help.
Moral: The fear of privacy invasion is serious and deeply felt. When someone mentions it, take it seriously. It doesn't matter if it is real or imagined. It is real to them. Don't ignore the anguish. Try to help.
Johns Hopkins To Pay $190 Million for SpyCam Gynecologist
A "rogue" gynecologist who used tiny cameras to secretly record videos and photos of his patients has forced one of the world's top medical centers to pay $190 million to 8,000 women and girls.
Dr. Nikita Levy was fired after 25 years with the Johns Hopkins Health System in Baltimore in February 2013 after a female co-worker spotted the pen-like camera he wore around his neck and alerted authorities.
Levy committed suicide days later, as a federal investigation led to roughly 1,200 videos and 140 images stored on computers in his home... His suicide — by wrapping his head in a plastic bag with a hose connected to a helium tank — frustrated everyone who wanted to know his motives and see him face justice. (more)
Levy committed suicide days later, as a federal investigation led to roughly 1,200 videos and 140 images stored on computers in his home... His suicide — by wrapping his head in a plastic bag with a hose connected to a helium tank — frustrated everyone who wanted to know his motives and see him face justice. (more)
Monday, July 21, 2014
iOS Devices are Still Safe -- from everybody except Apple and the NSA
According to a security researcher, undocumented services in iOS allow Apple -- and law enforcement -- to access the contents of any iOS device, including encrypted ones.
Forensic researcher Jonathan Zdziarski has outlined details of how a number of undocumented services in iOS are purportedly used to collect personal data by law enforcement and government agencies, according to ZDNet.
The services, which sport names like "lockdownd," "pcapd" and "mobile.file_relay," are allegedly used to bypass lock screens and collect data from iOS devices, and are accessible by USB and WiFi. (Zdziarski adds "maybe cellular" to that list as well.)
Zdziarski presented his findings at the HOPE/X (Hackers On Planet Earth) conference in New York, where he noted that while Apple has worked hard to make iOS secure against "typical attackers," the company has also ensured that it can "access data on end user devices on behalf of law enforcement. "The end result is that iOS has been made "more secure from everybody except Apple and the government." (more)
Forensic researcher Jonathan Zdziarski has outlined details of how a number of undocumented services in iOS are purportedly used to collect personal data by law enforcement and government agencies, according to ZDNet.
The services, which sport names like "lockdownd," "pcapd" and "mobile.file_relay," are allegedly used to bypass lock screens and collect data from iOS devices, and are accessible by USB and WiFi. (Zdziarski adds "maybe cellular" to that list as well.)
Zdziarski presented his findings at the HOPE/X (Hackers On Planet Earth) conference in New York, where he noted that while Apple has worked hard to make iOS secure against "typical attackers," the company has also ensured that it can "access data on end user devices on behalf of law enforcement. "The end result is that iOS has been made "more secure from everybody except Apple and the government." (more)
Russia's Retro Retraction, or... "We don't need no stinkin' spy base..."
"...we got Snowden!"
Russian President Vladimir Putin is denying media reports that he will reopen a Soviet-era base in Cuba used to spy on the United States.
Putin said Thursday there are no plans to resume operations at the Lourdes signals intelligence facility near Havana, after Russian media first reported a day earlier that the two countries provisionally agreed to the deal last week. (more)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is denying media reports that he will reopen a Soviet-era base in Cuba used to spy on the United States.
Putin said Thursday there are no plans to resume operations at the Lourdes signals intelligence facility near Havana, after Russian media first reported a day earlier that the two countries provisionally agreed to the deal last week. (more)
Russia Goes Retro with Cuban Spy Base
Russia is trying to reopen a Cold War-era spy base in Cuba.
During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Cuba earlier this month, Putin and Cuban officials reportedly reached a provisional agreement to reopen the signals intelligence facility in Lourdes, Cuba, south of Havana...
The Lourdes base was first opened in 1964 and was used to intercept communications in the U.S. and throughout the Western Hemisphere. Some estimate that as much as 50 percent of the radio-intercepted intelligence that the Soviet Union collected on the U.S. during the Cold War came from Lourdes. Putin closed the facility back in 2001, citing it as a “goodwill gesture” toward the U.S., which had long expressed concerns about the Russian spy station. However, many analysts believed the real reason behind the decision was the $200 million-a-year rent that Moscow was reportedly paying to Cuba to maintain the base.
According to The Guardian, “the Lourdes facility was the Soviet Union’s largest foreign base, a mere 155 miles from the U.S. coast. It employed up to 3,000 military and intelligence personnel to intercept a wide array of American telephone and radio communications.” (more)
During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Cuba earlier this month, Putin and Cuban officials reportedly reached a provisional agreement to reopen the signals intelligence facility in Lourdes, Cuba, south of Havana...
According to The Guardian, “the Lourdes facility was the Soviet Union’s largest foreign base, a mere 155 miles from the U.S. coast. It employed up to 3,000 military and intelligence personnel to intercept a wide array of American telephone and radio communications.” (more)
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