Coming Soon - Confide - The Vanishing App for Executives

Sometime in the coming weeks, confidential-messaging startup Confide will launch a service that allows businesses to send documents, not just texts, using its signature version of disappearing ink.

This advanced Snapchat for grown-ups, the company believes, will bring back the sense of privacy and control that has increasingly become a casualty of online communications. It should also provide a defense against hackers...

The system has been envisioned as a sort of online version of the private business call...

Alone among ephemeral apps, Confide cloaks the text in a way that makes it impossible to capture with a screen shot. The user reads by moving a finger underneath each line of text, which unveils just a few words at a time... Confide's other selling points include end-to-end encryption... The message vanishes from users' phones once it's sent and after it's read.
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Security Director Alert - China Travel and Email

Users of Microsoft's Outlook email service in China had their accounts hacked on Saturday 17 January by the Chinese government, according to web monitoring website GreatFire.org.

The attacks affected people using email clients such as Outlook, Mozilla's Thunderbird and apps on their smartphones that use the SMTP and IMAP protocols, but did not affect the browser versions such as www.outlook.com.

The man-in-the-middle attack used by the hackers allowed them to intercept conversations between victims, which appear to be private but are in fact controlled by the hackers.

GreatFire.org was able to reproduce the results seen by victims, including the fake certificates used by the hackers to pretend they were the intended recipient.

"If our accusation is correct, this new attack signals that the Chinese authorities are intent on further cracking down on communication methods that they cannot readily monitor," a blog post said on Monday 19 January.

The attack on Outlook comes just a month after the Chinese government blocked the use of Google's Gmail service in the country.
(more)

Know What They Call... Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy vs Spy?

A tranche of fresh Snowden leaks... detailing the bizarre, fractal practices of "fourth-party collection" and "fifth-party collection."

 "Fourth party collection" is the practice of spying on spy agencies to gather all the data they're taking in. "Fifth-party collection" is the practice of spying on spies who are spying on other spies. Really.
(more)

Spy Penned Friends, or You Look a Lot Hotter on the Net

PA - A Blairsville man has pleaded guilty to a single charge that he surreptitiously photographed friends, co-workers, relatives and others without permission, using a digital “spy pen” to capture their images in May 2013.

Wesley Lear, 57, also was accused by investigators of editing the photos to place his victims’ faces on nude bodies and circulated them on the Internet, and was charged with downloading child pornography images to his computer.
(more)

UK - Former Deputy Prime Minister Finds Car Bugged

UK - John Prescott has turned detective after finding his Jaguar had been bugged.

The former Deputy Prime Minister discovered the device hidden in his car when he took it to a garage because it had problems starting.

Mechanics found a tracker concealed under the driver’s seat that was hooked up to the car battery, draining its power.

The sophisticated device uses mobile phone technology and is capable of reporting the Jag’s movements at all times. It also has an inbuilt microphone enabling it to pick up conversations.

And the 6 inch-square black box is even capable of immobilising the car if instructed to by mobile phone.

Lord Prescott told the Sunday Mirror: “I’ve been told that whoever knows the SIM card that goes with the tracker can send out a signal and stop the engine...

"This type of surveillance breaches our right to privacy – I’ve had my mobile hacked, my phone tapped, and now someone might have been tracking my car.”

But insisting he was calm about the find he joked: “I can only hope whoever listened to my conversations installed an automatic bleeper too.”
(more)

Best guess from here... Installed by the car dealership, or previous owner, to thwart late payments or theft.

History: The Case of the Vanishing Private Eyes

How 19th-century America's biggest, most dogged detective agency went on to get unceremoniously acquired 100 years later by a Swedish conglomerate...

Sam (Dashiell) Hammett was a wayward youth. Having left school at the age of 13, he spent his teenage years holding down odd jobs, blowing his paychecks on horse races and boxing matches, and consorting with prostitutes in the rougher sections of Baltimore and Philadelphia. Within a few years, alcoholism had its claws in him, and by age 20 it was rumored that he had already contracted a venereal disease.

In 1915, Hammett, the son of a Maryland farmer, joined the Pinkerton National Detective Agency at the age of 21. During the early 1890s, the Pinkertons, as they were more commonly known, had boasted a force of 2,000 active operatives and some 30,000 reserve officers. By comparison, the United States Army, which for decades had been primarily concerned with fighting Native Americans in the West, had fewer than 30,000 officers and enlisted men assigned to active duty.
(more)

60 Seconds + 1 USB Necklace = A Spy Hiding in Your Computer

The necklace, called USBdriveby, it’s a USB-powered microcontroller-on-a-chain, rigged to exploit the inherently awful security flaws lurking in your computer’s USB ports. In about 60 seconds, it can pull off a laundry list of nasty tricks...

...this device hijacks your machine, disables many layers of security, cleans up the mess it makes, and opens a connection for remote manipulation even after the device has been removed..

So what can you do to protect yourself from things like this? Not a whole lot, really — that’s why attacks like this and BadUSB are so freaky. A lot of these flaws are inherent to the way the USB protocol was designed and implemented across so many hundreds of millions of computers; short of filling your USB ports with cement or never, ever leaving your computer’s ports unattended while out and about, there’s no magic fix.
(more)

Need Some Espionage Done? Post Your Black Bag Job On Line

At a time when huge stealth attacks on companies like Sony Pictures, JPMorgan Chase and Home Depot attract attention, less noticed is a growing cottage industry of ordinary people hiring hackers for much smaller acts of espionage.

A new website, called Hacker’s List, seeks to match hackers with people looking to gain access to email accounts, take down unflattering photos from a website or gain access to a company’s database. In less than three months of operation, over 500 hacking jobs have been put out to bid on the site, with hackers vying for the right to do the dirty work.
(more)

What Do These 3 Spy Tools Have in Common?

SPIKE MIC™
The Spike Mic Launcher is a remote listening device delivering audio surveillance. The Spike Mic dart has a built in microphone with two interchangeable tips: Sticky Dart and Suction Cup. Launch it or stick it to a surface and listen. With a live audio feed you’ll remain undetected as you hear conversations happening in far away locations. Digital transmission in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band.

TRI-OPTICS VIDEO WATCH™
Record up to 20 minutes of video using 3 unique lenses on the Tri-Optics Video Watch. Rotate the watch’s outer ring to switch between standard, wide or zoom lenses. Hide your watch in an unsuspecting location and let the internal motion detector auto-record video whenever it detects movement. Use the included USB cable to download your footage and charge the Tri-Optics Video Watch. Stream, record and capture live video and photos.

SPY WIRE MIC™
Spy Wire Mic lets you record conversations covertly! Attach the recording device to your belt and line your jacket with the wired microphone. Press the record button to activate audio recording and capture conversation.

ANSWERS
• Low price (between $9.99 and $39.99)
• Available at Walmart.
• Recommended for ages 8+

Building a generation of adults predisposed to snooping one birthday at a time.

Privacy Tip #572 - Get Out of the Directories

techlicious.com recently provided some excellent help for increasing your on-line privacy...

Spokeo
Search your name on the site (if that doesn't work, try your maiden or former name), and choose the state where you live. Click the appropriate street to find your specific listing and copy the URL.

Go to the opt-out page, paste the URL, and enter your email address to remove the listing. You may have multiple listings on Spokeo if you have moved or changed your name, and will need to return to the opt-out page to remove each one.

PeopleSmart
Start on this opt-out page (not the main PeopleSmart homepage) to "manage" (aka remove or update) your listing. Once you select the listing, click on the work info that applies to you (if it's not the correct information, just skip the step and proceed).

When you reach Define Your Privacy Preferences, deselect all checks under "Contact Information" and "Work Information." Select "Apply these settings to other people search websites" and then submit.

MyLife
To remove your member profile, email privacy@mylife.com or call 1-888-704-1900. The company claims that it takes up to 10 days to process a request. If your info still appears after 10 days, don't hesitate to persist, and call or email again.

Intelius
The opt-out page will prompt you to verify your identification by attaching a scan of a driver's license, passport, military ID, state ID, or employee ID from a state agency. The photo and driver's license number should be crossed out. A notarized statement of your identity is also acceptable.

Enter in an email address to receive a confirmation when your info has been removed, and type in any additional records found on the site in the Additional Information field.

You can also fax your ID verification to 425-974-6194, or mail a copy to Intelius Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 808, Bothell, WA 98041-0808.

Why You Need to Sweep for Bugs (TSCM) - Reason #4: CYBERSPIES

Your security efforts are IT focused. 
You diligently monitor your computer's front door, the network. 
Meanwhile these hack-vac bugs are sucking it all out your back door.

A TSCM bug sweep program can catch these.

Example 1:
"KeySweeper is a stealthy Arduino-based device, camouflaged as a functioning USB wall charger, that wirelessly and passively sniffs, decrypts, logs and reports back (over GSM) all keystrokes from any Microsoft wireless keyboard in the vicinity.

All keystrokes are logged online and locally. SMS alerts are sent upon trigger words, usernames or URLs, exposing passwords. If unplugged, KeySweeper continues to operate using its internal battery and auto-recharges upon repowering. A web based tool allows live keystroke monitoring."

Unit Cost for Parts: $10 - 80 depending on operation
Status: Operational, open source, open hardware, declassified.
Note: KeySweeper can be built into anything that uses mains power. (Think: power strips, clocks, lamps, legitimate wall warts (as pictured), radios, print centers, fax machines, etc.)

Example 2:
The Pwn Plug Academic Edition is a penetration testing drop box.



Wireless (802.11b/g/n) high gain Bluetooth & USB Ethernet adapters
Fully-automated NAC/802.1x/Radius bypass
One-click EvilAP, stealth mode & passive recon

The Pwn Plug Academic Edition acts as a penetration testing drop box that covers most of a full-scale pentesting engagement, from physical-layer to application layer. The Pwn Plug Academic Edition is controlled through a simple web-based administration and comes preloaded with an array of penetration testing tools and Wireless, Bluetooth, and USB Ethernet adapters.

Example 3: 
The Pwn Plug R3 is a next-generation penetration testing device in a portable, shippable, “Plug-and-Pwn” form factor.

Onboard high-gain 802.11a/b/g/n wireless
Onboard Bluetooth
External 4G/GSM cellular
Greatly improved performance and reliability The Pwn Plug R3 is a next-generation penetration testing device in a portable, shippable, “Plug-and-Pwn” form factor. With onboard high-gain 802.11a/b/g/n wireless, onboard Bluetooth, external 4G/GSM cellular, ruggedized case design, and greatly improved performance and reliability, the Pwn Plug R3 is the enterprise penetration tester’s dream tool.

Example #4:
The MiniPwner

The MiniPwner is a penetration testing “drop box”. You (or maybe a cleaner you’ve bribed) needs to plug it into an Ethernet plug in the target’s building, and then you can slurp all the data out of their network via a wifi link.

The penetration tester uses stealth or social engineering techniques to plug the MiniPwner into an available network port. (common locations include conference rooms, unoccupied workstations, the back of IP Telephones, etc.)

Once it is plugged in, the penetration tester can log into the MiniPwner and begin scanning and attacking the network. The MiniPwner can simultaneously establish SSH tunnels through the target network, and also allow the penetration tester to connect to the MiniPwner via Wifi.  

Example #5:
WiFi Pineapple Mark V
Slightly larger than a smartphone the WiFi Pine-apple Mark V is the “ultimate” cyber surveillance device. It uses an “intuitive” web interface to enable hackers to break into a corporate’s IT networks through its wifi connections. It costs $100.

Example #6: 
USB Switchblade
"The goal of the USB Switchblade is to silently recover information from a target Windows 2000 or higher computer, including password hashes, LSA secrets, IP information, etc.

This gadget, which looks like a USB stick, has a program that swings into action when it’s inserted into the USB drive. It then begins its naughty work (without the user knowing) it by exploiting a flaw in USB autorun settings. How about dropping it in the car park of your target’s offices, seeing if someone will pick it up and plug it in to see what’s on it..."

Book Review: “Cell Phone Investigations” by Aaron Edens

Until now, if you wanted to learn all about cell phone investigations you would be cobbling together knowledge in scavenger hunt fashion. Your trek might include:

• seminars, given by a few universities and forensic software vendors; 
• technical law enforcement newsgroups where tips are swapped; 
• articles and white papers ferreted out on a topic by topic basis;
• and a lot of personal trial and error.

Times have changed.

All the basics one needs to know is clearly laid out in this book. Each chapter is packed with many interesting sub-chapters like: caller ID spoofing, cell site dumps, storing and preserving evidence. The Table of Contents shows the important bases covered…

• Chapter 1: Search Warrants
• Chapter 2: Phone Records
• Chapter 3: Tools for Examining Records
• Chapter 4: Cell Towers and Cell Sites
• Chapter 5: Cell Phone Forensics
• Chapter 6: Digital Evidence
• Chapter 7: Types of Examinations
• Chapter 8: Using Cell Phone Forensics
• Chapter 9: Locked Devices
• Chapter 10: iPhone Backup Files
• Chapter 11: Sample Search Warrants
• Templates
• Appendix

Law enforcement investigators will particularly appreciate Mr. Edens’ street tips. 

Example 1: Arresting officers need training when it comes to electronic evidence collection. If 12 gang members are arrested you are likely to get a bag o’ phones without knowing which suspect owns what phone. “Without a doubt if they had seized 12 firearms the process would have been completely different. The firearms would have been photographed in place to precisely document the location at which they were found, and to establish dominion and control.”

Example 2: The five errors law enforcement officers make when using cell site information. Most of these apply to private investigators and attorneys as well. “Investigators will commonly refer to the cell phone and the target of the investigation interchangeably. I strongly recommend you avoid this dangerous habit,” and goes on to explain the important reason why.

Strip away the some of the law enforcement only information and you have an excellent book for the private sector with fascinating CSI tidbits tossed in. Say the phone you want to examine is soaked in blood or some other yuck biohazard. What can / should you do? Hint, don’t try cleaning it with soap, water and your electric toothbrush. Nah, I’m sure you knew better about the toothbrush. Try alcohol in an ultrasonic tub instead.

New devices like smart watches, and breadcrumbs from the Internet-of-things, are bringing new opportunities and challenges continually. Updates and revised editions of this book are to be expected, and a companion web page with late breaking news would be a welcome addition.

Having all the information in one place has been accomplished very well. Transferring the knowledge to the reader – easily – will take a little more finesse.

In its current form, Cell Phone Investigations is a tiring read. Some basic visual communications tenets were overlooked. Lines of type stretch across 6.5 inches of an 8.5 inch page, averaging about 113 characters per line. This makes focusing difficult. To compound the visual felony the text is entirely sans-serif type, making reading even more challenging. The solution for future editions is simple. Use two columns per page, with no more than 55-65 characters (including spaces) per line. Use serif type for the text. Save the sans-serif type for titles and headlines. These typographical shortcomings should not deter you from this edition, however. Just expect you won’t be reading this cover to cover in one sitting.

“Cell Phone Investigations” (238 pages) is perfect for law enforcement, attorneys, and students entering either field. If it was written only for private investigators, security directors and people who deal with the public answering questions about cell phones, it would just be fewer pages. In the end, all groups get the education they need in an accurate, well written, well organized manner, with illustrations and charts appropriately sprinkled throughout. ~Kevin

Why You Need to Sweep for Bugs (TSCM) - Reason # 6: LAWSUITS

The cost of illegal bugging, wiretapping and video voyeurism is more than emotional distress and lost information...

IN - South Bend taxpayers have so far been saddled with about $1.6 million in attorney fees and the costs of settling lawsuits sparked by the police department's recording of some officers' telephone conversations. 

The city and its Common Council have together spent almost $800,000 on attorney fees to date in the ongoing legal battle over the recordings. South Bend also has settled three lawsuits for another $810,000, boosting the total cost of the litigation to about $1.6 million, the South Bend Tribune reported.

The last remaining legal question is whether the wiretapping was illegal... South Bend, joined by four officers, battled the council on that question during a two-day trial in August. A federal judge has not yet ruled. Expect more attorney fees and possibly fines.
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A due diligence debugging sweep program (2-4 times per year) cost most companies less than $35,000. per year.  

$1.6 million dollars equals 45+ years of due diligence. 

Interested in lowering your risk and establishing due diligence? I am here to help. ~Kevin

Miss-Fortune Crookie

The executive vice-minister of the Chinese ministry of state security and one of the top spy chiefs in the country, Ma Jian has been arrested on charges of corruption, the South China Morning Post reported Monday.
(more)

Yes, Chinese Police Openly Spy on Your Calls and Texts

via Bloombergnews.com... 
Police across China are buying software and equipment to tap mobile phones as President Xi Jinping tightens control of public opinion and the spread of information.

Current cell phone call capture technique.

The police department of the Wenzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone said it spent 149,000 yuan ($24,000) to buy equipment, including what it called Trojan Horse software, from a state-owned technology company, according to a post on its website today. The software is used to monitor calls, texts and photos on smartphones, it said in the post, which was removed after gaining attention on Chinese social media.

The purchases shed light on the extent to which China monitors its citizens’ personal information amid a broader government clampdown on Internet freedom. Provincial governments and police departments in Jiangsu and Inner Mongolia are seeking to buy similar software to gather information from mobile devices, according to procurement lists on their websites.
(more)

Tip: Turn Your Old iPod into a Security Camera for Free (UPDATE)

Last summer I tipped you off about an app that turns your old Apple devices into video surveillance cameras. It is called Manything.

Manything recently made the news...

A Tempe homeowner caught a would-be burglar rummaging through her house on her "puppy" cam.

Mia used an iPhone app called Manything to set up a live video feed to keep an eye on her dogs while she was away at work. She pulled up the feed on her work computer and saw an unknown man walking through her living room.

Dispatcher: 911. What is your emergency?

Caller: Hi. There's someone in my house

"My dogs are there, he's giving the dog treats," she told the dispatcher. The man then noticed the camera and turned it off, but Mia has already contacted the police.

Officers surrounded the home and took the man into custody.
(more) (video)

"The World's First Espionage Snacks"

New Branding and Espionage Snacks at the Winter Fancy Food Show, January 11-13, 2015

 ...launching at the show, and sure to change the snacking game as we know it, are Captain Honeypot and Admiral Hornblower, the world’s first espionage snacks that allow you to spy on yourself and honeypot with others.

At the helm of these snack innovations is Robert Ehrlich, who has rocked the snack world as the Shaman of Snacks for the past 29 years, creating some of the most iconic snacks on the planet.
(more)

Cash Machine SpyCam Scam

UK - An iPod nano was turned into a spy camera and taped to a cashpoint by thieves in a bid to steal unsuspecting user's bank details.

The Apple device was found by police attached to the hole-in-the wall in Northenden Road in Gatley, Stockport, Greater Manchester.

They discovered that the iPod nano had been turned into a camera and attached to the ATM using duct tape and a fake plastic case was added.
(more)

Privacy App Alert - Turn Your Phone into a Burner Phone

Burner is a privacy layer for your phone. Create unlimited numbers at the touch of a button, and keep your personal number private. 

Real phone numbers when you need them
Burners are real numbers with local area codes you can use for calls, texts, and voicemail to stay in touch with anyone.

Control your mobile identity
Manage who can reach you without compromising your personal information. Features like Touch ID lock and custom line colors will keep you organized and in control.

Burn to "disconnect"
Keep a Burner as long as you want... or delete at the touch of a button. Like magic, your number goes out of service and the data is wiped from your phone.
(more)

The information above is from Burner's publicity material. Keep in mind your calls are going through a 3rd party. Confidential discussions should be avoided on principle. ~Kevin

Hacktivist Group Anonymous Finds a Worthy Target

Hacktivist group Anonymous has come out to avenge the attacks on the office of Paris-based magazine Charlie Hebdo in which 12 people were murdered.

The Belgian 'branch' of Anonymous posted a video message to YouTube describing a new campaign against jihadists, called #OpCharlieHebdo.

The video, which features someone wearing the Guy Fawkes mask and speaking with their voice obscured, explains (in French) that its members have decided to "declare war on you, the terrorists" - referring to Al-Qaeda and ISIS specifically.

"We will track you down - every last one - and will kill you,” the spokesman says. "You allowed yourselves to kill innocent people, we will therefore avenge their deaths."

The figure says that 'hacktivists' from around the world will track all of jihadist activities online and close down their accounts on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

"You will not impose your sharia law in our democracies, we will not let your stupidity kill our liberties and our freedom of expression. We have warned you; expect your destruction."
(more) “Je Suis Charlie”

The No Back Door Bill is Back

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is reintroducing legislation that bars the government from requiring technology companies to build so-called "backdoor" security vulnerabilities into their devices to allow access to their data.

Wyden first introduced the bill last December after FBI director James Comey criticized moves by some phone companies to encrypt devices to prevent anyone from accessing their data without permission, even law enforcement.

Comey has called on Congress to update a 1994 law to allow a workaround, saying the phone locks could stall some law enforcement investigations.

“The problem with this proposal is that there is no such thing as a magic key that can only be used by good people for worthwhile reasons,” Wyden said in a floor statement Thursday. “There is only strong security or weak security.”
(more)

Hanoi Police Seek Criminal Charges in Massive Phone Bugging Case

Hanoi police have finished investigating a deputy director and six employees of a technology firm which sold a spy app that allowed its users to spy on more than 14,000 mobile phones in 2013-2014.

They said Thursday they have recommended that the prosecutor's office charge Viet Hong Technology Company’s Deputy Director Nguyen Viet Hung and six employees for “illegally using information culled from computer, internet and telecommunication networks.”

Police said Hung, 41, and the employees... developed mobile phone-monitoring software and sold it to more than 14,000 people between September 2013 and May 2014.

Hung and the six employees earned around VND900 million (US$42,000) from the illegal activity, police said. 

For VND400,000 ($19) per month, Viet Hong's customers could install the Ptracker software onto anyone's smartphones to listen on calls, read text messages, access contacts, track the owners' movements and use the phone to listen in on their daily lives.

The stolen information was archived on Viet Hong’s servers and could be accessed by signing up for a paid account.
(more)

TEMPEST in a Tea Shop, or Dude, You're Leaking

If you’re sitting in a coffee shop, tapping away on your laptop, feeling safe from hackers because you didn’t connect to the shop’s wifi, think again. The bad guys may be able to see what you’re doing just by analyzing the low-power electronic signals your laptop emits even when it’s not connected to the Internet. And smartphones may be even more vulnerable to such spying.


Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are investigating where these information “leaks” originate so they can help hardware and software designers develop strategies to plug them. By studying emissions from multiple computers, the researchers have developed a metric for measuring the strength of the leaks — known technically as “side-channel signal” — to help prioritize security efforts.
(more)

Security Directors: Cell Phone App Security... in simple terms, pass it around.

Mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, have become one of the primary technologies we use in both our personal and professional lives.

What makes mobile devices so versatile are the millions of apps we can choose from...

However, with the power of all these mobile apps come risks. Here are some steps you can take to securely use and maintain your mobile apps.
(Securely Using Mobile Apps)

Peeking Through Keyholes With Lasers... well, yes and no.

An imaging technique that measures the path of a laser to build up a three-dimensional picture could now let spies map an entire room through a tiny hole.

In 2012, researchers used a laser to see around corners. The system worked by firing short laser pulses at a nearby wall, bouncing light around a corner to a hidden object, which then bounces some of it back to a camera next to the laser...

Now Chenfei Jin of the Harbin Institute of Technology in China and colleagues have taken this a step further. They used a laser set-up to measure the 3D shape and position of three cardboard letters, spelling HIT, through a 2 centimetre hole in a nearby wall...

The letters were coated in highly reflective material while the rest of the room was covered in black light-absorbing cloth, so the technique might not work as well in a real-world setting...

Guy Satat of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says he likes the work, but points out that if the hole were easily accessible, it would be easier for would-be spies to simply put a camera up against the wall and take a photo of the room.
(more)

Encrypted Video-calling and Chat Service by Kim Dotcom

Kim Dotcom, founder of the file hosting service Mega, is preparing to launch an encrypted video-calling and chat service that will shield its users’ communications from government surveillance.

“Mega will soon release a fully encrypted and browser-based video call and chat service including high-speed file transfers,” the entrepreneur known as Kim Dotcom said in a tweet.

Kim Dotcom is positioning the service as a more secure way to chat and collaborate online free of government surveillance or spying, partly by virtue of Mega being based in New Zealand. Kim Dotcom has been teasing the app for some time, though now it appears nearly ready for prime time.
(more)

Movie Scoop - The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (returns)

Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) stars as Napoleon Solo opposite Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as Illya Kuryakin in director Guy Ritchie’s action adventure The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a fresh take on the hugely popular 1960s television series. Set against the backdrop of the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. centers on CIA agent Solo and KGB agent Kuryakin. Forced to put aside longstanding hostilities, the two team up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organization, which is bent on destabilizing the fragile balance of power through the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology. The duo’s only lead is the daughter of a vanished German scientist, who is the key to infiltrating the criminal organization, and they must race against time to find him and prevent a worldwide catastrophe.

The Man of U.N.C.L.E. is expected in theaters from August 14th, 2015.

Until then...

Weird Spy News - Man in trunk spying on car passenger, CIA admits UFOs, and more...

NJ - Two men were arrested Monday after police say they were found with drugs while trying to spy on someone else. ...police pulled Edguardo Mendez, 24, of Newark, over at 2:54 a.m. Monday while he was driving with a passenger... During the stop, officers found that another man, Trevor Torres, 21, of Belleville, was hiding in the car's trunk... Torres, “was a surprise to the front seat passenger whom (he) was allegedly spying on,” Bloomfield Sgt. Anthony Servedio said... Torres was arrested on multiple drug charges... Mendez was charged with marijuana possession... Police did not immediately respond to questions about the men’s relationship to the passenger, or why the two were trying to spy.
(more)

Spy on and play with your pet from afar with Petcube.
 

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has recently taken responsibility for at least half of all UFO sightings between 1950s-60s... A previously confidential CIA document revealed that most of the sightings were actually U-2 spy planes.
(See Pages 72-73.)


And... What The Hell Is Going On In The Buick Commercial Where The Couple Is Spying On The Garcias?

No Warrant Wiretaps - There is a Santa "Clause"

If you're in a public place, don't expect your phone calls and texts to stay private. At least not if the FBI flies a Cessna over your head or drives a car around your neighborhood while you're out for a walk.

Warrant?

The FBI won't bother to obtain search warrants before it uses interception devices on people in public, according to a letter written by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and staffer Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

These devices include Stingrays, the cell-tower decoy interception devices used to scoop up data from devices around it. The FBI puts Stingrays and similar devices known as dirtboxes in cars and small airplanes as a way to quickly dragnet data from a large number of devices while it is hunting for a device that belongs to a suspect.
(more)

Is it OK to spy on your kids? (CNN)

Whether you think spying on your kids is acceptable in today's digital age or a breach of trust seems to really depend on how you define "spying" in the first place.

In conversations over email with parents across the country, it's clear that people have dramatically different views about the definition and whether it's an appropriate behavior to help keep children safe.

"I don't call it spying. I call it parenting," said Amanda Rodriguez, a mom of three boys in Frederick, Maryland... On the other side are parents such as Lori Day, an educational psychologist and mom of a daughter in graduate school, who considers spying "an invasion or privacy and a violation of trust."
(more)

Pest Control Tech Arrested for... Planting Bugs (update)

A southwest Iowa man (38-year-old Aaron Johnson) accused of planting audio recording devices in a woman’s home now faces a federal charge of being a felon in possession of firearms...

He’s pleaded not guilty to state charges of eavesdropping and being a felon in possession of a firearm...

The woman reported finding one of the audio bugs, and then authorities found another in her bedroom. She says the only person granted access to her residence was a pest control technician, Johnson.

Police say a search of Johnson’s home turned up similar devices and guns and ammunition.
(more) (background)

How to Travel Like a Spy

A 14-page document from the Central Intelligence Agency carrying the arduous bureaucratic title of “Surviving Secondary: An Identity Threat Assessment of Secondary Screening Procedures at International Airports”... Translated into normal English, this means how undercover agents can avoid trouble when going through passport and custom controls.

Although the study deals narrowly with the CIA’s concern that its clandestine agents will be stopped in passport checks and their false identities exposed, its information holds interest to anyone who travels internationally. Indeed, it’s a useful guide precisely to what not to do when landing in a foreign airport.
(more)

More Ops Against Cops for Taps in Turkey

At least 34 police officers, including former police chiefs, were detained on charges of illegal wiretapping in simultaneous dawn raids on Monday across multiple provinces as part of a new wave of investigations into the police.

Twenty-two police officers who formerly served at the intelligence unit of the Gaziantep Police Department were detained in 13 Turkish provinces, and another 14 were detained in 12 provinces in an operation based out of Şanlıurfa. There are reportedly police chiefs among those who were taken into custody in the Şanlıurfa-based operation.
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SnoopSnitch App Detects IMSI Catchers ...on some Android phones

SnoopSnitch is a brand new app for Android users developed by the folks over at Security Research Labs. Its purpose is to bring more control in the hands of consumers by collecting and analyzing mobile radio data. The new app warns about Android users about such threats like fake base stations (IMSI catchers), user tracking, and SS7 attacks, but at the moment it will work only on rooted devices with a Qualcomm chip inside.

International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers are eavesdropping devices that are being used for intercepting mobile phone traffic and tracking the movement of smartphone users. The guys over at Techopedia have a slightly more detailed explanation:

To prevent the subscriber from being identified and tracked by eavesdroppers on a radio interface, the IMSI is rarely transmitted. A randomly generated temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) is sent instead of the IMSI, to ensure that the identity of the mobile subscriber remains confidential and eliminate the need to transfer it in an undeciphered fashion over radio links.

Security experts have discovered security flaws that could allow hackers to listen to private calls and read text messages by using IMSI catchers or ‘stingrays’. So if you are concerned about these things, the new SnoopSnitch can detect IMSI catchers and warn smartphone users if their devices are giving up their personal information. Besides intercepting traffic and tracking the movement, hackers can use this loophole to even manipulate the device remotely.
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...thus upstaging Santa's naughty and nice list...

The US National Security Agency (NSA) published transparency reports on its web page at 1:30 pm on Christmas Eve.

Time span of the reports is from the fourth quarter of 2001 to the second quarter of 2013. The reports were released after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a Freedom of Information Act request for the information.
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Lizard Patrol May Soon Be Able to Eavesdrop On Tor Users

Uh oh. Lizard Patrol, the hacking group claiming responsibility for the Christmas attacks on PlayStation and Xbox Live, has announced a new target: Tor, the anonymous internet service.

The hacker group appears to be attempting to dominate Tor's relays to the point where it can comprise anonymity. Tor keeps you anonymous by bouncing your communications around a network of volunteer nodes. But if one group is controlling the majority of the nodes, it could be able to eavesdrop on a substantial number of vulnerable users. Which means Lizard Squad could gain the power to track Tor users if it infiltrates enough of the network.

So far, they have already established over 3000 relays, nearly half of the total number. That's very not good.
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Companies May Get a New Weapon in the Fight Against Economic Espionage

Currently, intellectual property owners that want to file suit for trade secret theft can only do so in state court. Under the Senate’s Defend Trade Secrets Act and the House’s Trade Secrets Protection Act, plaintiffs could sue in federal court, where it can be easier to reach defendants that have fled to another state or country.

Both bills, which are similar in scope, have Democratic and Republican sponsors, who cited federal estimates that U.S. businesses lose $300 billion a year as a result of trade secret theft. (more)

Kangaroo Knocks Out Drone

The kids are scared. What's a mother to do?

Army Needs Super Fly Robot Spy (wannahelp?)

Army invites investors, engineers to help develop technology like fingernail-sized fly bot whose wings flap without motors.

Click to enlarge.

Researchers at the U.S. Army are taking advantage of an unusually unclassified approach to military systems development to ask for help turning a clever robotic fly into an almost undetectable spy.

The robotic flies are – or will be – semi-autonomous robots that look like real bugs and fly using wings that flap without being controlled by a motor. (more)

Skype for Android App - Eavesdropping - Feature or Flaw

The Skype for Android app reportedly features a flaw that allows other users to eavesdrop without any real effort.

As discovered by a Reddit user Ponkers (via Android Police), the security bug in Android app can "can force the Android version of Skype to answer, allowing you to eavesdrop."

The old fashioned way.

As Ponkers explains, first it requires two devices signed into Skype account Android phone (device 1) and desktop (device 2). Now, if the user calls the target Android device (device 3) with the Android phone (device 1) and then disconnects from Internet while the target Android phone (device 3) has answered, it results in a call back from the target Android phone (device 3) to the user on desktop (device 2), and an automatic connection without the owner of the device necessarily knowing. (more)

SpyCams in the Pathology Department - Staffers Bugged

Australia - SA Health has admitted using cameras hidden in smoke detectors to monitor its staff at SA Pathology premises in Adelaide.

Two cameras were installed in October in offices... as part of an investigation into processing delays for pathology reports...

A staff member, who did not want to be identified, said it did not take staff long to notice something suspicious. "The staff felt violated, there's also a microphone attachment to it so [we do not know] whether they were listening in or conversations were being recorded," they said.

However, a spokesperson for SA Health said the cameras were not used to record audio. (more)

Security Flaws Let Hackers Listen in on Cell Phone Calls

German researchers say the network that allows cellphone carriers to direct calls to one another is full of security holes. (more)

Man Bots Ex-Girlfriend's Computer... for several years

PA - A former Pennsbury School District computer technician from Doylestown Township was placed on probation for three years for remotely spying on his ex-girlfriend and their child.

Joseph Tarr, 31, admitted to controlling the Middletown woman’s home computer and its webcam for several years. By the time he was arrested, Tarr had numerous audio and video recordings of the activities in the woman’s home — all captured without her knowledge, authorities said. (more)

PI Tip # 512 - Make: Coffee Cup SpyCam

Take your cup of Joe from classic to classified with a tilt-triggered spy camera.

The trick is to modify two paper coffee cups — install the device in one, slide it into the second, and align holes cut in the bottoms of each. Two LEDs can be seen through the standard plastic lid — one illuminates when the tilt switch is activated, the other flashes twice after a picture has been taken.


Think your cover has been blown? Simply rotate the cups to hide the camera... (more)

Self-Destructing Spy Phone (Can't tell you any more right now.)

Chalk this up as one of the stranger corporate announcements this week, delivered by BlackBerry CEO John Chen...

Click to enlarge.

“We are pleased to announce that Boeing is collaborating with BlackBerry to provide secure mobile solution for Android devices utilizing our BES 12 platform. That, by the way, is all they allow me to say. So sorry (if) it seems like I am reading it word for word. .. I’m true to my commitment here.”...

It’s a sealed device, with epoxy around the casing and tamper-proof screws to prevent it from being opened... 

“Any attempt to break open the casing of the device would trigger functions that would delete the data and software contained within the device and make the device inoperable,” a lawyer for Boeing wrote in a letter to the FCC... (more)

How to Spy on Your Competition...

...by keeping tabs on their Internet presence. (And, how they may be spying on you!)

Connecticut's Quirky Recording Laws - Check Your State Laws Too

Daniel Schwartz, partner at Shipman & Goodwin LLP, recently pointed out some interesting facts about Connecticut's recording laws...

If you do a search on the Internet, you’re likely to discover that Connecticut is a “two-party” state when it comes to recording telephone conversations. What does that mean? In plain English, it means that both parties to a phone conversation must consent to the recording for it to be legal. You can read the law (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 52-570d) for yourself here...

For ordinary, in-person communications, Connecticut is a one-party state — meaning that only one party’s consent is needed to record a conversation. (You can find the law regarding eavesdropping at Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 53a-189.)

What does this mean in the workplace? It means that your employees can legally record conversations with their bosses and then try to use those communications as evidence to prove a discrimination claim or another employment-related claim.

Employers can set up reasonable rules in the workplace prohibiting the taping of conversations and tell employees that they cannot record it, but that only means that the records violate the employer’s rules, not Connecticut law.

And what this also means is that the employee cannot record a conversation between two other people; one party must always consent to the conversation. (more) 

P.S. A FREE Security White Paper - "Surreptitious Workplace Recording ...and what you can do about it," is available to Murray Associates clients. Contact me for your copy.

Steal from Apple - Patent - Then Sue Apple (Industrial Espionage?)

You decide...

Chinese phone vendor claims Apple's iPhone 6 looks too similar.

Few have probably heard about Digione, but one of the Chinese company’s latest products looks quite similar to the iPhone 6, and could potentially spark a patent dispute with Apple.

The little-known Chinese smartphone maker revealed Monday it sent a letter to Apple in September, claiming that the iPhone 6 may infringe on a company-registered patent.

The patent in question covers a mobile phone design that features an exterior look very similar to the iPhone 6’s. Digione’s subsidiary applied for the patent in January and the company was granted the patent in July, according to China’s State Intellectual Property Office.

To publicize the issue, Digione’s smartphone brand 100+ took to a social networking site Monday and posted the letter it had sent to Apple. (more)

So, what's the penality for wiretapping in Turkey? (hit the Zildjian)

Turkey - An Ankara prosecutor submitted an indictment to court on Friday regarding the illegal wiretapping activities by members of the Gülen Movement who infiltrated key government bodies in an attempt to topple the government... Prosecutor Tekin Küçük accused the former chief of the intelligence unit of the National Police Department, Ömer Altınparmak, of spying and is seeking up to 290 years in jail for the suspect. (more) (rimshot)

What is the Largest Spy Network in the Planet?

The non-state actor behind the most pervasive surveillance network in human history has managed to avoid scrutiny. Until now. Revealed: Santa the spymaster.

Here is what we know about the man identified as Santa Claus. He operates under several aliases, to include Father Christmas, St. Nicholas, and Kris Kringle. His outfit is reportedly based out of the North Pole, though reconnaissance platforms have yet to capture his base of operations. His surveillance network is peerless, invasive, and worldwide. He spearheads a single annual clandestine mission. We know he’s coming to town, and we know when, and yet he has eluded capture for two centuries. (He is also, apparently, immortal.)

Santa Claus is, in short, the single most successful spymaster in human history. And while total global surveillance by a non-state actor isn’t necessarily to be applauded, he has earned the world’s begrudging respect for his organization’s sheer competence. Despite his old and sprawling operation, Claus has thus far managed to avoid the sort of intelligence leaks that have proved catastrophic in recent years to the National Security Agency and U.S. Department of State. Indeed, his secrets are kept not only by members of his inner circle, but also a vast swath of the adult world. Accordingly, young people generally under the age of 12 are left entirely in the dark as to Claus’s intentions and temperament. (more)