Brussels Suicide Bombers Planted Hidden Camera...

...At Home Of Top Belgium Nuclear Official

...Belgium’s federal prosecutor confirmed that on November 30, police seized footage that appeared to show a high-ranking Belgian nuclear official in an anti-terror raid. The surveillance video was discovered in a bust that resulted in the arrest of Mohamed Bakkali, who was charged with terrorist activity and murder in connection with the Paris attacks. His home in Auvelais may have been used as a hideout...

On Thursday, we get still more chilling evidence to suggest that this is all the work of the very same Belgium-based terror cell. According to Dernier Heure, it was the Bakraoui brothers that planted a hidden camera in the bushes and captured the 10-minute surveillance video of the senior Belgian nuclear official coming and going from his home. more

A European security official told the AP the terror squads are being trained in battleground strategies, explosives, surveillance techniques and countersurveillance — “next-level” methods Stewart said will help them avoid capture and kill scores of innocents.

“They’re doing pre-operational surveillance, attack planning and clandestine communications,” Stewart said. “That kind of 
advanced tradecraft gives them capabilities that are beyond what we’ve seen.” more

Apple Concerned About Spy Tech Being Added to Servers

Apple's huge success with services like iTunes, the App Store, and iCloud has a dark side.

Apple hasn't been able to build the all the data centers it needs to run these enormous photo storage and internet services on its own. And it worries that some of the equipment and cloud services it buys has been compromised by vendors who have agreed to put "back door" technology for government spying... more

The Future of Eavesdropping – Mind Reading

Imagine a world where all of your thoughts are visible – including to government agencies. This scenario might sound like it’s been plucked straight from the pages of a sci-fi novel, but it’s not as far-fetched as you might think.

Devices that measure and interpret electrical signals from our brains can already detect things like whether we are drowsy while driving.



In this video for the World Economic Forum, Nita A. Farahany, Professor of Law and Philosophy at Duke University, discusses the potential but also the legal and ethical risks of these emerging technologies.

“We are not yet at the point where a little thought bubble above your head is something we can see, but we’re getting there,” she says. more

Weird Craig's List Employment Ad - "Receptionist / File Clerk / Spy"

Can you be loyal to the boss? 
Can you spy on the other employees?

Well, not literally spy, but you need to active keep a record of all employee work activity and report to the boss and be loyal to the boss only.

If you are capable of keeping track of the other workers and reporting the details of their tardiness, or punctuality etc. then do apply.

Anyone applying needs to have a very professional, well groomed appearance, since they will be the face of the office. Pics are not required to apply but they do help show if the candidate has the organizational skills to be well put together.

You would be the upfront receptionist, however, you would also be able to perform the following... more

Leaks at Water Department Prompt TSCM Sweep - They came up dry.

Charleston police have conducted a search for wiretaps at the West Virginia Water Development Authority building amid allegations of ethics violations.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that police did not find any hidden listening devices during last week's wiretap sweep.

Water Development Authority Executive Director Chris Jarrett says he asked detectives to search the offices for wiretaps to check for unauthorized electronics.

The sweep comes after a dispute between the agency's geographic information system manager Michael Duminiak and two agency employees including Jarrett and Water Development Authority Executive Assistant Carol Cummings...

According to emails obtained by the newspaper, Duminiak says Cummings accused him of hacking employees' computers and tampering with the security system. Duminiak also accuses Cummings of secretly recording conversations on her smartphone. more

How a Tapped Phone Sparked a Mass Protest

In the latest of a series of explosive revelations that could bring down the Brazilian government, a secretly recorded phone call between former president Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva and his successor, Dilma Rousseff, suggests his appointment to a ministerial position on Wednesday was motivated by a desire to avoid prosecution in Brazil’s worst-ever corruption scandal.

Judge Sergio Moro, the lead prosecutor in Operation Lava-jato, a two-year investigation into corruption at the state-run oil company, Petrobras, released nearly 50 audio recordings to the media on Wednesday evening, prompting chaotic scenes in congress as opposition deputies demanded Rousseff’s resignation.

On Wednesday night tens of thousands of Brazilians began gathering in São Paulo, Brasília, Belo Horizonte and other major cities to demand the president’s resignation. In the capital Brasilia, riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades at more than 5,000 demonstrators outside the presidential palace and Congress building. Many waved banners calling for Lula’s arrest. Thousands more demonstrators packed the main Avenue Paulista in São Paulo. more

When was the last time you had your phones checked for taps? Call me. ~Kevin

Art Imitates Life at AB Surveillance Solutions, LLC... well, maybe not your life.

"This House Has People In It" showcases the CCTV products of AB Surveillance Solutions, LLC in a very bizarre way...


Some things can't wait until the month ends. ~Kevin

Can Pro-Level Spy Gadgets Get Any Cheaper?!?!

 I was just alerted to this by one of our Blue Blaze Irregulars. ~Kevin

from the website ad...
Conduct your own espionage or just take some spontaneous home videos with this Spy Watch. Disguised as a chronograph style watch, the 8GB Spy Camcorder can take AVI video and photos. The watch features push button control video and camera settings, and a USB connector disguised with a screw-down crown. When you’ve gathered your evidence, upload to your computer with the included USB cable. No one will ever guess that your watch was really a Spy Camcorder!



Records Audio and Images - Built-in microphone - Camera lens at 6 o’clock position - Records AVI video and takes still JPEG pictures - 720x480 or 640x480 video resolution

Functioning Timepiece - Analog display - Decorative sub-dials - Secure buckle clasp - Band dimensions: 20mm x 7.5” - Case dimensions: 40mm x 15mm

Good to Know - USB port for easy uploading to a PC or Mac - 8GB of storage - Rechargeable lithium ion battery - Full product dimensions: 40mm x 7.5”
Memory: 8GB Internal
Diameter: 40mm
Limit of 5 per person more

Is Your Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Vulnerable to Eavesdropping? Better check...

Some of the computer dongles that come with wireless keyboards and mouses may offer hackers a fairly simple way to remotely access and take over your computer, according to a new report from Internet-of-things security startup Bastille.

Click to enlarge.

Atlanta-based Bastille says it has determined that a number of non-Bluetooth wireless keyboards and mouses from seven companies—including Logitech, Dell, and Lenovo—have a design flaw that makes it easy for hackers from as far as about 90 meters away to pair with the dongle that these devices use to let you interact with your computer. A hacker could do things like control your computer or add malware to the machine.

In tests, the company found around a dozen devices that were susceptible to the flaw, which it’s listing online. more

PS - In addition to stealing keystrokes, this technique can also be used to inject keystrokes into the victims keyboard.  ~Kevin

Goverment Level TEMPEST Hack Keeps Dropping in Price

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Technion have...found a way to steal data from air-gapped machines while their equipment is in another room.

“By measuring the target's electromagnetic emanations, the attack extracts the secret decryption key within seconds, from a target located in an adjacent room across a wall,” Daniel Genkin, Lev Pachmanov, Itamar Pipman, and Eran Tromer write in a recently published paper...

“The attack in its current form uses lab equipment that costs about $3000...
“The attacks are completely non-intrusive, we did not modify the targets or open their chassis"

The equipment used included an antenna, amplifiers, a software-defined radio, and a laptop. This process was being carried out through a 15cm thick wall, reinforced with metal studs, according to the paper. more

Police Training Eagles to Intercept Drones

UK - The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it is considering using eagles to capture unauthorised remote controlled drones following a successful trial by Dutch police... 

A 2014 inquiry led by Sir David Omand, the former head of intelligence agency GCHQ, highlighted the serious risks posed by the devices. "Crowds at sporting events or rallies could be vulnerable if a future terrorist group were to look for means of dispersing chemical or biological agents," the report said.

Dutch police teamed up with Guard From Above, a raptor-training security firm, to teach the birds how to hunt and intercept drones. "It's a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem," Dennis Janus, a spokesman for the Netherlands' national police, said. more

Erin Andrews Awarded $55 Million in Spycam Lawsuit

The jury has awarded Erin Andrews $55 million in her civil lawsuit over the secret recording and release of a video showing her naked during a hotel stay.

The sportscaster's original suit asked for $75 million from the owner and operator of the Nashville, Tennessee, hotel where she was staying, and Michael David Barrett, the stalker who used a hacksaw to tamper with her room's peephole and record the video in 2008.

The jurors took photos with Andrews after the amount was announced, and she signed autographs, according to reports from inside the courtroom. more

This puts ALL organizations with "expectation of privacy areas" on notice. 

Due diligence inspections for spy cameras, and having a Recording in the Workplace Policy, are your defense. 

Train your security and facilities people how to conduct and document spycam detection inspections today.  http://spycamdetection.training
 or contact me directly.  Kevin

Security Director Alert: Upgrade Your Alarm System Cellular Backup Units

via Talkaphone...
That’s it, the end of 2G. It has been a fun ride but as of December 31, 2016 Verizon and GSM 2G cellular data will be switched off, making all product usage of the cellular signal obsolete.

For those who have yet to upgrade their emergency and security equipment, it’s time to make the switch.

The upgraded data options consist of 3G and 4G cellular data usage, as well as a Wi-Fi option is available for the impending cross over. Keep in mind that the higher the speed of your network can directly affect the reliability of your previously installed security products.

Spy Rumor Mill: Next iPhone iOS may let you know your boss is watching you.

...the next Apple update you get - iOS 9.3 – could see you getting a message on your device, which will tell you if your iPhone is being supervised.

According to the whispers in tech-world, you’ll get a prominent message on your phone, and on your lock screen, if someone is snooping around your business.

A message on the lock screen will say ‘this iPhone is managed by your organization’ and it’ll have something on the About screen which will give you more detail, including text that says your iPhone’s supervisor can monitor your internet traffic and locate your device...

This is most likely to affect people who work for companies that give a number of phones and devices out to their staff, as a company phone... It’ll be utilized on supervised devices set up through Apple’s Device Enrollment Program, and will offer a feature called MDM (or Mobile Device Management). more

Top 20 Spy Gadgets from the Cold War

(More photos here.)
1. Dual cyanide gun: This gun fires a dual cyanide charge that can kill a person almost instantly. A KGB officer, Bogdan Stashinsky, assassinated two Ukrainian dissidents who were living in Germany by hiding the weapon inside a rolled-up newspaper.
2. Dead drop spy bolt: The dead drop spy bolt was hollow on the inside so that men and women could carry secret messages safely to others. If someone searched the pockets of these people no one would expect anything dangerous about a bolt.
3. Decoder lock picks: These lock picks were generally used for some of the tougher, more sophisticated locks. The devices proved to be real handy for those breaking into enemy quarters.
4. Lipstick gun: Women were some of the most successful spies during the war. They were able to carry around this little 4.5 millimeter single-shot gun in the 1960s. Like the spy bolt, it seemed harmless and was easy to conceal.
5.Telephone monitoring equipment: Spies carried this around and hacked into telephone conversations. The equipment includes a batter, stethoscope and rubber bands.
6. Disappearing ink pen: If someone needed to send a secret message, they would resort to writing it with the disappearing ink. That way, if they were caught with the message only a blank piece of paper would be seen. In order to reveal the hidden message on the paper, the recipient would’ve needed vinegar and a heat source.
7. Document photographing: If a spy found useful documents, they would photograph the papers for their records without actually removing them. The piece of equipment they used had two long lights on both sides and a cross member the camera screws on to for straight and steady photos.
8 .Glove pistol: Although the glove pistol was originally made by the United States Navy, it was eventually copied by the KGB. You had to push the plunger into the enemy’s body for it to shoot. The glove is inconspicuous, especially if a jacket covers the pistol part on top of the glove.
9. Key copying kit: This small kit came in a small, convenient tin with a brick of clay to be used for copying any key the soldiers or spies might need.
10. Hollow coin: Spies used hollowed-out coins to transfer film to others. If stopped, no one would suspect a coin to be useful in passing information from person to person.
11. Camera hidden in the coat jacket: The person wearing the jacket would have a little button on the inside of the pocket to click whenever they needed to take a photo.
12. Pen camera: All the spy needed to do was click the top of the ball point pen and they would take a photo. Once again, thanks to the item being so inconspicuous, it was easy to bring around without looking suspicious.
13. A gun case: A special kind of silver gun case was able to hide a larger gun such as the AK-47.
14. Cufflinks: These 1950s cufflinks had small holes in them for hiding microfilm.
15. Button compass: A majority of spies went to foreign countries during the time of the Cold War. These compasses were hidden in the buttons on their jackets in case they got lost or needed to go in a different direction.
16. Shoe transmitting device: The easiest way to keep track of spies was a transmitting device on the inside of a shoe heel. The men’s shoe heel was thick enough to hold all of the necessary parts of the device.
17.The passive bug:These bugs were planted on the inside of a large wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States. The Great Seal was given by the Soviets to the U.S. Ambassador to the USSR in 1945. The bug wasn’t discovered until eight years later.
18. Parachuting/civilian shoes: Spies had to parachute from planes, and they had to wear special boots. But they also had to blend into the crowd. This resulted in zip-off boot tops on regular civilian shoes. All the spies would have to do after jumping was zip off the boot part.
19. Steineck ABC wristwatch camera: The wristwatch was made in 1949 by the Germans but was used by the KGB for more than telling time.On the the bottom part of the watch there is a shutter and buttons for taking photos.
20. Poison dart umbrella: This umbrella was actually used to kill Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov in London in 1978. Markov was waiting for the bus to take him to work when was murdered with a sting in the back of his leg. He died three days later in the hospital of ricin poisoning. His autopsy showed a small hole in the back of his leg.

Overlooked Espionage - The Sounds of Manufacturing

3D printers have opened up all kinds of possibilities when it comes to turning digital blueprints into real word objects, but might they also enable new ways to pilfer intellectual property?...

While the source code for 3D printed designs can be guarded through encryption and regular means, once the machine is swung into action that sensitive information may be compromised, researchers at the University of California Irvine (UCI) have discovered.

Led by Mohammad Al Faruque, director of the Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems lab, the team found that placing a smartphone alongside the machine as it printed objects layer-by-layer enabled them to capture the acoustic signals. It says that these recordings contain information about the precise movement of the nozzle, and that information can later be used to reverse engineer the item being printed. more

McTesla Might be a Good Name

A Chinese company is currently working on an electric supercar to compete directly with the likes of Tesla.

The company, which is called Windbooster Motors, has its sights set on Tesla, the biggest name in the electric car segment. While not much is known about the car they are producing, we have been sent two spy shots of the car as it undergoes development.

From what we can tell, the car appears to be fairly far along in the development process.

Styling wise, the car seems to take a lot of cues from the current crop of cars from McLaren as well as Tesla. (Just coincidence? You decide.) more

SeaWorld Admits Employees Spied

SeaWorld admits employees posed as animal activists to spy on critics...

Multiple SeaWorld employees posed as animal-welfare activists so they could spy on critics, the company admitted Thursday.
The acknowledgment comes seven months after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals accused SeaWorld of spying. The animal-welfare group, which has waged an intense campaign against SeaWorld, went public with evidence that a San Diego employee attended protests and made incendiary comments on social media while posing as an activist.

Reading from a statement while speaking with analysts, Chief Executive Officer Joel Manby said SeaWorld's board of directors has "directed management to end the practice in which certain employees posed as animal-welfare activists. more

Corporate Espionage: British American Tobacco Accused in South Africa

Lawyers investigating bribery and corruption allegations against one of the world’s leading tobacco firms have been urged to expand their investigation after fresh international accusations emerged.

British American Tobacco, BAT, has been accused of corporate espionage against rival cigarette makers in South Africa.

According to court documents seen by The Independent on Sunday, two former police officers who went to work for private corporate investigation companies paid cash to South African law enforcement officials to disrupt BAT’s competitors’ business operations.

Mr Hopkins (a BAT whistleblower) said he... ran a corporate spying operation, and conducted “black ops” to put rivals out of business. more

Looking to Rent a Bedroom Without a Spy Camera?

$850 Room and bath in an Irvine condo without spying camera

In my two bedroom two bathroom brand new luxury condo, you rent a room and bath without any crazy person watching your every move in the name of security.

Also, im not poor so i dont have to charge you a huge deposit to pay for my mortgage and then file bankruptcy and not return your deposit. I dont have to check your credit by illegally getting your social security number. I am not a creepy home owner and will not deny you access to kitchen and laundry.

The only requirement is if you are decent, are respectful and considerate and we meet and find each other acceptable. No age, race, culture requirement but women are preferred. If interested email me so we meet like two adults that we are. You need a room and i need money. (Craigslist)

Politician Promises Surveillance Transparency - Guess what happened.

TN - Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland confirmed Monday that the city is using cell phone eavesdropping technology with court approval, but said he couldn't discuss specifics.

Not Strickland.

Strickland said while campaigning last year that he would be transparent about the city's use of the "cell-site simulator" device known as StingRay, which lets law enforcement gather information from any phones that connect to a cellular network.

But as mayor, he said, he's legally bound to silence by the terms of the city's contract with Florida-based Harris Corporation. more (A Memphis phone call sing-a-long.)

Spycam News - Teachers (2) Resign Following Arrest For Secretly Videotaping Teens

GA - An Alpharetta man and former middle school teacher has been charged with secretly videotaping a teenager inside his home.

Alpharetta police have charged John Link Walsh, 43, with one count of unlawful eavesdropping or surveillance, the agency said on Tuesday...

According to an incident report released by the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety... The teenager said she woke up from sleeping on the sofa and went to take a shower. When she went to her bedroom to get dressed, “she noticed a camera that was hidden on a bookshelf in her room,” according to the report. more

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UK - A teacher at a top grammar school used a hidden camera to spy on a teenage girl in the shower...

A court heard how the 53-year-old secretly deployed two cameras to film his victim washing and being intimate with her boyfriend...

Liverpool Crown Court heard the girl discovered the first camera, which contained footage of her showering, last year. Neville Biddle, prosecuting, said she confronted Smith, who made a “spurious excuse”, and persuaded his embarrassed victim not to make a complaint.

However, the girl then found another hidden camera - this time in the shape of a pen - which Smith used to film her and her boyfriend... Officers recovered his computer and recording equipment including 22 videos. more

Spys with Balls - "Life's Good"

LG just unveiled its new G5 smartphone, 
and with it a bunch of accessories, including this: the LG Rolling Bot, a ("drunken headless") BB-8-type device that can come equipped with a camera and can be controlled (via the LG G5, of course) from anywhere.

So, basically, a thing for spying, right? Is there anything else that this could be for?

If you are in the market for a smartphone accessory that will make it a lot easier for you to spy on people, check out this spherical robot... but also maybe don't. more

Business Espionage: A Tale of Two Companies

Recent news that a former BlueScope Steel software development manager has been accused of downloading a trove of company documents over a four-year period before being made redundant, should have board level executives at all organizations concerned.

BlueScope Steel is the latest in a long line of companies to experience a serious data breach as a result of corporate espionage.

In another example in the US, ride sharing service Lyft is suing a former employee for allegedly stealing secret documents before joining rival Uber.

Lyft’s former chief operating officer, Travis VanderZanden allegedly downloaded private financial and product information before leaving the company to become Uber’s vice president of international growth...
more

Star Wars: Episode VIII - Drones to Create No-Spy Zone

Disney and Lucasfilm are reportedly utilizing drones to ensure spying doesn't happen during filming of Star Wars: Episode VIII in Croatia.

Artist's conception.

Making Star Wars (via MosCroatia) reports there is a Star Wars team that will go to drone warfare with people using drones to get pictures of the set and cast of Episode VIII. And that's on top of apparently 600 guards.

Star Wars: Episode VIII has already begun filming, with the movie premiering December 15, 2017. more

Technical Espionage Tool #423 - Wireless Keyboards & Mice

The wireless link between your mouse and dongle might not be as useful as you think. A new hack shows that the links are often unencrypted and can be used to gain control of your computer.

Security researchers from Bastille Networks have found that non-Bluetooth wireless keyboards manufactured by Logitech, Dell, and Lenovo don’t encrypt communication between the input device and the dongle plugged into a computer’s USB slot. That’s allowed them to create an attack—that they’re calling Mousejack—which injects commands into the dongle.

The team claims the attack can be carried out from up to 300 feet away from the victim’s computer given the right hardware. Once compromised, the hacked dongle allows the team to transmit malicious packets that generate keystrokes.

While that might not sound too useful, remember that one of those packets can hold an awful lot of keystrokes—the equivalent of 1,000 words-per-minute of typing, according to the researchers. That’s enough to install a rootkit capable opening access to your whole computer in under 10 seconds, apparently—which means you might never know your wireless mouse dongle had been hacked. And once that’s done, it’s game over. more

The Cell Phone with the Infrared Eye

This rough-and-tumble phone's major selling point is a Flir thermal imaging camera,

which can visualize heat as a colorful map, taking measurements from up to 30 meters (100 feet) away. You can use it for a huge number of tasks, from detecting heat loss around windows and doors to identifying overheating circuitry, or just seeing in the dark.

The main target audience is, as with previous Cat-branded phones, people who work in construction and plumbers or electricians. The S60 will be available later this year for $599, which converts to around £425 or AU$835.

In case of emergency
Flir imagines that others, including emergency first responders and outdoor enthusiasts, may also find uses for the phone. If police come across an abandoned car, for example, they can use the thermal imaging camera to determine whether the engine or seats are still warm, or whether there's a body anywhere in the vicinity. more

Business Espionage: GSK Plugs Trade Secret Leaks

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced the indictment of five people, including two research scientists at GlaxoSmithKline (“GSK”), on charges of stealing trade secrets from the company, wire fraud in connection with the theft of confidential information, money laundering and conspiracy. While the majority of the charges in the 43-count indictment focus on the role of Yu Xue, described in the indictment as “one of the top protein biochemists in the world, the indictment describes an elaborate scheme to sell the stolen information through companies in China, and to launder the proceeds.

The indictment charges Yu Xue and, to a lesser extent, Lucy Xi, with emailing trade secret and confidential information, including information about biopharmaceutical products under development, GSK research data, and GSK processes regarding the research, development, and manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products, and a business plan for a quality control unit, to their co-conspirators, Tao Li and Yan Mei, who is Lucy Xi’s husband. Yu Xue, Tao Li, and Yan Mei allegedly formed three corporations: Renopharma, Inc., which was incorporated in Delaware; and Nanjing Renopharma, Ltd, and Shanghai Renopharma, Ltd., which were established offshore and operated in China (collectively “Renopharma”), to market and sell the stolen trade secrets and confidential information. According to the indictment, Renopharma advertised that it operated as “a drug research and development company in China with limited U.S. affiliation,” and promoted itself as “‘a leading new drug research and development company, [which] specialized in providing products and services to support drug discovery programs at pharmaceutical and biotech companies.’” As the indictment also noted, the stolen documents contained information which would be especially useful for a start-up biopharmaceutical company such as Renopharma represented itself to be. more

"Take a hard look." or "Hell NO!" - You decide...

A group of 46 U.S. lawmakers urged regulators who investigate deals that could harm national security to take a hard look at a bid by a Chinese company to buy the storied Chicago Stock Exchange...

My vote.

The 46 signatories were all from the House of Representatives, and most were Republican. They included Rep. Robert Pittenger, a North Carolina Republican on the Financial Services Committee and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

Pittenger cited concern that China, which has been accused of corporate espionage, would have access to the data of U.S. companies who use the exchange. more

Security Alert: Your Security Camera May Have Friends You Don't Know About

via Krebs on Security
Imagine buying an internet-enabled surveillance camera, network attached storage device, or home automation gizmo, only to find that it secretly and constantly phones home to a vast peer-to-peer (P2P) network run by the Chinese manufacturer of the hardware.

The FI9286P, a Foscam camera that includes P2P communication by default.

Now imagine that the geek gear you bought doesn’t actually let you block this P2P communication without some serious networking expertise or hardware surgery that few users would attempt...

Turns out, this Focscam camera was one of several newer models the company makes that comes with peer-to-peer networking capabilities baked in. This fact is not exactly spelled out for the user (although some of the models listed do say “P2P” in the product name, others do not).

But the bigger issue with these P2P -based cameras is that while the user interface for the camera has a setting to disable P2P traffic (it is enabled by default), Foscam admits that disabling the P2P option doesn’t actually do anything to stop the device from seeking out other P2P hosts online.

Personal Security Advisory: SimpliSafe Home Security Alarm Vulnerability

Researchers with the Seattle-based security consulting firm IOActive have released an advisory regarding SimpliSafe's wireless home security systems, claiming that the system doesn't adequately protect its transmissions from being recorded and reused...

A potential intruder would need to leave the device within 100 feet of your home's keypad, then basically press record and wait for you to disarm the system with your code.

At that point, they'd have a record of the data packet that gets transmitted whenever you punch your code in. The packet doesn't tell them what the code actually is, but that doesn't matter -- all they'd need to do is use the device to resend the packet in order to disarm your system.

IOActive's researchers built and tested the device in August of 2015. After confirming that it worked, they say that they attempted to share their findings with SimpliSafe on multiple occasions, but received no reply. more

Security Director Alert - 46,000 Internet-accessible Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) Hackable

Hackers can log into DVRs from RaySharp and six other vendors using a six-digit hard-coded root password

Up to 46,000 Internet-accessible digital video recorders (DVRs) that are used to monitor and record video streams from surveillance cameras in homes and businesses can easily be taken over by hackers.

According to security researchers from vulnerability intelligence firm Risk Based Security (RBS), all the devices share the same basic vulnerability: They accept a hard-coded, unchangeable password for the highest-privileged user in their software -- the root account.

Using hard-coded passwords and hidden support accounts was a common practice a decade ago, when security did not play a large role in product design and development...

RBS researchers found that they contained a routine to check if the user-supplied username was "root" and the password 519070."If these credentials are supplied, full access is granted to the web interface," the RBS researchers said... (Test it on your DVRs. ~Kevin)

RaySharp claims on its website that it ships over 60,000 DVRs globally every month, but what makes things worse is that it's not only RaySharp branded products that are affected.

The Chinese company also creates digital video recorders and firmware for other companies which then sell those devices around the world under their own brands. The RBS researchers confirmed that at least some of the DVR products from König, Swann Communications, COP-USA, KGUARD Security, Defender (a brand of Circus World Displays) and LOREX Technology, a division of FLIR Systems, contain the same hard-coded root password.

And those are only the confirmed ones. more

Slow News Day in Spiesville

Disorder Convinced This Guy His Cat Was a Spy
You may have heard of Capgras syndrome, an eerie delusion that convinces people their loved ones have been replaced with nefarious clones. This is like that, only eerier: Due to what appeared to be a version of that syndrome, a 71-year-old man became “obsessed” with the idea that his cat had recently been replaced with an impostor cat, sent by the FBI to spy on him. The man’s ordeal was recently reported by the Discover blog Neuroskeptic, drawing from the case study in the journal Neurocase.

The Patient: This man, who is not named, had a history of heavy drinking and head injuries from his ice-hockey days; he had also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. About six years before the cat-related delusion began, he stopped taking his anti-psychotics and soon became “acutely paranoid." The case-report authors write that he would pass his wife "written notes stating that their house was being monitored, and often mistook persons in parking lots for Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.” more

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Edward Snowden inspires spy video game

A new video game aiming to expose “suffocating privacy invasions” carried out by intelligence agencies has drawn some of its inspiration from controversial National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The game, called “Need to Know,” requires players to climb the ranks of the fictional “Department of Liberty,” a government agency seemingly based on the NSA, whose mass surveillance programs Mr. Snowden exposed through leaks in 2013, Newsweek reported.

Players must decide whether to spy on citizens to gain information or leak intel from the department to underground media groups.

The game was developed by Australia-based Monomyth Games. The company hopes to raise $29,000 through crowdfunding to complete the game.

“Electronic surveillance is a huge issue for everyone today, and will only grow more pressing,” the game’s Kickstarter page reads. “Need to Know lets you spy on citizens’ texts, emails, geodata, and much more. How you’ll use this information is where the real excitement (and moral conflict) begins.” more

Canada’s Spy Agency Wants to Hire Shrinks to Study Terrorists

Faced with a foreign fighter problem that has seen dozens of Canadians leave to fight alongside the Islamic State, Canada's main intelligence service is putting together a team of shrinks to help them get to the root causes of radicalization and extremism.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is looking to staff up their new "applied psychology section," to help them understand why anyone would join groups like the Islamic State.

The job postings are for research and development psychologists, meaning they'll be asked to "conduct applied research on trends, behaviors and other relevant aspects of ideological extremism.

"Among other things, the members of this small unit are tasked to assist the Service in better understanding radicalization and terrorism," the posting says. more

Banks are Hiring Former CIA Agents

Some of the world's biggest banks are hiring former spies 
to try and prevent the rise of any more so-called "rogue traders" and generally ensure that banks are put on the hook for fewer fines.

According to a report from Bloomberg, banks including HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and JP Morgan have all hired ex-spies from the likes of the UK and US military, the CIA, and GCHQ to watch the activities of bank employees, and try to prevent misconduct. more

Slacker Hacker Hi-Jacker ...Poof! Your VoIP Phone is Pwned

Hackers could listen in on you via your VoIP phone, security researchers have warned.

By using a simple exploit taking advantage of weak default passwords, attackers can hack your VoIP phone to make and receive calls, transfer calls without your knowledge and even spy on your in-person conversations.

Security expert Paul Moore discovered the flaw after consulting on the installation of several VoIP phones...

Once infected, the hacker has complete control over the phone, allowing them to block incoming calls, silently call premium-rate numbers, and secretly listen in on a user's conversations. more

from Paul Moore...
Q. What can the attacker do?
A. Virtually anything. Make calls, receive calls, transfer calls (even before it rings), play recordings, upload new firmware and crucially... use the device for covert surveillance.

Need a security evaluation of your VoIP phones? Contact me. ~Kevin

New Book - Industrial Espionage and Technical Surveillance Counter Measures (TSCM)

Industrial Espionage and Technical Surveillance Counter Measures 

Authors:
Iosif Androulidakis, Fragkiskos – Emmanouil Kioupakis
ISBN: 978-3-319-28665-5

This book examines technical aspects of industrial espionage and its impact in modern companies, organizations, and individuals while emphasizing the importance of intellectual property in the information era.

The authors discuss the problem itself and then provide statistics and real world cases. The main contribution provides a detailed discussion of the actual equipment, tools and techniques concerning technical surveillance in the framework of espionage. Moreover, they present the best practices and methods of detection (technical surveillance counter measures) as well as means of intellectual property protection. more

Recommended for corporate security directors. ~Kevin

New Law to Prevent Drone Industrial Espionage

TX - With plants and refineries fearful of safety and espionage threats posed by drones, a Southeast Texas congressman wants strict new guidelines for operating un-monitored aircraft near those facilities.

U.S. Rep. Brian Babin has offered two amendments to the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization Act to address a mounting security concern and help safeguard chemical facilities, representatives with American Chemistry Council said Friday.

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously approved the amendments this week.

More than 50 large chemical plants in Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties risk exposure of trade secrets, though no cases have been reported by law enforcement officials.

The unease is based on a concern that freelancers will take aerial photos at plant sites and try to sell them to competitors, John Durkay, legal counsel for Southeast Texas Plant Managers Forum said previously.

Durkay called the drone business "a tremendous opportunity for industrial espionage," which he said facilities worry about. more with video

Have something to hide? Here’s how to make it disappear in Windows...

Perhaps you share a computer, and want to keep some documents under wraps. Maybe there’s a file you want to keep on your computer, but don’t want to see every day. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re worried about keeping a particular file from prying eyes.

If you want to hide something around your house, you’ve got two options. First off, you can hide it somewhere insecure — like under the rug — and hope that no one thinks to look there. Or, secondly, you can lock it up in a safe where people can’t get in without some serious effort. The same is true for your files. You can make them harder to find with obscurity, or you can protect them with encryption. Let’s go over some tips both methods, starting with how to hide your files. more

The NSA that Watches the Stars... TMZ

TMZ resembles an intelligence agency as much as a news organization, and it has turned its domain, Los Angeles, into a city of stool pigeons.

In an e-mail from last year, a photographer reported having four airport sources for the day, including “Harold at Delta, Leon at Baggage service, Fred at hudson news, Lyle at Fruit and nut stand.” A former TMZ cameraman showed me expense reports that he had submitted in 2010, reflecting payments of forty or fifty dollars to various sources: to the counter girl at a Beverly Hills salon, for information on Goldie Hawn; to a valet, for Pete Sampras; to a shopkeeper, for Dwight Howard; and to a waiter, for Hayden Christensen. “Everybody rats everybody else out,” Simon Cardoza, a former cameraman for the site, told me. “That’s the beauty of TMZ.” more

The Day the iPhone Died

Feeling particularly masochistic? Boy do we have a trick for you. If you’d like to permanently brick (that is, render unusable) your iPhone, just turn back time. It’s not as hard as it sounds — all you have to do is set the date to January 1, 1970. It’s a time when the iPhone didn’t exist, and if you do it, your iPhone won’t exist (in working condition) anymore, either.


So for the rest of us who would like to maintain a functioning mobile device, please, please, avoid this dangerous date. It apparently affects all 64-bit iOS 8 and iOS 9 phones, as well as tablets using Apple’s A7, A8, A8X, A9, and A9X processor. more

17th-Century Female Spies Smuggled Information Through Eggs and Artichokes

In the 17th century, espionage was more diverse than you might think. Not only did female spies exist, they employed some of the most fascinating techniques in their information gathering.
 
Forthcoming research into female spies that operated in Europe and England at the time shows that they utilized an ingenious arsenal of tools, such as eggs and artichokes, to smuggle secrets.

While Dr. Nadine Akkerman of Leiden University was examining letters sent by Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia during her exile in the Hague, she discovered that some were filled with secret codes...

Akkerman found about 60 such instances of female spies in the 17th century while researching for her upcoming monograph, “Female Spies or 'she-Intelligencers': Towards a Gendered History of Seventeenth-Century Espionage.” British playwright and poet Aphra Behn was one such spy, employed by King Charles to conduct political espionage in Antwerp under the code names "Astrea" and "Agent 160." In collaboration with MIT, Akkerman has produced several mesmerizing videos that recreate some of the ingenious methods used by female spies for their secret correspondences.

Skype Scalper

A new piece of malware making the rounds intercepts Skype communications and takes custom backdoor software a step forward, according the researchers with Palo Alto Networks, who discovered it. Dubbed T9000, the malware contains a host of cybercriminal bells and whistles.

"Most custom backdoors used by advanced attackers have limited functionality. They evade detection by keeping their code simple and flying under the radar. But during a recent investigation we found a backdoor that takes a very different approach," say researchers Josh Grunzweig and Jen Miller-Osborn. "In addition to the basic functionality all backdoors provide, T9000 allows the attacker to capture encrypted data, take screenshots of specific applications, and specifically target Skype users." more

Three Laptop Thefts - A Coordinated Espionage Attack

South Africa - The DA suspects espionage might be at play in the theft of laptops belonging to members.

KwaZulu-Natal DA MPL Francois Rodgers and another staff member lost their laptops and other equipment in separate theft incidents in Kokstad within a month. 

Rodgers said the home of a party staff member was broken into on Saturday, and a laptop, a hard drive and a diary from the staff member’s briefcase were stolen.

“What makes this even more sinister is the fact that in the very same room was another briefcase containing a laptop and tablet, yet nothing else was removed from the home,” he said.

Rodgers said the thieves had gained entry to the house through the back door, while the member and his family were asleep.

He said the Saturday break-in followed a theft out of his own vehicle a month ago.

“The first occurrence was coincidentally on the very same day that three DA councillors resigned and defected to the ANC." more

This is a cautionary tale.  
It details some pretty brazen acts of espionage; bush league acts, due to their obviousness. Pros get what they want by entering business locations, after hours, to duplicate drives and scavenge other information. You'll never know they were there, or that you lost anything. 

Recommendations: 
• Conduct an after-hours information security survey to see what information is left out, unsecured and un-encrypted.  
• Check your perimeter security hardware and access procedures. Make sure they haven't decayed over time. 

These two items are the most common vulnerabilities we discover during our clients' surveys. ~Kevin

Physical Security a Growing Threat to Organizations

Physical security is seen as growing concern for business continuity professionals, according to the fifth annual Horizon Scan Report published by the Business Continuity Institute, in association with BSI. Among the ranks of potential threats that organizations face, acts of terrorism gained six places from 10th in 2015 to 4th this year, while security incidents moved from 6th place to 5th place. more

A proper TSCM / Information Security inspection can help in all areas of concern.

What if Sacha Baron Cohen was the brother of James Bond?

That is essentially the plot of The Brothers Grimsby. Seems harmless enough. But, if we've learned anything from past Cohen comedies (Ali G, Borat, Bruno), it will be anything but wholesome.

The Brothers Grimsby will be in theaters March 11.

Tests Reveal Windows 10 Spying Is Out Of Control

Back in November Microsoft confirmed Windows 10’s worst kept secret: its extensive telemetry (or ‘spying’ as it has been labelled) cannot be stopped. What no-one realized until now, however, is just how staggering the extent of this tracking really is…

Blowing the lid on it this week is Voat user CheesusCrust whose extensive investigation claims Windows 10 contacts Microsoft to report data thousands of times per day. And the kicker? This happens after choosing a custom Windows 10 installation and disabling all three pages of tracking options which are all enabled by default.

The raw numbers come out as follows: in an eight hour period Windows 10 tried to send data back to 51 different Microsoft IP addresses over 5500 times. After 30 hours of use, Windows 10 expanded that data reporting to 113 non-private IP addresses. Being non-private means there is the potential for hackers to intercept this data.

Taking this a step further, the testing was then repeated on another Windows 10 clean installation again with all data tracking options disabled and third party tool DisableWinTracking was also installed which tries to shut down all hidden Windows 10 data reporting attempts. At the end of the 30 hour period Windows 10 had still managed to phone home with data 2758 times to 30 different IP addresses. more

UPDATE 2/12/16 (Another opinion.) - Windows 10 users who might be in a state of panic after reading an alarmist report claiming the OS is "spying" on PCs with thousands of data transfers a day can rest easy. The report was based on comments from a so-called security expert's comments that have since been deleted. more

Spy Shop Sales Soaring Ahead of Valentine’s Day

Valentine's Day is the time of the year when couples all over the country profess their love.

That is, unless you suspect your significant other of cheating. But you don’t have to go on a reality show to find an unfaithful spouse.

“You can actually buy the equipment out right and do it yourself and have that equipment forever,” Spy Guy Allen Walton told NewsFix.

Walton's been selling spy gear for the last seven years, and he says when it comes to this hallmark holiday, his store sees a spike in business. more

"Isil help desk. Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) is telling members how to avoid internet surveillance by Western authorities with an online "help desk".

The advice is offered through a channel on encrypted messaging app Telegram, and has about 2,200 members.

The channel is operated by Isil cyber security experts that call themselves the Electronic Horizon Foundation (EHF)... more

Business Espionage Alert - Bribing for Passwords

Ireland has a new problem to throw at Apple: hackers are trying to buy company logins from employees. In some cases, employees are being offered upwards of €20,000 (about US$22,245) in efforts to coax out user names and passwords.

An Apple employee told Business Insider, "You'd be surprised how many people get on to us, just random Apple employees. You get emails offering you thousands [of euros] to get a password to get access to Apple."

Hackers are reportedly also targeting Apple employees for company information.

Exactly what hackers expect to accomplish once they have logins isn't clear. They may be trying to conduct industrial espionage (well, duh), dig up personal information, disrupt company plans, or something else entirely. more

You can bet this isn't just happening at Apple. Warn your employees you are on to this, watching for it, and will prosecute disloyal employees. ~Kevin