Lockheed Martin Corp., the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier by contract value, is working on a keychain-sized, remote-controlled aerial vehicle designed to collect and transmit data with military and homeland security uses.
Resembling the seed of a silver maple tree, the single-winged device would pack a tiny two-stage rocket thruster along with telemetry, communications, navigation, imaging sensors and a power source.
The nano air vehicle, or NAV, is designed to carry interchangeable payload modules -- the size of an aspirin tablet. It could be used for chemical and biological detection or finding a "needle in a haystack," according to Ned Allen, chief scientist at Lockheed's fabled Skunk Works research arm. (more)(more)
from the seller's web site...
The Micro-Camcorder is the smallest high resolution, real time digital camcorder ever produced. Easy to use "one touch record" button lets you discretely record any evidence instantly. For the most discrete application, the Micro Camcorder can even fit into a standard pack of chewing gum!
This Micro Camcorder records Hi-Resolution (3gp) real time (15fps) video via its internal pin hole camera at the touch of a button. Recordings are stored on a tiny removable Micro SD card. Up to 33 hours of video can be recorded on a 1Gb Micro SD card [2 hours at a time between recharging] Internal rechargeable battery is recharged via USB connection. (more & sample video)
CA - Film director John McTiernan has been sentenced to four months in prison on charges relating to the FBI and a private investigator. McTiernan is best known for films such as “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Die Hard” and “The Hunt for Red October.” McTiernan hired private investigator Anthony Pellicano to wiretap producer Charles Roven. (more)
Companies like Google scan their e-mail users’ in-boxes to deliver ads related to those messages. Will people be as willing to let a company listen in on their phone conversations to do the same?Pudding Media, a start-up based in San Jose, Calif., is introducing an Internet phone service today that will be supported by advertising related to what people are talking about in their calls. The Web-based phone service is similar to Skype’s online service — consumers plug a headset and a microphone into their computers, dial any phone number and chat away. But unlike Internet phone services that charge by the length of the calls, Pudding Media offers calling without any toll charges.The trade-off is that Pudding Media is eavesdropping on phone calls in order to display ads on the screen that are related to the conversation. Voice recognition software monitors the calls, selects ads based on what it hears and pushes the ads to the subscriber’s computer screen while he or she is still talking. (more)
Think about this...
• NSA level technology is now a free advertising gimmick.
• Your secrets are more vulnerably now than at any other time in history.
• The cost per-conversation-eavesdropped-on is at its lowest.
• The likelihood that your business will be wiretapped is at its highest.
Today's Wall Street Journal discusses government's obligation to protect its assets, "proactive electronic surveillance operations are essential." Businesses must also protect their assets.
Solution...
• Proactive Counter-surveillance Inspections (PCI).
Top corporate security programs already include PCI as an essential element. Other businesses (and government agencies) are adding it at a record pace.
Need to know more?
Check here.
The following came from a announcement posted on the Internet. The event is over, but the message is clear. SpyCamers are no longer haunting just bathrooms. Keep alert.
Super Secret Spy Cam Party - San Francisco
Event DetailsShhh… shut the door, close your blinds, and listen close. For a long time now, our super secret spycams have been on the streets filming (shhhh…) Real Live PickUp in Action! Yes, that’s right real women in the real world being picked up and all caught on tape with our hidden cameras. And now you, and a select group of our best fans, have been invited to take a sneak peak inside our hidden cam archives. And that’s not all…You may have seen some short samples on youtube or on our website, but we’ve actually been holding onto literally hours and hours of footage that no one outside my inner circle has ever seen. You see, for years I’ve been filming my instructors and students out in the field, not only to help us with training, but to gather undeniable proof of what we already know – that this stuff works! And, it works like magic!And now, for the first time ever, we’re planning to release this top secret footage to the world. Because it’s not just about watching cool videos of all our PickUp 101 techniques in action... it’s also an unbelievable learning tool. (more)
China - An accusation of spying has stirred intrigue at the Women’s World Cup.The day before their match with China, Denmark team officials found two men with video cameras sitting behind a two-way mirror in the hotel conference room where the team was about to hold a strategy meeting.“It’s like a spy movie,” the Danish team press officer Pia Schou Nielsen said. She said the men were Chinese, although Denmark Coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller told reporters he did not know what nationality the men were. ...
It was not clear who the men with the video cameras were, but they were taken away by the police, Danish officials said. FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, said in a statement Thursday that it and the Danish team decided not to pursue the case. (more)
More stealthy and prevalent than ever before, corporate security software is monitoring your every move inside and out of the office, whether it’s with your corporate computer, e-mail, phone or BlackBerry. As PM’s senior technology editor reports in his biweekly trends column, your employer has more powerful tools to watch over you than the cops—and there’s nothing you can do about it. ...
Much of the technology used in business investigation is similar to, if not better than, the more talked-about tools used by police or sometimes even by the FBI and NSA. “Most local and state law enforcement agencies have no money to afford the sort of forensic software and hardware that big companies use,” Sensei’s Nelson says. “So the tools available to corporations are far more sophisticated.”
Plus, private corporations generally don’t have pesky warrants to deal with before they can access the digital evidence, as the law is still catching up to much of this new technology. Many corporate phone systems are now utilizing “unified messaging,” wherein voice messages are turned into audio files and integrated into e-mail programs. That makes them subject to the same security technology that combs through every one of your e-mails. And many industries are subject to regulations regarding the retention of data, so even if you want to get rid of a correspondence, your company is legally obligated to keep it. (more)
NY - Riverhead teachers demonstrated against camera surveillance at their high school Friday, fresh complaints surfaced in other Long Island districts that electronic monitoring also is being used there to track teachers' conduct, not simply to provide security. In the Connetquot district, the teachers' union is protesting district plans to install cameras later this fall in the high school gym and auditorium. A teacher's representative there told Newsday that staffers grew worried about the potential misuse of cameras when a high school teacher was reprimanded last spring for behavior recorded by an electronic hallway monitor. (more)
A Romulus woman told police her neighbor has been spying on her through a peep hole in her apartment."I was furious. I was just straight furious. That's the only word that comes to mind," said Paula Campbell.Campbell told police she was taking a shower when she noticed a hole in her bathroom ceiling. "I looked up. I got soap in my eyes or something and I looked up and I saw those eyes or something," Campbell said. "I looked up and there was a hole (in the ceiling)."Campbell contacted police who found evidence in her neighbor's apartment. "We found some information in his apartment where he'd ordered some surveillance equipment, some spy cams and mini-cams," said Romulus Police Detective Dwayne Decaires. (more +video)
Keystroke loggers are a particularly dangerous security threat because users typically don’t realize they’re even there. Learn about the different versions of keystroke loggers, and get tips for protecting your organization and your users from this threat. (more)
I've written quite a few columns on the topic of spying. Some were on spying on your competitors (bottom line: you are allowed to use only publicly available information; if you are the target you can engage in limited subterfuge to keep the competition guessing); spying on your workers (only when there is a compelling reason to suspect serious wrong-doing, and only when the information will be used in a focused and equitable way). I even wrote about doing Google searches on potential dates (best to have someone else do these for you and give you a thumbs up or thumbs down; knowing too much may take the romance out of your meeting.)The latest topic I have encountered is spying on your spouse. This is a very active area, and quite sophisticated means are available to suspicious wives and husbands. I plan to write about this very delicate ethical topic soon.Instead, looking at the impressive arsenal of gadgets and subterfuges used in this particular battleground of the war of the sexes inspired me to a different thought, very relevant to this season: How would we look if we spied on ourselves? (more)
Gordie Howe has won a temporary restraining order barring a neighbour from conducting surveillance on the hockey legend's home.Howe, 79, who has been the subject of a residential association dispute for more than a year, says he's tired of being spied on.The former Detroit Red Wings star and his wife, Colleen, on Tuesday filed an eight-count stalking lawsuit in Oakland County. The Howes claim Lionel and Karen Dorfman, a retired couple in their 70s, have engaged in unlawful eavesdropping and invasion of privacy for more than a year.The Howes allege the Dorfmans have had a camera snapping photos of their house every five seconds - more than 17,000 photos a day. (more)
UPDATE
Hockey great Gordie Howe won a temporary restraining order barring a neighbour from conducting surveillance on his home. (more)
NH - Nashua police Wednesday arrested Theresa A. Bergeron, 36, of 13 Salem St., and charged her with one count of misdemeanor wiretapping and eavesdropping for allegedly secretly recording audio from a meeting with an official from the state Division of Children, Youth and Families. (more)
Professional sports are not just 'sports'. Sports are businesses, big businesses. Each team is a corporation. Their profits rise and fall on their successes and failures - just like any other business.
When a team executive spies for competitive advantage that team is stealing money from the losing opponent. This is a crime.
How much money are we talking about here?
Take the Super Bowl for example. Heck, take three Super Bowls. Winning via fraud can add up. Denny Hatch estimated three Super Bowl wins adds up to about $1.7 million!
Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots football coach, coincidentally 'led' his team to three Super Bowl victories. He was caught spying on his opponents. He was fined $500,000 (tax deductible) - approximately 12% of his yearly salary. He wasn't fired from his job. He wasn't suspended from even one game.
Is Belichick appealing the decision? No. Just a cost of doing business, I guess.
The McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team was fined $100 million this month for their little espionage caper against Ferrari. Are they appealing the decision? No. Cost of doing business?
Compare 'Sports' business to conventional business...
• A federal judge ignored a former Coca-Cola secretary’s tearful plea for mercy and sentenced her to eight years in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets from the world’s largest beverage maker. U.S. District Judge J. Owen Forrester told Joya Williams, 42, that he was giving her a longer sentence than recommended by federal prosecutors and sentencing guidelines because, “This is the kind of offense that cannot be tolerated in our society.”
• Kenneth Lay, former Chairman of Enron, lost his job, faced a decades-long prison term for his fraud and died of a heart attack. Jeffrey Skilling, Enron's former CEO, is currently serving a 24-year, 4-month prison sentence.
• Hewlett-Packard's spy scandal: Carly Fiorina, former CEO, fired.
• Wal-Mart's spy scandal: Bruce Gabbard, security employee, fired.
Unlike Belichick and the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team 'Wacky Racers', none of the conventional business folks are out there 'enjoying the game' any more.
So, why is stealing money in the sports world treated differently?
What messages does this send to our children?
~Kevin
Lockheed Martin Corp., the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier by contract value, is working on a keychain-sized, remote-controlled aerial vehicle designed to collect and transmit data with military and homeland security uses. 
