The newspaper explains it one way...
"Diana told 'without any doubt' that she was being bugged by a five-strong surveillance team - Surveillance expert detected a device behind her bedroom wall
...She was so concerned about eavesdropping that she called in a four-man team to carry out a search for listening devices. (from Moran Security Support Services Ltd)...
Princess Diana's bedroom was being bugged two years after her split from Prince Charles, her inquest sensationally heard yesterday.
An electronic surveillance expert made the astonishing discovery after Diana asked him to check her Kensington Palace apartment for listening devices because she feared 'dark forces' were snooping on her.
Former soldier Grahame Harding located a suspected bug behind a wall in her bedroom, adjacent to a room which had been used by Charles." (more)
Mr. Harding explains it this way... (in the same article)
"My equipment detected an electronic signal which indicated that a possible bugging device may have been present behind a wall in her bedroom. Princess Diana was present when I found this signal.
"As you walk into her bedroom, I believe there was another room off it where His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales had a room and it was on that wall."
He said was unable to get behind the wall to examine the device. But there was "no indication" that the fabric of the wall had been altered. He said he swept the room again later that day and the signal had gone.
"I could not give an explanation to the reading. It could have been innocent electronic equipment in another room. But the noise behind the wall was very similar to a transmitter device."
Short Story - Add this inexpensive software to any S60 mobile phone (aka smart phone) and you have a bugging device with brains and the ability to snitch.
Why do I mention it?
So you know what you are up against.
Long Story - from the seller's website...SkyeSpy is remote audio monitoring, detection and notification software for your S60v3 mobile device.SkyeSpy can be used as:(1) an intruder detection and alarm system for the home and office, (2) a remote baby monitor,(3) a remote car alarm monitor, or(4) a spy device to listen-in on any environment without anyone knowing!SkyeSpy is installed on a mobile device that is used as the audio monitoring hardware. The SkyeSpy device is placed in an area where the audio/sound is to be monitored e.g. near a baby, in the home/office etc. SkyeSpy is 'paired' to 'communicate' with another mobile device or landline. When SkyeSpy detects an audio instance, it alerts the paired device with an SMS, MMS or even a CALL!There are 2 ways for the user to interact with the SkyeSpy device:(1) SkyeSpy will contact the user.(2) User can call the SkyeSpy and secretly listen in real-time.1 day trial FREE!
Purchase price: $17.95
...The Post Office and the Birth of Communications Privacy
by Anuj C. Desai, University of Wisconsin Law School
"In this Article, I look beneath the surface of that raging debate to one of the premises underlying the court's conclusion, that the Fourth Amendment protects the confidentiality of communications. I explore the origins of the notion that the Fourth Amendment protects communications privacy. Most scholars and commentators look to Justice Brandeis's famous dissent in the 1928 case Olmstead v. United States. In this Article, I contend that we must go further back, back to surveillance of the first communications network in the United States, the post office. I explain the history of postal surveillance and show that the principle of communications privacy derives not from the Fourth Amendment or even from the Constitution at all. Rather, it comes from..." (more)
WA - Investigators say a thief managed to bilk money out of a local man's credit union by wiretapping their phones. The man was on vacation with his family when he got a disturbing call from their credit union.According to the police report, Woodstone Credit Union of Federal Way called the man last week to ask about a $450,000 transferred out of their home equity line of credit. The man never transferred any money.
On Monday, the man received a second call from Woodstone Credit Union. This time the money mysteriously transferred was up to $655,000.
The victim was told the suspect had the victim's signature. He was also told the thief had and tapped his phone line and intercepted his calls in order to give the proper verification when Woodstone called his home inquiring about the large money transfer. (more)
A radio antenna made of electrified gas could lead to stealthy, jamming-resistant transmitters, research now reveals.Electrified gas, or plasma, makes up stars and lightning and is what sheds light in fluorescent bulbs. Sealed glass, ceramic or even flexible plastic tubes of plasma can behave just like conventional metal antennas.These antennas only work when energized, effectively vanishing when turned off, with the plasma reverting back to normal gas. This is key for stealth on the battlefield—metal antennas can scatter incoming radar signals, giving away their presence.In addition, to counteract jamming attempts, plasma antennas can rapidly adjust which frequencies they broadcast and pick up by changing how much energy the plasma is given. (more)
Japan - Major firms have started offering services to detect and remove electronic bugging devices in offices as spying has become a serious concern due to increased competition in business and among employees.
With information on new technology or personnel more sought after than ever, observers point out that many Japanese firms have not taken sufficient measures to protect against eavesdropping. The need for bug-busting services is expected to grow...
According to the NPO, about 370,000 bugs and spy cameras were sold in 2006, more than double the number in 1997...
Raisuke Miyawaki, former cabinet public relations secretary and an adviser to the Institute for International Policy Studies, warns that firms should not delay in taking defensive measures against bugging. (more) (Japanese butt-biting bug video sfw)
Telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time.
A Justice Department audit released Thursday blamed the lost connections on the FBI's lax oversight of money used in undercover investigations. Poor supervision of the program also allowed one agent to steal $25,000, the audit said.
In at least one case, a wiretap used in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act investigation "was halted due to untimely payment," the audit found. FISA wiretaps are used in the government's most sensitive and secretive criminal investigations, and allow eavesdropping on suspected terrorists or spies. (more)
The recent sex DVD scandal involving former Malaysian Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek shows how easy it is to rig a spy camera and film someone without their knowledge.
Experts tell The New Paper on Sunday that it takes anyone just 30 minutes to rig a spy cam. It takes the professionally trained even less time. [much less]This has the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) concerned. It will discuss the possibility of getting its more than 400 members to sweep all their hotel rooms for hidden cameras or other spying devices. (more)
Cheesy instructional video. (more)
Why do I mention it?
So you will know what you are up against.
...is the headline of an article in The Malay Mail - listing 6 SpyCam news stories.
• A New Zealander admitted to nine charges related to using a miniature video camera to film...
• A man in Singapore spied on his tenants, who were two sisters, while they were...
• Actress and model Nasha Aziz told a magistrate's court that she spotted a spy cam...
• A woman in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, found a strange object hanging from her bed room ceiling...
• A female reporter, who claimed that a CCTV camera operator had focused on her thighs...
• Footage seized from a voyeur, who installed spy cams in the bathrooms used by...
(more)
From a news observer in India...
"There is also a talk that all the 155,000 hotel rooms offered for business in 2400 hotels should be scanned and certified free from any ‘bugging’ apparatus, to give comfort for the local and foreign tourism industry customers." (more)
MD - William A. Hendry IV, 38, of 206 Mayo Road in Edgewater, pleaded not guilty Monday in county Circuit Court in Annapolis to charges that he videotaped himself and his ex-wife having sex without her knowledge. He was charged Oct. 18 with two counts of illegal wiretapping, one count of conducting video surveillance with "prurient intent," and one count of secretly placing a camera inside a home.If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 12 years in prison and $25,000 in fines.Mr. Hendry's ex-wife, Christa Bacchus, learned of the video - which is now in police custody - after Mr. Hendry showed it to her new husband, Philip Bacchus. (more)
Belichick AP Coach of the Year despite spying fine
Patriots coach honored for second time (?!?!)
New England's undefeated season now includes yet another achievement: Bill Belichick is The Associated Press 2007 NFL Coach of the Year. ...That was enough to offset the major blemish on Belichick's resume: a $500,000 personal fine, $250,000 fine for the team and the loss of a first-round pick in the upcoming draft after the Patriots were caught videotaping New York Jets coaches during the season opener. (more) (more)
"Even to this day I don't chatter near a telephone that is hung up, because even when the telephone is hung up it is possible to eavesdrop on you." ~ Helena Yaralova, actress. (more)
IL - A Cary teen accused with two friends of secretly videotaping a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old high school classmate pleaded guilty to a reduced charge Thursday, allowing him to avoid a possible felony conviction and prison sentence.Nicholas B. Parfitt, 18, admitted guilt to misdemeanor attempted eavesdropping stemming from the Jan. 6, 2007, incident in which, police said, he helped set up a hidden video camera to record sexual relations between a friend and an unsuspecting girl. (more)
The newspaper explains it one way...
