Job Fears Make Offices All Ears

via The Wall Street Journal...
Human-Resources Officials Say Rise in Employee Eavesdropping Fans Rumors

While workplace eavesdropping has been going on for ages, fears about layoffs and corporate restructuring have left employees more attentive to what's going on around them. And as employees resort to eavesdropping, human-resources professionals say they are encountering cases of rumor-spreading in the workplace more frequently.

After mass layoff announcements this fall, Society for Human Resource Management found that 23% of human-resource professionals surveyed have encountered significantly more cases of eavesdropping in the workplace over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, 54% reported a sharp increase in gossip and rumors about downsizing and layoffs in their workplaces.

Companies are now taking measures to curtail the eavesdropping problem. (more)

The Spirit of TELEX Returns

TELEX was a slow and trusted messaging service; since replaced by fast and iffy e-mail. One company wants you to have the best of both - fast and trusted. Their pitch is a firm punch in the nose...

"Your eMails are being intercepted by criminals, governments and even your competitors! What can you do about it?"

iTelex is the world's leading fully encrypted, email service. Our state-of-the-art technology keeps our users' online communications private. Free and easy to use, iTelex works similarly to other Web-based email providers, except iTelex offers the security of 2,048-bit encryption between iTelex users. With iTelex, users can access their address from any computer that has an internet connection and a web browser. (more)

Benefits of the old Telex and new i-Telex:
- Guaranteed Delivery
- Reliability
- Privacy/Security
- Instant Messaging
- Live Messaging
- Legally Binding Messaging
- Encrypted Attachments

"Oh, We're Not Gonna Take It" I

Demonstration against wiretapping law in Helsinki on Feb 5, 2009
Meeting near the Central Railway Station at 14:30, demonstration to begin outside the Parliament at 15:00.

“Lex Nokia” is a loophole plagued law proposal which, if passed, would allow network owners to spy on header information (from/to fields) in electronic communications in order to stop very loosely defined “misuse”. Eavesdropping on “parts” of unencrypted electronic communication protocols is as much of a bad joke as pretending to be reading only the address part of a non-enveloped postcard. (more) (sing-a-long)

"Oh, We're Not Gonna Take It" II

ND - Drunken bar brawls in Oliver County’s biggest city have authorities calling on taverns to install surveillance systems and turn over their recordings after a fight. That’s unsettling to bar owners who say their customers have a right to talk freely, even if they slur their words, without being recorded.

“I don’t have a problem with the video camera, but I won’t put audio in here. That’s baloney,” said Perry Wolf, owner of the Lonewolf Saloon in Center, N.D., a town of fewer than 700 in the heart of coal country. (more) (sing-a-long)

"Oh, We're Not Gonna Take It" III

Eavesdropping craft critical for monitoring terrorists...

The NRO payload on the Delta 4-Heavy is a 5-to-6 ton eavesdropping spacecraft with a high tech deployable antenna as wide as 350 feet. The spacecraft is to enhance the capability for the U.S. to listen in on communications in hostile governments like Iran and terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda. (more) (sing-a-long)

SpyCam Story #510 - Action Camo Cam

Completely Covert Camouflage Micro DVR Camera For Stakeouts
At Only 3 Inches, Mount It Anywhere For Covert Surveillance
- Completely Weatherproof w/ Built-In DVR
- 30 FPS Full Screen Video & Audio
- SD Card / Built-In LCD Screen
- 2x Zoom / Battery Powered
- Review Video On Any Computer - PC Or MAC
- Capture Up To 100 Minutes Of Recorded Video

Designed For Portability And Outdoor Use - Even Underwater
The Little Titan Camouflage DVR Camera is the only covert camera designed specifically for portability, outdoor use, and more. Perfect for sting operations, suspect tracking, and all your day-to-day operations on-the-move, this camera records crystal clear 30 fps full screen video as well as audio.

Battery life of 1 to 4 hours and the ability to store an incredible 100 minutes of video. Video stores directly to a SD card and can be reviewed on any PC, monitor, or directly on the device itself using the built-in LCD screen. $199.95 (more) (video)
Why do we mention it?
So you know what you're up against.

I always feel like somebody's watchin' me...

UK - University students in Cheltenham say they are being spied on and filmed by residents in St Paul's. The students say people hid in bushes to watch them in an attempt to gather evidence of anti-social behaviour. (more) (sing-a-long)

Handwriting That Remembers What It Hears

The boss talks. You take some notes. Three days later... "That's not what I said!"

You are an investigator; interviewing a suspect. At the deposition... "That's not what I meant! I was being sarcastic when I said, 'Oh, sure I did it.'"

Hummm.... Let's ask Mr. Pen. Mr. Pen was there. He wrote the notes. He heard you. Hey, Mr. Pen. What did you hear?

As Pen is my witness. Here hear... [insert irrefutable audio proof here]

Mr. Pen, of course, is just a nom de plume.
His real name is the Pulse, aka “smartpen”, by Livescribe. (more)
Note to Executives:
Keep in mind, Mr. Pen could be "in anyone's pocket." Just recording.
Note to Teachers:
Mr. Pen is smart. Write a math problem with him... and the answer appears on his display! Keep Mr. Pen away from math exam papers.
Look for future smart pens to be even smarter. "Open Chanel 'D'."

Wiretap Recordings Found

Turkey - Police found wiretapping records of former Chief of General Staff Hilmi Özkök’s phone conversations at retired Brig. Levent Ersöz’s home Friday, as part of the Ergenekon investigation. Ersöz was caught at a hospital in Ankara on Thursday and detained in connection with the ongoing case against the gang. In July, he had fled to Moscow. (more)

Want a job in TSCM?

This one was just posted...
CERTIFIED TECHNICAL SECURITY INVESTIGATOR - AIKEN, SC
This is a long term contract position for Savannah River Site located in Aiken, SC. Must be a U. S. Citizen.

DUTIES:
Performs all duties and responsibilities described for a Certified Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) Technician contained in DOE M 470.4-4, "Information Security", Section E, and "Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Program"; and as an alternate TEMPEST and Protected Transmissions System (PTS) Coordinator as detailed in DOE M 205.1-3, "Telecommunications Security".

Serves as the Savannah River Site (SRS) primary POC and subject matter expert on Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) issues. Provides TSCM support to all SRS activities, as directed by DOE-SR TSCM Program Manager. This includes ensuring that specified areas are free from audio or optical technical surveillance devices and that equipment being introduced into those areas has not been manipulated to surreptitiously provide information to unauthorized persons or foreign governments... (more)

SpyCam Story #509 - "Yo, ho ho..."

UK - A Royal Navy petty officer was jailed for two years today for spying... Tom Paul Opie, 36, cut holes in the ceiling and wall of a changing room to secretly film the women on his mobile phone... Plymouth Crown Court heard that his 18-year Navy career has now ended in disgrace and his wife has left him in disgust. (more)

Your Third Eye Has an Indelible Memory

The VIEVU PVR-PRO 2 is an enhanced WEARABLE video recording device for use by consumers and professionals wishing to capture their daily events or protect themselves from liability.

The design enables the camera to be attached to the user so that their perspective is captured during their routine daily events.

Video files are downloaded to a PC via simple drag-and-drop. Once transferred, the files can be edited or uploaded to your favorite video sharing site. The camera operates via an on/off switch which also serves as a lens cover.

VIEVU PVR-PRO can record and store approximately 4 hours of video and audio in SVGA quality format. (more)

Industrial Espionage - Sony Ericsson Ripped Off

A number of stolen prototypes of Sony Ericsson mobile phones were found at the home of a company employee, Swedish police said on Wednesday.

Sony Ericsson is keeping quiet about the situation. A spokesman at the company confirmed that a number of prototypes were involved, but wouldn't elaborate on any of the details, Computer Sweden reported...

What the person was planning to do with the phones -- which are worth about 750,000 Swedish kronor (US$90,000), according to the police -- and what kind of devices were stolen remains unclear.

Prototypes can be very valuable to the competition, because they show where a company is heading in the long term, according to Chris Hazelton, research director for mobile and wireless at The 451 Group. (more)
Think of all the similar competing cell phones which debut at the same time. Just coincidence? Example: iPhone vs. LG KE850 (photos courtesy engadget.com)

Secret Maps in "Monolpoly" Pieces! True or False

Did the British Secret Service, MI-5, send specially packaged versions of the popular board game "Monopoly" to prisoners of war in Germany during World War II?

Did these games have escape maps hidden inside the playing pieces?

Check your answers here.

Nortel Goes Chapt. 11 - Spying Concerns to Blame

As Nortel files for bankruptcy... a less-discussed factor may have scuttled the struggling networking company's last hope for a savior: concerns over Chinese cyberspying...

The most interested potential acquirer of the Ethernet division may have been Chinese company Huawei... The Shenzhen-based networking giant has a murky history of cooperation with its homeland's authoritarian regime, and concerns over Huawei's government ties, according to some industry-watchers and security analysts, may have spooked Nortel's customers that carried sensitive U.S. government data and scuttled the Chinese company's offer...

The Chinese company has long been searching for an opportunity to expand to North America...

Given Huawei's history, a tie-up with the company would raise the specter of a hidden back door in a router or switch, siphoning that data to foreign spies. (more)

Our Favorite Spies - Patrick McGoohan

Los Angeles - Patrick McGoohan, an Emmy-winning actor who created and starred in the cult classic television shows "Secret Agent" ("Danger Man") and "The Prisoner" has died. He was 80.

McGoohan died Tuesday in Los Angeles after a short illness, his son-in-law, film producer Cleve Landsberg, said Wednesday.

McGoohan won two Emmys for his work on the Peter Falk detective drama "Columbo," and more recently appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson film "Braveheart." But he was best known as the title character Number Six in "The Prisoner," a surreal 1960s British series in which a former spy is held captive in a small village and constantly tries to escape. (more) (The Prisoner tribute) (Amazon - Secret Agent, The Prisoner)

Where are the real TSCM spy jobs?

These might be harsh times in the jobs market, but it seems there is still plenty of work for people who can provide their own dark suits and sunglasses. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States's famed law enforcement agency, is seeking to fill thousands of posts as it embarks on the biggest recruitment drive in its 101-year history.

The vacancies include 850 special agents... There are a further 2,100 "professional staff positions" available behind the scenes: jobs include intelligence analysts, fingerprint experts, language specialists and electronics technicians, presumably for help with wire-tapping and other hi-tech eavesdropping. (more)

Our Favorite Spies - Robert Vaughn

by Christopher Arnott, Arts & Literature, New Haven Advocate
...the least-remembered star of the lot, Robert Vaughn. His timing is good — the successful 40-DVD complete "U.N.C.L.E." box set was released a year ago. But after U.N.C.L.E. was cancelled... history got in his way. While the reminiscences of his cool-hero counterparts are little more than fleshed-out filmographies, Vaughn's adventures take place in the real world...

Vaughn cured Martin Luther King's hiccups. He rode the funeral train of his assassinated friend Bobby Kennedy from New York to Washington following the ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral, events he describes in compelling detail. As the first major Hollywood celebrity to speak out openly against the Vietnam War, Vaughn went on "Firing Line," William F. Buckley's TV show, to debate him; Buckley was unprepared for Vaughn's clear grasp of the issues. The show's in-house referee declared the debate a draw...

...he had to be hustled out of his hotel into the sanctity of the International Hotel, Vaughn nearly lost all the interviews he'd compiled with survivors of the McCarthy-era Hollywood blacklist, data he was compiling for his master's thesis (later published as Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting)...

Robert Vaughn emerges, with all the derring-do of his immortal Napoleon Solo character, as the most authoritative voice of a time when overlooking major social issues in favor of more warmed-over Hollywood lore seems like heresy.

Referring to his book, A Fortunate Life by Robert Vaughn...
Vaughn doesn't shy away from sensationalism and candor — he drops names as avidly as the professional hanger-on George Hamilton. But his mix of honesty, integrity, loyalty, political passions, cultural context and open-eyed excitement at the world around him lifts his book above the tired nostalgia of his blue-eyed buff-boy brethren — it fits the present-day Obama era. "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."'s old enough to be a great-grandfather, but man, he's still hip. (more) (Amazon - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)

What can hide in books and record for 69 hours?

This credit card size digital voice recorder measures in at just 6.5 millimeters in thickness and features 1GB of built-in storage, a flip-out USB connector, and flush-mounted controls. It can also be used as a MP3 player and USB flash drive. It records in high quality WAV file format and files can be easily copied or deleted just as with a standard USB storage device.

With only 36g weight the Ultra-thin Digital Voice Recorder offers a 69-hour recording time and built-in Li-Ion battery that is rechargeable via USB connection. (more)
Why do we mention it?
So you know what you are up against.

Old News. Still Scary. Bugged Keyboards.

via the manufacturer's web site...
The Hardware KeyLogger Keyboard Edition looks and behaves exactly like a normal keyboard, but it keeps a record of all keystrokes typed on it. The recording process is totally transparent to the end user. The keystrokes can be retrieved by an administrator with a password.

We buy all the keyboards from keyboard manufacturers, and then convert them... The keyboards are not marked in any way, so you will have a "stealthy" keyboard that can be slipped unnoticed into your corporate and/or home environment... We also offer "slightly-used" keyboards for our corporate customers upon request (the Hardware KeyLogger chip inside is new). These keyboards look just like your everyday keyboard that has been on your desk for a while, so they can be placed into your corporate environment with ease. You may also send in your own keyboard, which we will convert to the Hardware KeyLogger Keyboard Edition. (source)

Inspector Suspended for Illegal Eavesdropping

Portugal - An inspector of the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) was suspended for 18 months, the hardest penalty before the compulsory retirement, for involvement in illegal listening and monitoring... discovered a net of illegal espionage that eavesdropped, monitored and followed people. (more)

"Hey Kids! Works like the real House Arrest kind!"

via the manufacturer...
Num8 is the world’s first GPS locator device that has been specifically designed with children in mind. It tells you exactly where your child is, anytime — at home or even abroad. All you need is a mobile phone or a computer to find their precise location.

And unlike similar locator products, num8 has been cleverly concealed in a child’s digital watch that is securely fastened to your child and cannot be removed or deactivated without your knowledge. (more)
24-hour time?!?! Don't most kids have it hard enough comprehending the concept of 12-hour digital time?

Why Tap It When You Can Own It?

From the reality is stranger than fiction file: Concerns about spying may have killed, or at least stalled, a plan for Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. to buy some Nortel (NT) assets.

According to a Forbes piece published today, Nortel’s plans to hand off its Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) division to Huawei for $400 million were scuttled over concerns about Chinese cyber-spying.

“The Shenzhen, China-based networking giant has a murky history of cooperation with its homeland's authoritarian regime,” the Forbes piece reads. “And concerns over Huawei's government ties, according to some industry watchers and security analysts, may have spooked Nortel's customers that carry sensitive U.S. government data and scuttled the Chinese company's offer.” (source) (more)

Illegal Corporate Wiretapping Brings Disruption

Remember Bexar Metropolitan Water District General Manager, Gilbert Olivares? (background) His indictment last August included 12 counts of Illegally Intercepting Oral Communications. He was accused of wiretapping his employees. The organization was knocked off its pins... and still hasn't recovered.

Texas - The Bexar Metropolitan Water District's board asked Gov. Rick Perry to appoint a lone conservator to guide and advise the agency as it tries to emerge from years of troubled management. (more)

Security Director's Budget Booster
Bexar is an excellent example of illegal bug and wiretap fallout.
Aside from the immediate damage, colateral damage often includes:
• defending wrongful termination suits,
• hiring replacement employee costs,
• crippled employee morale,
• PR nightmares,
• stockholder suits,
• and general public embarrassment.

Budget for Eavesdropping Detection Audits with all this in mind. Proactive audits are an essential element of a complete security program.

Well, duh... DECT

The DECT Forum, the worldwide association of the home communication industry, has taken note of reports about possible security issues of DECT wireless telephony systems. The DECT Forum assures that it takes such reports seriously and will consider these investigations...

The DECT Forum also states that it is a criminal act to eavesdrop telephone conversations. It is impossible to accidentally eavesdrop on telephone conversations and therefore the risk for users is very low. Only those with a clear criminal energy and intent and a sophisticated knowledge would be capable of eavesdropping. (more)
I feel better now, don't you?

Amazing Stories #102 - The Bored Spy

Canada - A B.C. Mountie has been docked eight days’ pay by an RCMP disciplinary board after skipping 35 days of work because he got bored during a one-year secondment to Canada’s spy agency. (more)

SpyCam Story #508 - "Oh no, not the Ganesha!"

A long, interesting story which details several incidents, laws and general concerns about spycams in India, Australia and Southeast Asia...

Take care before you change clothes, before you take a shower. You could be on camera. That cute little bug inside the bathroom cabinet, behind the dressing table mirror, could make you an actor very soon...

The spycam can be concealed in many innocent looking objects, like toys, radios, clocks, speakers, smoke alarms, even Ganeshas. Some of them come with night vision and are powered by mains adaptor or battery. An audio facility is available on most covert cameras, which picks up speech up to 20 feet away. (more)

FutureWatch: Tesla Was Right

Walking around Fulton Innovations' showcase at the Consumer Electronics Show, it's easy to think that 2009 will be the year of wireless electricity.

A blender whirs wireless, and a laptop powers up without a battery. Like a modern day version of the 1904 World's Fair, it's the miracle of electricity without a plug in sight. The devices are all powered by electromagnetic coils built into the charging surface. (more)

FutureWatch: As wireless power (ecoupled) becomes ubiquitous, expect parasitic bugs, wiretaps, voice recorders and spycams to creep into these environments. With free unlimited power and no need for batteries, these devices will become incredibly smaller in size.

UPDATE 1/21/09 - This year probably won't be the tipping point for wireless electricity. But judging from all the new techniques and applications of this awe-inspiring technology, getting power through the airwaves could soon be viable. (more)

"Watch your head."

A spying device for the incredibly introspective, or just a great gift for your special someone...

"360 degree mirror 7 panel system is the first mirror ever that allows you to see any part of your head. Open up the 7 panels to see completely around your entire head, or pull the 360 degree arms strait forward and have a double mirror within inches of your face." (more)

...or, make one surveillance camera do the work of several cameras.

More 'How-to-Spy' Websites

Security Directors
Show to the boss that,
"If they can read, they can spy.
If they can spy, they will spy."
• http://www.how-to-spy-computers.info/
• http://www.e-stealth.com/
• Spy on any Bluetooth equipped cell phone for $9.54
• Spy Transmitters on Ebay click click click click click click click
• Yes, Ebay has a special section called "Bugs & Transmitters."
• Homemade Spy Gear
• Make Magazine's Homemade Spy Gear (video)
• Dress like a spy. :)

Electronic Eavesdropping Audits
are no longer an optional budget item.
Call me to begin your quarterly inspections. ~Kevin

Private Security Company Wiretapping 'Service' Busted

In another twist to Peru's oil-kickback scandal, police have arrested five people for allegedly recording the telephone conversations that revealed the scheme.

Attorney General Gladys Echaiz on Thursday announced the arrest of two active and three retired naval officers who ran a private security company that allegedly ran a black market wiretapping service. A civilian woman who worked at the company, Business Track SAC, was also arrested...

Investigators have not revealed if Business Track was hired to tap the lobbyists' telephone lines or who fed the tapes to the news media...

Jailed lobbyist Romulo Leon testified to the state attorney's office that Business Track sold the tapes to Petro-Tech Peruana S.A., a company competing with Discover Petroleum for contracts in a September public auction...

Petro-Tech has repeatedly rejected links to the wiretaps but acknowledged Friday that it hired Business Track in 2006 to audit its computer security systems...

Business Track offers "information security" services and equipment, according to its Web site, including the detection of wiretaps on telephone lines, cell phone service blockers, polygraph test equipment and voice distorters. (more)

R/C spy plane claim two al-Qaeda chiefs

Predator drones, operating with impunity in the skies above north-west Pakistan, have claimed their latest high-profile victims, it was confirmed yesterday...

Both have been linked to suicide bomb attacks in Pakistan in recent months and were on the FBI's most-wanted list over the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. (more)

An Eavesdropper Reminisces

Billed as the most embarrassing book ever written about the private life of an African leader, a former Nigerian president is portrayed by his first wife as a sly, violent, vindictive womaniser...

What ensues is an almost slapstick riot of affairs and breathless high politics punctuated with domestic violence and desperation. And it's one in which Mama Iyabo is happy to name names. In the early 1970s her particular nemesis was an older married woman called Mowo Sofowora. One evening, she recalls: "I was eavesdropping on the phone downstairs while Obasanjo was in the bedroom. They had spoken for about 30 minutes when she then said she was having a headache. I had heard enough, so I butted in: 'It's that headache that will kill you, shameless married woman dating a younger man'. On hearing my voice, Obasanjo charged downstairs to beat me and we had one of the many fights that had come to define our marriage." (more)

20 Minute Video About Cell Phone Bugging

Cell Phones are being used as bugs, taps, tracking, spying.

Here are 20 minutes of various video clips about how it works. (video)

"They just make nice paperweights."

Thailand - Chief of Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Thawee Sodsong denied having tapped a telephone of Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga. His statement came after Mr Pirapan claimed his phone has been tapped.

Although DSI has the bugging equipment, the organisation has the rules and laws of using it, and the ones who want to use the equipment need to ask for permission from DSI chief or his deputy, he said.

"Since I have taken this position for about one year, I can ensure you that we do not use the equipment to tap anyone," Pol Col Thawee told reporters. (more)

Bugging accusation adds to woes as M&S plans 1,100 job cuts

UK - The GMB union has accused Marks & Spencer of systematically bugging private conversations of its workers...

According to Personnel Today's sister publication Computer Weekly, the union will claim that M&S installed a secret, illegal "special line" in the workers' meeting room that allowed management to overhear their conversations.

Maria Ludkin, a GMB lawyer, alleged the information came from an employee at the technology company Eurosis, which supplied the microphones and other equipment used to bug the room. (more)

Murray Associates has been warning its corporate clients about the relationship between the down economy and increased snooping and dirty tricks. This is a good real-life example.

If M&S indeed made this mistake, they deserve what they will get. However, if this is a union 'set-up' ("The news comes as the trade union is preparing to take the retailer to tribunal over the sacking of whistleblower Tony Goode."), they deserve what they will get... if, the truth wins out.

Today, this is unnecessarily time-consuming and expensive ...and a PR nightmare for both sides.

All this might have been avoided if independent eavesdropping detection audits were part of the company's security program. Audits a very cost-effective alternative to litigation.

Tot's Tattle-Toy Bugs Pop

NE - The teddy bear had a bug. That's what a man alleges in a lawsuit that grew out of a child custody fight in Nebraska.

William Lewton is accusing his ex-wife Diane Divingnzzo and her father of hiding a recording device in his daughter's toy in order to spy on him... His attorney says it's believed hundreds of hours of conversations were recorded.

Lewton, his daughter -- who is now 5 -- and five other plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial. They're also seeking damages, alleging invasion of privacy and violation of state and federal wiretapping laws. (more)

SpyCam Story #507 - Bowling for Blackmail

via gizmodo.com...
Like the Rovio, WowWee's Spyball is a Wi-Fi-enabled spycam robot. But it transforms from sorta conspicuous ball to spycam for surreptitious shots. You can connect ad-hoc via Wi-Fi or over the internet.

The Spyball™ spy-cam is a remote controlled, Wi-Fi enabled, transforming robotic ball that introduces an element of play to telepresence functionality. Affordable, easy-to-use, and rechargeable, the Spyball spy-cam captures video and still images and is equipped with sleek wheels for fast, smooth mobility and 360-degree turns. Transforming from ball to camera and back again, the Spyball spy-cam moves with stealth and in disguise – perfect for spying on siblings or peeking into the kitchen. (more)

Corporate Data Protection Spending Up in 2009

...small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will spend... more of their IT budgets on security in 2009 than 2008, according to a new study from Forrester Research Inc. The change will result from a shift in security strategy from computer security threat defense to corporate data protection. That more closely mirrors the strategy at large companies, says Forrester's "The State of SMB Security: 2008-2009." (more)

Data is dormant. Protection, relatively easy.
Data becomes much more valuable when it is discussed and decisions are made. At this stage it is also easier to snatch. Protection against electronic eavesdropping is often overlooked.
Every company – small, medium or large – needs this minimal protection program.

Spying On Mayor's Emails, An Inside Job

Canada - A former senior bureaucrat ordered Vaughan's chief information officer to snoop on Mayor Linda Jackson's emails without her knowledge, a newly released forensic review shows...

The report, obtained by the Toronto Star yesterday through a freedom of information request, was unable to determine conclusively who accessed those emails or how, but did conclude it wasn't an outside job. (more)

Microphones with Brains

Ireland - One of those leading the work (an electronic stethoscope) at University College Dublin is Dr. Scott Rickard, a US scientist with a sparkling academic pedigree in applied mathematics and electrical engineering.

As an expert in audio identification techniques his work brought him to the attention of the FBI, where he helped develop an eavesdropping technology to identify a speaker's location in a crowded room.

Using two closely spaced microphones, it was possible to separate and localise an arbitrary number of speakers. "So if you were in a room and 10 people were speaking, you could tell who said what, when," said Dr Rickard. "That is really important for the FBI - they have lots of recordings of people and they want to know what was said and who said it." (more)

SpyCam Story #506 - Marriage Privacy Rights

Attorney, Steve Lombardi reports...
Family Law: Electronic surveillance of wife's bedroom activity leads to $22,500 judgment
The decision discusses a video cassette recorder positioned above the ceiling, a camera concealed in an alarm clock located in the bedroom regularly used by Cathy, and a motion sensing “optical eye” installed in headboard of the bed in that room.” The District Court found Jeffrey had invaded Cathy’s privacy and entered judgment in the amount of $22,500.00.

It’s pretty clear the Court finds married spouses even during the marriage, and while living in the same residence could be found to violate the other’s right to privacy if electronic equipment is used to record activity.

This is a case of first impression in Iowa but one that has been decided in North Carolina finding estranged spouses living separately have an expectation of privacy between themselves. (Miller v. Brooks, 472 S.E.2d 350 (N.C. Ct. App 1996)) And also Clayton v. Richards, 47 S.W.3d 149 (Tex. App. 2001) Even during a marriage the bedroom carries with it an expectation of privacy. (more)

Reporter Reviews Commonly Available Spy Gear

An entertaining article about the latest eavesdropping tools available to the general public. Includes: detailed usage, evaluation and pricing information. Oriented toward marital situations. Serious information security and privacy ramifications for workplace environments.
from...
Phase one: bugging the house. In the old days a bug worked using radio waves. Meaning it had a range. Meaning you had to stand within 50 yards of the room you were bugging, wearing a large pair of headphones and a suspicious expression to hear anything. Now the latest bug uses GSM technology, so you can phone it from anywhere in the world and listen in without contravening any communications laws. (more)

Run, Duck and Cover

Turkey - Following the recent discovery of two covert listening devices at the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) headquarters in Ankara, party officials have begun to investigate whether the devices were planted by party members. (more)
meanwhile...
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, or MİT, is undergoing a comprehensive restructuring to increase its effectiveness... The Information Systems unit, which tapped wires and undertook grey zone activities, was left outside the intelligence department. Deputy undersecretariat for operations is replaced with the technical deputy undersecretariat, which now coordinates departments of information systems and electronic and technical intelligence. (more)

Meanwhile, at another Scot Palace...

(see previous palace story first)
Scotland - Royal security chiefs have launched an investigation after plans of the Queen's official residence in Scotland were found near a footpath...

The architect's drawings were discovered under a bush on a path leading to the Water of Leith, in Roseburn, Edinburgh... the plans showed power ducts, cables and a transformer, as well as the sizes of the gardens and locations for boiler rooms, gas meters, store cupboards, kitchens, toilets and wash areas. (more)

The spy doth protest too much, methinks.

Remember the story Queen's Electric Teapot 'Bugged'?
It happened in The Queen's Scottish Castle, Balmoral.
If not, take a moment to review.

A Scottish newspaper, The Press and Journal, is now reporting... Russian ex-secret agent rejects Balmoral samovar bugging claims. Unfortunately, reporter, Ryan Crighton's fact-checker must have taken the day off. (It was New Year's Day).

Let's review the story...
"A former Russian agent (Mikhail Lyubimov) has rejected claims that the Royal Family’s north-east residence was the target for Soviet spies." This reflects the official Russian position. Lyubimov, now a novelist with a Kim Philby book under his belt, backed Russian official position during the last British/Russian spy row, as well.

"...(Lyubimov) dismissed the reports, saying that the alleged bugging method was ineffective and useless." No surprise here, but no logic either.

“'Buckingham Palace and the Queen were never objects of great interest to us...'" No verisimilitude here, either. Russian surveillance, dating back to 1832, is famous. Everything is a possible target. Getting a bug into the Queen's Castle - even an "ineffective and useless" one - would be a major brag for the KGB.

"...a souvenir which had been given to the US in the 1960s contained a bugging device, however." Funny, one would think a Cold War secret agent would be more familiar with his agency's biggest hit. The Thing, as it was called, was "given to the US" in 1946 and discovered in 1952.

John La Carre, another ex-secret agent turned spy novelist, summed up his opinion of Lyubimov's last documentary novel this way: "Mikhail Lyubimov isn't just an ex-KGB officer. He's a ... mischievous novelist and a skillful self-publicist. My hunch is, we're dealing with one of his little fantasies..." Who knows if Mr. La Carre's hunch is correct, but...

"Madam, how like you this play?"
Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, 222–230

If you have read this far, you will really want to see this!

SpyCam Story #505 - The Church Robber

NC - The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office is searching for a man who was caught on camera stealing electronics from a church. Anyone with information on the man should call Cleveland County Crime Stoppers at 704-481-TIPS. (more photos)

Side lesson: If you buy a CCTV system to document crime, be sure to consider picture quality. Just keep repeating, "Facial recognition. Facial recognition. Fac..."

Dog Bites Man Story (Bug Version)

Australia - Russian intelligence bugged Australia's embassy in Moscow, cabinet documents published by the National Archives today show.

The major security breach is revealed for the first time in a cabinet minute recording that foreign minister Andrew Peacock briefed cabinet on July 25, 1978...

It was not the first occasion that listening devices had been found at the Australian embassy in Moscow. An extensive array of microphones were found in the newly established chancery in late 1946. Australian embassies in other Eastern bloc countries were also subject to ''technical attack'' by communist intelligence services. (more)

Recent USB Memory Stick Policy Poll

Many organizations have policies governing the use of thumb drives.
What best describes your situation?
A. Thumb drives are banned and not used. (41%)
B. Thumb drives are banned, but we still use them on occasion. (12%)
C. My company had no policy on the use of thumb drives. (46%)
(source)
(I know, it only adds up to 99%. Take it to PollDaddy.com)

Bugging Device Found - Şeref Sağıroğlu Smiles

Turkey - A covert listening device has been discovered at the headquarters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Ankara.

The bugging device was found in the office of Algan Hacaloğlu, the CHP’s assistant secretary- general, earlier this week by his secretary. The CHP’s chief accountant, Mustafa Özyürek, said on Tuesday that experts were examining the device. (more) (told you so)