The Video Backlash Begins

UK - Councils have been criticised for using surveillance powers designed to combat serious crime and protect national security to spy on the public for minor crimes such as littering or unlawfully selling pot plants.

They were also found to be using them to investigate parents accused of lying about where they live to get their children in to better schools.

But Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, will today announce plans to change the law to ensure authorities only use the intrusive techniques, under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa), for serious offences. (more)

Spokesman Resigns Over Secret Phone Recordings

CA - Scott Gerber, the communications director for Attorney General Jerry Brown who admitted recording phone conversations with reporters without their permission --- including Chronicle senior political writer Carla Marinucci -- resigned Monday. (more)

You're not crazy... "The thought would not have occurred to you if everything were fine."

People are often ashamed, scared or afraid of being called paranoid when they suspect eavesdropping or wiretapping. In most cases, something is wrong. The information leaks and subsequent feedback may not always be caused by a bug or wiretap, but something is wrong.

Take the case of Courtney Love...

Courtney Love's Paranoid Sounding Claims Backed Up By Other Sources

...the New York Daily News quotes not only Love, but also a few corroborating sources who back up her story...investigator hired by Love not only co-signs her story, but states that there's proof! From the News:

Adam DelMonte and Michael Kenworthy of AC Digital Services...say they recorded the "blitz" on security cameras they installed in Love's house. "These impostors then flipped the situation on Mrs. Cobain and tried to strong-arm her and scare her into feeling she needed to hire them for protection," DelMonte and Kenworthy assert in a letter. "Fortunately, we were able...to get them out of her life."

They go on to say that Love's former staffers installed "numerous types of spyware on her computers and her phone. Both her camera and microphone on her cell phone were bugged at one point."

...she says she's called law enforcement to look into her case, she's gotten no response. She chalks the disinterest in her claims, rightfully, to a less-than-stellar reputation, saying, "My biggest problem is that I'm Courtney Love."

That doesn't mean, however, that she has a lesser right to privacy than anyone else.

You can begin to solve your own spying problems without: buying spy detection gadgets, hiring a private investigator or sweep team, or even admitting your suspicions to anyone. Read Quit Bugging Me.

Alert - Free Blackberry Spying App Released

The US-CERT has issued a warning about a new, free BlackBerry application that transforms the phone into a bugging device.

PhoneSnoop, which runs on the victim's phone, lets an attacker stealthily call the targeted BlackBerry, answer the call, turn on the speakerphone, and let the attacker listen in on the victim. The app has to be configured to recognize the attacker's phone number, and it automatically and quickly answers it to evade detection.

Sheran Gunasekera, the developer of PhoneSnoop, says he was surprised US-CERT identified his app in an advisory. "I am happy that they did, though, because it's one step further in getting the word out," says Gunasekera, who is director of IT security at Hermis Consulting in Jakarta, Indonesia.

"I think the reason my app was flagged was because it's free and more easily accessible" than more expensive commercial spy tools. (more) (video)

Side note: The attacker either needs to have physical access to your Blackberry to load the spyware program, or in some way, trick you into doing it.

Police Chief Charged in Bugging Scheme

MN - The police chief of Gaylord is now charged with two gross misdemeanors in an alleged "bugging" scheme.

Police Chief Dale Lee Roiger is accused of having one of his officers secretly plant a digital recorder to see if City Council members were meeting illegally at the Chamber of Commerce office. (more)

Oddly, the article mentions a digital recorder, which stores the recording in a solid-state memory, yet shows a photo of analog cassette tapes.

Example photo of a digital recorder...

This one is high quality, voice activated and stores up to 300 hours of conversation; about $375. on ebay. Lower fidelity digital recorders are also being sold in the $10.-$40. price range. Be careful what you say, and have your office swept periodically.

Data Loss Almost Doubles

UK - An article this week at The Register states that between November 2008 and September 2009, there were 356 self-reported data losses this year by UK companies and government departments. In the same time frame a year before, there were 190 such incidents reported.

The information was compiled by Software AG, which used a Freedom of Information Act request to get the data from the UK Information Commissioner's Office. (more)

Spyware fine, $476. Getting X's e-mails, priceless.

WI - An Appleton man charged with installing spyware on his ex-wife's computer was fined after he entered into a plea agreement on a lesser charge.

Brent J. Walbrun, 47, W3291 Hartland Court, originally was charged with interception of an electronic communication under the state's electronic eavesdropping law for installing the spyware on the computer.

In October, Walbrun's ex-wife discovered the spyware program when she realized Walbrun was intercepting her e-mails. Walbrun entered a no-contest plea Oct. 19 to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and was fined $476. (more)

Spyware Goes Legit

Australia - Distributors for new software that allows parents to spy on their children's text messages say they are still hopeful, as they try to get approval for their product.

The software, which allows parents to see every text message their child sends and receives, was due to be on sale in August, but the earliest it will now be available is early next year.

Civil libertarians and technology experts have deep concerns about the privacy implications of the product. (more)

Ice Pick is New Car Key for Burglars

(Reports coming in from GA, MA, and IL)
...The unknown sharp object penetrates the door metal, hits the lock mechanism and disengages it. The burglar or burglars slip inside the vehicle without having to break a window or otherwise heavily damage the car, which would call attention to themselves.

Because the damage is minor, the owners may not realize they are victims until they notice items missing from the car or items that were moved. The puncture hole that the intruders leave under the lock, usually on the driver's-side door, is only up to about a half-inch in diameter.

The thieves prefer to hit General Motors cars, Golike said.

"Most were GM vehicles," he said. "Many of the GM cars have a lock mechanism that somebody's familiar with."

He said some of the cars were Dodges.

The thieves target just about anything of value, including cash, wallets, purses and guns left in the cars.

The first such "punch" car burglary reported in the greater Alton area happened to a vehicle owned by Telegraph Photo Editor John Badman. That burglary happened Sept. 23 while his Chevrolet Impala was parked in the parking lot of Fast Eddie's Bon-Air tavern along East Broadway. The tavern is at 1530 E. Broadway.

Once inside the car, the burglar popped the lid of the trunk, making off with $14,000 in camera equipment - after first relocking the car door. (more) (more) (more)

The Chevron Secret Recordings Case Continues

An American whose secret recordings have placed him at the center of a $27 billion lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador is a convicted drug trafficker, records show, throwing another complication into a case already tainted by accusations of bribery and espionage.

The lawsuit pits Ecuadorean peasants against Chevron over oil pollution in the Amazon and has been a major headache for the company for nearly a decade, producing a saga that underscores many of the hazards and ethical challenges of oil companies working in the developing world.

The company appeared to gain the upper hand in August when it revealed video recordings — captured on watches and pens implanted with bugging devices — that suggested a bribery scheme involving Ecuadorean officials, and possibly even the judge hearing the case.

But the company was put on the defensive again on Thursday, after lawyers for the peasants revealed that one of two men who made the tapes was a convicted felon. Court and other records provided by the plaintiffs show that Wayne Hansen, the American who helped make the recordings, was convicted of conspiring to traffic 275,000 pounds of marijuana from Colombia to the United States in 1986. He also was sued successfully in 2005 by a woman who accused him of unleashing his two pit bulls to attack her and her dog...

“It’s another blockbuster development in a case that never runs short of them,” said Ralph G. Steinhardt, a professor at George Washington University Law School...

Chevron has said it had no involvement in the videotaping, and company spokesmen have said Mr. Hansen was never their point of contact. “We’ve had no association with this guy,” said Donald Campbell, a Chevron spokesman. (more) (the videos)

Eavesdropping on Smartphone Secrets

As cell phones become more like pocket computers, many people are calling for closer scrutiny of their security...

"The phone is a very stripped-down environment," says Benjamin Jun, vice president of technology at Cryptography Research, a security research company based in San Francisco, CA. "Which means that someone who's trying to attack the device generally has an easier time, because it's not as complicated as a desktop system."

Jun believes attacks on mobile devices are particularly serious because these devices are being used to access high-value corporate data. (more)

Australia - The Heat is On

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), says it has had its most intense period of operational activity since 2005. ASIO's annual report says in the last financial year it detected and responded to a new alleged terrorist cell...

It also picked up internet espionage as a rapidly growing threat to Government and business information. (more)

LA DA Bugged

Los Angeles - ROBERT H. PHILIBOSIAN, as one of his first acts as district attorney, had a “bug”—the electronic sort—removed from the DA’s executive office.

Philibosian says that when he walked through the executive office after he was appointed at the end of 1982, he asked Clayton Anderson, chief of the Bureau of Investigation: “Is this office bugged?”

He recites that Anderson responded: “Yes it is,” and pointed to an electrical outlet.

The former district attorney says he told Anderson: “I want it out of here now.” (more)

Quote of the Day - The Off-Site Meeting

"And, if you're into taxes...the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants kicks off its National Tax Conference at the J.W. Marriott in Washington. Hanging around the hotel and eavesdropping between now and Friday, when the conference closes, could save you thousands of dollars." ~ Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic (more)

This is an off-handed, humorous comment.
It is also deadly accurate.

I handle counterespionage strategy for my client's off-site meetings. Hotels and conference centers are the worst. It is not at all unusual to catch the competition (and unidentified others) hanging around, eavesdropping, crashing meetings and banquets, picking up unsecured papers and engaging meeting participants – one indiscretion can blackmail a loyal employee into becoming a million dollar problem.

The technical possibilities for eavesdropping are considerable as well. Bugs are easy to plant. Most meeting presenters use wireless microphones.

Competitors reserve a cosy hotel room above the meeting rooms. They arm themselves with a sensitive radio receiver and a directional antenna. Crashing a meeting is a no-brainer.

You can see how a 2-3 person team from the competition could clean up with very little investment. One might almost call them negligent if they weren't there.

Having an off-site meeting?
Get a counterespionage strategy.
Avoid leaking your corporate blood.

One More Good Reason to Lock USB Ports

The new Devil Drive elevates the office prank to a new level of sophistication and maddening effectiveness. It looks like a regular USB thumb drive, but it's actually a devious device of electronic harassment. Its use should be strictly limited to deserving subjects only.

The Devil Drive has three functions:
(1) it causes annoying random curser movements on the screen,
(2) it types out random phrases and garbage text, and
(3) it toggles the Caps Lock.

It allows you to select any combination of these frustrating functions, or all of them. It also allows you to set the time interval between events (ranges from 5 seconds to 15 minutes; the longer intervals are recommended for the most maddening effects).

Note: the Caps Lock toggle function does not work on Macs. To deploy the Devil Drive, just discreetly insert it into any unused USB port on the victim's computer (no drivers are needed).

The Devil Drive never hits the "Enter" key and it never clicks the mouse button, but still you should not use it on anyone's computer who is doing critical work where any disruption could cause serious consequences; like any prank, exercise prudence and judgment before deploying. (more)