Security Chief Sentenced in Explosion Probe

WV - A federal judge sentenced a former Massey Energy Co. security chief to three years in prison for obstructing a criminal probe into the 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners in the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in four decades.

A jury in October convicted Hughie Elbert Stover of lying to federal investigators about a company policy of providing advance notice of federal inspections and of obstructing a federal criminal investigation into the blast by ordering the destruction of more than 50,000 documents. Mr. Stover, 60 year old, was the top security official at Massey's Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., at the time of the explosion. (more)

FutureWatch - Light Field Cameras

The first consumer light field camera has just been released. You'll never take another out-of-focus picture again.

"The very first light fields were captured at Stanford University over 15 years ago. The most advanced light field research required a roomful of cameras tethered to a supercomputer. Today, Lytro completes the job of taking light fields out of the research lab and making them available for everyone, in the form of the world’s first Lytro Light Field Camera" 

FutureWatch: Imagine this technology incorporated into CCTV surveillance cameras. No more waiting for the lens to focus. No more out of focus license plates, no more windy day auto-focus cognitive dissonance, no more fuzzy pictures of perps. Instant point, shoot and gottcha pix.

Click to enlarge.

Special Agent T-Shirt Contest #3

Contest Closed - We have a winner.

Who is this famous wiretapper? (Enter here.)
(Hint: the answer can be found at spybusters.com)

Click to enlarge.

The prize - our Limited Edition Special Agent Black T-Shirt. (Size: X-Large)


Answer: Gerard "Cheesebox" Callahan

("How limited," I hear you say.)  

Well, there are only three in the whole world! (one medium, one large, one x-large) And, they will be awarded in that order. So if you're a big Special Agent, this is YOUR contest.

We designed this custom t-shirt ourselves! It's easy, go to ooShirts.com. They have a DIY on-line design lab! All types of t's, all colors, all prices. These are the Champion brand with the logo on the left sleeve.

Shady Rat - Cell Phone Malware

A former McAfee researcher has used a previously unknown hole in smartphone browsers to plant China-based malware that can record calls, pinpoint locations and access user texts and emails. 

Just as U.S. companies are coming to grips with threats to their computer networks emanating from cyber spies based in China, a noted expert is highlighting what he says is an even more pernicious vulnerability in smartphones.

Dmitri Alperovitch, the formerMcAfee Inc. cyber security researcher best known for identifying a widespread China-based cyber espionage operation dubbed Shady Rat, has used a previously unknown hole in smartphone browsers to plant China-based malware that can commandeer the device, record its calls, pinpoint its location and access user texts and emails. He conducted the experiment on a phone running Google Inc.'s Android operating system, although he says Apple Inc.'s iPhones are equally vulnerable. (more)

Parasites are Not Supposed to Kill Their Hosts

Canada - An electronic stealth operation allegedly based in China hacks into Nortel Networks Inc., Canada's high-flying telecom superstar, loots its secrets for a decade and, says one cyber-security expert, contributes to the company's fatal implosion. 

Queen's University professor David Skillicorn points out that after the hackers penetrated Nortel around 2000, they began stealing technical papers, research and development reports, and strategic business plans.

After that, Nortel couldn't compete for contracts "because the hackers had their technical knowledge, their financials, their bids, before they submitted them," Skillicorn told Postmedia News. "How can you compete in an environment like that? These hackers weren't into Nortel just out of curiosity. They were using the stuff they got."

A Wall Street Journal report quotes Brian Shields, a 19-year Nortel veteran who led the internal investigation into the hacking. Shields apparently found spy software so deeply embedded in company computers that it took years to realize the size and pervasiveness of the problem. (more)

Political Pots Calling Kettle Black?

via China Daily...

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is advertising for automated computer softwares (sic) that will monitor people's posts on social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter.

The FBI's Strategic Information and Operations Center (SOIC) posted a tender for a "Social Media Application" on FedBizOpps.gov web on January 19.

The advertisement says the application will collect "open source" information and should be capable of sniffing through online media sites like news and social networking sites for keywords to help improve its real-time intelligence when it comes to current and emerging security threats.

Sources said some US government institutions have already used similar software to collect "open source" information, a practice that have been kept out of the knowledge of the public.

It is believed to be the first time the US government has admitted it will apply advanced technologies to monitor the public media. (more)

FutureWatch: Looking forward to an article about how this compares to their surveillance initiatives.

Android Toilet Paper - Five Apps for Wiping Data from Your Androids

If your phone gets lost or stolen — or if you decide to return or recycle it — you need to wipe it clean of your private data.

1: Built-in Android reset - This built-in functionality is the easiest to use. Go to the restore from the Settings menu and reset.

If you lost your phone, or need some extra features, have one of these on board.
2: Mobile Security
3: Autowipe
4: Android Lost
5: Lookout Security & Antivirus
(more)

Smartphone Apps Your Personal Information

Every time you use your smartphone app your personal information – emails, phone numbers and even photos – is sent off to dozens of Internet companies all over the world. And you are the one who is allowing them access.

­Most users are aware that Internet companies like to collect information on their clients so that they can target their adverts better. But the sheer extent of their spying is shocking. And it’s all buried in the small print of the license agreement few bother to read. Often the information collected has nothing to do with function of the application. (more)

News of the World phone hacking scandal could deepen and spread to the U.S.

The phone hacking scandal could deepen and spread to the U.S. after claims the private detective who hacked phones for the News of the World had American telephone numbers in his notes.

Glenn Mulcaire, who was jailed in 2007 for illegally accessing mobile-phone messages, had the numbers of singer Charlotte Church’s Los Angeles agent and New York publicist among thousands of pages of notes seized by Scotland Yard detectives, it has been claimed.

Miss Church, 26, whose personal phones and those of her parents were hacked by Mulcaire for at least four years, settled a lawsuit against News International on February 23.

News International, which closed the News of the World in July in an attempt to contain public anger, still faces possible claims by more than 800 'likely' victims identified by police as they sift through 11,000 pages of Mulcaire’s notes. (more)

CONTEST ALERT - Wednesday Noon (EST) - Last Special Agent Shirt

The famous Security Scrapbook contest back! 

Next Wednesday (noon EST) we will post a spy question. The first correct answer received wins! 

Click to enlarge.

We post this alert to give everyone an equal chance, as readers of the e-mail version receive these posts the following next day.

The prize - our Limited Edition Special Agent Black T-Shirt. 

("How limited," I hear you say.)  

Well, there are only three in the whole world! (one medium, one large, one x-large) And, they will be awarded in that order. So if you're a big Special Agent this is YOUR contest.

Did you know you could design custom t-shirts yourself? It's easy. I made these myself at ooShirts.com. They have a DIY on-line design lab! All types of t's, all colors, all prices. These are the Champion brand with the logo on the left sleeve.

ooShirts also provides design help, if needed. They suggested I use brighter colors to have the logo stand out better. They were 100% correct, but I went with muted gray and red for a subtle look (Special Agents don't have to shout it.) The shirt shows the colors correctly. The enlargement is brightened to show the fine detail of the printing, just look at the dots! This was a test run for us. We're thrilled.

SpyCam Story #655 - This Week in SpyCam News

NY - Corning police have made an arrest in connection with an alleged case of voyeurism at a Market Street tanning salon. Jesse R. Cady, 23, of Creek Side Drive, Cameron, is accused of secretly video-taping a woman while she was tanning at Beach House Tanning. (more)

UK - A Carlisle man has been accused of fitting secret cameras in bathrooms to spy on women and young girls. Mark Klein, 45, of Charles Street, appeared before the city’s magistrates’ court where he was charged with voyeurism and two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. (more)

KY - A bizarre and disturbing incident is playing out in Kentucky, where a star basketball player has been charged in connection with a video of a nude minor in his school's locker room and sharing the video to a host of other teenagers... 18-year-old Henderson County (Ky.) High senior basketball player Gavont Baker has been charged with video voyeurism and unlawful transaction with a minor in connection with a video of a nude teenager which was filmed in the Henderson locker room. (more)

GA - The voyeurism case involving the former deputy registrar of the Marietta office of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles is nearing a conclusion, with a plea agreement possible this week... The case began when the BMV office, located in the Frontier Shopping Center, was closed Sept. 23 by the Ohio State Highway Patrol after someone reported the discovery of a hidden camera in a bathroom at the office. (more)

NY - Tracy Gurnett, a Recreation Department staffer who has already sued the Town of Wheatfield once, has filed another notice of claim accusing town officials of spying on her by installing a video camera in her office. Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe and Town Attorney Robert O’Toole said this week that the surveillance camera was installed for security reasons and followed other cameras previously set up at other Recreation Department locations. Political sources told The Buffalo News that the camera was installed in the wake of suspicion that Gurnett was using the town photocopier in her office to run off copies of election fliers last fall for her live-in boyfriend, former Supervisor Timothy E. Demler (more)

NJ - Opening statements Friday in the trial of a former Rutgers student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate making out with another man focused on whether the defendant was malicious or just an 18-year-old boy acting his age. (more)

FL - Before Steinberg was investigated for cyberstalking, he voted against it. Rep. Richard Steinberg, a Miami Beach Democrat accused of cyberstalking a married Miami female prosecutor, has voted for several laws that crack down on stalking-–one as recently as this week. (such as) 2012 -- HB 215 – Video Voyeurism – (Vote: 1/25/2012, Judiciary Committee): The bill increases the penalties associated with video voyeurism offenses. The penalty for a first-time violation of “video voyeurism,” “video voyeurism dissemination,” or “commercial video voyeurism dissemination” is increased from a 1st degree misdemeanor to a 3rd degree felony. The penalty for a second or subsequent violation is increased from a 3rd degree felony to a 2nd degree felony. (more)

Spyware Is Everywhere

You are being watched. What you consider private moments may be anything but. Whether it’s a family fight, tiff with your spouse, plan for a new business, pile of cash swiped behind your business partner’s back, or a kickback you have asked of a supplier, you are being watched...

Spyware is everywhere. Ask the experts. Almost every space can be bugged, and sting operations are easier than ever to carry out. Thanks to the Chinese genius for making vast volumes of low-cost gadgetry, spyware has become cheap, convenient and mean. It’s a great leveler of sorts: everyone can snoop on everyone else...

The bad news is that the corporate sector is the most eager user of spyware. It also has the money to use the most sophisticated devices available. ...

...there are 1,200 known ordinary telephone surveillance devices imported over the last couple of years by individuals, companies, private detective agencies and some State-owned firms... (more)

Special Agent T-Shirt Contest #2

Contest Closed - We have a winner.

This man invented one of the first electronic eavesdropping devices. It was used extensively by the private detective William J. Burns in the early 20th Century. What was this inventor's full name (He has a 3-word name)?  (Enter here.)

Click to enlarge.

The prize - our Limited Edition Special Agent Black T-Shirt. (Size: Large)

Answer: Kelly Monroe Turner

("How limited," I hear you say.)  

Well, there are only three in the whole world! (one medium, one large, one x-large) And, they will be awarded in that order. So if you're a big Special Agent, wait for the last contest.

We designed this custom t-shirt ourselves! It's easy, go to ooShirts.com. They have a DIY on-line design lab! All types of t's, all colors, all prices. These are the Champion brand with the logo on the left sleeve.

Business Espionage: Corporate Spy Get 6:1 Sentence Reduction

A Canadian engineer who was found guilty of corporate espionage in Indonesia has been released from jail after his three-year sentence was reduced to six months.

Rick van Lee, 63, is now with his wife in Singapore after an Indonesian High Court judge decided on Feb. 2 to reduce a lower court's sentence, according to a website set up by van Lee's friends and associates. (more)

SpyCam Story #654 - Today in Voyeurism News

IN - A man arrested and charged with voyeurism is out on bond after admitting he videotaped women who were undressing at a local tanning salon, court records said.

Stephen M. Fox, 32, of the 1600 block of Patriot Drive, told police he has taken videos of women there previously using his cellphone. Police found multiple videos of various women at what appeared to be the tanning salon. (more)

KY - Officers arrested Gavont Baker, 18, on a felony video voyeurism charge. The alleged incident took place before class one morning in late January. But Baker might not be the only student to face charges. Officers say up to five students, four of them being minors, could face charges in this case.

Authorities say, during the incident, a video was recorded of a minor who was not wearing clothes. That video was then allegedly shared with other students, prompting the school district to get involved. And because the video reportedly contained a minor, without clothes, and then was shared, it falls under the state's child pornography laws. (more)

WA - The third hearing for Hoquiam teacher Wesley A. Phillips is scheduled for today at 1pm in Grays Harbor District Court #1. Phillips was released on bail from Grays Harbor County Jail on January 27th after his second hearing in District Court.

41 year old Phillips is charged with Communicating with a Minor for Immoral Purposes and Voyeurism. Both charges are Class C Felonies and each count carries a maximum sentence of 5 years. (more)

MA - Smartphones are convenient, pocket-sized gadgets that allow users to snap pictures or record videos on the fly, and in the wrong hands they can be dangerously invasive devices—especially on a college campus. That was the case early Friday morning when a woman showering at Warren Towers spotted an iPhone on the floor, apparently recording her. When she tried to squash the device with her foot, she cut it on a jagged tile. As she did, a hand reached into the shower and grabbed the phone. The suspected photographer immediately fled the bathroom. Friday’s peeping incident marks the third time in the past month that women have reported surreptitious shower photographers to the Boston University Police Department. (more)

Security Directors: FREE Security White Paper - "Surreptitious Workplace Recording ...and what you can do about it."