Thursday, November 20, 2014

Covert Video Leaves Business Running Around Like a Chicken with its...

TN - Koch Foods on Wednesday denied its Chattanooga processing plant is inhumanely treating chickens by scalding the birds alive and shackling them upside-down before slicing open their throats, wings and chests while still conscious.

The allegations by animal protection group Mercy for Animals...
 

The Los Angeles-based group released covert video that it said was taken inside the Koch Chattanooga plant and another operation in Mississippi, complaining that workers are also cruelly throwing chickens and hiding cockroaches from federal inspectors.

The video, narrated by The Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon, demanded that Illinois-based Koch adopt new animal welfare standards to prevent future abuse. (more


P.S. Last year, Tennessee legislators enacted what critics dubbed an “ag-gag” bill they charged was intended to prevent investigations similar to the Mercy for Animals undercover operations as well as one that targeted Tennessee Walking Horse industry abuse.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed the bill after getting deluged with complaints, including a plea from country music star Carrie Underwood.

Memory Stick Voice Recorder - Patiently Listens 24/7, for 25 Days

This Voice-Activated USB drive looks and functions like an ordinary flash drive. Secretly, this storage device conceals hidden a microphone. Hang on a lanyard or slip into a pocket for discreet recording. Use this unit at the office, school, to covertly record voice as a secret shopper or investigator, or to simply record notes and interviews at school or work. 
Voice-activation mode. The voice-activation feature allows you to avoid long hours of silent recording and save battery life. This unit can be on standby for up to 25 days waiting to pickup any voices you may hear. 

Portable and easy to use. The flash drive needs no cables or batteries, making it perfect for the covert operative on the go. Recording is as simple as a touch of the button. Choose from normal recording or voice activation. ≈$100.00  (more) (user manual)
   
Why do I mention this? 
So you will know what you're up against.

Speed, Instant Ticket... or, You Can Drive, But You Can't Hide

FutureWatch: Russia - 1200 complexes of photo and video registration will be installed in 381 sections of federal highways and regional roads located in the Moscow region. In particular, new equipment will be installed in almost every district and all major cities of the Moscow region, as well as in the smaller and greater Moscow Ring Road areas... 

It is planned that the installation of photo and video registration systems will be conducted at the expense of an investor company, which, in turn, will receive a share of all fines issued for violation of traffic rules detected by cameras...

According to the authors of the idea, cameras will be able to register the majority of traffic violations, including speeding and driving on the oncoming lane. (more)


• Traffic cameras on steroids.
• Becomes operational just before self-driving vehicles, thus making this less necessary.
• Does the government has some other uses in mind? (Duh.)
• Will this surveillance network be adopted by other countries, too? (Duh.)

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Everything You Wanted to Know About Cell Phone Tracking via Call Detail Records

What is Cellular Data Analysis?
How is Cellular Data Analysis Used?
What about Triangulation?
Is There an Accurate Way to Track a Cell Phone Location?
Is cell tower tracking evidence junk science?
Is there a good use for cellular location evidence?
(answers here)


Fake Cell Tower Survey on Indiegogo

If there's somethin' strange in your neighborhood
Who ya gonna call (cellbusters)
If it's somethin' weird an it don't look good
Who ya gonna call (cellbusters)
(more) (sing-a-long)

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Your Email is Hacked - Now What?

The State Department has suspended its unclassified email system in response to a suspected hacking attack. 

The unprecedented shutdown on Friday was reportedly applied to give technicians an opportunity to repair possible damage, as well as to apply security improvements. (more) 

But, what if it's your email? You don't have "technicians" to turn to. Techlicious to the rescue...

Step #1: Change your password. 
Step #2: Reclaim your account. 
Step #3: Enable two-factor authentication. 
Step #4: Check your email settings. 
Step #5: Scan your computer for malware. 
Step #6: Find out what else has been compromised. 
Step #7: Humbly beg for forgiveness from your friends. 
Step #8: Prevent it from happening again.

Full details for each step are outlined here.

Dark Hotel - Cleverly Engineered to Conduct Corporate Espionage

A new advanced persistent threat (APT), known as DarkHotel, is now targeting C-level executives of major businesses. 
 
Instead of trying to compromise governments to steal state secrets, Dark Hotel is cleverly engineered to conduct corporate espionage, likely for a foreign state-sponsored group, utilizing poor wireless hotel security - a rather clever technique for when business leaders are staying in hotels... 
 
The attacks have taken aim at business visitors in the United States, Japan, South Korea, India, mainland China, Russia, Germany, Hong Kong and Ireland. (more) (podcast)

Dragnet 2014 - "The IMSI Catcher Caper"

The Wall Street Journal has revealed details of a secret spy program. 

The newspaper says the justice department is collecting data from thousands of cell phones at major airports across the country.

The U.S. Marshals Service operates airplanes with a device (IMSI Catcher) on board that tricks your phone into thinking it is a cell tower.

Phones are programmed to connect automatically to the strongest cell tower signal, which is usually this new device at the airport. When it does, it transmits your unique registration information.

The newspaper says the technology is supposed to locate cell phones linked to criminal suspects, but in the process the government is collecting data on thousands of other people as well. (more)

New App to Detect Fake Cell Phone Towers

This is an Android-based project to detect and avoid fake base stations (IMSI-Catchers) in GSM/UMTS Networks.

Both law enforcement agencies and criminals use IMSI-Catchers, which are false mobile towers acting between the target mobile phone(s) and the service providers real towers. As such it is considered a Man In the Middle (MITM) attack. (more)

From the No Free Lunch Files

An accused perv landlord charged with secretly filming a woman he’d set up in a rent-free Upper West Side pad pleaded not guilty to several felony counts Monday.

Eli Kadoch, 48, was indicted on 10 counts of unlawful surveillance after allegedly setting up spy cameras in the W. 82nd St. apartment of Aksana Kuzmitskaya, where he allegedly watched her in the nude repeatedly for six months beginning in January.

Kuzmitskaya is suing Kadoch and another landlord, Michel Kadoe — who has not been charged criminally — for allegedly taping her most intimate moments after giving her a rent-free apartment while she worked for them as a maid.

Kuzmitskaya says the secret footage included her showering, having sex and using the bathroom. Cameras sent live feeds to Kadoe and Kadoch’s laptops, the lawsuit says. (more)

Monday, November 17, 2014

Kevin's Security Scrapbook - iPhone / iPad App - FREE

Get the latest
"Spy News from New York"
on your iPhone or iPad. 


The layout is beautiful, and the navigation is intuitive and easy. This is the most convenient way to read Kevin's Security Scrapbook.

Download the app onto your device now.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Why the Valet Needs to be Background Checked, or A Cell Phone Key Machine

Your metal key can be duplicated just by snapping a photo of it with a cell phone.

Leaving your keys unsecured is like writing your passwords on post-it notes. If it can be seen, it can be stolen.
  • Have you ever left your keys with a valet or parking garage attendant?
  • Does your administrative assistant leave keys for everything in an open desk?
  • Every loan a key to a friend, even just for a minute?
If so, you may want to re-key your lock. 


from Wired Magazine...
"My neighbor lives on the second floor of a Brooklyn walk-up, so when I came to his front door he tossed me a pair of keys rather than walk down the stairs to let me in. I opened the door, climbed the stairs, and handed his keys back to him. We chatted about our weekends. I drank a glass of water. Then I let him know that I would be back soon to gain unauthorized access to his home.

Less than an hour later, I owned a key to his front door.

What I didn’t tell my neighbor was that I spent about 30 seconds in the stairwell scanning his keys with software that would let me reproduce them with no specialized skills whatsoever."


Yikes! How did he do it?!?!
In this case, Key.Me made a key using the photos he took.


Spybusters Security Tip # 736: Add your keys to your private-parts list. Show them only to those you trust.

Coca-Cola Guards Best-Kept Secret in US But Not 55 Laptops - An Employee Sues

Coca-Cola is facing a potential class-action lawsuit after one of the people whose personal data was on one of a clutch of laptops stolen from the company says he suffered identity theft as a result of the breach.


Laptops thefts are a common occurrence for most large organizations but the circumstances surrounding the loss of 55 laptops over a six-year period from the drinks giant’s Atlanta office and a bottling firm it acquired were always puzzling.

Made public on 24 January this year, it turned out that an employee, Thomas William Rogers III, had allegedly taken the machines without their loss being realized. The machines contained the records of 74,000 people, all current or former employees, including 18,000 revealing social security numbers. (more)


Moral - Encrypt your laptop data.

Update: A Police Commander's Wife, Their Unlicensed PI Business and Spyware...

CA - A Northern California woman has pleaded guilty to wiretapping a police officer and other people and to possessing spyware.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says Monday that in pleading guilty, Kristin Nyunt admitted that from 2010 to 2012 she used spy software she purchased online.

Federal prosecutors say the 40-year-old woman installed the software on cell phones and computers of several people she spied on, including a police officer. (more) (background)

73,012 Unsecured Security Cameras You Can Watch

A site linked to 73,012 unsecured security camera locations in 256 countries – all because they are using default passwords.

from the website...
"Sometimes administrator (possible you too) forgets to set the default password on security surveillance system, online camera or DVR. This site now contains access only to cameras without a password and it is fully legal. Such online cameras are available for all internet users. To browse cameras just select the country or camera type.

This site has been designed in order to show the importance of the security settings. To remove your public camera from this site and make it private the only thing you need to do is to change your camera default password." (more)