Japan is to release treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, media reports say.
It follows years of debate over how to dispose of the liquid, which includes water used to cool the power station hit by a massive tsunami in 2011.
Environmental and fishing groups oppose the idea but many scientists say the risk it would pose is low. more
What could possibly go wrong?
...files are disguised to trick employers into downloading them. They contain names related to employees’ contact lists, technical documentation, and medical analysis results to trick employees as part of a common spear-phishing technique...
MontysThree is designed to specifically target Microsoft and Adobe Acrobat documents, Kaspersky said. The malware can enable attackers to capture screenshots and gather information about the victim’s network settings, hostname, etc. more
The backdoor is activated by sending an encrypted text message. Harrison Sand, a researcher at Norwegian security company Mnemonic, said that commands exist for surreptitiously reporting the watch’s real-time location, taking a snapshot and sending it to an Xplora server, and making a phone call that transmits all sounds within earshot.
Sand also found that 19 of the apps that come pre-installed on the watch are developed by Qihoo 360, a security company and app maker located in China. more (q.v. our 2017 post & etc.)
The Wire Inspired a Fake Turtle Egg That Spies on Poachers
Scientists 3D-printed sea turtle eggs and stuffed transmitters inside. When poachers pulled them out of nests, the devices tracked their every move.
Listening in from a building across the street, they watch as Frog picks up the ball and absentmindedly tosses it between his hands, sending thuds and an electric screech into Herc’s headphones. Quickly over it, Frog chucks the ball over their building. Carver rushes after it, only to watch a semi truck crush their very expensive tennis ball.
US hotels, predominantly in major cities, have begun to advertise daytime room reservations for guests seeking a quiet, distraction-free work environment. While this option may be appealing, accessing sensitive information from hotel Wi-Fi poses an increased security risk over home Wi-Fi networks.
Malicious actors can exploit inconsistent or lax hotel Wi-Fi security
and guests’ security complacency to compromise the work and personal
data of hotel guests. Following good cyber security practices can
minimize some of the risks associated with using hotel Wi-Fi for
telework. more
It was identified as a Wave Glider, a type made by U.S. company Liquid Robotics, which is capable of traveling thousands of miles and is used by both the U.S. Navy and Britain’s Royal Navy as well as other government agencies and scientific researchers.
The local Coast Guard have been unable to trace the owner so far, but the craft’s configuration suggests it was on a secret mission...
...the mystery remains over who was operating it, what it was doing — and why they are keeping quiet. more
UPDATE:
Wave Gliders are unmanned surveillance boats built by the American company Liquid Robotics.
They are used by the British and American navies to monitor the movement of submarines in hostile territories.
The boats tow sensors under water to detect vessels entering or operating in a targeted area and send messages to shore-based operators via satellite.
During a mission to patrol the waters around the Pitcairn Islands, the Wave Glider successfully intercepted and collected data on three vessels whose AIS signatures were unavailable.
A new Wave Glider was released in 2019.
Dave Allen, Chief Executive Officer, Liquid Robotics said at the time: 'Over the years our customers’ missions have grown in complexity and scale, operating in one of the most challenging environments on Earth – the ocean.
'In response we’ve continued to raise the bar for unmanned surface vehicles.
'We’ve
poured 12 years of lessons learned into this newest Wave Glider to
ensure we can meet and exceed our customers’ mission demands.' more
Australia - A former Portuguese police officer who installed covert cameras in his ex-partner's home and threatened to share compromising photos of her has been sentenced to four years in jail in a Brisbane court...
Prosecutor Alexandra Baker said the man, who had been a police officer in Portugal for 12 years, installed cameras covertly in his ex-partner's home and monitored her through spyware on her phone.
Ms Baker said the cameras made more than 4,500 recordings, including some of the woman in states of undress, and Marques Malagueta had threatened to release sensitive images...
The court heard Marques Malagueta was likely to be deported. more
Electric shocks to the tongue can quiet chronic ringing ears...
Tinnitus—a constant ringing or buzzing in the ears that affects about 15% of people—is difficult to understand and even harder to treat. Now, scientists have shown shocking the tongue—combined with a carefully designed sound program—can reduce symptoms of the disorder, not just while patients are being treated, but up to 1 year later.
It’s “really important” work, says Christopher Cederroth, a neurobiologist at the University of Nottingham, University Park, who was not involved with the study. The finding, he says, joins other research that has shown “bimodal” stimulation—which uses sound alongside some kind of gentle electrical shock—can help the brain discipline misbehaving neurons. more
When it come to corporate espionage, many tricks are available for getting around your security measures. We can alert you to them. Our counter espionage survey can identify the weak spots in your organization’s physical and information security efforts and make recommendations to remediate them.
The following video demonstrates bypass techniques from physical security professionals Brent White at WeHackPeople.com, and Deviant Ollam, and Rob Pingor of RedTeam Alliance.
Physical security is important to any business or government organization. Even though an organization has taken all the security measures possible, corporate spies know how to bypass many of them.
The first line of defense for any secure building or office is the door. Many of these are controlled by card-key access controlled locks. Exiting is often automated using an IR or infrared door lock release sensor. Unfortunately, many common security measures are simple for spies to circumvent. more
On the plus side, however, it also means the vulnerability isn't persistent, so it requires a "hardware insert or other attached component such as a malicious USB-C cable" to work. more
Malicious USB cables are the latest, and arguably the most insidious, threats on the corporate information security landscape. Every USB cable on premises, and those being used elsewhere by employees, needs to be vetted for authenticity. Security directors are enlisting the aid of technical counterespionage consultants to perform this task.
The logo does indeed have meaning. It was inspired by my college textbook. I saw the dots as information in motion, and the rings as protection.
Simple… and not
inspired by a department store, shooting targets, or a brand of
cigarette. Just my design inspired by a book which taught me a lot.
Another reason the shape is appealing is that circles represent comfort, safety, warmth—exactly how I want to make our clients feel.
The logo seems counter-intuitive for a security firm. It goes against the norm… swords, shields, lightning bolts, birds of prey; symbols seen in most security logos. People forget, strong and harsh symbols are used by governments. They are meant to inspire warriors and intimidate enemies. Clients are not enemies.
The luxury goods business had installed ten fingerprint scanners so as to restrict access to warehouses in an effort to reduce risk. "Unbeknown to them," Heinemeyer continues, "an attacker began exploiting vulnerabilities in one of the scanners. In perhaps the weirdest hacker move yet, they started deleting authorized fingerprints and uploading their own in the hope of gaining physical access."
The AI brain picked this up because one scanner was behaving
differently than the others, meaning the security team became aware of
the attack within minutes. And, of course, had some pretty conclusive
evidence to provide to law enforcement. more
By Bill Priestap, Holden Triplett
Many authoritarian governments are doing everything they can, including using their spy services, to build successful businesses and grow their economies. Indeed, even some nonauthoritarian governments are taking this approach. The reason for this is simple: A large number of nation-states view privately owned companies within their jurisdictions as extensions of their governments. They support and protect the companies as if those entities were integrated parts of government...
(Main Points)
They engage in a dizzying variety of low-profile intrigue: tracking missing people, tailing cheating spouses, recovering looted assets, vetting job applicants and multibillion-dollar deals, spying on one corporation at the behest of another*, ferreting out investment strategies for hedge funds, compiling opposition research.
Contemporary private eyes, Maroney explains, are often “refugees from other industries,” including law enforcement, journalism, accounting, and academia.
One hallmark of the business is discretion—like spy agencies, private eyes must often keep their greatest triumphs secret—so it is notable that Maroney would write a book like this. In a disclaimer, he says that he has had to change names and alter some details, presumably to protect client confidentiality. But “The Modern Detective” is not an exposé. It is part memoir, part how-to guide, a celebration of the analytical and interpersonal intelligence that makes a great investigator. more
*Counterespionage is also being done.
The Spanish judge presiding over the trial of a security firm owner apparently hired to spy on jailed Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange has sent a request to the US Department of Justice for an interview with Zohar Lahav, the Israeli-American vice president for executive protection at Las Vegas Sands. more
The Greek authorities have "prepared a case file that includes the offenses of forming and joining a criminal organization, espionage, violation of state secrets, as well as violations of the Immigration Code against a total of 35 foreigners," reported Greek news agency ANA-MPA... more
A bug recently found in the coding of the Instagram app could give hackers easier access to try to spy on you. more
These days, many people consider their cars to be their safe
havens-their sanctuary. Did you know that your car is actually spying on
you? You probably already know your phone, your computer, heck, even
some running shoes, are constantly collecting and storing information
about you. Most of today’s vehicles are doing it, too. Most newer model
vehicles collect data and send it wirelessly and surreptitiously to the
vehicle manufacturer. more sing-a-long
Is it time to start spying on your employees? more
Conspiracy theories are common on social media; in the field of technology, the biggest of recent years proposed that 5G will kill you (it won't). But now Apple and iOS 14 have acquired a viral conspiracy theory of their own...claims that iOS 14's new home screen widgets - specifically the Widgetsmith and Color Widgets apps - contain keyloggers that read everything you type and steal your passwords. more
No Oversight, No Limits, No Worries: A Primer on Presidential Spying and Executive Order 12,333 more
Miss Universe Thailand contestants find a ‘spy’. Another beauty queen came under the spotlight on Monday after the manager of Miss Universe Thailand favourite Chayathanus ‘Cheraim’ Saradatta was found to be doubling up as an employee of the organising company. more
Why Private Eyes Are Everywhere Now - Private investigators have been touted as an antidote to corruption and a force for transparency. But they’ve also become another weapon in the hands of corporate interests. more