German Laptop Retailer Fined €10.4m for Video-Monitoring Employees

Data protection authority LfD Niedersachsen has fined Germany-based IT products supplier Notebooksbilliger.de AG €10.4 million ($12.6 million) for video monitoring its employees without any legal basis, ZD Net reported. 

The video surveillance system was active at all times and recordings were saved for as many as 60 days in the company's database, breaching employees’ privacy rights under the 2018 General Data Protection Regulation. more

Russia’s Overseas Spies Keep Getting Caught

Spy rings keep getting busted and a massive hack of U.S. government departments has been exposed, but Russia’s spooks keep blundering on...

Lithuania is the latest country to announce that it has busted a Russian spy ring on its soil. The allegation that two of its citizens were spying for Russia comes a few weeks after the Dutch authorities rolled up another of the Kremlin’s “substantial espionage networks.” It’s been a tumultuous few months for President Putin’s overseas espionage operation, which keeps getting caught in the act.

It is unclear if a string of recent arrests blowing up Russia’s overseas missions is merely a coincidence, or whether there has been some kind of leak from inside Russia’s notorious intel agencies. “There is some penetration,” Andrei Soldatov, one of Russia’s best-informed trackers of the security agencies, told The Daily Beast. “Whether it’s relatively new or old, I don't know, but it looks like a big decision was made to use that penetration to slow down Russian offensive ops.” more

Antonio Prohías - 100th Anniversary of his Birth

Antonio Prohías arrived in New York in May of 1960 with just $5 in his pocket, pressured to leave Cuba after Fidel Castro accused him of being a CIA agent.

It took a Cuban illustrator to really capture the essence of Cold War intelligence and counter-intelligence for the MAD-reading public. After penning one too many cartoons that were critical of Fidel Castro, Prohías — who was a prominent cartoonist and illustrator in his home country — headed for New York, writes Eric Grundhauser for Atlas Obscura. At the time, he didn’t speak a word of English.

“In New York, Prohías took work in a factory during the day, while working up his illustration portfolio at night,” Grundhauser writes. He changed the appearance of one of his characters from the strip he published in Cuba, El Hombre Siniestro, and gave him a counterpart: Spy vs. Spy was born. 

“The sweetest revenge has been to turn Fidel’s accusation of me as a spy into a moneymaking venture,” Prohías said in a 1983 interview with the Miami Herald. “One of these days I am going to have to make a sign saying, ‘Thank You, Fidel.’ ”

On the 100th anniversary of his birth last Sunday — the Cienfuegos native died in Miami in 1998 — Prohías is still spreading laughter with his Cold War spies, who pummeled each other brutally with whatever sophisticated weapons they could grab from the black humor bag of their creator. more & more

Inside Information... When Government and Business Clean House

Cleaning up the White House after Donald Trump and Melania Trump moved out cost taxpayers about $127,000. No, this doesn't include biohazard remediation, or surveillance bug sweeps. more

What security directors need to know about "The Other Covid Deep Clean."

Is This Mystery Unmanned Vessel Really A Chinese Spy?

On December 20, Indonesian fishermen netted an unusual catch – a torpedo-like submarine drone or unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), still functioning with an indicator light blinking. They passed their find to Indonesian authorities. Military analysts have been quick to identify the craft as a Sea Wing or Haiyi, a Chinese-made UUV operated by China's navy. But it might not be so simple.

Most UUVs are bright yellow or orange to make them easier to retrieve; this one is dull grey, a strong indication that the operators did not want the vessel to be spotted. The fact that nobody has stopped forward to claim the device is a further indication it was on a covert mission. 

In fact, the circumstances rather closely mirror the mystery unmanned vessel washed up in Scotland last year. However, this is a rather different and even more covert craft. more

Landlord Used Hidden Cameras to Spy on at Least 13 Tenants

UT - Criminal charges were filed Thursday against a Salt Lake landlord accused of putting hidden cameras in his tenants’ rooms and recording them.

Larry S. Phillips, 69, of Salt Lake City — is already a registered sex offender from a previous conviction...

Police believe Phillips has secretly recorded at least 13 people over the past several years at his house and at other properties...

The investigation began when two men renting rooms in Phillips’ home...each found hidden cameras in their bedrooms that were designed to look like iPhone charger blocks... A SWAT team served a search warrant on Phillips’ house and seized multiple electronic devices.

“A search of the devices located 320 videos of the bathrooms, bedrooms and private bedrooms being rented by the victims...

Investigators say some of the videos also recorded Phillips setting up the hidden cameras (Darwin Award) and adjusting the camera angles. more

US Capitol Needs A TSCM Deep Clean

Multiple electronic items were stolen from senators' offices yesterday, U.S. officials confirmed.

“This is probably going to take several days to flesh out exactly what happened, what was stolen, what wasn't,” he said. The stolen electronics and documents “could have potential national security equities,” he said. 

The exact number of devices is still unknown. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) confirmed yesterday a laptop had been taken from his office. His office did not respond to a request for comment.

House administrators remotely locked laptops and shut down wired network access, Eric Geller reported. IT hasn't identified any breaches so far, a memo sent to members said. more

While the Zombies were sucking up sensitive government electronics, they also opened the congressional doors to foreign entities. Spies couldn't ask for more: ample time to prepare, excellent cover, or easier access. 

A TSCM Deep Clean will be required to detect the electronic surveillance devices and cyber viruses that may have been embedded during the brief apocalypse. ~Kevin

Gouverneur Vetos Protective Video Surveillance for Nursing Home Residents

MI - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer opted not to sign a bill allowing nursing home residents to install surveillance cameras in their own rooms...

In a statement opposing Whitmer’s pocket veto,  Sen. Jim Runestad, the bill's sponsor, mentioned the story of 75-year-old Norman Bledsoe, who was severely beaten in May by a 20-year-old patient receiving COVID-19 treatment. Bledsoe suffered four broken fingers, broken ribs, and a broken jaw after the attack.

“Without the benefit of video, no one would have known the truth of how Mr. Bledsoe was injured,” Runestad said in a statement. “The governor had a chance to sign this bill and help stop the type of abuse we’ve seen in nursing homes for years. Instead she chose to turn a blind eye, and now seniors pay the price.” more

Spy Chip Detector to Thwart Spy Chip Semiconductors

Toshiba and Japan's Waseda University have teamed up to develop a system that can detect so-called spy chips, tiny intruders in servers that are barely visible to the naked eye or are even incorporated in circuitry.

Spy chips made headlines about two years ago when China allegedly planted the devices into servers, which reportedly reached 30 American companies. The tool, called HTfinder, determines if a semiconductor contains spy chips based on the makeup of the circuits...

Spy chips can be hidden in semiconductors and circuit boards by resembling part of the circuit. The chips can receive signals so that third parties can take control or cause a device to malfunction at any given time. more

Court Order Doesn't Stop Man from Eavesdropping & GPS Tracking

NY - An area man has been arrested for allegedly installing a GPS device in order to eavesdrop and spy on a person who has an order of protection against him.

Dutchess County resident Brett M. Marinaccio, 33, of Hopewell Junction, was arrested on Monday, Jan. 4, by New York State Police, said Trooper AJ Hicks.

According to Hicks, an investigation determined Marinaccio utilized hidden GPS tracking devices with audio capabilities to eavesdrop (similar to this) on the victim while an order of protection was in place issued by the Dutchess County Family Court to protect the victim. more

Leaked Phone Call Cautionary Tale: Trump’s Phone Call With Georgia Election Officials

The president pressured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the results of the election in an hour-long phone conversation. Here is a transcript of the audio recording.

Chilling.

Covert recording of your phone calls is easy. There are smartphone apps, push-button recording features on business desk phones, and cheap add-on gadgets (1) (2) (3) which do the job very well. Everyone with an inclination to record your call, can. Instantly. And post it to social media, news media, or twist your arm with it, just as quickly. Also chilling.

You can mitigate the possibility of your call being leaked (by the party to whom you are speaking). Just think before you speak. 

Thwarting someone spying on your call requires some technical assistance. Contact a Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) consultant. Their specialty is inspecting workplaces, residences, vehicles, and off-site meeting locations for wiretap, bugs, and covert video surveillance devices.

UPDATE
The fact that the Jan. 2 call was recorded and leaked to the news media also spurred a claim that Raffensperger "faces espionage charges."

The claim was made in a widely shared Facebook post that was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.

Legal experts told us it would not be illegal for anyone on either end of the call to record it, or to disseminate the recording. Furthermore, the conversation did not bear on sensitive national security matters covered by the federal Espionage Act. more

How Spying Works in Real Life

We took a deep dive into the sub surface world of intelligence as we discussed SIGINT, HUMINT and IMINT with James Olson. James knows what he’s talking about. He is currently a Professor of Practice at the Bush School of Government of Texas A&M. 

He’s also the FORMER CHIEF OF COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AT THE CIA and has 31 YEARS of experience doing espionage and covert action work undercover work for the CIA.

What he had to say is well worth the listen, especially when he shares a real time threat made to his family while on a mission in another country. more

BOOK: To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence

Ticketmaster Fined $10 million in Corporate Espionage Scheme

The Department of Justice announced Wednesday Ticketmaster would pay a $10 million fine as part of a differed prosecution agreement for using an employee’s login credentials to his former employer’s computer systems to garner information on the competitor.

Zeeshan Zaidi, the former head of artist services at Ticketmaster, pled guilty to conspiring to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud in October 2019...

In the computer intrusion scheme detailed in the agreement, Ticketmaster tried to steal both a client and design ideas from a competitor by logging into the competitor’s back-end system. The former employee also stole the competitor’s fee calculation system in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. more

Convicted Spy Granted Citizenship

A former Navy intelligence analyst who spent 30 years behind bars for selling U.S. military secrets to Israel, arrived in Israel on Wednesday where he and his wife were granted citizenship by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Jonathan Pollard, 66, triumphantly kissed the ground as he disembarked from the aircraft after it landed in Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv. more

ET's Phone Home Frequency Might Be 982.02 MHz

Nobody believes it was ET phoning, but radio astronomers admit they don’t have an explanation yet for a beam of radio waves that apparently came from the direction of the star Proxima Centauri...

“It’s some sort of technological signal. The question is whether it’s Earth technology or technology from somewhere out yonder,” said Sofia Sheikh, a graduate student at Pennsylvania State University leading a team studying the signal and trying to decipher its origin... 

The radio signal itself, detected in spring 2019, is in many ways the stuff of dreams for alien hunters. It was a narrow-band signal with a frequency of 982.02 MHz as recorded at the Parkes Observatory in Australia...

The Parkes telescope — which once relayed communications to the Apollo astronauts — is notorious for false alarms, Dr. Werthimer says. In one recent example, he said, astronomers thought they had discovered a new astrophysical phenomenon.

“It was very exciting until somebody noticed the signals only appeared at the lunch hour,” he said. They were coming from a microwave oven. more