Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sat, 26 Jan 2002
To: Clients, colleagues and friends.
Subject: Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
====================================================
Kevin's Security Scrapbook® is published on an irregular
basis for a select audience. HTML versions are archived at http://www.spybusters.com/Security_Scrapbook.html
==================================================== SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News - Cautionary Tales
SPECIAL SECTION -- World Spy News
SPECIAL SECTION -- SnitchWare
SPECIAL SECTION -- "That's entertainment?" ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News - Cautionary Tales
Security Director Cautionary Tale #208
Your competition is reading this. Alert your Marketing Department. "Use Trade Shows to Learn about Customers and Competitors...
Before the show begins, familiarize yourself thoroughly with the
competition. Read their materials and look carefully at their displays.
Then use that competitive knowledge to gain more information. Talk to
people, ask lots of questions, pay attention. Some of the best
information on your competitors comes from customers... gather
intelligence that you can use yourself or pass along as 'inside'
information. ... A group can gather far more intelligence than any one
person can collect alone." http://www.allbusiness.com/cmt/information/general.jsp?fname=303
Security Director Cautionary Tale #209
Spread the word. It might discourage someone. Andrew Parsons, Vice President of Sales at Vector Networks, Inc. saves
the day for his corporate competition by initiating and participating in a
clandestine FBI sting operation. A disgruntled employee of the rival company
contacted Mr. Parsons a week ago via email, using an anonymous email
address. He offered Mr. Parsons the opportunity to purchase the complete
customer database from his competitor for $20,000. Shocked and concerned,
Andy Parsons informed the rival CEO of the incident.
Experts say that when information is stolen from a company, often the
culprit is a seemingly loyal employee. Employees steal data because of
dissatisfaction with salary, promotion opportunities, or working
conditions; conflict with managers or financial problems linked to
alcohol or drug use. Reprinted from American Society for Industrial
Security, 1999 http://sourcewire.com/Releases/ShowRelease.php?id=14099
Security Director Cautionary Tale #210
Stripcut shredding proves valuable. Crosscut shredding proves nothing. FBI Investigators on Tuesday collected evidence of document shredding at
Enron's headquarters ... Enron officials searched the 19th and 20th
floors and discovered a single trash can with shredded paper, which was
bagged and taken into custody, he said. ... Bill Lerach (plaintiff's
legal team lead attorney) carted into the courtroom a box of shredded
Enron documents after its appearance in several TV news programs (by
Maureen Castaneda, Director of International Investment). ...
plaintiff's lawyer Neil Rothstein said, grabbing a handful of the
shredded material. "This is criminal behavior." (Lerach) called the
reported document shredding "a horrible, horrible decision" and said the
documents would be pieced back together.
(P.S. Never shred legal evidence. If you do, you may as well jump in after it.) http://www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=789803951 http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/01/23/enron/index.html
Security Director Cautionary Tale #211 - "Reach" v. "Presence"
Sage observations from a retired Company man... "... it seems that CIA management decided at some point many years ago,
to reduce the representation of the Clandestine Service (CS) in the
world. Put in another way, it decided to maintain a "Global Reach"
posture instead of a "Global Presence" posture. That was selected as an
effective and less expensive way to collect intelligence in foreign
countries. A lot of field stations were closed and spies were shelved at
headquarters or in larger stations overseas. The idea was that, if a
crisis developed in country A, a spy from headquarters or from country B
or C could go to country A and develop the required information from
sources that he might develop. A different language and a paucity of
local contacts was something that could somehow be overcome." Moral for top management (government and corporate)...
Don't gut your Information Security budget.
Security Director Cautionary Tale #212 - Wireless LANs
TYS*... The analysis in Denver was conducted Jan. 9 by a security firm that
didn't want its identity disclosed (not us). It revealed that American
Airlines Inc. operated wireless LANs totally in the clear without any
encryption in its portion of the DIA terminal. The vulnerability of the
American Airlines wireless LAN networks was highlighted by the fact that
the security specialists witnessed an intrusion while conducting their
monitoring. According to a report furnished to Computerworld, security
of the wireless LANs supporting Fort Worth, Texas-based American's
curbside check-in stands was further compromised by the fact that the IP
address of the curbside terminal was prominently pasted on the monitor.
(*Told You So) http://208.19.32.66/news/article.cfm?ID=26976099
Security Director Cautionary Tale #213 - Review your systems. Information Warfare (IW) presents special problems for defense planners.
Many, if not most, targets of such an attack would probably be
commercial computer and communications systems, which are more
vulnerable than those operated by the military. Yet commercial operators
are seemingly unaware that they are potential targets, and few have
taken any precautionary measures. Most software and hardware designers
are also not attuned to the IW threat. http://208.19.32.66/news/article.cfm?ID=26797921
Q. "When can electronic surveillance be expected?" A. Eavesdropping or wiretapping might be used any time "money" or
"power" are part of your equation. The old sayings are still true...
"Knowledge is power."
"Time is money."
Apply these rules of thumb to your business or personal situation.
Eavesdropping can give the professional spy, internal snoop or spouse
power and/or money.
A third category has emerged in recent years as well...
"Titillation."
This is due to the advent of miniature video cameras, and the dramatic
price drop of eavesdropping equipment in general. Example - $19.95 video
cameras. Electronic voyeurism is a growing problem. Blackmail is also a
motive here. http://216.190.224.33/servlet/cat/product/PC166XS.html
ISO 9001 accreditation for a law enforcement agency. Imagine that. South Africa - Cape Town's Strategic Surveillance Unit, which provides
the closed-circuit TV monitors in the City centre and other locations,
has been granted ISO 9001 accreditation by the International Standards
Organisation in Switzerland. The Unit becomes the first law enforcement
agency in South Africa to receive ISO 9001 accreditation, which gives
global recognition of achievement of international standard. http://www.cbn.co.za/issue/1240202.htm
Wanted by the FBI - 900 new agents... The FBI said on Wednesday it is launching one of its most aggressive
hiring campaigns in recent years as it seeks to hire about 900 people
over the next eight months to become special agents. http://www.pittsburghfirst.com/rc/news/docs/1740845l.htm
Okay, 899 new agents... West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Tuesday ruled out
FBI investigating into the attack on the American Centre here saying the
state's security agencies were enough for this. http://www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1853443704
"There's a time and a place for everything, and it's called college." - Chef Henrico County, Va. school officials are recalling all 11,000 laptop
computers that it distributed to its high school students in order to
retrofit them with security software that will prevent students from
using the devices for accessing pornography or changing their grades --
abuses that reportedly have occurred since the machines were handed out
last fall. http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB1011563803808773240.htm
"...well, almost everything."
A software program designed by Georgia Tech professors to detect
cheating in students' computer programming homework turned up 186
possible violators, school officials say. Students were warned that
software would be used... (duh) http://fyi.cnn.com/2002/fyi/teachers.ednews/01/17/cheating.software.ap/
E-lusory... Software that can detect when people are lying in their e-mails sounds a
bit far-fetched, but its manufacturers declare it is true. SAS
Institute, which makes fraud-detection systems for banks and phone
companies, will on Monday announce a product that can sift through
e-mails and other electronic text to catch elusive nuances such as tone. http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3
...not as much as the spies might. (FutureWatch... Intelairdrops.) The kids are going to love this. You walk up to the teacher's desk with
a little practical joke in mind. Your mobile phone suddenly bleeps, and
you hear a soft whisper in your ear: "MAJOR bad mood today-don't try
anything." You think better of the prank and decide to avoid certain
detention. All thanks to an invisible message placed in the air above
the teacher's desk. ... Pinning messages in mid-air, using the
location's Global Positioning System (GPS) reference, could become the
next craze in communications. http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/phones/phones.jsp?id=23194900
"Trust us. Our Purge-Patrol is here 24/7..." The latest scandal over so-called spyware involves a mysterious and
particularly insidious program that tracks your surfing, delivers pop-up
ads and could even collect your credit card information. You may not
have heard of the VX2 Corporation, but if you've downloaded Audio Galaxy
lately, VX2 may know a lot about you. According to VX2's own privacy
policy, "VX2's software also collects some information from online forms
that you fill out." The policy statement assures users it has
engineered the program not to collect sensitive data, such as credit
card numbers. However, "if such data were -- despite VX2's best efforts
-- ever inadvertently collected, VX2 would immediately purge such
information from its database." A website called Counterexploitation
is a good source of information on fighting back against spyware in general,
and it has removal instructions for VX2. http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,49960,00.html
MEMS, a big story that keeps falling through the cracks... C.S. Draper Laboratory Inc., an independent, nonprofit research
laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., has developed silicon micromachined
condenser microphones implemented on a single chip. ... Tiny sensors,
called "smart dust," can monitor light, heat, movement and sound. Larger
versions are being produced as wireless infrared sensors and security
monitoring tags to keep employees out of restricted areas.
(FutureWatch - DustBugs and BugDusters) http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=2228
SPECIAL SECTION -- "That's entertainment?"
The Wire... HBO is plotting its next new series, a cop drama set in Baltimore that
follows a single drugs-and-murder investigation over 13 episodes. The
Wire, named for wiretapping, will likely be scheduled Sundays at 10 p.m.
ET/PT in summer or fall, where it would follow The Sopranos. Told from
both the point of view of the police and their targets, THE WIRE follows
a single sprawling investigation that culminates in complex, dangerous
wiretaps and surveillance. http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/tv/2002/2002-01-16-hbo.htm http://media.aoltimewarner.com/media/press_view.cfm?release_
The Crossed Wire... A woman's home telephone has been reaching out and touching people
across the country by the thousands, without her knowledge. And Becky
Sivek doesn't even have long-distance service. ... thousands of calls
have been placed to phones across the country, apparently at random and
apparently from Sivek's phone. When someone answers, the call is
disconnected. Sivek's home number shows up on the caller ID boxes of
those being called, allowing recipients -- some of whom have been called
more than 20 times per day -- to call her back. "When someone gets 20 or
30 phone calls a day resulting in hang-ups, they tend to get ticked
off," said Don Bowman, a friend of Sivek's. "This lady is scared."
Ameritech was notified of the situation last Saturday and is
investigating with police, company spokeswoman Carolyn Wilson said
Wednesday, adding that she was unaware of any similar cases. Sivek said
when the company checked her phone bill, none of the calls showed up as
being placed from her home. http://www.detnews.com/2002/metro/0201/18/d06d-393292.htm
The Role in the Hay Wire... A Russian composer (Vitali Okorokov) has drawn inspiration from the
Monica Lewinsky affair to produce an opera based at the Kremlin where
Lewinsky is portrayed as a KGB double agent, NTV television said
yesterday. "I wanted [the opera to have] a woman who loves and could be
loved," said Okorokov. He added that at the end of the opera Lewinsky
marries the Russian president's chief security guard. http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sun, 20 Jan 2002
To: Clients, colleagues and friends.
Subject: Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
====================================================
Kevin's Security Scrapbook® is published on an irregular
basis for a select audience. HTML versions are archived at http://www.spybusters.com/Security_Scrapbook.html
==================================================== SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
SPECIAL SECTION -- China Spy News
SPECIAL SECTION -- FutureWatch -- Cures for Wherzmy
SPECIAL SECTION -- Stuff that makes me shake my head... ====================================================
Security Director Bookmark... ncix.gov The National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX) publishes a
Counterintelligence News and Developments (CIND) Newsletter. The CIND
provides open-source material, focusing on espionage, trade secret
losses, counterintelligence events and programs, and news from inside
the "beltway" that is not normally accessible to the public. http://www.ncix.gov/
Security Director Bookmark... LPToday.com
Retail Loss Prevention management's e-oasis for information on trends,
products and services. http://www.lptoday.com/index.php
Uniform destruction...
During the current counterterroism posture make sure your sensitive
waste materials are being properly destroyed. Especially important...
old uniforms and patches from security guard firms. (From a radio
interview this week with a representative of the National Association of
Information Destruction.) http://www.naidonline.org/
Security Direction Question of the Week...
Q. Can you comment on how common it is to inspect an executive's home? A. We deal with two types of executive homes...
1. Executives with 'working' home offices.
They are entrepreneur types. Examples include: financial investors who
have full backup offices at their home(s) so they can operate 24/7
wherever they are; entertainment industry types (producers, talent, and
computer-related movie services). To these people, every 'work' location
is equally important. Inspections are scheduled with equal frequency at
all work locations.
2. Executives with 'regular' home offices. These folks comprise the larger of the two groups. They have modest home
offices where they can read, do some paperwork, receive faxes, use a
computer to log onto the company e-mail, net surf, handle after-hours
phone calls, and use the house occasionally for business meetings and
entertaining. To these people, a home office is not as sensitive (or
vulnerable) as their primary business location. Inspections are
scheduled once or twice a year.
Overall, about half of our clients currently provide "at home"
inspection services to their top executives. The trend is upward. Before
the 90's, home office inspections were rare... just as before the 80's,
off-site meeting inspections were rare.
A typical 'executive home' security path...
- Security Department does a physical security survey.
- Alarm company installs alarms and cameras.
- Security department prepares a family security briefing.
- Information security: periodic eavesdropping & espionage inspections.
- Installation of the home office paper shredder.
Another consideration... Before the initial inspection, reassure executive family members:
- the inspection will be conducted by trustworthy people,
- who will always act like invited guests,
- who will explain what they are doing and why,
- who will ask permission before entering/opening,
- who will treat their possessions carefully,
- and who are genuinely concerned about their welfare.
SPECIAL SECTION -- China Spy News
Consider it another surveillance technology transfer...
China has discovered 27 bugging devices in a US-made Boeing 767 it
bought for the personal use of President Jiang Zemin. The tiny, highly
sophisticated devices were hidden in the jetliner's upholstery,
including in the president's bathroom and the headboard of his bed, the
London-based Financial Times said, citing unnamed Chinese sources. The
reports described the devices as satellite-controlled and more complex
than those available commercially. It said Jiang was outraged at the
discovery. The bugs were discovered when they emitted static during a
test flight after the plane's delivery in August, the newspaper said. In
a separate report, The Washington Post said Chinese army communications
experts found the bugs in October, days before the plane's first
official voyage. Chinese officials were puzzled as to how and when the
bugs were planted, the reports said.
(Comments anyone?)
- A State Department spokeswoman in Washington had no comment on the
report late Friday.
- The Chinese aviation company and Boeing's Hong Kong office did not
answer phone calls Saturday.
- The US Embassy in Beijing said it had no information.
- The CIA refused to respond to the report.
- The White House refused to respond to the report.
-"I know that we had no culpability whatsoever in this. All we did was
put an interior in it,'' said Jerry Gore, president of Gore Design. http://independent-bangladesh.com/news/jan/20/20012002ap.htm#A3 http://www.abc.net.au/asiapacific/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_462017.htm http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-1458197,00.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5176-2002Jan18.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid
Let's memorialize this one with a song...
"I Wanna New Bug" Lyrics: Benn Kobb
(with apologies to Huey Lewis)
Vocal: by G. Dubya
I wanna new bug
I don't care whatcha do
Put it inside an eggroll
Or what's that white stuff
To-fu!
I wanna new bug
Got me no doubt
One that won't make me look like a fool
Or make Jiang
Find out!
SPECIAL SECTION -- FutureWatch -- Cures for Wherzmy
Dude, wherzmy my tap? Gov. Gray Davis' proposal to let state and local police obtain roving
wiretaps on suspected criminals was dropped from the legislation
containing it Tuesday after the legislative counsel's office concluded
that it was illegal. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal
Mate, wherzmy my lap? UK - An MP has expressed concern after it emerged that nearly 600 laptop
computers had been stolen or had disappeared from the Ministry of Defence. http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_493936.html
Tired of saying, "Wherzmy?" Here's the solution... We all know eyeglasses, cell phones, car keys, wallets, remote controls,
etc. have legs. Now they can run, but they can no longer hide. Tag your
personal objects with DIPO microchips and use the DIPO sensor to find
them within a 10 - 16 foot radius. Also good for security monitoring to
tell when an object leaves the secured area.
FutureWatch... extended range security tracking - kids and $$$ stuff. http://www.dipo.fr/flash/index.html
Tired of saying, "Wherzme?" Here's the solution.
The iP-LOC8R cell phone GPS accessory is a wireless product that snaps
on to certain Nokia cell phones allowing a subscriber instant access to
location based services with just the push of a button. Sortalike OnStar
in your pocket. FutureWatch... secretly built-in and interrogateable. http://www.i-planetwireless.com/iP-LOC8r.htm http://207.37.252.232/onstar/
"Dude, wherzmy pills?"
Inside a small lab in an anonymous office park off the Garden State
Parkway in northern New Jersey, researchers probe the molecular
intricacies of memory. Memory Pharmaceuticals is at the forefront of an
intense scientific race to devise the first effective memory-enhancing
drug. The idea has long been the stuff of science fiction, but now ...
they are tantalizingly close to creating a kind of Viagra for the
brain... This new generation of drugs could mend memory loss in the
seriously ill or the merely absentminded. http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2002/0204/046.html?_requestid=3131
SPECIAL SECTION -- Stuff that makes me shake my head...
Ask not for whom the toll bills... A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a complaint by U.S. telephone
companies that the FBI was not reimbursing them adequately for the cost
of wiretapping upgrades. But the three-judge appeals court panel handed
the industry a partial victory by ordering the FBI to re-examine some of
the ways it has implemented the wiretapping improvements, a decision
that could make the upgrades less of a burden to phone companies. http://www.forbes.com/work/managementtrends/newswire/2002/01/18/ http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/dc/005386.html (decision)
"Snowflake spotted in Springfield. Close the airport." F-Troop goes digital.
Massachusetts state troopers working at Boston's Logan Airport now have
wireless access to the National Crime Information Center thanks to
technology from Aether that delivers data to BlackBerry handheld devices.
FutureWatch... "...cream, no sugar." http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020117S0023
Check the shredder bin... Arthur Andersen has acknowledged that its employees destroyed
Enron-related documents, but has not revealed the existence of a memo
directing them to do so. http://www.truthout.com/01.15C.Enron.Docs.htm
Snitch Culture # 573...
UK - Council officials are asking binmen to help tackle truancy in
Manchester. They'll be asked to keep an eye out for children skipping
lessons, and to telephone a hotline with details... the scheme, thought
to be the first of its kind in the country. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_497585.html?menu=
...thus explaining where Beavis and Butthead are today.
A teenager was caught on CCTV head-butting his former school pal –
bursting his lip and inflicting a permanent scar. David Parkinson, 18,
denied taking part in the street attack... But he was forced to admit it
was him after police showed him stills from a CCTV film of the
incident... When shown the CCTV footage Parkinson said: "If it was on
the camera, I must have done it." (heh, heh - heh, heh) http://prestononline.co.uk/scripts/editorial2.cgi?cid=2&aid=432031
Pleeezzzzeee.... Get her off my back. Buy the book...
"For the love of God, please buy my book. (Loose Lips) CIA gossip, funny
stories, satire, romance, understated eroticism, intrigue, betrayal, the
whole nine yards. What's not to like? You won't be able to put it down.
If you don't think so, I'll give you your money back -- no questions
asked. And hey: I'm practically giving it away. It costs way less than a
double latte and a scone. Look, help me out here. I'm a young writer.
It's hard to get noticed and published. I'm trying to be innovative. I
mean, have you ever seen a book campaign like this? It's creative, isn't
it? Don't you want to help a creative young woman pursue her dreams? I
mean, you had fun with the first chapter, didn't you? Look, I hate to
plead, but I NEED YOU TO BUY MY BOOK. I think it would really work out
well for us both. Come on..." - Claire Berlinski
(Book - worth it. Marketing - great. Congratulations, Claire.) http://www.berlinski.com/
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sat, 12 Jan 2002
To: Clients, colleagues and friends.
Subject: Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
====================================================
Kevin's Security Scrapbook® is published on an irregular
basis for a select audience. HTML versions are archived at http://www.spybusters.com/Security_Scrapbook.html
==================================================== SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Follow Ups
SPECIAL SECTION -- Spy News
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Pocket Litter ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
"The only reason for time is so everything doesn't happen at once." - B. Banzai If you're a CIO in New York City, the Secret Service's Bob Weaver wants to hear from you.
He doesn't want your money, and he doesn't want to learn that you're in the midst of a
security crisis. Weaver, the assistant special agent in charge of the New York Electronic
Crimes Task Force, just wants to talk.
(Very knowledgeable, interesting and likable guy. His seminar is A+.) http://www.idg.net/ic_786070_1794_9-10000.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- Follow Ups
"Nothing is ever what it seems, but everything is exactly what it is."
- B. Banzai An Ohio congressman's wiretapping lawsuit against a fellow representative has new life.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia has decided to allow Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, to amend his
lawsuit against Rep. James McDermott, D-Wash., and argue it again.
Boehner sued after a Florida couple used a scanner to record a December
1996 conference call in which Boehner, then-Speaker Newt Gingrich and
other House leaders discussed strategy involving announcement of an
ethics committee finding against Gingrich.
The couple gave the tape to McDermott, and the contents soon surfaced in
news stories. The couple later pleaded guilty to unlawfully intercepting
the call and were fined $500 each.
Boehner's lawsuit accused McDermott of leaking the tape in violation of
a federal wiretapping law that bars people from disclosing information
they know was obtained by illegally intercepting a "wire, oral or
electronic communication."
McDermott argued that he did not break the law by receiving the tape,
and that punishing him for making it public would violate his
free-speech rights under the Constitution's First Amendment.
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in 1998. A divided appeals court
reinstated it the next year and McDermott appealed to the Supreme Court,
which sent it back to the appeals court after deciding instead to hear a
Pennsylvania case that raised similar issues. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-1434097,00.html
"If all wishes were gratified, many dreams would be destroyed." - B. Banzai The dismantling of a Russian spy base in Cuba, originally set to begin
Jan. 15, has been postponed, a Russian general said on Tuesday. Lt.-Gen.
Viktor Denisov, commander of the operation, told the Interfax-Military
News Agency that the departure of the three AN-124 heavy cargo planes
that are to pick up radar equipment from the listening post in Lourdes,
Cuba, had been delayed because the military didn't receive the money to
pay for the flights on time. http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/080102/dLFOR43.asp
"Nobody is nobody. Everyone has something to offer." - B. Banzai If it is true that all trends start in California, then the rest of the
country had better pay attention. Gray Davis has proposed that his
state's police agencies be given the same authority to fight terrorism
that Congress recently gave the feds. If this keeps up, there won't be
an untapped phone in the nation. ... other states are asking for the
same authority. ... police power can be awesome if unchecked. The power
to tap phones, to accumulate damaging personal information, to track
your Internet habits is the stuff of Orwell and Kafka. (Richard Cohen - columnist) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22888-2002Jan9.html
"Remember; no matter where you go, there you are."- B. Banzai Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless company, said on Thursday it
has begun selling a wireless phone that can identify a person's calling
location and phone number to an emergency call center. Verizon Wireless,
a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Britain's Vodafone Group
Plc, said customers can order the Verizon Wireless SCH-N300 E-911
capable phone from Samsung online at http://www.verizonwireless.com.
Verizon Wireless expects coast-to-coast network upgrades to be completed
by the second quarter of 2003. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011227/tc/telecoms
"There are times when verbal ingenuity is not enough." - B. Banzai Qualcomm Inc. said North American cellular carriers have begun receiving
volume shipments of phones operating on Qualcomm's next-generation
network standard. CDMA 2000 1X is commonly referred to as a
third-generation, or "3G," network standard. It offers always-on data
connections at rates of up to 153 kilobits per second, better call
quality and improved battery life. http://industryclick.com/microsites/Newsarticle.asp?newsarticle
SPECIAL SECTION -- Spy News
"I've been ionized, but I'm okay now." - B. Banzai A scientist who suggested that the French food industry was cashing in
by over-salting products, claims he was spied on by France's security
services. The latest issue of Le Point magazine claims France's security
agency put him under surveillance once the report was completed. It says
spies from the agency placed bugs on his office phone, intercepted calls
to his mobile phone and monitored his relatives, friends and colleagues.
The report is denied by the French Interior Ministry, the security
agency - the Renseignements Generaux (Central Directorate of General
Information) - and the French police. (Anyone else care to Conga?) http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1753000/1
"Laugha while you can, monkeyboy." - Dr. Emilio Lizardo A man who sparked a spy alert apparently to cheer himself up after a row
with his wife may have to pay thousands in compensation. The Japan
Coast Guard spent more than £52,000 dispatching 17 vessels, launching
aircraft 10 times, and mobilising 380 personnel. The man had reported
seeing suspicious people in wet suits landing on an island. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_491601.html?menu=
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
"If it ain't one thing, it's another." - Rawhide Australia - A factory owner installed a video camera in female change
rooms to spy on his staff for sexual gratification, a court heard
yesterday. Peter Taylor, 50, set up the surveillance camera in a ceiling
fan directly above the only female toilet in his car detailing shop. ...
Mr. Taylor, of Wiltshire Lane, Sebastopol, has been charged with
installing and using a surveillance device and possessing an
unregistered firearm, which was also found in the ceiling. http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/
"The time has come, Bigbooty. Prepare for my return!" - Dr. Emilio Lizardo The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for employees of a trucking
company (Consolidated Freightways) to pursue an invasion-of-privacy suit
against the company, which installed video surveillance cameras in
bathrooms. The dispute arose from an incident in 1997, when an employee
straightened a mirror knocked askew by a slamming door. The mirror fell,
revealing a camera. Employees then discovered the same setup in the
women's bathroom, and more cameras and a microphone in another men's room. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/01/07/court-cameras.htm
"Is that a watermelon in there?" - New Jersey A burglar has been caught on a surveillance camera as his trousers fell
down revealing his bare bottom. The tape shows how the burglar, wearing
a ski mask and socks on his hands, broke through a glass door at the
Texas Tavern in Roanoke, Virginia, with a piece of concrete. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_488930.html?menu=
"The Future Begins Tomorrow" - Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems A private satellite has started returning the most detailed
freely-available pictures ever taken of our planet. Following its
orbital checkout Quickbird began producing black-and-white pictures
showing objects down to 61 centimeters (2 feet) across. Quickbird is
also able to produce color images down to 2.4 meters (8 feet) in size.
It will begin full commercial operations in July 2002. (amazing photos) http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1755000/1755356.stm
"The Past is Open Today" - [confidential] The National Cryptologic Museum (NSA's excellent spook museum) has
reopened to the public. http://www.nsa.gov/museum/
SPECIAL SECTION -- Pocket Litter
"And his hair... his hair's all disappearing. What's that smell..." - Bubba A group of scientists are experimenting with the worst smells imaginable
to help the military develop an "odor bomb" so foul it could clear
crowds. Researchers have looked for odors that produced a negative
reaction in all cultures, such as human waste, rotting animal flesh and
garbage. (The good news...) Pamela Dalton, a researcher at the
Philadelphia-based Monell Chemical Senses Center cautioned that the
military could be a long way from developing such an offensive weapon,
and that scientists are still trying to work out some bugs. (Like...)
"How do you contain odors until you are ready to use them?" she asked. http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-odor-bomb0106jan06
Our thanks to the Banzai Institute for their headline words of wisdom... The Banzai Institute, an independent, non-profit, research organization
of ranking scientists, is located an hour from New York City in Holland
Township, New Jersey (near Oldwick, NJ). Overlooking a truly panoramic
expanse of the Delaware River Valley, it is a one hundred and twelve
acre haven for scholars of all disciplines, but the sciences in particular.
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sun, 06 Jan 2002
To: Clients, colleagues and friends.
Subject: Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
====================================================
Kevin's Security Scrapbook® is published on an irregular
basis for a select audience. HTML versions are archived at http://www.spybusters.com/Security_Scrapbook.html
==================================================== SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Executive Briefings
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam Detectors
SPECIAL SECTION -- General Spy News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Things that float in cereal bowl milk... ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
Security Director Budget Booster # 549 (a cautionary tale)
Spy games: Is someone leaking your company secrets?
"...my friend's organization was dealing with a bona fide spy, this
scenario can happen in any corporation." http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2835127,00.html
Security Tip of the Week... If your company / agency uses Social Security numbers for identification
consider this... The IRS is dropping the first five digits from
everyone's Social Security Statements to "help protect your employees
from identity theft." Maybe you should too. http://www.irs.gov/ (publication 1693)
SPF 100+ for your computer... - Remove traces of documents opened, pictures viewed...
- Detect "spy" software that logs your activity and internet tracks!
- Permanently erase the digital foot prints left behind when you surf!
- Permanently erase potentially embarrassing "hidden" files!
- Stop password theft. Know if users are snooping your keystrokes!
- Erases chat files! ICQ, AIM and more- remove your chat traces!
- Portable! So small you can take it with you to public machines! http://www.xblock.com/
Secure your WLAN now...
Since the ratification of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b standard in September 1999, Wired Equivalent
Privacy (WEP) has been the primary mechanism by which organizations
encrypt wireless local-area network (WLAN) traffic. Users should
evaluate the need for additional security layers (beyond WEP) based on
application confidentiality requirements. Organizations should evaluate
three basic security services in conjunction with wireless LANs:
auditing, authentication, and confidentiality. http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,283
The June 2001 Pharmaceuticals Conference was Sold Out... "Business Intelligence for the Manufacturing Industry"
March 7-8, 2002 - Chicago, IL http://www.srinstitute.com/cm364
Quote of the week... "If you are trying to get it from them, they are trying to get it from
you." - Joseph Goldberg, Director Business Intelligence, Motorola
(speaking at the above)
SPECIAL SECTION -- Executive Briefings
The Gray Berets
We are seeing a more militant edge to business competition these days.
- Competitive intelligence gone malignant.
- Mission Impossible without the gadgets.
American corporations are historically: late adopters / early victims.
Example... Electronic eavesdropping inspections became a standard
practice here relatively recently. Corporate eavesdropping and espionage
have been around a whole lot longer.
A business school in Paris now offers executive infowar training in...
- Psychological deception
- Infowar basics
- Perception management
- Interference and Counter-interference
- Subversive techniques
- Information destabilization
The School of Economic Warfare... http://www.ege.eslsca.fr/en/ege/programme/
Activist groups - one corporate nemesis - are the early adopters of Gray
Beret tactics. Their will-bending is tracked in a book called "Death of
a Thousand Cuts: Corporate Campaigns and the Attack on the Corporation."
With the advent of a "School of Economic Warfare," and its me-too-zoos
of infowar trainers, your next Gray Beret opposition segment will likely
be... your competition.
This is just one small part of the overall migration of military
intelligence tactics to the economic battlefield. Given the big picture,
it seems natural enough.
Just another thing we keep in mind when analyzing your concerns.
...and just over the top from Frostbite Falls... Russia - A bomb hidden in a desk lamp and delivered as a New Year's gift
exploded in Russia's Pacific port of Vladivostok on Friday, wounding
three oil company employees, police said. Eyewitnesses reported that
two females dressed as Grandfather Frost and Snow Maiden - two
traditional Russian holiday figures - brought the lamp to the Rein
petroleum products company and left, said police spokesman Vladimir
Sadov. It exploded when the employees plugged it in, blowing out windows
and effectively destroying the company's small office, he said. "There
is a theory that the lamp was rigged (with explosives) to remove
competitors," said Sadov. http://www.russiajournal.com/news/index.html#n11235?nd=11235
THE MORAL OF THE STORY... Unsolicited "gifts" will arrive at your company too. They may contain
eavesdropping devices. They may contain bombs. They may be innocent
gifts. You need to check. -- We have some stunning pictures of a
suspicious gift we discovered last year at a large corporation. They are
available via email to our current clients. Contact me.
Take information security home... Computer hackers, once satisfied to test their skills on large
companies, are turning their sights on home computers that are faster,
more powerful and less secure than ever before. The hackers can steal
your identity, destroy your data or use your computer to launch attacks
on Web sites or your friends. "Home machines weren't very interesting
targets a few years ago," said Mikko Hypponen of anti-virus company
F-Secure in Finland. "That's all changed now." http://www.worldnews.com/?action=display&article=11197442&
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
"Mr. Blandings, ya gotta see dis!" HomeontheCam.com, is a unique video service gives homeowners remote
video access to the building of their dream home from ground breaking
through completion. In addition to the homeowner, custom homebuilders,
developers, designers and Realtors® can also use this service as both a
virtual supervision and marketing tool. General contractors can keep an
eye on multiple jobsites without leaving their offices (no comment). Likewise,
homeowners can view progress from anywhere, any time -- even if they are
on the other side of the world! (...or homeonthecan.) http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011109/cgf001_1.html http://www.homeonthecam.com/ http://wcs.homeonthecam.com/cgi-bin/wcs/site.cgi?site_id=40 (offices) http://www.homeonthecam.com/pubcamctrl/ (homes) http://us.imdb.com/Title?0040613 (Mr. Blandings)
"Are you talkin' to me?" Following the successful culmination of a pilot program to test several
models of in-vehicle infrared digital security cameras, the New York
City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has authorized their use in
licensed for-hire vehicles as an approved alternative security device to
satisfy the existing partition requirement outlined in For-Hire Vehicle Rule 6-13. http://www.mediaeater.com/cameras/news/taxi.html http://us.imdb.com/Title?0075314 (Taxi Driver)
Hot eyes tell lies... An experimental new lie detector that measures sudden flashes of heat
from around the eyes may soon provide another line of defense against
terrorism. "As people lie, there is a massive increase in blood flow
around the eyes, and associated with that there is sudden warming around
the eyes, where the color changes to white in the thermal imaging
system," Levine explained. The researchers made their discovery
accidentally three years ago while studying, of all things, gum chewing.
They were using the thermal imaging device to study the facial muscles
at work to analyze how physical activity affected metabolism. "We got
these beautiful thermal images every time someone chewed gum, and by
accident we detected the very subtle changes that occur in the face with
fearfulness -- there was a loud bang when a book fell on the lab floor,"
Levine told UPI. "The changes in the face that came with that were very
consistent with several individuals. And we thought, 'My goodness, if
this can detect these very subtle changes instantaneously, perhaps we
can see these same changes with lying.'" (Lead researcher James Levine,
an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.) http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=01012002-053506-3828r
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam Detectors
"Chinese version" - $3.90 "It can detect most wireless wiretap and video camera secretly installed
at your home or at public place (washing room, dressing room, etc.) to
release you from the anxiety of above situation."
(Don't count on it.) http://www.jagoacc.com/WWW/Links%20To%20Pictures/Gadgets/
"Consumer version" - $189. to $250. "...can scan an area and instantly tell if there's a hidden camera nearby."
(Can't detect cameras hidden behind an IR filter.) http://www.spyfinder.org/
"Super Government version" - $60,000. - Yours free with our services! "...allows us to detect surveillance cameras and bugs hidden in
ceilings, walls, and antique furniture - without damaging these items
during the inspection process."
(Detects minute amounts of heat given off by all bug and camera circuits.) http://www.spybusters.com/Infrared.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- General Spy News
Classified Section - Spy Base - For Let (available 1/2002)
Russia is shutting down a radar base in Cuba, President Vladimir Putin
has announced. The Lourdes station, where around 1,500 Russians are
based, was too expensive to maintain, he said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1604000/1604803.stm
Forget the UC's, fruit of the crime appropriations and RICO... Baltimore, MD - Saying that electronic surveillance is the only way to
dismantle big-time drug operations, Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia
C. Jessamy proposed legislation yesterday that would make it easier for
police to tap phone lines. http://www.sunspot.net/news/custom/guns/bal-md.jessamy04jan04.story?
SPECIAL SECTION -- Things that float in cereal bowl milk...
Translation Fun: "Big Brother is watching." Le Grand Frère vous surveille
bhai ki nazar me mat chado
Storebror ser dig
Stóri beiggi ansar eftir
Mae'r Brawd Mawr yn gwylio
Marele Frate supravegheaza
A Nagy Testvér figyel
Tá an deartháir mór ag coimead súil ort
Taham tuta ramham ik
Grote Broer kijkt
Der große Bruder beobachtet euch alle
El Gran Hermano vigila
saudara besar sedang mengawasi
Storebror ser deg
biggu burazaa wa itsumo kimi wo
mitsumeteiru
Velk‡ bratr tì sleduje
Il Grande Fratello vi sorveglia
Stori Brodir fylgist med thjer
Isoveli valvoo
Frater Magnus servo est
o grande irmão está observando
El gran germà vigila
Didysis brolis stebi
Bol'shoi brat nablyudaet
Ha'akh ha'gadol tzofe bekha
La frato granda rigardas
DubejtaH loDnI' tIn
Wielki Brat ?ledzi
Veliki brat gleda
Büyük birader seni izliyor
O megalos adelphos sas akoulouthi
Ouboet kyk
Big Brother nun dangsinul bogo isumnida http://www.mediaeater.com/cameras/news/11-2001.html
History's Spy Mysteries... London - A pillar of the British establishment was passing secret
information about aviation design to Japan during the 1920s, according
to secret government files declassified Thursday. The British Foreign
Office files from 1926 show that Lord Sempill, reputedly one of the
founders of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, passed details of
British "aeronautical construction" to the Japanese naval attache in
London, Capt. Teijiro Toyoda. The records, which have remained
classified for the last 75 years, indicate that the espionage took place
roughly between 1922 and early 1926. He escaped prosecution only because
MI5, the British counter-intelligence agency, wanted to protect its
operation monitoring diplomatic mail to and from the Japanese Embassy in
London, according to the records. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020105a3.htm
The economics of terrorism... Geneva - A ban on airline passengers carrying knives on board flights
from Switzerland has been relaxed, aviation officials said today.
...Swiss army pocket knives with multiple short blades and tools are a
popular souvenir, often found on sale in Switzerland's airport shops. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/world/1196749
Macintosh user makes money... The euro is big news these days now that the notes and coins are in mass
circulation, but what most people don't know is that the euro was
designed on a Mac. (Memo: Start 'amero' project next week.) http://www.macdirectory.com/4u/wire.fm$retrieve?Serial=4001851
Eavesdropping Detection Services
United Kingdom Eavesdropping Detection Services
