Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Fri, 22 Mar 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 -- On Eavesdropping Statistics
SPECIAL SECTION -- Electronic Eavesdropping Threats
SPECIAL SECTION -- World Spy News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Very Funny, Very Cool & Very Strange ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
Quote of the Month... "More companies are doing detailed assessments of their business
partners' information security. Failing grades can end a collaborative
relationship." - George V. Hulme
Peer review of your security... Until recently, information security had been treated as an internal
issue... That's no longer enough. What's changing most dramatically is
the level of detail companies are demanding to know about their business
partners' information-security plans. http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020315S0008
Government review of your security... The National Security Agency last week announced the first companies to
undergo an appraisal of their information security practices in a
program aimed at helping government and commercial organizations improve
their systems security. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0318/web-nsa
Wiretapping - LA Law style... The California Supreme Court strengthened privacy protections Thursday
by making it easier to successfully sue people who secretly tape others'
phone conversations. "California prohibits the recording of a telephone
call without consent from all parties, but only if the call includes a
"confidential communication." (Pen. Code, § 632) Our Courts of Appeal
have disagreed over the meaning of the critical term "confidential
communication." One line of authority holds that a conversation is
confidential if a party to that conversation has an objectively
reasonable expectation that the conversation is not being overheard or
recorded. (Frio v. Superior Court (1988) 203 Cal.App.3d 1480 (Frio) ...
We endorse the standard established in Frio and Coulter." http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S085594.PDF http://www.rcfp.org/news/2002/0321flanag.html
Quote of the Week... (A+ franchise opportunity.) "America is not a country, it's an idea."
Martyn Straw, President, Interbrand http://www.brandchannel.com/
SPECIAL SECTION - On Eavesdropping Statistics
We are regularly asked... - How many electronic "bugs" are planted per year?
- What percentage of them are illegal?
- What percentage are industrial or business related?
- What percentage are domestic?
- What are the most common types?
- What is the percent of sweeps that are productive?
- What is the most common eavesdropping method?
Here is the truth...
In eavesdropping and espionage matters, there are:
- no accurate statistics
- no most common methods
- no typical clients.
Don't let people scare you with made-up statistics - they can't possibly
know. Successful attacks go unnoticed. Most unsuccessful attacks go
unreported. And the rest are just news stories. No one is officially
keeping track.
All attack scenarios have unique qualities, and are usually quite
complicated. Everyone has enemies (competitors, activists, disgruntled
employees and customers, disloyal partners, unions v. management,
management v. unions, etc., etc.).
There is always somebody who wants what you have, or wants you out of
their picture.
Here are more truths...
- All properly conducted sweeps are productive.
- It is less expensive to protect and deflect than to defend and fix.
- If you wait until the attack takes place to protect yourself, the
'survival price tag' will be high... and you may not even be successful.
You need to detect pre-attack signs of intelligence gathering
(eavesdropping) BEFORE the attack. At this stage, security is both cheap
and effective.
Here is another truth we know...
Our clients don't care about statistics (other people's bugs).
They care about their bugs.
SPECIAL SECTION -- Electronic Eavesdropping Threats
Every month our technical staff receives private briefings on new
electronic eavesdropping threats and equipment. We thought our clients
might be interested in a 'behind the scenes' look at this month's
briefings.
BTW...
All of these devices are available to your enemies via the Internet.
Fiber optic microphone...
Ultra-sensitive optical microphone captures a range of sound -- from
normal conversation to soft whispering or the shuffling of papers --
with excellent sound accuracy. Based on unique optical sensor
technology. A beam of light is sent through an optical fiber to a sound
sensitive membrane. http://www.phone-or.com/html/products/som.htm
Talking Sign... An infrared wireless communications system that provides remote
directional human voice messages that make confident, independent travel
possible for vision impaired and print-handicapped individuals.
(convertible to eavesdropping missions) http://www.talkingsigns.com/
A 'snitch-bug' disguised as an infrared alarm system detector... Automatically dials to your mobile phone, pager or telephone... allows
you to hear the audio at the unit's location, or you can record the
audio on your pager's voice mail, a telephone recorder or an answering machine. http://www.securityprousa.com/sildetfeat.html
Murray Associates is protecting you from some very interesting
information suckers.
SPECIAL SECTION -- World Spy News
...and just why would a cop stop you from carrying a cardboard box? South Africa - Fears of a Western Cape government spying conspiracy have
deepened, with administration insiders confirming that the investigation
has widened. The drama started on the evening of March 5 when Pierre
Beneke, a director in former Western Cape director-general Niel
Barnard's office, and two female colleagues were confronted by a
policeman. He had noticed that Beneke was carrying cardboard boxes to a
vehicle parked in the provincial government garage. Among unconfirmed
allegations are that the items in the cardboard boxes included bugging
and computer equipment. A sweep of the legislature was then conducted
and further devices were allegedly found. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art
Mission Impossible - Episode #243 Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Momcilo Perisic, a former commander of
the Yugoslav army, has been arrested on spying charges. Another person
described by officials only as a US citizen has been questioned and released. http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_545546.html
"Pretty well..." ??? How smart is that? New Mexico aims to become the first state to issue a smart card driver's
license and plans to offer space on the chip to credit card issuers and
other service providers. Once the state verifies the identity of the
individual, other application providers “would know pretty well the
person who has that card,” says Keith Perry, deputy director of the
Motor Vehicles Division. http://www.eventshome.com/Manual/manualpage.asp?
UPDATE - The 'Art Student' Spies... Creative Loafing last week obtained a copy of the report from
intelligence sources with long-term contacts among both Israeli and
American agencies. The government has attempted to deflect attention
from earlier leaks about the spy scandal. However, while declining to
confirm or deny the authenticity of the document, a spokesman for the
DEA, William Glaspy, did acknowledge that the agency had received many
reports of the nature described in the 60 pages. http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/fishwrapper.html
Portions of the 60-page report can be found at... http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2002-03-20/news_dea.pdf
Jersey Boys in the news... A Chinese court has sentenced an American electrical engineer to five
years in prison for obtaining state secrets and giving bribes. Fong, of
West Orange, New Jersey, was acquitted by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate
People's Court of other bribery and state secrets charges, said the spokesman. http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_549561.html
Rng Fuvg Naq Qvr Zbagrf. * An American intelligence analyst who spied for Cuba throughout her
16-year career is facing 25 years in jail. Ana Belen Montes, 45, has
pleaded guilty to espionage charges. She revealed the identities of four
undercover agents to Cuban officials during her time as a spy. Ms.
Montes rose to the position of senior intelligence analyst and had used
short-wave radio and coded pager messages to give Cuba US secrets. The
leaked documents were so sensitive they could not be fully described in
court documents. (* ROT-13) http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_548890.html
Hydra CALEA! New Zealand telecommunications network operators and Internet service
providers will be legally obligated to install a system that will allow
police or the secret service to eavesdrop on phone calls or e-mail
messages, the New Zealand government has confirmed. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175371.html http://www.askcalea.net/
See New York City Seeing You... Walking tours are one of the best ways to discover New York City, and
one unique walking tour attempts to discover some of the hundreds of
surveillance cameras monitoring the Big Apple. Anti-surveillance
activist Bill Brown leads the tours in an attempt to raise awareness of
the prevalence and purpose of the cameras. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1865000/
SPECIAL SECTION -- Very Funny, Very Cool & Very Strange
Relax... Create a mental picture... About 500 former South Korean spies have clashed with police in a
protest over the government's refusal to pay bonuses for missions they
carried out in North Korea. The demonstrators, most of them in their 60s
and dressed in black uniforms, fought about 1,000 police for about 20
minutes using metal sticks. The protesters set fire to liquefied natural
gas canisters but a fire truck quickly extinguished the blazes before
the bottles exploded. http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_545142.html
(We do realize this is not funny to the people who trusted, believed and in some cases gave their lives. Our sympathies are with them. - Number 6)
Just because it's Very Cool! A full-size fully functional virtual keyboard that can be projected and touched on any surface ... can be integrated in mobile phones, laptops, tablet PCs, or clean, sterile and medical environments and could be a revolution for the data entry of any mini computer. The mini projector that detects user interaction with the surface also simulates a mousepad. (Siemens) http://story.news.yahoo.com/
Why trains don't float... French émigré Emile Bachelet was an electrician who patented several
therapeutic electromagnetic devices. A brief involvement with a
vaudeville magic act, in which he levitated objects with magnets, led to
his idea for a magnetically levitated vehicle. He created a fully
functional miniature prototype by 1910, about the size of a large toy
train, which levitated and moved forward on rails by means of an
alternating-current repulsion system using iron core magnets. He
received a U.S. patent for his “levitating transmitting apparatus” in
1912. But to get the train off the ground financially, Bachelet needed
an outside investor. The multimillionaire John Jacob Astor IV was
intrigued and promised to finance Bachelet upon his return from a
European trip. Astor's return, unfortunately, was on HMS Titanic. http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/trailing0402.asp
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Thu, 14 Mar 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 -- Continuing Education
SPECIAL SECTION -- Technomotion
SPECIAL SECTION -- DIY Private Eye
SPECIAL SECTION -- Abductions & Coming Distractions ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
ESPIONAGE ALERT -- Photocopiers with hard drives -- NOT FOR SENSITIVE USE. Models: Sharp AR 287 / 337 / 407 / 507 and Canon IR 600
These copier/printers have internal hard drives which make them an
information security risk. The traditional copier cleanser method -
running 3-5 blank sheets - is not a valid countermeasure with these
machines. Try not to use these machines for duplicating your sensitive
materials. Sharp's solution - the Sharp Data Security Kit - only ensures
that data does not come through on the next printing job. It does not
address the problem of data which remains on the drive after the job is
printed. The only known fix is the optional removable hard drive, which
can be secured by you. We are not aware of any fixes for Canon, other
than removing the hard drive. Other issues: network access and password protection. http://www.classmgmt.com/ http://www.sharp-usa.com/products/FunctionPressReleaseSingle/
Bug-O-Rama
Cape Town - A quagmire of espionage and bugging, that would put a James
Bond movie to shame, was uncovered in the Western Cape parliamentary
building on Tuesday. Sophisticated tapping and monitoring equipment was
found. Sources say the scandal that may ensue has the potential to
become South Africa's own Watergate scandal. Sources say the equipment
was found during a routine sweep... (Please read that last sentence
again.) Confidential information indicates at least three types of
bugging devices were found - telephone taps, micro transmitters to
broadcast conversations within offices, and equipment allowing listeners
to tap into conversations from a distance. This information was
confirmed by a national government source. http://www.news24.co.za/News24/South_Africa/WesternCape/
Cautionary Tale #221
"The information you let them steal will be used to kill you." In an extraordinary case of apparent corporate espionage, Vivendi
Universal's Canal Plus has filed a lawsuit against NDS Group, alleging
the company cracked its digital television code and pirated it over a
Web site. ...it filed suit in a federal court in Northern California
seeking damages of more than $1 billion against NDS... (THE REAL
DAMAGE...) The code was stolen in late 1998 and counterfeit cards
flooded the market in 1999. At the time, Canal Plus had just won a key
contract to provide digital TV security in the United Kingdom, in NDS'
backyard. After Canal Plus' technology was compromised, it could not
venture into U.S. markets. Potential customers pointed to the company's
inability to protect its own security system. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB http://netscape5.marketwatch.com/news/
Starving Artists... Hungry for Knowledge. Authorities have arrested and deported dozens of young Israelis since
early last year who represented themselves as art students in efforts to
gain access to sensitive federal office buildings and the homes of
government employees, U.S. officials said. A draft report from the Drug
Enforcement Administration - which first characterized the activities as
suspicious - said the youths' actions "may well be an organized
intelligence-gathering activity." http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAQS1FAGYC.html
Personal Security Advice...
SafeSpaces.com pledges to provide you with the very best information on
safety and security.
- Avoid Carjacking
- Background Checks
- Crisis-Proofing U.S. Cities
- Designer Drug Abuse
- Handling Suspicious Mail
- Identity Theft
- Impact of the Terrorist Attack
- POSTER-Workplace Violence
- Protecting Businesses from Terror
- Schizophrenia http://www.SafeSpaces.com/
Security Director Question of the Week - Air Travel A long-term friend and security director of a multi-national Fortune
company contacted me for assistance with a simple question.
"What is the prevailing corporate policy about letting top executives
fly together?"
All I know is: don't put all your eggheads in one basket.
He knew the answer. But, you know how it is... top executives like to
mirror their peers. They needed proof. We polled some of the Security
Scrapbook readership -- Fortune 500 Security Directors and experts from
the IAPSC. Here are the results of that effort. Hope this information is
helpful to you too. http://www.spybusters.com/air.html http://www.iapsc.org
SPECIAL SECTION -- Competitor College -- Continuing Education
New Telco service - "Privacy Manager"
Stops unidentified callers before your phone rings and provides you with
options in the event you don't want to talk. "Privacy Manager" is a call
screening service that works with Caller ID to identify all incoming
calls that have no telephone numbers. Incoming calls identified as
Anonymous, Unavailable, Out Of Area or Private are requested to identify
themselves in order to complete the call.
Benefits
- More control over incoming phone calls
- Stops telemarketing calls without having to write a written request or talk to them
- Enhances the value of Caller ID services
- Provides the functionality of Anonymous Call Rejection http://www.pacbell.com/Products_Services/Residential/
More Digital Voice Recorders ...from Russia with love!
The digital voice recorder Edic-Mini is intended to record the voice
messages to the built-in FLASH memory. It can play back the stored
messages using the earphone or download the messages to the personal
computer. Extremely small (17 x 57 x 10 mm) and light (8 g). It can
store up to 4480 minutes of voice !!! (much more with Voice Activation
System (VAS) enabled), has a high-sensitive built-in microphone (range
up to 8 m) and a wide dynamic range. It can continuously record for up
to 80 hours or keep the date/time for up to 2 years from a single
battery. (Fantastic photos.) http://www.telesys.ru/english/edic-mini.html
A PI's ties are too tight, and the suit ain't feeling comfortable either. Information brokers who allegedly used deception to obtain consumers'
confidential financial information have agreed to settle Federal Trade
Commission charges that their practices violated federal law. ... The
practice of obtaining consumers' private financial information under
false pretenses is known as "pretexting." The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
specifically outlaws pretexting and soliciting others to pretext. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/03/pretextingsettlements.htm
Guess who's tracking you by cell phone?
The nation's cell phone service providers will soon know exactly where
every one of their customers is, at all times, and privacy rights groups
are asking what they plan to do with the information. ... http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-846959.html
UWB -- Gestalt Modulation (FutureWatch item)
Why Such Uproar Over Ultrawideband?
Low power, low cost, high data rates, precise positioning capability and
no interference -- UWB seems to have it all. ... Ultrawideband (UWB) has
been described by some as one of the most promising technologies of our
times. Early UWB systems were developed mainly as a military
surveillance tool because they could "see through" trees and beneath
ground surfaces.
(Also, Low Probability of Intercept communications, and 'see through walls' capabilities.) http://www.commsdesign.com/design_corner/
The pen that sends e-mail...
Tarantino took what looked like one of those overly fat pens that
Europeans love so much, wrote a message on a yellow Post-it note,
entered an e-mail address in some squares at the bottom of the note, and
checked a box marked "e-mail" and another marked "send." That was it.
His note -- handwriting, doodles, and all -- was captured and sent as a
graphical e-mail. http://www.business2.com/articles/web/0,1653,38392,FF.html?ref=cnet
The e-mail pager that sends voice... Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) has added voice capabilities to its RIM
BlackBerry handheld device... http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=647742
The cell phone that does everything... (FutureWatch item)
The wild, wild world of 4G wireless is expected to bring higher data
transmission speeds and media-rich broadband services, at rates up to 20
times faster than DSL (digital subscriber line). It promises to make
callers' lives less complicated, with services like global roaming.
...mobile device users could have a multimedia inbox, where they could
receive mail attachments in the form of high-density images, audio and
video clips. They could reply by recording an audio message, snapping a
photo or shooting a video, and sending it right back, using nothing but
the mobile device. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16681.html
"Peek-a-boo"
has taken on new meaning in some Ontario daycare centres, where cleverly
placed video cameras and password-protected Web sites are bridging the
distance between parent and toddler. And that suits Rhonda Petersen just
fine. "It's just like having your daycare down the hall from where you
work," says Petersen, who pays $34.95 a month for a Web-based service
called SecureDaycare.com. "You can just peek your head in and have a
look. I love it - I wouldn't be without it." Move over Big Brother - this is
Big Momma's turf. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/
Portable Encryption for Telephones
"L-3 Communications announced today that Privatel, a personal telephone
security unit manufactured by its Communication Systems-East division,
has been selected as an honoree in the telephony category at the 2002
International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)." http://www.L-3Com.com/cs-east/programs/infosec/privatel.htm
SpyCam News - Judge Jeannie and her Eye of Horus
Cape Town - The deputy judge-president of the Cape, Judge Jeanette
Traverso has emphatically denied any involvement in the installation of
secret cameras in the Rashaad Staggie trial courtroom. http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/WesternCape/
More fun than watching four monkeys with a football...
'Surveillance and Control' is a half day conference which will consider
widespread uses of electronic surveillance. It aims to analyse how
recent social and political developments have impacted on discourses
around surveillance, and to address how various surveillance
technologies have influenced new media art practice. http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/programmes/webcasting/
SPECIAL SECTION -- Abductions & Coming Distractions with Pop Quiz!
Alien Abductions... The number of Japanese citizens believed abducted by North Korea now
numbers 11, a National Police Agency official says. Most of the
kidnappings were allegedly carried out in Japan by North Korean agents
in the 1970s and 1980s, possibly to train spies in Japanese language and culture.
(Note: This is an 'extreme' espionage warning sign.) http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_541879.html
Mailian Abductions... For two weeks, Dan and Sharon Millar received no mail. The reason, they
discovered upon contacting Canada Post, was because someone had filled
out a change-of-address form redirecting their mail to a home in
Scarborough. Not their home, not their change-of-address request.
(Note: This is a 'possible' espionage warning sign.)
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?
Familial Abductions...
Incestuous marriages are legal in Alabama?!?!
(Note: I don't even want to know what kind of warning sign this is.)
http://www2.dumblaws.com/
Coming Distractions... Universal Pictures-based producer Laura Bickford has acquired Tatiana
Blackington's "Mata Hari," an original script on the life of the
notorious spy and courtesan. A protean figure in turn-of-the-century
Europe, Mata Hari passed herself off as an exotic dancer, circulating
among royalty before joining the German secret service in World War One.
She was convicted by the French and executed by firing squad in 1917.
Pop Quiz... Who was Mata Bond? http://www.reuters.co.uk/news_article.jhtml
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Mon, 04 Mar 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 -- Country Music Spy Tech Headlines
SPECIAL SECTION -- Movie of the Week ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
Security Director - Good Technology Alert - Secure Wireless Headset For years I have placed some of you between Scylla and Charybdis with my
rants about your executives and assistants using wireless headsets on
their phones. We all knew it was an eavesdropping vulnerability, but...
who was going to tell these folks they couldn't use one.
"Blame me!" I implored. Some of you did.
GOOD NEWS... A new, eavesdropper-resistant, headset has just been
approved for use by the FCC. I tested it this week. It's wonderful. Just
swap their old wireless headset with this one. They'll love it. Good
range, good fidelity, lightweight, easy to use. Manufacturer: GN Netcom.
Model: GN 9020-D Digital headset. http://www.gnnetcom.com/usa/9000.digital.html http://www.ahernstore.com/gn9020d.html http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/oet/forms/reports/
(FCC technical notes and photos)
Famous Quote... "Some day, on the corporate balance sheet,
there will be an entry which reads 'information'..."
Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, United States Navy (Retired)
Security Director Cautionary Tale #219 - Computer Disposal
Pennsylvania - Sales of state surplus personal computers came to a
screeching halt this week after the revelation that one had been sold
with a hard drive full of confidential information. http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/
Security Director Cautionary Tale #220 - Watch the plotting, not the attack.
The FBI is investigating a burglary at a Federal Highway Administration
Office in which sensitive information about roads at Hoover Dam may have
been taken, officials said. (Damn espionage.) http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20020223_579.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- Country Music Spy Tech Headlines
"I'm So Miserable Without You, It's Almost Like Having You Here" U.S. government officials played country music when they talked among
themselves during President Bush's visit to China this week. They did it
to cover up their conversations in case the Chinese were using bugs to
listen in. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50260-2002Feb22.html
"If I Ain't Got It, You Don't Need It." - From our contacts file to yours...
Government officials 'in the know' don't use country music as a
counter-eavesdropping tool. They use Noisebath and Eavestopper to mask
room conversations from eavesdropping. You can too. These security
products use special algorithms which cannot be decoded or filtered.
Works great. Contact: Noel D. Matchett mailto:ndm@infosecurityinc.com
Information Security Incorporated, 301-565-8168
"If the Devil Danced in Empty Pockets, He'd Have a Ball in Mine"
(via email) Kevin: Could you recommend a reputable company that does
either on-site shredding or picks it up and shreds it offsite? I'd
appreciate your putting me in touch with someone. ...
(reply) Here are the names / addresses / phone numbers of the National
Association for Information Destruction members. I am definitely in favor
mobile shredding on your premises as opposed to off-site destruction. Kevin http://www.naidonline.org/members.html
"All I Want From You (Is Away)" - From our contacts file to yours... Need a personal contact with an extensive background in blackmail and
kidnapping situations; especially overseas? Call Joel E. Gross CPP, ARM,
CFE, Risk Strategies International, Inc., 505-833-2977 mailto:rsiintl@nm.org
"I Don't Know Whether To Kill Myself Or Go Bowling" Long, but excellent article on IBM ThinkPad laptop computers and their
inherent password protection. ... "They contain a secret password
which, if it is forgotten or lost, simply cannot be replaced. Without
the password, the whole computer is an inert lump of plastic." http://news.independent.co.uk/digital/features/story.jsp?
"Uh-oh, I'm Falling in Love Again" *
A landlord who killed himself last month secretly videotaped some 650
people showering and using bathrooms in their apartments and at his
insurance office over more than five years, police said. Many people in
this farm town of 2,500 are wondering whether they are on James Rogers'
tapes. Rogers, 55, shot himself as investigators searched his apartment
Jan. 19. Police were tipped off by a tenant who found a suspicious hole
in the ceiling. They said that in at least two cases, Rogers had
disguised video cameras to look like smoke alarms. Piles of
videocassettes were found in Rogers' apartment. (* Jimmy Rodgers 1958) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/
"You Don't Have Nixon to Kick Around Anymore"
Students discover 'bug' in Whittier College newspaper office. Listening
device could have been planted several years ago, says private investigator...
(The bug was an FM transmitter affixed to the rear of a regular mains
outlet. Background: Transmits 24/7, 2500-2800 foot range, 65-305 MHz,
excellent sensitivity and fidelity, sold as a kit for $75-$145. for
many, many years. Usually left in place and will remain operational long
after the eavesdropper is gone.) http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=376
"You're Going To Ruin My Bad Reputation"
Use of keystroke-logging program upheld, but privacy advocates brace for
future fights. ... Ending the possibility for a showdown in higher
courts between the FBI and privacy advocates over the use of
controversial surveillance technology, accused loan shark Nicodemo S.
Scarfo Jr. has pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court to a charge
of illegal gambling. http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,87084,00.asp
"Hand me the Pool Cue and Call Yourself an Ambulance"
Tokyo - Japanese police put Tokyo's biggest red-light district under the
glare of 50 surveillance cameras this week to try to curb rampant crime
in the area. ... "It could have a negative effect on our customers,"
said an employee at a "love hotel," which rents out rooms by the hour to
couples wanting privacy. ... "We will be careful not to infringe on
people's privacy," a police official said. http://news.excite.com/article/id/161551|oddlyenough|
"If I'd Killed You the First Time I Thought About it,
I'd be Out of Jail By Now"
The image of agents intercepting phone plots between would-be terrorists
and rounding them up to avert a deadly attack is driving a campaign to
expand wiretap powers to local police.... "I view wiretapping related to
terrorism as pre-emptive... Now we know 20 Trade Center terrorists used
cell phones and other media to plan the attacks. This would allow law
enforcement to intervene soon enough to avoid a tragedy." - Sen. William
Van Regenmorter, R-Hudsonville (MI) (He's right, and inspecting for
eavesdropping devices is the way to pre-empt your corporate enemies too.) http://www.freep.com/news/mich/tap19_20020219.htm
"Guess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Heart"
A lawsuit accusing the Anti-Defamation League of spying on local
activists - the last court action stemming from San Francisco police
raids on the Jewish organization's office 10 years ago - has been
settled for $178,000, lawyers said yesterday. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/02/23/MN169812.DTL
"If She Hadn't Been So Good Lookin' I Might Have Seen the Train" Ever wonder how ESPN and ABC Sports gets those great 'point of view'
shots down on the field of play? They have Umpcam - a tiny pencil-thin
(7mm) high-quality (410k pixel) video camera attached to the umpire's
cap visor. The battery and microwave transmitter are attached to the
umpire's belt. Umpcams transmit on 2.0, 2.3 and 2.5 GHz. http://www.elmo-corp.com/product.asp?sec=Products&ind=Videography&prod=43 http://www.avsburbank.com/index.html
"I Was Looking Back to See
If You Were Looking Back to See
If I Was Looking Back to See
if You Were Looking Back at Me"
A list of the world's smallest video cameras... http://www.androidworld.com/prod17.htm
"If Fingerprints Showed Up On Skin, Wonder Whose I'd Find On You." Is a secret, 85-year-old formula for invisible ink an important tool in
our war on terrorism? Apparently, the Central Intelligence Agency thinks
so. It has persuaded a federal judge to keep secret classified documents
describing World War I-era formulas for invisible ink. ... At the center
of the debate is a millennia-old form of secret communication known to
spies and children. Its formulas can be created in kitchens and
laboratories, and are easily found on the Internet. "This is a damn
joke," said Mark S. Zaid, executive director of the James Madison
Project, a nonprofit group that works to lessen government secrecy. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/2736130.htm
"Her Only Bad Habit Is Me" A secretary who used erasable ink to snooker one of the city's savvies
brokerages out of $800,000 fessed up to the embezzlement yesterday - but
gets a sentencing break because she says her hubby made her do it.
Anamarie Giambrone now faces only 2 to 6 years in prison - instead of
the up-to-15-years sentence allowed by law - for embezzling the loot by
using vanishing ink on checks while an executive secretary for Bear Stearns. http://www.nypost.com/seven/02262002/news/regionalnews/
"Velcro Arms, Teflon Heart" Scientists are trying to port the super-sensor hearing of the Ormia
ochracea fly to hearing aids and spy microphones. This insect is only a
quarter-inch long and together, its ears are smaller than a period at
the end of a sentence. The ears may be tiny, but their directional
hearing is so acute they are the basis of a biomimicry project. http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195
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