Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sat, 27 Apr 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 -- SpyCam News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Odds & Ends ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
No, you didn't miss last week's Scrapbook.
"...published on an irregular basis..."
I was in Atlanta talking with top security consultants and specialists.
Also, gave a talk and was interviewed for them on a TV show.
When you need unbiased (non-product affiliated) security advice,
engineering design, a forensic specialty, or an expert witness...
One-stop-shop their 100+ name directory first. http://www.iapsc.org/directory/directory.html
Security Reminder - Nextel and many other cell phones...
have an “auto-answer” feature that allows the phone to answer an
incoming call automatically. The user can set the number of rings before
it answers. The feature may also be used in “silent mode,” in which no
rings will be heard and the phone will still answer incoming calls. Once
the cell phone automatically answers, any conversation held close enough
to it can be picked up and heard by the caller.
Cautionary Tale #622 - Espionage - Military contractor
South Africa -- Thieves broke into Denel headquarters and stole computer
disks containing production information on the Rooivalk attack
helicopter. Peter Gastrow, the director of the Institute for Security
Studies, said the motive for the burglary appeared to be far more than
met the eye. "One must assume that far more sophisticated motives were
behind it, including espionage. That information could be used by Denel
competitors or rivals," he said. http://www.busrep.co.za/html/busrep/br_frame_decider.php?click
Cautionary Tale #623 - Espionage and eavesdropping - Private corporation
South Africa -- Apollo Tobacco, a local cigarette manufacturer and
distributor, claimed Batsa had used SARS [government agency] in its bid
to conduct "industrial espionage" and sabotage the company. Apollo also
said the giant multinational firm, which controls 90% of the SA tobacco
market, hired private detectives and used bugging devices to conduct
industrial spying activity. http://www.suntimes.co.za/2002/04/21/news/news08.asp
Is your e-mail staring at you?
"Watch out -- the spam choking your e-mail in-box may be loaded with
software that lets marketers track your moves online, and you may not
even be aware that you've been bugged." http://news.com.com/2100-1023-875992.html
Stare Back!
A non-profit Internet privacy group released free software that it says
enables online users to find out whether they are being tracked -- and,
if so, who is doing the tracking. The Privacy Foundation said its
"Bugnosis" is a browser extension designed to identify the increasingly
widespread "bugs" that are often hidden in Web pages, surreptitiously
collecting information about users and passing it on to others. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/11110.html http://www.privacyfoundation.org http://www.bugnosis.org/ (free bug detection software)
Moral: People will turn on you for pittance.
Indian police have arrested an air force corporal (Tripati Mahapatra,
30) who allegedly passed classified military documents to a Pakistani
embassy official. ... During police interrogation, Mahapatra said he had
been recruited as a spy in 1998 and had received a total of $2,100.
(Counterespionage inspections provide 'early warnings'.) http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_568389.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
101 SpyCam Avenue, Voyeur, NJ Thousands of people who have installed a popular wireless video camera,
intending to increase the security of their homes and offices, have
instead unknowingly opened a window on their activities to anyone
equipped with a cheap receiver. ... A recent drive around the New Jersey
suburbs with two security experts underscored the ease with which a
digital eavesdropper can peek into homes where the cameras are put to
use as video baby monitors and inexpensive security cameras... http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/technology/14SPY.html
History...
Government agencies have spent more than $50 million during the past
five years developing camera surveillance technology, and proposed
federal spending on such systems has increased since September 11,
according to a recent report released by the General Accounting Office. http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20020417-31785134.htm
FutureWatch... (personal guesswork)
- Vision chips 10 x 10 mm in size, or less, 'in everything.'
- Linked to human-level artificial intelligence computers.
- With "anticipatory software" to predict beyond activity being watched.
- With "recognition databases" (human facial/movement and object)
- Making human-free judgments. Executing human-free responses.
Results...
No reliance on a human to "watch the monitor."
Multicamera cooperative systems (2-1000+) will 'track' wide areas.
...Only one of the above is NOT available today. Still working on the
human-level artificial intelligence part. Ray Kurzweil figures "well
within 30 years." By then, the other elements will have advanced too.
Quotes of the Week... From... "Silicon Valley's Spy Game" (long but interesting)
"...we're going to track everything. " - Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp.
"He's like a rich version of a North Korean dictator.'' - L. Lessig, law professor http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/magazine/14TECHNO.html
The Party Line... is silent. Richmond, VA -- As the scope of the GOP eavesdropping scandal widened,
Democratic officials pressed Republican Speaker S. Vance Wilkins to say
whether he knew of efforts to listen in on private telephone
conferences. Wilkins has declined to comment since reports surfaced
Wednesday that a cellular telephone belonging to his chief of staff was
discovered on a list of participants for a March 25 conference call
among Democratic legislators. http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0419sno.html
Free Wiretaps. Federal investigators have notified as many as 20 people -- including
several elected officials -- that they were heard on tape during a
widening New Jersey probe into political kickbacks and corruption,
according to attorneys and sources close to the case. ... The wiretap
letters stem from an expanding corruption probe tied to United Gunite
Corp., an Irvington-based construction firm whose former vice president,
Gerald Free, has admitted bribing officials throughout New Jersey. Free
was arrested by federal agents early in 2000 and spent at least seven
months as a cooperating witness, secretly recording his conversations
with public officials. http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-1/10197258221 http://mfile.akamai.com/3196/rm/muze.download.akamai.com/2890/us/
The DIY Private Eye...
Another 'Undocumented' Google Syntax...
The syntax is daterange:xx-xx , where each xx is a date. Here's the
kicker, though; the dates must be in Julian format. I hear you yelling,
"What the heck is Julian format?" Julian dates are a continuous count of
days since noon UTC on January 1, 4713 BC. April 21, 2002, at about 5 am
UTC is 2452385.70608 in Julian date format (hereafter referred to as
JD.) Skip the decimals; Google doesn't like 'em.
JD converter... http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/JulianDate.html
So say you wanted to check yesterday's addition to the database for a
certain query -- dogs. The Julian date would be 2452384, so your query
would be: dogs daterange:2452384-2452384 Very cool! http://www.researchbuzz.com/articles/2002/googledate0422.html
Craps! Nevada high court OK's police monitoring devices on cars...
In a 5-2 decision, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled Thursday that police
can hide electronic monitoring devices on peoples' cars - without a
warrant and for as long as they want. http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2002/apr/2
Typewriters?!? Hey, don't forget the mimeographs... A slim volume published earlier in 1999 demonstrates how paranoid
secrecy is official state policy in North Korea. The booklet, entitled
"Dear Leader Kim Jong Il's Remarks on Statistics," urges senior
bureaucrats to guard statistics as though they were national secrets.
"Workers should not discuss work matters outside, even with their wives
and children," the book says. "We send newspapers overseas that may
contain secrets. If you have secrets don't use the telephone too much.
We should also tighten controls over use of typewriters and photocopiers." http://www.feer.com/articles/2002/0205_02/p012region.html
FutureWatch Item Coming to a cordless phone near you... e-mail.
The planned cordless phones look nearly identical to cell phones,
complete with a screen for displaying e-mail. The phone's keys would be
used to punch in text messages. New services, like e-mailing that
carriers would charge for, could help make up for the expected revenue dips... http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-882467.html
"Anoraks" ??? It's all Greek to us... Greece - Seven plane-spotters, including five Britons and two Dutch,
found guilty of spying charges have been jailed for three years. Seven
other Britons convicted of aiding and abetting them, have received
one-year sentences. ..."I just can't believe it. They were just taking
down numbers on an aeroplane - that's what plane-spotters do," said Ron
Arnold, whose 38-year-old son Graham Arnold was one of those convicted
of the spying charge, said he was absolutely horrified at the verdicts.
"It's insane that my mother, sitting in a van doing a crossword, can be
convicted of espionage. They are a bunch of anoraks with a strange hobby
but it's not something they should be jailed for," said Stephen Warren,
son of Lesley Coppin, who was convicted of aiding and abetting by
waiting in a bus for the others. http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_576338.html
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sat, 13 Apr 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 -- World Spy News
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Cell Phone News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Aoristic Stuff ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
Quote of the Week... "It says it would use bugging and other electronic surveillance in
exceptional cases but only if it was lawful." - referring to Diligence Information
and Security, a company that carries out intelligence-gathering across the
world on behalf of wealthy corporate clients.
(Who are these guys? Is this the next wave? ...see the next story)
Super Spies of the World Unite! Lord Powell... he used to brief prime ministers on the dangers of
Russia’s ruthless secret services - is now working with them. He is on
the advisory board of Diligence Information and Security, a company that
carries out intelligence-gathering across the world on behalf of wealthy
corporate clients. Among his new colleagues is Viktor Abramkin, a former
captain in the highly secretive GRU, the military wing of Soviet
intelligence, which operated alongside the KGB. Diligence, has set
up offices in London, Miami and Washington... (Powell) has no qualms
about working with a former adversary. “The cold war is over,” he said
last week. “In this international age you have to draw on resources from
all over the world.” http://www.thetimes.co.uk/ (4/7/02)
Everybody into the resources pool... In a country that boasts some of the best-educated programmers in the
world, "hacking and phreaking [hacking phone lines] are quite a national
hobby," Abramkin says.... http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,19878,00.html
Hemocorporatetosis Cyber crime bleeds U.S. corporations, survey shows; financial losses
from attacks climb for third year in a row http://www.gocsi.com/press/20020407.html
Call it what you like...
Extortionography / Terrortapping* / Surveillactivism** (...but don't ignore it.)
Two days before Hewlett-Packard Co. shareholders voted on the contested
purchase of Compaq Computer Corp., HP chief Carly Fiorina told her top
lieutenant she was nervous about the outcome and suggested taking
"extraordinary" steps to win over two big investors. "If you would take
Deutsche Bank, I'll take Northern Trust, get on the phone and see what
we can get, but we may have to do something extraordinary for those two
to bring them over the line here," Fiorina said in a voice mail to chief
financial officer Robert Wayman. ... The message was anonymously forwarded
to a reporter at the San Jose Mercury News, which printed a transcript
of it Wednesday and made the audio clip available online. (next link) http://multimedia.realcities.com:8080/ramgen/bayarea/news/carlyshort.rm http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/04/10/ http://www.spybusters.com/Extortionography.html http://www.spybusters.com/SS016.html * **
Cautionary Tale #245 - Industrial Espionage Break-in of the Week Pretoria - Thieves who broke into the closely guarded Denel complex in
Kempton Park knew exactly what they wanted. Only computer hard disks
containing information of the Rooivalk attack helicopter were stolen in
the burglary that shows signs of industrial espionage. http://www.news24.co.za/News24/South_Africa/Gauteng/0,1113,2-7-8
SPECIAL SECTION -- World Spy News
"When we last left our intrepid little heroes...." U.S. spies used drugged cookies and drinks to break the will of a
Russian defense employee and recruit him as an agent, according to new
details of Russian security service allegations published Thursday. The
Federal Security Service, or FSB, ridiculed the alleged U.S. espionage
effort saying the CIA once delivered secret instructions to their agent
in invisible ink that melted away when he used Russian tap water to
develop them. "The Americans will never defeat us because they will
never figure out that our tap water differs from that in Langley," the
city in Virginia where the CIA is based, the newspaper said quoting FSB officials. http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-russia-us-espionage0411apr11.story?coll=sns%2Dap%2Dnationworld%2Dheadlines http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1921000/1
The Biggest Little Voyeurhouse in Texas!
"A year after a collision with a fighter jet forced it to make an
emergency landing in China, a U.S spy plane that was picked over and cut
apart is being put back together and could be back in the air next
month. The Navy EP-3 electronic surveillance plane is undergoing repairs
at Lockheed-Martin in Marietta. That work should be completed in May,
when the plane is to be flown to a Raytheon Co. plant at Waco, Texas,
for electronic updates, Navy spokesman Bob Coble said." http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/348768p-2860152c.html
"Next, on 'Politically Incorrect'..." The usually reserved Russian President Vladimir Putin has talked about
his days as a KGB spy in Dresden in the 1980s in an unusual talk show
appearance when he visited the east German city of Weimar. ... In the
interview, he joked at first that the job was full of adventure as in
James Bond novels, but then he changed his line. "Speaking seriously, it
was really routine work. I was dealing with information," he said,
providing no further details. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/020410/80/cw883.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
"Next, on MTV (Mugger TV)..." UK - Bright yellow "mugger detector" vans fitted with closed-circuit
television cameras are being considered by the Home Office to tackle the
rising problem of street crime. The high-visibility police vehicles –
marked "Caught on Camera" – are believed to have a deterrent effect
similar to that of television detector vans in preventing the dodging of
license fees. (TVs are registered and taxed in the UK.) http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=283436
US - The Baltimore Police Department purchased $2 million worth of electronic
surveillance and security equipment from a Los Angeles company (NS
Microwave) ... The company said the systems would enable the department
to provide electronic surveillance from any location in the city. http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2002/04/08/daily26.html
Defamation?!?! A Swedish man has been accused of defamation after allegedly filming his
neighbors having sex. The 31-year-old unnamed man from Dalarna is
accused of recording the couple through their bedroom window and showing
the tape to his friends. The couple heard a rumor about the tape and
reported the incident to the police. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_564920.html?menu=news
Just two wild and crazy guys... Two Romanians (security guards) have been fired by one of Bucharest's
most famous museums for letting couples have sex in its ornate cottages
for bribes of up to $3. Undercover television reporters posing as lovers
filmed the two guards offering them access to peasant dwellings in the
Village Museum, one of Europe's oldest open-air exhibits. The Culture
Ministry said it had dismissed the two men after the TV footage was
aired on Thursday night on a popular network. It has asked police to
investigate the case. (Extortionography) http://dailynews.netscape.com/mynsnews/story.tmpl?table=n& http://www.spybusters.com/Extortionography.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- Cell Phone News
Yikes! Your Cell Phone Is Stalking You! Tracking devices were once a staple of old science fiction and action
movies. ... But in the coming months, the tracking ability of cell
phones will grow exponentially -- not just in its power to monitor
users, but also in the way it can be used for commercial gain. Last
year, the Federal Communications Commission ordered cellular companies
to equip all new cell phones with Global Positioning Satellite tracking
devices that can pinpoint a user's location to within 300 feet, anywhere
on the planet... http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12776
Double Yikes!! Your Cell Phone Is Killing You?!?! Sources said an epidemiology study conducted by Dr. Lennart Hardell, who
found a higher incidence of brain tumors on the sides of heads used by
mobile-phone subscribers to make and receive calls, will be published in
June by the European Journal of Cancer Prevention. ... At least eight
brain-cancer cases against the wireless industry are pending in courts
around the country. http://www.rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?articleId=39467&a=a&bt=hardell
SPECIAL SECTION -- Aoristic Stuff
Casino Law #2 - "As in Nature... never let the host die." Las Vegas may soon be one of the more advantageous places in the nation
to have a heart attack. An important new video monitoring system is
ready for testing, with the potential to make heart attacks a little
less devastating. http://www.governmentvideo.com/2002/03/technology_0302.html
We warned you last week... "Put down the pencils, and step away from the binoculars."
Five British planespotters facing trial in Greece on espionage charges
are holding a news conference to present the case for their defense. http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_565021.html
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sun, 07 Apr 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 -- Cell Phone News
SPECIAL SECTION -- World Spy News
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Drink Old Engine Oil ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
This month, top executives may be asking... "What's a 'Panic Room' and do I need one?"
Background...
Movies - Panic Room - Security goes Hollywood
The place has six fireplaces, hardwood floors throughout, an elevator
and - we're told ominously - a panic room, an impenetrable chamber off
the master bedroom for hiding in case of a burglary. ... Three bad guys
break in on their first night there. ... Meg (Jodie Foster) spies on them
through surveillance cameras that are mounted throughout the home,
then rouses her sleeping daughter, and the two scurry into the room just
in time. http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/story.html?f=/news/updates/stories
Did you know...
Some photocopiers store documents for later printing.
"While on-site at a client, I needed to copy a confidential document. I
placed the document in the copier, and it complained about not having
enough paper. I saw that another tray was full, so rotated my document
(a lot of copiers auto-detect size and orientation) and tried again --
no joy. I filched some paper from a nearby laser printer, but instead
of getting the two copies I ordered, I got six -- two from my first
attempt, two from the second with the wrong orientation, and the last
two once I'd rotated my document and tried again.
On investigation, the machine scans in a job even though there is no
paper to fulfill it, and holds the documents in memory until there is.
If I'd walked away to another photocopier, my confidential document
would have been output whenever some kind-hearted soul replenished the
paper, and when I was nowhere around.
Not quite electronic anthrax, but...
"Watch out - the spam choking your e-mail in-box may be loaded with
software that lets marketers track your moves online, and you may not
even be aware that you've been bugged..." http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-876183.html (with blocking instructions)
Espionage or Crafty Apple Misdirection? You decide...
Tech site TidBits is reporting that Apple is working on a digital TV
component of the Apple-based hub tentatively called iTiVo. The device
will supposedly record TV programs to its FireWire-based 160 GB hard
drive, replay them later, and even... There is also questionable footage
on the Internet featuring the Apple iTiVo. The footage was reportedly
"snuck out of an Apple board member's house!!" (Sometimes it is
espionage. Remember to have us inspect executive homes.) http://www.macdirectory.com/4u/wire.fm$retrieve?Serial=400 http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06765
"Watch the hands, not the mouth." (personal street creed)
Gov. Mark R. Warner said today it was wrong for the executive director
of the Virginia Republican Party to eavesdrop on a conversation he had
with fellow Democrats but added it will not stop him from reaching out
to other GOP leaders... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51410-2002Apr2.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- Cell Phone News
Great Wall communications barrier... China has banned the unauthorized use of pagers and mobile phones by
members of the People's Liberation Army in an effort to keep its
military secrets under wraps. ... Another new rule stipulates that
China's 2.5 million soldiers should avoid "unhealthy places", such as
karaoke parlors, bars and nightclubs, reports said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1901000/
Super Cell Phones... now with Priority Access. A pilot program will allow national security and emergency personnel in
Washington and New York to use mobile phones to speed calls through
overloaded wireless and landline networks... Calls by those with
priority access authority would be queued up for the next available
circuit on wireless networks, and by those without priority access would
be bumped off the network. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020326/
Japan - Wiretap law nets first quarry... The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested four people on suspicion
of violating the Stimulant Drugs Control Law after it eavesdropped on
cell phone calls made by the suspects. It is the first time police have
applied the wiretapping law to an investigation of organized crime. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020331wo21.htm
...thus leading to many misunderstandings at bars.
NTT DoCoMo's research and development center has taken the first step
towards development of a technology that will allow people to talk on
the phone without saying a word. Engineers are developing a sensor,
which detects signals coming from the muscle movements in the cheek and
jaw made when people are speaking. Signals from the sensor are
interpreted and the sound being made by the speaker can be determined,
but because the system measures such impulses, the user needs to just
mouth the words and no actual sound has to be made. http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=657229
SPECIAL SECTION -- World Spy News
Secret agreement ingredient... sharing?
China has agreed to a Japanese plan to salvage a suspected North Korean
spy ship that sank in the East China Sea in December. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020406wo02.htm
Not everyone was a Hannsen fan... Eight years before Robert P. Hanssen was arrested for espionage, Russia
lodged a formal complaint with U.S. officials that an FBI agent tried to
sell secrets to a Russian intelligence officer, according to a highly
critical new report on the case. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58190-2002Apr3.html
Who was James Bond?
His name was Fitzroy Maclean, scourge of the NKVD, founder member of the
SAS, gentleman, traveler, writer, MP and embodiment, until his death
six years ago, of all that was surprising, admirable and daunting about
the British warrior elite. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,7-255068,00.html
Oh, shut up. China has restated its demand for one million American dollars as
compensation from the United States for causing a mid-air collision
between a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet over a year ago. http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/030402/dLFOR37.asp
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
Eastern Philosophy (In-screw-table to the West) China's supreme court has stirred a legal controversy by ruling
plaintiffs may use secretly recorded evidence and by shifting the burden
of proof in some civil cases onto the defendant. The ruling has sparked
a rare debate over personal privacy in a country where the Communist
Party once controlled every aspect of people's lives. ... But it could
also help spouses win compensation in bigamy or adultery cases by
allowing them to present secretly recorded proof of their partner's
indiscretions, state media said. A woman in the southern province of
Guangdong is already planning to sue her husband using secret recordings
of private chats between him and his mistress and video footage of them
having sex, the Yangcheng Evening News reported. Guo Shoukang, a legal
professor at the People's University in Beijing, welcomed the ruling as
a step forward for citizens' rights. http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZMXAB8GZC.html
Western Philosophy (In-screw-table to the East)
It's getting creepy out there. New technologies -- giving everyone
access to tiny video cameras and to X-ray vision -- are creating all
manner of opportunities for the truly depraved. So Rep. Michael G. Oxley
(R-Ohio), a former FBI agent, recently introduced a bill called the
Video Voyeurism Act of 2002. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54381-2002Apr2.html
Irish Eyes Are Not Smiling
Ireland - Gardaí (police) in Galway are investigating the discovery of
hidden cameras in a house which was rented by a group of young women in
the city. Shower scenes and footage of the women undressing in their
bedrooms were on videos recovered from the four-bedroomed house in the
Westside area. The cameras were found when a woman taking a shower
noticed a small red light in a corner, which turned out to be a
miniature video camera. http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2002/0406/488888730HM1
Prime Time SpyCams...
"IMPOSTOR is a new hidden camera pranks show. We try everything from
having a complete idiot try to deliver life-saving organs to having a
total fox put a camera in her bra to see how many guys try to sneak a
peek at her. It's Impostor's solemn pledge to prank anyone in any way at
any time." http://www.burlybear.com/shows/impostor/index.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- Drink Old Engine Oil
History's Eavesdropping Mysteries - Pearl Harbor On November 25, 1941, Japan's Admiral Yamamoto sent a radio message to
the group of Japanese warships that would attack Pearl Harbor on
December 7. Newly released naval records prove that from November 17 to
25 the United States Navy intercepted eighty-three messages that
Yamamoto sent to his carriers.
Question: If America was intercepting and decoding Japan's military
messages then Washington and FDR knew that Japan was going to attack
Pearl Harbor?
Answer: Oh, absolutely.
...an interview with Robert B. Stinnett, author of Day of Deceit: The
Truth about FDR and Pearl Harbor.
(I was told the same story by a retired FBI agent in 1983.)
The reason for the silence was two-fold...
1. Protection of a very fruitful US / British / Dutch chain of Pacific
radio eavesdropping stations.
2. A political desire for Japan to strike the first blow, to overcome
American public opinion against entering into war. http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=21938
"I've Got Me Under My Skin" VeriChip plans to begin selling a computer ID chip that can be embedded
beneath people's skin, now that the Food and Drug Administration has
said it will not regulate the implant as long as it contains no medical
data. ... The company said the VeriChip could be combined with a global
positioning system and used for security purposes by potential kidnap
victims. (Overhype? We'll check and advise.) (The 'malignant activism'
has already begun...) Also, some religious sects have said the biochip
is the "Mark of the Beast" from the Book of Revelations. They claim that
a graphic the company used early in the product's life cycle "clearly"
resembled the satanic numbers "666." http://apnews.excite.com/article/20020405/D7IMU3980.html http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17127.html
Return to Normalcy...
A (Harris) poll taken just after the six-month anniversary of the
September 11th attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon
showed that Americans' support for and confidence in electronic
governmental surveillance is waning. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17111.html
...or, perhaps he heard the words - "law suit." In the latest chapter of Spyware vs. Anti-spyware, the maker of snooping
program WinWhatWhere backed away from evasive programming tactics
Wednesday. Richard Eaton, president of WinWhatWhere Corp., said his
software would no longer insert stray code into Anti-spyware program
Who’s Watching Me to break the program. ... “I got to thinking writing
to their file wasn't a very nice thing to do,” Eaton said. “The thought
of writing into another program's files, well, I guess that's not
playing fair. You don't want anyone to think your program is doing
something malicious.” http://www.msnbc.com/news/730650.asp?cp1=1
This week's peregrinations... - Two men at Newark Airport seen furtively sneaking peaks at airplanes
with binoculars, then quickly scribbling notes. (ahhh, maaannn!) In case
you see them too, here's the scoop... "Planespotting" British
enthusiasts ("N" number collectors) use binoculars and reference books
to identify and catalog, if possible, every airplane that takes off and
lands. Montypythonesque if it weren't for 9/11. http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Guide-X!Article
Ever see...
- a hotel bar shelf with only 18 beer bottles and one bottle of vodka?
- a civic center with "Quiltfest" one day, followed by "Anything Goes"?
- a store window which entices with "Home of Fatboy, [city's] Largest Cat?"
- a hotel activities sheet (4/5/02) which says, "Happy St. Patrick's Day"?
Movie of the Week to match... See John Water's - "Pecker" (NOooo, wrongo dirt-brain... but, rated R.)
"Pecker mainly is a poke in the eye of obnoxious hipsters who see the
world through irony-smeared lenses." Worth it just to see Wednesday
Addams (Christina Ricci) turned GalPal Friday managing a Laundromat.
"The Happiest Movie of the Year" - Robert Horton http://www.film.com/film-review/1998/10729/18/default-review.html
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Mon, 01 Apr 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 -- Eavesdropping Services Available on the Internet
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
SPECIAL SECTION -- PI Magazine -- The rest of the story
SPECIAL SECTION -- Spying Double Takes
SPECIAL SECTION -- Stuff from the Junk Drawer ====================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Eavesdropping Services Available on the Internet *
Satellite Surveillance and Eavesdropping Services... "The culmination of a three-year development program to launch a
privately owned satellite whose function is to deliver eavesdropping and
surveillance services to the private sector. This brings a new dimension
to business intelligence efforts, and levels the playing field. No
longer will there be any doubt about what your competitors are planning
- you can listen to their strategy discussions yourself! The DC-1
satellite system allows image resolution to a resolution of .3 meters,
with targeting latency of under an hour. In addition, it is capable of
gathering signal intelligence information from common sources including
cellular phone systems, land-based satellite telephone systems, fax
transmissions, as well as ordinary e-mail." http://www.digicrime.com/services/satellite.html
Internet Eavesdropping Service... "Are you gathering email addresses?
Would you like to read your competitor's email traffic?
Are you trying to hijack telnet sessions?
Then you should try our Internet eavesdropping service!
Here's how our service works. You enter a pair of IP addresses of
machines for which you want to read all traffic, choose the type of
traffic you want, indicate a method of payment, and sit back and wait to
read your traffic." http://www.digicrime.com/iproute/index.html
Telephone Rerouting Service
"Would you like to receive the calls for your competitor?
Would you like your competitor's calls rerouted to a phone sex service?
Then you should try our telephone rerouting service!
Due to software limitations, we are currently only able to offer this
service in certain US area codes." http://www.digicrime.com/phone.html
Telephone Wiretap Service... "Are you checking up on your employees? Would you like to know who your spouse talks to on that cellular?
Are you looking for a competitive business advantage?
Then you should try our telephone wiretap service!
Due to software limitations, we are currently only able to offer this
service in certain US area codes. Wiretapped conversations are available
in a variety of PC sound formats. Due to improved technology, we are now
offering a discount for tapping cellular phones." http://www.digicrime.com/wiretap.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
Quote of the Week "What I did was correspond with somebody I didn't know." - Stephen Martin
That somebody was Caryn Camp, a technical service representative at
Idexx Laboratories. ... After a decade of conducting vaccine research,
Stephen Martin has an unusual claim to fame. The U.S. attorney's office
says he was the second person to be tried and convicted under the
federal Economic Espionage Act for stealing trade secrets via e-mail.
The correspondence between Martin and Camp came to light when Camp
inadvertently hit the wrong key and sent an e-mail intended for Martin
to another Idexx employee.
(Of course, you wouldn't rely on fate to protect your information.) http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/TechTV/
Get ready for a whack attack! Is your wireless LAN listed here? (Get delisted!)
Just how vulnerable are your 802.11b WLANs?
We can help you. http://www.netstumbler.com/
Alert the Troops - Social Engineering Attacks via Instant Messaging... Intruders are using automated tools to post messages to unsuspecting
users of Internet Relay Chat (IRC) or Instant Messaging (IM) services.
These messages typically offer the opportunity to download software of
some value to the user, including improved music downloads, anti-virus
protection, or pornography. Once the user downloads and executes the
software, though, their system is co-opted by the attacker... http://www.cert.org/incident_notes/IN-2002-03.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- PI Magazine -- The rest of the story
We were honored this month by having our new eavesdropping identifier
technology (TESA) mentioned in PI Magazine. Unfortunately, readers were
left with the impression that we were selling this system. We received
several calls.
The general answer...
Murray Associates provides services. We also push the eavesdropping
detection envelope by experimentation and technology aggregation.
Selling our developments never occurred to us.
Here's one reason why...
Countermeasures work in corporate and government worlds has taken on a
grave new seriousness. Eavesdropping identification is a forensic specialty
craft now. The educated trend is away from D-I-Y, using dilettante
general security
contractors and private investigators.
The long view I am seeing is...
Instead of investing in instrumentation and on-going training, it is far
more cost-effective (corporate/gov), and far more profitable (security
agencies) to use a craft service (like us). ...not to mention the higher
level of service provided. We regularly partner with general security
contractors and private investigators as their adjunct specialist.
We would consider making the TESA system available to corporate and U.S.
government agencies at our cost (about $60,000.00), and simply charge for
training and expenses.
Double Take #1
Two employee-spies found, ? to go... UK - A BAE employee is to appear in court on spying charges. Ian Parr,
45, has been charged with nine offences under the Official Secrets Act.
The case is the second to involve an employee of BAE in the past year...
In February, Raphael Bravo, 30, a security guard at a BAE factory, was
jailed for 11 years for trying to sell documents about the Harrier
aircraft and the army's new Apache attack helicopter to Russia. http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_552105.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,673928,00.html
Double Take #2
Diplocover redux... TOKYO - Japanese police suspect a former Russian envoy (currently being
sought) of trying to buy U.S. military secrets from a former Japanese
air force officer. Police believe 43-year-old Alexei Shchelkonogov, a
former Russian trade official based in Tokyo, asked the former Japanese
military officer for secret information on U.S. guided missile systems
for fighter jets and paid him an unspecified amount of money for it...
In September 2000, a Japanese naval officer was arrested and later
convicted of giving a Russian Embassy official classified military documents.
The Russian official, who returned to Moscow, was never tried. http://www.russiajournal.com/news/index.html?nd=12391#n12391 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020323a2.htm
Double Take #3
"Keep 'trying' until you get it right!" - H.M. A state security court in Egypt has convicted an engineer of spying for
Israel. The Egyptian has been sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard
labour. On hearing the verdict, Shereef Fawzi Mohammed el-Filali said
only: "I rely on God." It was 36-year-old el-Filali's second trial. In
June last year, a court acquitted him but President Hosni Mubarak
ordered a retrial, which began in September. http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?item
Double Take #4
Smart move, judge... A former South Korean spy, who was trained to operate in the North,
recently won a legal battle against the government and was recognized as
a contributor to national defense. ... The training reportedly included
ways to blow up buildings and kill people. ... This is the first time a
court has acknowledged the existence of a South Korean agent and paved
the way for a reward. http://www.korealink.co.kr/kt_biz/200203/t2002032218432143110.htm
Double Take #6
The real cause of Global Warming... China - Sales of mini-cameras are booming in China in the wake of a sex
scandal on the other side of the Taiwan Strait in which a politician was
secretly filmed romping with her married boyfriend. Many of the cameras,
which sell for as little as 100 yuan (about $20), are being snapped up
by people who apparently hope to check up on their spouse's activities,
the China Daily reported yesterday. ... "I wholesaled more than 400
micro-cameras last month," a dealer at an electrical appliance shop in
the southern city of Guangzhou told the paper. (Extortionography) http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?f=/stories/ http://www.spybusters.com/Extortionography.html
Double Double Take #7
Global Problem - Scatological stories get reported, corp-spy stories don't. China - A woman got the shock of her life on Wednesday when she noticed
a tiny camera staring down from the false ceiling of her toilet cubicle.
... the culprit was likely to be nearby or could even have been someone
from the building because the camera had a limited range for the
transmission of images. ... In recent years, there have been several
cases where men were caught filming or peeping at women in toilets. A
24-year-old National University of Singapore student was jailed three
weeks in September 2000 for filming a woman student urinating. In July
that year, a 35-year-old man who filmed two women friends secretly while
they used the bathroom in his flat was jailed two months. In May 1999, a
43-year-old forklift driver was sentenced to three months' jail for
watching two women tenants shower in the bathroom of his flat through a
closed-circuit television camera. http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,1870,111248,00.html
Double Take #8
Deja vu. "Aprés moi le déluge."
Maryland lawmakers are preparing to pass anti-terrorism legislation
today that would dramatically expand the ability of police to tap phones
and eavesdrop on the e-mail and Internet activity of suspected criminals
-- part of a deluge of terror-busting measures under consideration in
nearly every state. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000021670mar25
Double Take #9 Virginia - Sic Semper Tyrannis†
State and local police are conducting a criminal
investigation into whether the Virginia Republican Party's executive
director (Edmund A. Matricardi III) violated state law when he listened
in on a telephone conference of Democratic leaders discussing legal
strategy for a politically sensitive redistricting case, officials said
today. ... State officials said police are investigating whether
Matricardi, a lawyer, violated the law against intercepting telephone
conversations when he gained access Friday to a conference call among
more than 30 Democrats. ... The episode was the latest in a string of
bizarre eavesdropping cases that have punctuated Virginia politics in
recent years, including a purported listening device at the state
Capitol and an intercepted phone call of then-Lt. Gov. L. Douglas Wilder
(D) that bruised the reputation of then-U.S. Sen. Charles. S. Robb (D),
whose staff ended up with a tape of the call. Last year, members of the
state Senate complained that operatives for then-Gov. James S. Gilmore
III (R) were listening in to their conversations with constituents. A
state police inquiry found no wrongdoing.
† Thus Always to Tyrants (state motto) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33606-2002Mar28.html
Double Take #10
New Web Cameras Allow Spying by Subscription Kyushu Matsushita Electric Co. Ltd., unveiled two new series of network
cameras that can be controlled from personal computers over the
Internet. "As the number of broadband subscribers drastically increases,
watching images of other places from home could be an everyday thing,"
the company said. ... Also earlier this month, Melco announced what it
said is Japan's first wireless network camera, which comes with an
embedded Web server function and a LAN port. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16996.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- Stuff from the Junk Drawer
"Thank you for testifying. You can uncross your fingers now..." Washington, DC - Legal and security analysts urged Congress yesterday to
regulate the growing use of video surveillance, and the officials said
they welcomed public scrutiny. (story lists camera locations) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5320-2002Mar22.html
"The envelope, please.
The public key code, please.
The red gel cell, please.
The LOA decoder ring, please.
Just a minute, please.
And, the winner is..." On April 18, 2002, the US members and affiliated US organizations of
Privacy International will present the 4th annual US "Big Brother"
awards to the government and private sector organizations that have done
the most to invade personal privacy in United States. Privacy
International also gives awards to those individuals and organizations
who have done the most to protect privacy. http://www.privacyinternational.org/bigbrother/us2002/
Jammin' for Jesus...
Spain - A priest fed up with mobile phones ringing during Mass has
installed an electronic jammer to keep his flock in tune with God. The
Rev. Francisco Llopis, pastor of the Church of the Defenseless, said the
beeps, tunes and other digital noise emitted by today's omnipresent cell
phones are incompatible with quiet worship. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020326/
Eavesdropping Detection Services
United Kingdom Eavesdropping Detection Services
