Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sun, 23 Jun 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 -- Amazing Technology
SPECIAL SECTION -- On Sticking It
SPECIAL SECTION -- Watergate - 30 Year Anniversary
SPECIAL SECTION -- Strange Brew
SPECIAL SECTION -- Koolaid ===================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
FutureWatch - Your "Matrix" - Surveillance was never so much fun... 'Video Flashlight' ..."developed at Sarnoff in Princeton, NJ, allows
users to joystick their way through a live, 3-D scene as if it were the
latest video game. Indeed, by stitching together scenes captured by
dozens or hundreds of networked cameras, the technology makes it
possible to conduct a virtual patrol of an entire urban center, or every
hallway in a building, in real time. ... Uses of the technology could
include marking and tracking individuals as they move, or setting off an
alarm when an unusual pattern is detected, such as a large group of
people entering a building. http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/innovation20702.asp
Demo movie showcases elementary tag-team camera concept... http://www.sarnoff.com/government_professional/
Scariest Bug of the Month? - .5 inch cube sized spy camera (spycam)
- .5 lux sensitivity (works in very low light level situations)
- pinhole lens
- 60 degree field of view
- just connect a 9 volt battery
- wireless transmission
- 500 foot transmission distance ("minimum" according to importer)
- 1000+ foot distance (line of sight reported by users)
- Comes with matching receiver!
- Price $138.70 !!! http://www.intellicamspy.com/tiny.htm (see photo)
Security Department Budget Booster #693 - Real Time Private Intel "They are the envy of Intelligence Officers who have seen their product,
and want their system. Visitors fortunate enough to view their
operations center leaves in amazement. Who are they? The National
Security Agency? No they are iJet, the private travel intelligence
operation in Annapolis, Maryland. It is not coincidental that they are
the same people who built the top secret systems for NSA, and many of
the staff came from that Agency, but there the connection ends. This
operation is the product of innovative, private sector drive..." http://www.comlinks.com/mag/ijettour.htm
"Based in Annapolis, Md., iJET is the premier intelligence organization
focused on delivering real-time Travel Intelligence services and travel
alerts to travelers, corporations, government and non-governmental
organizations, learning institutions and the travel industry." http://www.ijet.com/
Surprise! Copying e-mails that are stored in a person's computer is not a
violation of federal electronic surveillance law, says a federal judge
in New Hampshire. The law punishes interception of messages 'in
transit,' he ruled. He denied a claim by a man against his estranged
wife and her brother for allegedly copying 1760 files from his P.C.
Thompson v. Thompson, 02-91-M (D.N.H. May 30)
from Privacy Journal http://www.privacyjournal.net
Security Department Budget Booster #694 - The Spy in Your Pocket Millions of businessmen around the world go to meetings, listen to
briefings, and travel around not realizing they have one of the most
efficient bugs eavesdropping on their conversations, and telling the
world who they are, where they are, and who else is with them. This is
not a microchip from the NSA, not even a bug to be found by sweeping
buttons and belt buckles. No this is the common cell phone, or digital
mobile. In many cases you need not even switch it on for it to be used
as a bugging device. http://www.comlinks.com/mag/pocket.htm
Do our job when we're not there... Check your computers for leeches.
They usually attach themselves between the keyboard and the computer.
They suck up every keystroke and give life to your enemies. Know what
you're looking for. It's easy. Check here for photos... http://www.keyghost.com/
In the velvet darkness, of the blackest night, burning bright... An Uncooled IR Imager with 5MK NEDT produces IR images without costly
and bulky dewars and coolers. http://www.sarnoff.com/COMMON/pdf/ced/isystems.pdf
Need a real Battle Bot? This robot was developed for surveillance, bomb calls, hazmat and
hostage taking situations. It can open a car door... but can't drive
itself to work. http://www.roboprobe.com/Pages/Products_bombrobot.html
It could give bugs a brain... The human ear can pick out a single voice from a roomful of
conversation. Microphones don't have that knack. But now they can
acquire it. Sarnoff’s VoiceThru™ technology division licenses speech
enhancement algorithms that can deliver clear speech in real time, free
of competing voices or noise... http://www.sarnoff.com/consumer_electronics/voicethru/index.asp
More unique than amazing... The Phone Cord Bug. "BTT-800 is a curl cord type transmitter. It's easy to install. Just
replace the curl cord of your phone with BTT-800. It starts transmission
when you pick up a handset. This model works on regular phone, digital
phone (ISDN) and PBX system telephone." http://www.sun-mechatronics.co.jp/btt800.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- On Sticking It
Stick near my ear?!? Are you brain dead? A major study into the safety of mobile phones has concluded that they
may affect the health of people who use them. Research carried out by
scientists in Finland suggests radiation from mobile phones causes
changes in the brain. ... It is the first time that scientists have
looked at the effects of mobile phone radiation on human cells rather
than those of rats. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_2053000/2053565.stm
Stick it in my mouth?!? You ARE brain dead! British engineers say they have invented a revolutionary tooth implant
that works like a mobile phone and would not be out of place in a James
Bond spy movie. The "tooth phone" consists of a tiny vibrator and a
radio wave receiver implanted into a tooth during routine dental
surgery. The phone was designed by James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau. http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=technologynews&Story
Hey Lech, tell them where to stick it... Wired News interviewed Lech Walesa by phone... "Do you believe that the
use of technology -- such as Carnivore or Echelon -- by democratic
governments to spy on personal communications is any worse than
totalitarian attempts to do the same? (At this point in the interview,
the phone went dead and immediate attempts to call Walesa back were
unsuccessful. His subsequent answers were sent by e-mail)." http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,53299,00.html
That's right! Stick it to the Jersey Boyz... New Jersey continues to be among the states that issue the most wiretaps
in investigations, and the pattern has alarmed some civil libertarians.
According to a report released last month by the Administrative Office
of the U.S. Courts, New Jersey ranked fourth in the number of
state-issued wiretaps to police departments in 2001; the report does not
include federally authorized wiretaps. It was New Jersey's fifth
consecutive year among the leaders. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/3459692.htm
Stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike with the camera running... Police officers lose appeal of defamation suit against ABC... Three New
Jersey officers claimed a PrimeTime Live report portrayed them as racist
and violated the state wiretapping law by secretly recording their
conversation during a car search. ... The show called "Driving While
Black" used three African-American men as "testers" who were driving in
Jamesburg, N.J., in a Mercedes Benz when they were stopped by the
officers for changing lanes without signaling. The officers ordered the
men out of the car, frisked them and searched inside the car before
releasing them. Hidden cameras inside the car and in a van following the
Mercedes recorded the stop. ... The lawsuit also objected to the secret
recording of a conversation between two of the officers while they were
searching the car. The officers claimed that the surreptitious taping
violated New Jersey's wiretapping statute, which forbids anyone from
intercepting or disclosing the contents of an oral communication. ...the
officers had no reasonable expectation of privacy in a conversation that
occurred in a car on the shoulder of a busy public highway, the court
ruled. "The four doors of the Mercedes were wide open. ... (The officers)
took no action to shield their privacy," the opinion said. Police officers
have a diminished expectation of privacy because they hold a position
of public trust, the court noted. http://www.rcfp.org/news/2002/0604hornbe.html
The ultimate cell phone stick up... (Translated from Italian) "If don't like people continuously speaking with the cellular phone CX100 is the equipment right for you. Disturbing his conversation you'll have a more relaxing time. Suitable for work and for jokes to your friends." http://www.bias.sm/index2.php3?template
SPECIAL SECTION -- Watergate - 30 Year Anniversary
Watergate... Happy Anniversary!
Listen to President Richard Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss Watergate break-in. June 23, 1972 http://www.hpol.org/record.asp?id=93
30 years since Watergate, and Woodward is still breaking the big ones... "President Bush early this year signed an intelligence order directing
the CIA to undertake a comprehensive, covert program to topple Saddam
Hussein, including authority to use lethal force to capture the Iraqi
president, according to informed sources..." - Bob Woodward, Washington
Post Staff Writer, Sunday, June 16, 2002 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A57969-2002Jun15?
SPECIAL SECTION -- Strange Brew
Thus teaching the students a valuable lesson about privacy and law... The Supreme Court barred students from using federal privacy law to sue
schools that divulge their personal information. The 7-2 decision
Thursday sets up a firewall that protects public and private schools and
universities from costly court judgments for breaking the law that
requires them to keep educational records secret. ... siding with a
college accused of leaking unproven date rape accusations. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Scotus-Student-Privacy.html
...very inquisitive diplomats. A U.S. official delivered a letter to the Iraqi mission to the United
Nations shortly after noon that demanded the diplomat, Abdul Rahman I.K.
Saad, leave the country by the end of the month. "He was spying," said a
U.S. official who requested anonymity. ... Iraq's U.N. ambassador,
Mohammed Douri, denied that Saad or any of the other 15 Iraqi diplomats
serving at the Iraqi mission to the United Nations have conducted
espionage in the United States. ... "We have no spies; we are
diplomats," Douri said. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54640-2002Jun14.html
Meanwhile, back in Tehran... "U.S. officials have "informed the Iraqi mission to the United Nations
that one of its diplomats was being expelled for engaging in activities
that are incompatible with his status as a diplomat," deputy spokesman
Philip Reeker said. The phrase is diplomatic jargon for espionage.
Reeker declined to identify the diplomat, detail the charges against him
or say when he would be required to leave the United States." http://www.tehrantimes.com/News.asp?Da=6/16/02&Cat=2&Num=0#0023
Interesting coincidence... The head of Malaysia's fundamentalist Islamic opposition party, Fadzil
Noor, has died (in a hospital). ... coming a day after Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad declared then withdrew his resignation. ... Dr Mahathir
- who has now started an unscheduled 10-day holiday - wept as he
announced his resignation during his closing address to the annual
assembly of his United Malays National Organization (Umno). Delegates
there demanded he stay on and less than an hour later he had apparently
changed his mind. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_2060000/
SPECIAL SECTION -- Koolaid
"I said Synnex batteries, you idiot! Not Semtex..." Synnex Technology International Corp. will recall batteries used in
Motorola Inc. mobile phones after one exploded in a woman's handbag,
setting fire to her clothes and injuring her legs and hands. http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_news
Things Are Tough All Over*
New Jersey - An attempt by two Middle Eastern men to buy a fake
ambulance spurred authorities to issue warnings that terrorists may seek
to use bogus emergency vehicles as weapons, authorities said. ... The
men offered to pay cash to buy a replica ambulance, said Joe Sargo, the
company's owner. Sargo, suspicious, told the men he does not sell
vehicles to anyone. The men quickly left... http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&ncid=514&e=3
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sat, 15 Jun 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 Directors get IT
SPECIAL SECTION -- Spy News
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News - Oh Canada!
SPECIAL SECTION -- More FutureWatch
SPECIAL SECTION -- Prophetic Buggles & Diddlysquat ===================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Directors get IT
Smart Security Director Suggestion #032 - Secure Wireless LAN If your company is headed toward wireless networking (802.11b), advise
them to avoid the big eavesdropping vulnerability that comes along with
it. Just say, "Let's use a secure wireless server." Vernier Networks 'IS
6000' is one product specially made for this. http://www.verniernetworks.com/IS6000.html
Smart Security Director Suggestion #033 - Plan "B" If a secure wireless server is not in your future, you can always get a
"Hornet" and wait for the hackers to show up. This small device detects
and responds to unauthorized access attempts and sources of channel
interference. By continually running through a checklist of valid MAC
addresses, Hornet identifies unauthorized “hackers” and distinguishes
them from valid AP traffic on the network. http://www.bvsystems.com/Products/WLAN/Hornet/hornet.htm
Instant Education #521 - Fighting Computer Hackers The book, "Know Your Enemy: Revealing the Security Tools, Tactics, and
Motives of the Blackhat Community" is the result of watching hackers do
their worst inside a decoy computer network - aka Honeynet. Knowing
their methods and motivations helps you implement the proper countermeasures. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201746131/
Instant Education #522 - Preventing Laptop Computer Theft... is a video which "examines the value of the computer, not only in real
dollar cost but also in the information it contains, information that
may be worth thousands, even millions of dollars." Squash "it's insured"
mentality. Make a briefing like this part of the sign-out process. http://www.security-videos.com/LTTheft.htm
Instant Education #523 - Preventing Laptop Computer Theft... "Look Out for Your Laptop" (video) ... see what happens when a laptop
falls into the "wrong hands" -- how stolen access codes may be exploited
by competitors, legal adversaries, news media, foreign powers, criminals. http://www.commonwealthfilms.com/3030.htm
Instant Education #524 - Information Security... Targets of Opportunity, Information Security: The Human Factor (video)
"A security specialist is retained to infiltrate the organization
prowling from workstation to workstation to test security and expose
work habits and attitudes that allow sensitive documents to become
targets of opportunity for corporate spies. The investigator's
eye-opening appraisal makes this video an essential awareness training
tape for corporations and government." http://www.commonwealthfilms.com/3025.htm
Instant Education #525 - Security Software for Palms and PocketPCs "Think about the types of information that reside on your company's
mobile devices, such as laptops and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Intellectual properties, databases, digital certificates, credit card
numbers, and possibly vital third-party information. Loss of any or all
of these could harm the organization's reputation. Also, with the new
legislation that is pending, could lead to personal or corporate legal liability." http://www.pointsec.com/solutions/solutions_pocketpc.asp http://www.pointsec.com/solutions/solutions_palm.asp
Instant Education #526 - Fiber Optic Wiretap Detector "Computer hackers' defiant infiltration of some of the most protected
networks has led the government to develop local area networks
restricted from public access. Still, someone with enough persistence
and initiative can compromise them. Even if the military has its own
network, spies can splice into the system to recover information. ...
Fiber Defender, a fiber optic line sensor from Fiber SenSys Inc., can be
embedded in the coaxial cable where it detects attempts to cut into the
line, without affecting data rates. ... Now the cables can be installed
in walls and ceilings rather than underground without danger of having
the messages compromised." http://www.photonics.com/Spectra/Applications/jun02/appsDetector.asp http://www.fibersensys.com/Applications/SecureData.html
When software disk wipe utilities just won't hack it...
Datasafe Security Shredding provides an electronics extinction program.
They pull hard drives or other information retaining gizmos and shred
them into fragments of metal that no forensic specialist or bad guy is
going to put together again. http://www.destruction.com/
And yet another satellite TV channel drones on... A British satellite enthusiast warned NATO several months ago that
images taken by American spy planes patrolling the Balkans were easily
accessed by civilians... The Defense Department, which acknowledged the
apparent breach, has decided to do nothing to halt the transmissions on
the grounds that the material is not classified and does not jeopardize
allied troops. The video images are being captured by remotely
controlled American aerial drones on NATO patrols over the former
Yugoslavia. The images are then transmitted by a commercial satellite to
American intelligence agencies and NATO. But for months civilians with
satellite televisions have been able to pick up the transmissions... http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/14/international/14SPY.html?tntemail0
Consumers Face Wiretapping Fees...
Phone and Internet consumers could be cheated out of next-generation
services and hit with higher rates as telephone companies scramble to
make their lines wiretap-friendly for the FBI by the end of the month.
Under a 1994 law, the Federal Communications Commission requires
carriers -- including wireless services -- to bring their voice surveillance capabilities up to scratch with FBI rules. The clock is ticking for the telcos, which have until June 30 to upgrade their switches to give the FBI access to extract dialed numbers and conversations. http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,101837,00.asp
Better late than never... New York City Computer Security Expert Convicted of Computer Hacking and
Electronic Eavesdropping... Jesus Oquendo was convicted in Manhattan
federal court on charges of computer hacking and electronic
eavesdropping in the first ever federal computer hacking trial in the
Southern District of New York. ...he secretly installed what is known as
a "sniffer" program that intercepted and recorded electronic traffic on
the Five Partner's network, including unencrypted passwords. This
sniffer program was then programmed to e-mail these intercepted
communications to Oquendo each morning at 4 A.M. at a second secret
email account that he had registered under a false name. http://www.cybercrime.gov/OQUENDOconvict.htm
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News - Oh Canada!
There ought'a be a law, eh... Secretly taken videos that spy up the skirts of young Toronto women are
being sold "worldwide" on the Internet. The videos, offered for sale by
Toronto-based Canamvideo, were filmed using a low-level video camera
concealed in either a shoe or a bag. ...images posted previously on the
net showed up-the-skirt views of girls in Catholic school kilts walking
in the Eaton Centre. http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-06-13-0002.html
Just coincidence? You decide. Canamvideo has been selling "Upskirts" videos using the same address and
fax number as a major Toronto company that sells and installs video
products in Toronto high schools. http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-06-13-0003.html
...so to speak. A man who sells amateur videos that provides views up women's skirts has
been under police surveillance for two months, but authorities said on
Friday there was little they can do as there were no identifiable
victims. ... "We're trying to get some new laws written to cover some of
the areas that aren't covered." - Detective Sergeant Paul Gillespie http://news.excite.com/article/id/243907|
Elected to the Superhero Hall of Shame... "Shoecam Man" While police are looking at better law to address the Canamvideo
"Upskirts" investigation, it appears current mischief laws have worked
fine. At least three cases of secret videotaping in the Toronto area
have resulted in three guilty pleas to mischief charges. George Walter
Campbell, 63, dubbed the "Shoecam Man" by the media and described as
"the Peeping Tom of the 20th Century" by a Crown prosecutor, pleaded
guilty in November 1997 to hiding a tiny video camera in a pair of shoes
and taping 26 women at the CNE the previous summer. http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-06-13-0004.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- More FutureWatch
FutureWatch - Star Trek Communicator Badges Vocera Communications' new hands-free, 802.11b wireless solution
provides a cost-effective, easy-to-use system for instant voice
communication in corporations, hospitals, retail stores, and other
building environments. You do not even need to remember phone numbers.
Simply say the name, title or function of the person you need to reach.
Vocera connects you instantly to the people and information you need.
(...which brings to mind the thought of 'smart' 802.11b bugs.) http://www.vocera.com/
FutureWatch - SpyCams ...doggy style Sandia National Laboratories is exploring the possible use of tiny
cameras that attach to a dog's collar and, via radio signals that travel
through walls to a hand-held TV screen, give police officers and
emergency responders K-9 vision from safer positions. http://www.sandia.gov/media/NewsRel/NR2002/K9cam.htm
FutureWatch - Skip the flying cars, just keep the drinks coming. It is a common problem – you are in a bar or restaurant with your drink
almost gone and you are desperately hoping that one of the staff will
notice and offer you a refill. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they
don't. ... We propose wireless liquid level sensing glassware to aid in
this task. Specially instrumented glassware detects fluid levels via a
high-resolution capacitance measurement. A coil embedded in the table
inductively couples power to the glasses, and provides a path for data
exchange. http://www.merl.com/projects/iGlassware/
SPECIAL SECTION -- Prophetic Buggles & Diddlysquat
Video Killed the Radio Star... MTV has been slapped with a $10 million lawsuit from a couple who say
they were surprised by a fake corpse in their hotel room as part of a
hidden-camera prank for a reality TV show. ... the couple became
unwitting participants in a practical joke filmed for a series under
development at MTV called "Harassment" while they were on vacation in
January. Upon entering the hotel room, the Ryans "discovered what
appeared to be a dead human body covered and surrounded by blood,
evidently the victim of a homicide," as hidden cameras recorded their
shock, the suit says. As the couple tried to flee, two actors posing as
security guards blocked their way, and a third individual in the guise
of a paramedic entered the room. (SpyCam / Extortionography) http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/13/mtv.suit.reut/ http://www.rushw.com/buggles/
Mnemonically, my phone number doesn't spell "diddlysquat." See what your phone number spells. http://www.phonespell.org/
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Mon, 10 Jun 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 -- FutureWatch
SPECIAL SECTION -- SpyCam News
SPECIAL SECTION -- Sediment ===================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
Warning: Precious data turning up on trashed PCs Simson Garfinkel got more than he bargained for when he bought a handful
of used computers: Mental health patients' records, a law firm's
confidential communications with its clients, the writings of a famous
author (whom Garfinkel won't name), and letters from a mother to her
daughter at college were just a few of the things the Martha's Vineyard
resident found when he fired the machines up. ... In 1998, a woman
bought a used computer from a pharmacy only to find thousands of
patients' drug records on the hard disk. In 2000, the bank records of
ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney were found on a computer discarded by a
London bank. In October 2001, an Alabama television station bought
surplus computers with reams of intact Medicaid records -- including
names, Social Security numbers and birth dates of assistance recipients.
Just this year, the same scenario played out in Pennsylvania. ... Such
high-profile gaffes and new privacy laws are leading companies to adopt
ever-tighter policies and procedures for dealing with old computers, but
home users are mostly on their own, said Robert Houghton, president of
Redemtech, a company that handles obsolete computers for large corporate
clients. "I used to run a chain of used computer stores and I discovered
that guys who buy used computers love to recover data from hard disks,"
Houghton said. "It's a hobby."
(Do you really believe it was a hobby ...really?) http://www.nj.com/business/ledger/index.ssf?/base/business
Used PC rules of thumb... - Make PC decommissioning a Security Department job.
- If the disk information is that important - destroy the drive.
- Wiping less sensitive disks clean is easy, when you know how.
Need help? Call us ...especially if using Windows 2000. (+1-908-832-7900)
Interested in the technology used by law enforcement? Subscribe to TechBeat (free) from the National Law Enforcement and
Corrections Technology Center. 800-248-2742, or asknlectc@nlectc.org http://www.nlectc.org/
Applies to industrial espionage, and competitive intelligence too. The highly secretive National Security Agency has gone public with an
advertising campaign urging members of the military to protect
information that might be of use to terrorists. "Our enemies are unlike
any we've encountered before," the spy agency says in advertisements
running in four newspapers distributed to members of the Army, Air Force,
Navy and Marine Corps. "Don't arm them with information that can harm us." http://www.military.com/NewsContent?ESRC=airforce.nl&file=FL_spy_
Your next Rolodex card... In demand, and hard to find...
a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) consultant.
David C. Ruff druff52@suscom.net
Make sure you pay his invoices in a timely manner.
SPECIAL SECTION -- FutureWatch
FutureWatch... Re: Saddam Hussein & WMD "Days may go by without posing a threat immediately, but weeks or
months, and then he's able to reconstitute his capacity to develop large
amounts of chemical and biological weapons," the Pentagon chief said.
"We're well aware of the ticking of the clock."
Donald Rumsfeld, speaking yesterday? Not quite.
The warning came from President Clinton's defense secretary
William Cohen in November 1997 -- some 236 weeks ago. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49507-2002Jun2.html
FutureWatch...
How does one person listen to 100 hours of wiretaps - in 5 seconds? Fast-Talk Telephony, an audio search engine designed to let organizations
better manage and mine audio information. The new product was created to
search for key words, phrases and proper names within any recorded conversation or voice message, regardless of recording quality. Fast-Talk Telephony can search 20 hours of recorded conversations in one second with 98 percent accuracy. http://industryclick.com/magazinearticle.asp?releaseid=10186&magazine
FutureWatch... Will Electronic Eavesdropping Become a M-o-o-t Point? A group of self-proclaimed civil libertarians have launched an effort to
create an OS and a set of applications that prevent computer
eavesdropping and data collection, even by government agencies. The new
open-source OS, dubbed "M-o-o-t," will ship in the form of a single
CD-ROM that you can boot on popular PC hardware platforms. The CD-ROM
will contain the OS and a set of applications that includes an email
client, word processor, spreadsheet program, graphics program, and other
unspecified software. The M-o-o-t CD-ROM must remain in the computer
while the system is operating; the OS will shut down if you remove the CD.
(Nahhh.) http://www.secadministrator.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=25370
FutureWatch... "R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me" As respect for security increases in corporate and government circles,
expect greater demands from the people who watch the CCTV monitors... http://www.jacuzzi.com/products/baths/private/la_scala72.htm
FutureWatch... Weather Wars (written in 1997)
It is 2025. An enemy unknown to 20th-century Americans has massed its
army at the border of a friendly country in a remote part of the world.
High above them flies a single, unmanned stealth aircraft. A faint wisp
of black dust sprays from its tail, spurring the creation of the only
weapon capable of stopping the threatening horde. The weapon the dust
engenders is mud -- old-fashioned, sink-up-to-your-knees,
spin-your-tires mud. There's nothing unusual about this slippery mixture
of soil and water. ... The Pentagon's top meteorologists believe the
United States will be ready to fight -- and win -- a weather war early
in the next century. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/military/1997/2/weather_wars/
FutureWatch... Doctors. The real Wizards of Oz. When 68-year-old Robert Rosene became a bionic-eyed man, he didn't get
the Six Million Dollar Man's telescoping vision. ... For Cora Jean
Kleppe, 73, who got a bionic ear last month, silence has been upended by
a cascade of sounds: the ding of the microwave oven, the eager chatter
of her grandkids and the tweeting of birds in her San Mateo, Calif.
garden. ... The rousing success of the cochlear implant is raising hopes
that experiments in bionic vision, like the silicon-chip artificial
retina used by Rosene, will soon bolster failing sight organs. http://my.netscape.com/corewidgets/news/story.psp?cat=51480 http://www.bionicear.com http://www.optobionics.com
FutureWatch... How to eavesdrop at a greater than normal distance? 2,000,000 BC - Put ear to ground.
1700's - Put wine glass against the wall, put ear on wine glass.
1950's - Place a piezo-electric transducer against a pipe or beam.
21st Century - The Terfenol-D transducer.
That's the evolution of capturing sound traveling through solids.
A Terfenol-D transducer is used in The SoundBug. Hack on, bro.
(Yes, we know a countermeasure.) http://etrema-usa.com/terfenol/index.asp http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/computing/5a15.html
Courts Say It's OK: Peep Away "When it comes to workplace e-mail, courts have tended to reject privacy
claims based on employer monitoring. A handful of courts have held that
an employee does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in e-mail
communication made over a company e-mail system - leaving employees
with little recourse against employers that snoop through their e-mail. One
federal court went so far as to say that an employee has no reasonable
expectation of privacy in his workplace e-mail even when a company
assures him that such communications will not be intercepted." -- Ken
Segarnick, former assistant general counsel for West Chester, Pa. -
based United Messaging. http://www.cio.com/archive/060102/expert_content.html
SpyCam News... Do the right thing. Recently in France, a father who was concerned about the possible
mistreatment of his 3-year-old son by a baby-sitter's boyfriend hid a
miniature camera in his home to record any suspicious behavior. The
father found some, but it was not abuse of the child; the camera
revealed the baby-sitter and her boyfriend amorously entangled while the
child slept soundly in the next room. The father paid a penalty. In
France, such videotaping is a violation of criminal and civil law. The
father was arrested and ordered to pay a fine for invasion of privacy.
(The author's point...) The fact that there is still a legal right to
secretly record images in the U.S. does not mean that it is the right
thing to do. We would do well to learn from the French the general
principle of respect for private life, a principle that holds no matter
what new technologies are offered to us that allow us to spy on others. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-000037449may28.story?null
SpyCam News... Doing the right thing did the wrong thing. An angry mum says she had been filmed naked in her bedroom by a Big
Brother-style crime camera sited just yards from her home. Sarah Hendry
thought she would be safe from burglars when council officials put up
the cameras outside her house. ... (Upon visiting the surveillance
center...) She was allowed in by a security man and allowed to see
images the camera was transmitting to a control room. "I was shocked and
angry when I saw it was filming right inside my home and my neighbors'
homes," she declared. http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/page.cfm
SPECIAL SECTION -- Sediment
Your Cell Phone. Good News - Bad News... "Today, with most calls carried on digital networks, nosing in on
someone's wireless communications is pretty much the domain of
professional spies. ... Calls made on the older, analog cell-phone
network remain as open as ever to eavesdropping, said Semyon Mizikovsky,
a member of Bell Labs' Wireless Security & Fraud Prevention Group. ...
Snooping on cell-phone calls is no longer for amateurs ... It's much
harder, though not impossible, for someone to tap into wireless calls
made on digital networks, which now carry an estimated 85 percent of
wireless conversations. There's no technical barrier to intercepting
digital calls, although the equipment and the act are illegal. ...
(remember) It's so easy to eavesdrop on many wireless conversations,
given how loud some people are when they're talking on their cell phones." http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/business/3389603.htm
...and for just a few dollars more... General Dynamics today reveals its Type 1 Sectera Secure Wireless Phone
for GSM systems, a handset it says can handle the stringent security
expectations of the nation's top government officials. The Type 1 phone,
which consists of a clip-in module designed for use with the Motorola
Timeport, operates over commercial or private GSM systems in the 900,
1800 and 1900 MHz GSM bands. The National Security Agency this week
certified the phone's ability to protect classified information up to
the so-called 'Top Secret' level, General Dynamics says. http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=print_page&doc_id=89459 http://www.gd-decisionsystems.com/
Save your money... Law enforcement officials continue to zero in on mobile devices when
conducting wiretaps, according to a report issued by the Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts, an arm of the federal judiciary. In its
annual Wiretap Report, the agency stated that 68 percent of all wiretaps
granted last year by state and federal courts authorized police to
intercept communications on such wireless devices as cell phones,
pagers and cordless phones. http://www.wirelessnewsfactor.com/perl/story/17950.html http://www.uscourts.gov/wiretap.html
Things are tough all over... The RCMP is eavesdropping on more Canadians than ever, but the Mounties
aren't getting their men when criminal cases get to court, a new report
shows. The grim picture is laid out in the "Annual Report on the Use of
Electronic Surveillance" tabled by Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay. http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-06-10-0021.html
Snoop happens. Australia - The nation's top secret electronic spy body, the Defense
Signals Directorate, regularly tapes the conversations of ordinary
Australians, The Defense Department said today. ... "The problem is that
Australians are everywhere and even if we're concentrating on the
foreign part of our business, we're bound to come across them," Mr.
Bonighton told a Senate estimates committee. http://www.thewest.com.au/20020605/news/latest/
Budget Booster #563
Foreign espionage on the increase... Espionage activities have increased
considerably, demonstrating that foreign intelligence services regarded
South Africa as a priority, Intelligence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said.
"As we become a player in the international arena, and as we become a
people to be reckoned with, our security stakes rise," she said during
debate in the National Assembly on her budget vote. http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimes/newsst/newsst
New Jersey Fourth-Highest Nationally in State-Authorized Wiretaps ...trailing New York's 425, California's 130 and Illinois' 128, but
exceeding Pennsylvania's 54, Florida's 51 and Maryland's 49. http://www.law.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=OpenMarket/
Mitigating Privacy Euphemism of the Week... "share" Unless customers call a toll-free number to request otherwise, Ameritech
plans to share information about what numbers they call, how often they
call and how much they pay. http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/industry/05/28/telecoms.privacy.ap/
Movie of the Week - Godzilla Last week's warning of terror threats against the Statue of Liberty and
Brooklyn Bridge was apparently issued after an al-Qaeda prisoner kept
referring cryptically to the monster film. FBI investigators
interrogating Abu Zubaydah then rented Roland Emmerich's Godzilla,
according to published reports at the weekend. The film depicts Ms.
Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge being imperiled by the creature.
Godzilla finally becomes entangled in the wires of the bridge. Zubaydah
referred to the possibility "the bridge in that movie" might be
attacked. Zubaydah, believed to be a top al-Qaeda lieutenant, also
reportedly said "the statue in the water" might be a target. FBI
investigators deduced from watching Godzilla that he was talking about
the Statue of Liberty. http://www.iol.co.za/general/newsview.php?art_id=ct2002052911060215
Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
Sun, 02 Jun 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 -- Espional (as in Le Carnaval)
SPECIAL SECTION -- M&M's for your mind ===================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
One more time... "Don't let IT eat your lunch." ...businesses have been forced to review their notions of corporate
security. And with those assessments has come realization that the job
calls for a new kind of corporate security executive - one with breadth
of experience, analytic skills, business acumen and leadership
qualities. ... The elusive ideal is an executive not only familiar with
the physical security of people and property, but also fluent in the
digital security of computers and information. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/27/technology/27SECU.html
Don't let Martha Stewart eat your lunch either... Security is an issue in workplace design... Balancing safety with
personal freedom is a new concern for office designers and operators.
... For additional help in assessing risks and developing crisis plans,
a qualified security expert* should be consulted. The Government
Services Administration has also developed valuable building-safety
information which is available at no cost online at http://www.gsa.gov. http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2002/05/27/focus14.html http://www.iapsc.org/directory/directory.html (*qualified security experts)
Reason # 346 - Why you conduct regular eavesdropping inspections.
Conference teaches snoops to be sneakier... It's the annual convention of investigative reporters, as snoopy a bunch
as there is. Reporters and their editors from around the world are holed
up at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. For four days, they are telling each
other how to get the goods on bad guys at City Hall, the corporate
boardroom and wherever else bad guys may be hanging out. ... For sale at
the convention store is a book about snooping on your friends, for $13,
an official investigative reporter T-shirt, for $14, and a spy camera
that fits inside a shirt button, for $1,100. "There's a 25 percent
convention discount," said Mitchell Wagenberg, the guy selling the
camera, who was also offering cameras that fit inside eyeglasses
($3,800), necklaces ($1,800) and a Phillips head screw ($850), although
it was not immediately clear where an investigative reporter could most
effectively wear a Phillips head screw without arousing suspicions. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/
Budget Booster #664 - Give one to every top executive! (FREE)
The Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX) is
pleased to announce that its popular counterintelligence awareness
booklet Be Alert! is now available. Refreshed with a new cover and new
quotes from the NCIX Annual Report to Congress on Foreign Economic
Collection & Industrial Espionage, the document focuses on the foreign
intelligence collection threat to both US official and business travelers. http://www.ncix.gov/pubs/misc/pub_be_alert.html
Question of the Week... "I am trying to locate a security expert that has current relevant
experience in protecting or analyzing accessible heating, ventilation
and air intake systems against chemical or biological attack."
We were able to provide four qualified HVAC forensic consultants for him
to choose from - within 20 minutes.
Remember us when you need assistance locating a security specialist.
Security problem solving often requires teamwork. We work with a variety
of specialists to solve our clients' big picture problems and concerns.
Bookmark this page too... http://www.iapsc.org/directory/directory.html
Speaking of hard-to-find expertise...
Just about every business can benefit from a properly run "Help Line."
Problem is... it is not as simple as ordering a new phone line or
setting up a new e-mail address. Do it wrong, and your "Help Line" will
be a litigation time bomb. Do it right, and it's a profit center. You'll
need a consultant. http://www.semsecurity.com/hotline_mgt.htm
FREE - "Spies of the U.S." poster.
...the number of convicted spies has increased, notwithstanding
Washington's admonition that "There is one evil I dread, and that is,
their spies. I could wish, therefore, the most attentive watch be
kept..." With this in mind, the NCIX has updated and reissued the poster. http://www.ncix.gov/pubs/posters/one_evil.html
SPECIAL SECTION -- Espional (as in Le Carnaval)
Co-intel prose... The Justice Department sharply eased restrictions on domestic spying
Thursday, handing the FBI broad, new authority to monitor Internet
sites, libraries, churches and political organizations for clues to
terrorist plots. ... Asked whether the change would lead to a rollback
of hard-won civil-liberties protections, Ashcroft said the powers would
be used only "for the purpose of detecting and preventing terrorism." http://apnews.excite.com/article/20020530/D7JR7MT03.html
Ah heck, just give everyone a chat cam...
The Transportation Department, with encouragement from Congress, is
considering requiring video cameras that will provide images of
passengers to the cockpit. Manufacturers, working to anticipate a
demand, are developing systems, including one that would transmit images
from hidden cameras to the cockpit and to tiny handheld screens that air
marshals could look at without blowing their cover. United Airlines will
begin a six-month test of cabin surveillance this summer, using a system
built by Rockwell Collins. The system feeds the images from as many as
32 cameras to handheld computers in the cockpit, and beams them back
into the cabin, where they can be picked up by a pocket computer. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/
"And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'..." The California Supreme Court gave prosecutors potentially powerful
ammunition in criminal cases, ruling that they can record inmates'
jailhouse phone calls and visits to try to gather incriminating
evidence. By a unanimous vote, the court reversed its own 1982 ruling
outlawing eavesdropping on an inmate's jailhouse conversations unless it
is for security purposes. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/
SPECIAL SECTION -- M&M's for your mind
...and you thought you were having a bad day, fuhgetaboutit. Accused killer William "Billy" Rinick is now accused of: secretly
videotaping himself (with audio) having sexual intercourse with four
females (some under-aged) in separate incidents in the privacy of his
two-story home. ... invasion-of-privacy and wiretap violations were
lodged against Rinick on May 14 ... The videotapes are believed to have
been seized during the Dec. 6 raids of Rinick's five properties and of
Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino's home. That was the same day Rinick was
found by city homicide detectives and state drug agents under a bed in
the jailed mob boss' home, after Merlino's wife, Deborah, answered the
door in her bed clothes. (Oh yes, things get worse for Rinick, read on...) http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/3319276.htm
Colleague College Flash Card #176 Vermillion Inc., is known for a special type of cable shield it
manufactures - called Secure Voice Shielding - that protects
communication systems from low frequency interference and electronic
eavesdropping. http://www.vermillioninc.com/vermalloy.htm
So... how much grant money did we spend to prove singers get babes? Scientists eavesdropping on birds now find that birds eavesdrop on each
other, with the female apt to mate with others if her partner doesn't
win in a singing contest with another male. ... if papa chickadee comes
off second-best, mama chickadee may wander briefly, mating with another
bird and then returning to the home nest. The study, reported Friday in
Science magazine by researchers at Queens University, in Canada, was
done to see if eavesdropping is important among songbirds.
"Eavesdropping on male-male vocal interactions is a means by which
females can compare different males," the researchers wrote. Females
thus "make immediate comparisons between potential partners." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/
Summer Vacation Trip...
International Spy Museum
Address: 800 F St. NW, Washington, DC
Opening: July 2002
Price tag: $35 million (payable in low denomination, unmarked bills)
Seven years in the making, the International Spy Museum will be the
country's first museum dedicated to international espionage. It will
provide a peek into the role of spying in history, featuring the largest
collection of international espionage artifacts on public display, many
of which have not been seen outside of the intelligence community. http://www.spymuseum.org http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/06/03/
Don't try this at home... Adulterous husbands in Brazil are reaping the benefits of rampant crime,
finding what seemed the perfect alibi for their steamy extra-marital
sessions by spinning a story of being kidnapped. But not all can pull
the wool over the police's eyes. Police in Brasilia said on Wednesday
they busted two men for false alibis and a third is under investigation
after they pinned jaunts with other women on thugs and thieves. http://news.excite.com/article/id/239982|oddlyenough|05-30-2002
FutureWatch Update: Remember 'the future' at Epcot Center? It was called "Horizons." ...flying cars, ubiquitous video phones, wall
screen 3-D TVs, and world peace. Guess what!
"Sadly, this attraction closed permanently in 1999. It was a look at the
21st century through the eyes of visionaries from the past. This ride
took you through the life of a family of the future. The wrap around
projection screen scenes were not to be missed. You felt as if your car
was literally floating in space. You also got to choose your own ending
to the ride by selecting from the choices on the panel that illuminated
in front of you." http://www.intercot.com/epcot/futureworld/horizons/default.asp http://www.intercot.com/epcot/media/horizons.ram (the audio boot)
Walt... put another quarter in your refrigerator.
Want to know your real future? Think Krell... United States Patent #6,011,991 ...enabling human beings to communicate
with one another by monitoring brain activity. ...a system and method
where brain activity of a particular individual is monitored and
transmitted in a wireless manner (e.g. via satellite) from the location
of the individual to a remote location so that the brain activity can be
computer analyzed at the remote location thereby enabling the computer
and/or individuals at the remote location to determine what the
monitored individual was thinking or wishing to communicate. ... For
instance, military personnel located in the Middle East or Europe can
communicate with superiors in the Pentagon, simply by use of monitored
brain activity being transmitted by satellite to the Pentagon.
Alternatively, a special operations individual (e.g. a spy) located in
Europe could be asked a question by way of a telephone call, fax, or the
like, and that individual can respond to that question simply by
thinking the answer so that that individual's monitored brain activity
which is transmitted back to the United States can be analyzed to
determine the individual's response. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2 http://www.movieprop.com/tvandmovie/reviews/forbiddenplanet.htm
Eavesdropping Detection Services
United Kingdom Eavesdropping Detection Services
The ultimate cell phone stick up...