Security Scrapbook - Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
March 30, 2004
To: Clients, colleagues and friends.
Subject: Espionage & Privacy News of the Week.
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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 -- Cell Phone Follies
SPECIAL SECTION -- Eavesdroppers Time Forgot
SPECIAL SECTION -- Nerd Fun ===================================================
SPECIAL SECTION -- Security Director News
Cautionary Tale #785 - Using Your Computer in Hotels Many hotels have added high-speed wireless connections for executives to surf the Internet or access corporate data on the road. But in the time it takes you to check out of your hotel, a hacker could have checked into your computer and logged on to your confidential files while they sit in the lobby. With security software available on the Internet from sites like insecure.org, hackers can explore unsecured hotel networks and tap into a guest's laptop computer. http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/02/25/biz.trav.security/ http://www.insecure.org
Cautionary Tale #786 - Sweep Hotel Rooms Detectives raided the luxury Grand Regency Hotel in search of more of tycoon Kamlesh Pattni's secret tapes and documents. They also raided the International Casino and reportedly arrested a former Grand Regency manager. ... They searched several floors of the posh hotel but paid particular attention to the 10th floor Cappuccino Bar, rooms 1012, 1013, 1014 and the Presidential Suite in which CCTVs and eavesdropping devices are alleged to have been installed. The source further said detectives suspected that the devices were installed and used to gather information on several prominent personalities who stayed in the rooms. http://allafrica.com/stories/200403040112.html
Budget Booster #548 - Banks suspect dealing rooms bugged... Discount Bank filed a police complaint alleging that a rival brokerage installed wire-taps in its foreign currency dealing room. -- Israel's top banks suspect that their foreign currency dealing rooms may be bugged, after Israel Discount Bank filed a police complaint yesterday alleging that Menorah Gaon Investments' brokerage, Global Box, installed wire-taps in its foreign currency dealing room. The wire-tapping suspicions apparently arose following a dispute over manpower poaching between Global Box and another foreign currency broker. During the dispute a broker at one of the firms claimed he knew what was going on in the large banks' dealing rooms, including Discount Bank's. The comment was passed onto the banks, which opened an investigation. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=784758&fid=942
"Let's tighten up now. Do the tighten up." Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein warned the chief executives of banks and credit companies this week that she would crack down on them if they didn't take steps to protect their customers' private data, such as medical and financial information which is increasingly being handled by clerks working abroad. http://www.wired.com/news/business/
Budget Booster #549 - The adjudication of techspionage... Fears of intellectual property theft run wide and deep in the global semiconductor industry, where a small advantage in manufacturing capabilities can translate into millions of dollars of extra profit. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. v. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (China - SMIC) ... Taiwan Semiconductor deputy director describes "amazing similarities" between its own chips and an SMIC chip that was viewed under an electron microscope. ... a one-time employee of SMIC said he estimated that 90 percent of the process flow for a chip production method was copied from Taiwan Semiconductor ... one Taiwan Semiconductor manager was cited in the documents as saying that he understood SMIC expected employees it hired away from Taiwan Semiconductor to bring a "present" with them in the form of recent technical information. ... SMIC argues that the court lacks jurisdiction in the case and describes the claims of theft as "impossibly massive." http://www.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/03/23/china.taiwan.chipfight
Budget Booster #550 - The emancipation of techspionage... A Japanese court rejected a request Monday to extradite a medical researcher to the United States on charges of industrial espionage, the first time a court here has turned down an extradition sought by American authorities. http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V9722.AP-Japan-US-Espion.html
Budget Booster #551 - Vice President's secretary tapped... A Huntington Beach man Tuesday became the first person in the nation to be charged with illegally using an electronic device to record someone's computer keystrokes, according to the U.S. attorney's office. A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Larry Lee Ropp, 46, on one count of wiretapping, said Thom Mrozek a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles. When Ropp worked at Bristol West Insurance Group / Coast National Insurance Co. in Anaheim, he secretly installed a "KEYKatcher" into the computer of the vice president's secretary, Mrozek alleged. The device was plugged into the computer to record every keystroke the secretary made. (Yes, we check for these too.) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-wiretap http://www.keykatcher.com/ (See photo and check your computer right now!)
Counterespionage Thought of the Day... "It is for historians to judge whether Athens crumbled (to Sparta 14 years later) because it was an open society and allowed spies to operate unhindered." - Sanche de Gramont
How to protect yourself from computer spyware... Future legislation may help reduce spyware. But computer users can also take action now to protect themselves. Among the suggestions from experts:
- Think before you click. Download software only from sources you trust. Never download programs offered in pop-up ads.
- Understand what you are downloading. Read the End User License Agreement or other explanatory material, which may contain wording that gives your consent to spyware being loaded onto your computer.
- Install and run trustworthy anti-spyware software. Spybot Search and Destroy is one favorite of experts and is free at www.download.com. The Center for Democracy and Technology also mentions AdAware (also free at www.download.com), Spyware Eliminator, and BPS Spyware/Adware Remover. Other reliable products such as PestPatrol (www.PestPatrol.com, $40) may cost money (though PestPatrol has a free trial version that will detect, but not remove, spyware). Internet providers such as Earthlink and AOL are also beginning to offer antispyware programs to their users. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0329/p14s02-stin.html
Mum
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has met with British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry in search of an explanation of alleged British bugging of his office, but both men were mum after their talk. http://www.khilafah.com/home/category.php?DocumentID=9173&TagID=2
Mum, but verify...
The United Nations has stepped up anti-bugging measures at its New York headquarters in the wake of a claim by Clare Short, the former Cabinet minister, that she had seen a transcript of a private telephone conversation by Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General. http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=496266
The Fiber Optic Microphone...
The electronic snooping war continues to evolve, with more sophisticated devices that are increasingly difficult to detect. One new development is the airborne microphone. "Having no metallic content whatsoever makes it immune from X-rays," said surveillance consultant Martin Kaiser. "It makes it immune from known wire detection processes so it's really the ideal microphone." http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/spy_thomas.html http://www.spybusters.com/Spybuster_Coffee_Cups.html (Spy Trick #409)
Sleepless in Seattle... You are not safe from spying eyes, whether it's on the street, in stores, or even in your home. If you think no one's watching you there think again. KATU's sister station, KOMO-TV uncovers simple, cheap technology used to spy on you. It's called 'war-spying'. People search out hidden cameras, then eavesdrop on them by spying on the signals from other people's wireless cameras. We went searching for hidden video cameras and surveillance cameras. You won't believe what we found... http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=64721
Moon-struck in Manhattan... A 60-year old upper East Side woman said she plans to sue the pants off Bloomingdale's. ... "I disrobed and as I bent down to put my foot in the slacks, I saw a flash of light behind me," she said. "I pushed the shopping bags away from the chair and I saw a [video monitor] screen. As I bent closer, I saw my butt with my thong underwear across the screen." "I was hysterical," she said. ... Anne Keating, a spokeswoman for the store, confirmed that an NBC "Today" show crew had stashed a monitor and camera in the dressing room while they were shooting in the store during Fashion Week. "A mistake was made," Keating said. "We should have put a sign on the dressing room that it was closed. But the producer told me that the camera would only be working if someone was operating it." http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/171185p-149318c.html
Mischief in Michigan...
Michigan - Police received a tip of a suspicious situation at the Rock-N-Nails tanning salon. Investigating officers found the small camera hidden inside a stereo unit in the tanning bed at the facility, which has been in business for more than two years. ... There is no doubt that many women who visited the business may have been victimized by the actions of the salon's owner, Danny Eugene Daulton of Adrian, according to Police Chief Michael Martin. ... Approximately 30 women had come forward... Police are now searching for additional victims in a voyeurism case. http://www.lenconnect.com/articles/2004/03/02/news/news01.txt
Un-haltered in Holland... Michigan (again) - Holland's top recreation administrator is accused of using a hidden video camera in a private changing room to spy on teenage girls and women at the Holland Civic Center. Curt Wright, director of the city's Leisure and Cultural Services, allegedly used the device to secretly watch his victims change clothing, and may have been doing it for four years or longer, a source close to the investigation said. http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/
Miscreant in Milwaukee... Michigan (again) - A wireless video camera, which Milwaukee resident William Brookins said he picked up on his security system, shows two youngsters and a woman apparently striking one of them. He called the police. The woman was later arrested. http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb04/208097.asp
SPECIAL SECTION -- Cell Phone Follies
Bluetooth phone hacking tools 'spreading quickly' Mobile phone manufacturers were asked to make a greater effort and fix the Bluetooth security problems in their handsets after a researcher revealed that software tools enabling a 'bluesnarf' attack are widely available on the internet. Bluesnarfing is a method of hacking into a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone and copying its entire contact book, calendar or anything else stored in the phone's memory. Nokia and Sony Ericsson have admitted some of their handsets are vulnerable and although Sony Ericsson has made an effort to fix the problem, Nokia said the problem is not serious enough to warrant repairing. http://www.silicon.com/networks/mobile/0,39024665,39118440,00.htm
Comm Tip #023 - Text Messaging Send text messages to someone's cell phone without knowing who their carrier is! - Teleflip™ started when the founder became increasingly frustrated at his inability to send text messages to friends' cell phones from his PC. It was of course possible, but you had to know the cell phone provider, the correct domain name and the correct syntax for the email address. There had to be an easier way....Teleflip™ was born. Just address your email to: (TheirCellPhoneNumber)@teleflip.com http://www.teleflip.com/teleflip/index.jsp
Meir Dagan's Bad Air Day... A cellphone belonging to the chief of the Israeli Mossad spy agency was stolen last month, and the theft might compromise sensitive security information, police said yesterday. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/
...how about Mossad office noise? Cell phone software creates bogus backgrounds... Pretending to be stuck in traffic during a mobile phone call could become much easier using software that generates fake background noise. SoundCover, developed by a Romanian phone software company called Simeda, can add artificial traffic and road works to a call at the press of a button. It can mimic a thunderstorm, the dentist's drill or even a circus during a call. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994749
When I get older, losing my hair... A Isle of Wight couple with two mobile phone masts just 30 yards from their flat have put up tin foil protection and are preparing to distribute a health questionnaire in the town to see whether other people have been affected. ... The government recently announced a £7 million research programme into whether there are health effects from mobile phone technology. It will concentrate on handset use but part of the programme will look at whether continual low-level exposure to base station radiation is harmful. (interesting photo) http://www.iwcp.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1252&ArticleID=739918
SPECIAL SECTION -- Eavesdroppers Time Forgot ...and a Friend who is not.
1862 - Confederate, George Ellsworth, an expert telegrapher and wiretapper, whose skills proved particularly useful.
http://www.vectorsite.net/twcw21.html
1953 - Jimmie Hoffa had Bernard Spindel plant tiny microphones, which were legal at the time, inside the offices of several suspects and had him install anti-bugging devices throughout the entire property as well.
http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/articles/53/53-106.htm
1959 - The Untouchables - Steve London played Agent Jack Rossman, former telephone lineman, expert wiretapper.
http://www.geocities.com/alcus2/untouch.html
1963 - The reason the mob's so powerful in Chicago is they've always had someone like (master wiretapper) Richard Cain who was a policeman, once head of investigations for the Sheriff of Cook County. In other words, he was a senior law enforcement official, there but he was also a made member of the mob and very close to Giancana.
http://newtimes.rway.com/1996/112096/cover.htm
1975 - According to testimony by a government witness in 1975, Hanhardt had delivered a $2,200 check to pay for surveillance equipment for Ronald DeAngeles, a mob wiretapper.
http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_110.html
1978 - The late Robert Hall (an associate of Robert Vesco and Howard Hughes), a private investigator in L.A. summed up Jim Hougan in his book Spooks as: "tough, reasonably brave and decidedly larcenous ... a father, a wiretapper, an informer, a dope peddler and a double agent"
http://home.swipnet.se/allez/Local/3/chaos.htm78
1997 - Feld fired Chuck Smith, his vice president and go-to guy for dirty tricks and espionage, after the secret videotapes he'd made of his girlfriend fell into her hands and he was arrested by the police. With Smith's abrupt exit Clair George, Robert Eringer and the soon-to-be repentant wiretapper Joel Kaplan were also cut loose. The spying operation was about to crash and burn.
http://tinyurl.com/2uv6s
2004 - Robert Doms - RIP
Bob Doms passed away in his sleep this month. He worked for AID, a company who made eavesdropping devices for the government, then consulted and kept writing great technical newsletters for his 'friends in the field'. He knew everything there was to know about electronic surveillance. He wrote two white papers. One about the history of technical surveillance, and the other, how to establish a technical surveillance operation. He was very level-headed about all of it. We swapped info frequently. I had great respect for him.
"Over the years I have seen so many people abuse these things and blame everything on the equipment. 'This God D------ thing never works!' It's usually a head space problem and not the fault of the equipment. I will say my piece before I fade away into the sunset." - Robert Doms
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