"The Justice Department wants to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to obtain search warrants to secretly enter suspects' homes or offices and disable security on personal computers as a prelude to a wiretap or further search, according to documents and interviews with Clinton administration officials." ....
Security Scrapbook - History reguritates itself.
Thu, 19 Aug 1999
For your nostalgia files.
"Green, you're clean. Red, you're dead."
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=147730395
(Yes, someone is bidding on this item. No wiseguy, it's not me.)
"Telephone Surveillance Bug Tap Detector FLEA! Item #147730395
Currently $9.00 First bid $9.00
Quantity 1
Location Southern Michigan
Description...
"The FLEA is a module that goes in line with your telephone that detects tampering with your sytem. No batteries are required. Power is supplied via the phone line. The FLEA responds silently with indicator lights to inform you of your line status. "GREEN"- if the line is clear/secure and "RED"- if your phone is being tapped or monitored on another extension. Silent detection is to your advantage. It gives you the opportunity to feed the listener with bad information or to track them down in the act! The FLEA will only protect the telephone that it is in line with, but will indicate if the line is in use immediately when the receiver is lifted. It will not work with business type digital phone systems. It is designed to work with single line systems that are common to residential hookups. The red and green wires are the only ones used. A complete instruction sheet is included. The unit is preset and tested prior to shippment. It comes with a double stick foam pad for easy mounting. Don't think eaves dropping couldn't happen to you. Telephone tapping devices are easily obtainable at your local Radio Shack store and many other sources for under $20.00. Many people enjoy monitoring others as a hobby. If you are concerned that someone is monitoring your phone line, you need a FLEA. They aren't just for dogs anymore!"
Security Scrapbook - Expect Covert Video Legislation Soon.
Mon, 16 Aug 1999
To: Clients and colleagues...
The tsunami of miniature TV cameras and wireless video transmitters has hit our shores. One result... an inevitable flood of abuses. This point has not escaped the fourth estate...
In 1967-68, audio eavesdropping, bugs and wiretaps were in the very same position. History will repeat itself. Next stop, Capitol Hill - but, don't count on a law for your protection.
Kevin
(Count on us. We can identify, display and document wireless covert video. Our clients are protected.)
Security Scrapbook - Quantum countermeasures
Wed, 11 Aug 1999
TITLE: Secure communications using quantum cryptography.
AUTHOR: Hughes, R.J.; Buttler, W.T.; Kwiat, P.G. (and others)
INST. AUTHOR: Los Alamos National Lab., NM [United States] Code: 9512470
REPORT NUMBER: LA-UR--97-1099; CONF-970465--22
ABSTRACT:
The secure distribution of the secret random bit sequences known as "key" material, is an essential precursor to their use for the encryption and decryption of confidential communications. Quantum cryptography is an emerging technology for secure key distribution with single-photon transmissions, nor evade detection (eavesdropping raises the key error rate above a threshold value). We have developed experimental quantum cryptography systems based on the transmission of non-orthogonal single-photon states to generate shared key material over multi-kilometer optical fiber paths and over line-of-sight links. In both cases, key material is built up using the transmission of a single-photon per bit of an initial secret random sequence. A quantum-mechanically random subset of this sequence is identified, becoming the key material after a data reconciliation stage with the sender. In our optical fiber experiment we have performed quantum key distribution over 24-km of underground optical fiber using single-photon interference states, demonstrating that secure, real-time key generation over "open" multi-km node-to-node optical fiber communications links is possible. We have also constructed a quantum key distribution system for free-space, line-of-sight transmission using single-photon polarization states, which is currently undergoing laboratory testing.
ABSTRACT:
Over the past decade information theory has been generalized to allow binary data to be represented by two-state quantum mechanical systems. (A single two-level system has come to be known as a qubit in this context.) The additional freedom introduced into information physics with quantum systems has opened up a variety of capabilities that go well beyond those of conventional information. For example, quantum cryptography allows two parties to generate a secret key even in the presence of eavesdropping. But perhaps the most remarkable capabilities have been predicted in the field of quantum computation. Here, a brief survey of the requirements for quantum computational hardware, and an overview of the in trap quantum computation project at Los Alamos are presented. The physical limitations to quantum computation with trapped ions are discussed.
Please acknowledge NISC and BiblioLine wherever you use records retrieved from this service. Thank you.
BiblioLine - www.nisc.com
Security Scrapbook - Cell Phones Become Instant Bugs!
Sun, 08 Aug 1999
Clients, colleagues and friends,
The following is old news, but it is now timely and worth revisiting.
The concept of - cell phones as electronic eavesdropping devices - is just dawning on the mainstream crowd. Expect to hear more.
Lauren Weinstein (PRIVACY Forum Moderator) states the case clearly and succinctly.
This "hot" topic will spice up your security briefings, and make you the most interesting person at a boring party.
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 99 16:14 PDT
From: lauren@vortex.com (Lauren Weinstein; PRIVACY Forum Moderator)
Subject: Cell Phones Become Instant Bugs!
Greetings. A disturbing application for the new generations of digital cell phones appears to be developing -- many models can be easily used as remote-controlled clandestine listening devices ("bugs"), often with little or no modification.
It turns out that many current cell phone models can be set into modes where they are completely silent (no "boops" or "beeps") and will answer incoming calls automatically. This latter mode is designed for use in hands-free (headset) situations. A cell phone left in a strategic location set in such modes may be silently interrogated from virtually anywhere on the planet with a simple phone call, and will happily transmit the room conversations back to the caller. When the caller hangs up, the cell phone resets, ready for the next call.
In some cases, phones can be placed into this "automatic answer" mode without any accessories being required. For some models, a headset connector needs to be plugged into the phone, which may be modified to allow the phone to continue using its built-in microphone when in its "bugging" mode, or could trivially have a remote microphone wired via a very thin cable to the actual cell phone some distance away.
Even without an outside source of power, many modern digital cell phones can have standby times of a week or more, and be able to transmit conversations for a number of hours. With an outside power source, they could perform their bugging functions indefinitely.
Since various commercial firms are now planning to offer a wide variety of location-based services using cell phone location tracking capabilities, (which were originally mandated for 911 use), it seems likely that planted cell phones may soon be usable to track the location of persons or moving vehicles as well. Just picture a cell phone hidden in a car trunk with a tiny microphone wired up behind the rear seat, for example. The car wiring would also provide an ideal source of continuing power for both bugging and tracking via the cell phone. Simple, cheap, and accessible from practically anywhere!
With cell phones becoming smaller and the associated networks ever more ubiquitous, this whole area has a great deal of potential for serious privacy-invasive abuses.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Security Scrapbook - Geezer geyser
Fri, 06 Aug 1999
Shower-Cam Found in Yosemite
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (AP) -- Campers visiting Yosemite National Park in recent weeks may have had an audience when they showered.
Eavesdropping Detection Services
United Kingdom Eavesdropping Detection Services
