TALAN Telephone and Line Analyzer Wins 2008 Canadian Technical Security Conference Award

It is always heartwarming to see our eavesdropping and wiretap detection instrumentation winning international awards...

"The TALAN Telephone and Line Analyzer (manufactured by REI) has been awarded the 2008 Canadian Technical Security Conference (CTSC) Award for significant industry contribution, research and engineering design.

Telephone technology has advanced over the past several years, and so have the methods and possibilities for surveillance devices on telephone lines, making traditional eavesdropping tap detection methods outdated and ineffective. Additionally, multiple pieces of test equipment were required to conducted time consuming tests that provided limited results. The TALAN is a breakthrough in telephone and line testing, combining multiple tests into a single piece of equipment as well as introducing NEW technology providing effective tap detection tests for both digital and analog telephone lines.

The Canadian Technical Security Conference (CTSC) is an annual conference composed of Technical Security Specialists and members of the Canadian Technical Security Professional Association (CTSPA). Delegates and speakers of the conference include technical security professionals representing private companies, law enforcement, military and government organizations from Canada and around the world..." (more)

Other award winning instrumentation
Murray Associates brings to their client's defense...

Almost everything you wanted to know about WIRETAPPING

"DIY Wiretapping:
The Ultimate Guide
(And How to Fight Back)"
via ITsecurity.com

Even if you aren't involved in a criminal case or illegal operation, it's incredibly easy to set up a wiretap or surveillance system on any type of phone. Don't be surprised to learn that virtually anyone could be spying on you for any reason.

How to Wiretap
Did you think wiretapping was just for the FBI and mobsters? It's actually so easy that we can show you how to install and manage different wiretapping systems yourself...
(11 "tips" revealed)

Fighting Back
Defend yourself against wiretappers and spies by following these tips. You'll be able to determine if someone is eavesdropping on your home phone, cell phone or VoIP calls.
(13 "tips" revealed... including this one.)

• Check for any suspicious wires running from your phone: Spybusters LLC, a company that performs eavesdropping-detection audits, explains on its Web site the different types of wires your phone should have and which ones indicate wiretapping.
(more)

Extra Credit...
Listen Up: 17 Signs That You Are Being Wiretapped
Is someone listening to your private calls? Know the warning signs.

Corporate Eavesdropping & Espionage - Get Smart

Three 'Get Smart' news reports in one day!
Just coincidence?
No...
"Get Smart" the TV-show movie remake hits next week +
Corporations are getting hit with more eavesdropping
= Corporations are Getting Smart...


Targets of Spying Get Smart
by M.P. McQueen

Tiny electronic-surveillance gadgets that James Bond could only dream of are increasingly turning up in boardrooms, bedrooms and bathrooms.

Crooks are parking vans outside people's homes to steal bank-account passwords and credit-card numbers, using programs that tap into Wi-Fi connections. Paparazzi hide cameras and microphones in private jets, hoping to record embarrassing celebrity video. Corporate spies plant keystroke-recording software in executives' laptops and listen in on phone conversations as they travel.

Now, people are deploying counter-spy technology to fight back. Some celebrities and corporate executives get regular sweeps of their offices, limos and private jets in search of hidden devices. Others hire security experts to safeguard their phones and home computers...

Kevin D. Murray, an Oldwick, N.J., counter-surveillance expert, said he received several calls from worried executives asking for sweeps of their offices and homes as soon as the Porsche incident surfaced. (more)


We've gotten smart:
Movie's spy gadgets do exist

The shoe phone on TV's "Get Smart" wasn't just a sneaky spy gadget, it was a technological marvel: a wireless, portable telephone that could be used anywhere — though it did require a dime to make a call.

Today, almost everyone has a pocket-sized version that also takes photos, shoots video, sends e-mail and surfs the Internet. About the only thing it doesn't do is protect your feet.

"Get Smart" comes to the big screen next week, along with a spate of new spy gadgets to help Maxwell Smart, Agent 99 and the other spies at CONTROL. The gadgets are just as goofy as they were in the original TV series, but because technology has caught up with the writers' imaginations, there's a big difference: many of the movie's doo-dads actually exist. (more)


Bugging of offices
‘grows sharply’

Wales - Boardrooms and similar high-level working environments are increasingly being bugged as rival businesses and even staff look to gain an advantage through industrial espionage... (more)

Car mechanic at center of probe into bugging

Ireland - GARDAI (Irish national police) are to review all contracts given to garages which service its fleet after a mechanic, who was returning from a trip to the UK, was found with bugging equipment.

A number of cars, including unmarked vehicles used by detectives, were checked for bugging devices last week after a mechanic who services Garda vehicles was found with the specialist equipment during a routine search at Dublin Port.

A high-level investigation is now under way amid fears that cars used by senior gardai, including Commissioner Fachtna Murphy, could have been bugged and sensitive information leaked to criminals or terrorist organisations.

It is understood that a man employed by a company which won a contract to service garda cars was stopped with the equipment during a search at Dublin Port. (more)

Q&A Time - Radio Frequency (RF) Blocking

From a professional colleague...
Q. "I would like to know if there is any security film that can be applied to windows to help block RF emissions. I have heard of curtains that are made for purpose? not sure though? Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks."

A. Their are all sorts of RF shielding materials on the market: window film, speciality glass, screening, wallpaper, paint, gaskets, curtains, beanies, etc. Each item, by itself, is not a very effective solution. Used in conjunction with one another, RF may be attenuated to a point where it solves a particular problem. The attenuation will not be 100% unless one constructs a fully shielded room (Faraday cage). In government circles these specially built rooms are called Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility, otherwise known as a SCIF. Even then, the slightest crack or deformed door gasket will allow RF in/out.

100% shielding becomes problematic when the application is eavesdropping countermeasures. Shielded rooms are ugly and expensive, and other methods are not 100% effective. In counterespionage and TSCM, the information is either protected, or it is not protected.

Here is a review of a new window film.
Here is a review of the effectiveness of beanies.
~Kevin

"Watch the donut, not the hole."

NY - Police arrested a Kings Park Dunkin' Donuts employee at 10:26 pm last Thursday for allegedly setting up an illegal surveillance camera in the shop's women's bathroom.

Danish Qureshi, 25, of Huntington Station, an employee of the Dunkin' Donuts at 101 Pulaski Road in Kings Park, allegedly installed a wireless pinhole surveillance camera in the women's bathroom, according to police. Qureshi was using his wireless laptop computer to observe occupants of the bathroom while he was sitting in his nearby vehicle, police claim.

An area resident who owns similar surveillance equipment called police after he intercepted the signal and observed the bathroom on his television, Suffolk police reported. (more)

Idea for new sitcom... Plain Stupid! - "Should you be caught, we will disavow any..."

A spy who infiltrated a direct action anti-aviation group has been exposed after making a series of elementary errors that aroused the suspicions of genuine activists.

Toby Kendall joined Plane Stupid, the group that occupied the roof of the Houses of Parliament last month, after graduating from Oxford last year. He told the activists that his name was “Ken Tobias” and said that he was deeply concerned by the impact of the aviation industry on climate change and that he wanted to help to organise protests.

But his habit of wearing a Palestinian scarf with his Armani jeans and designer shirt made some members question his identity. He was also the only member to turn up early to every meeting but had no friends in the activist community...

Plane Stupid began a mole hunt and, after feeding him false information that found its way within two days to the aviation industry, discovered his real name and employer.

Mr. Kendall, 24, works for C2i International, a counter-intelligence company run by former special forces officers. It claims that its agents are “hand-picked from Special Operations at New Scotland Yard”...

Justin King, C2i’s managing director, claimed to have been unaware of Mr. Kendall’s infiltration of Plane Stupid. He said Mr. Kendall was employed to carry out counter-surveillance such as “debugging company offices”. (D'oh!) (more)

This is a cautionary tale for corporations and protest groups alike.
1. Espionage is multifaceted - eavesdropping, wiretapping, dumpster diving, moles, etc.
2. Failed attempts end up in the newspapers. Successes go unnoticed.
3. Attacks fail when people start looking.
4. Start looking.
In this case, "...a contact at Oxford University recognised a photo we'd taken. Our spy wasn't called 'Ken Tobias', but Toby Kendall - an Oriental Studies student from Wadham College. A quick google search revealed a Bebo page with a photo. Snap! It also took us to Linked In, a high-flying corporate networking site, where 'Ken' claimed to be an analyst at C2i International, working in "Security and Investigations".
Note: Even Austin Powers had a better cover story. Don't expect your mole to be as obvious.

Spy Buster Locates Sophisticated Wireless Eavesdropping Devices

According to the Freedonia Group, a market research group in Cleveland, Ohio, companies spend over $95 billion annually on corporate security.


One of the fastest growing areas for this spending is corporate espionage prevention.

Factors in this growth include everything from globalization to decreased employee loyalty and the fact that the most valuable asset of a corporation these days is information, which can be easier to steal than a piece of machinery.

So what’s a worried executive or security professional to do?
Increasingly, companies and government agencies are turning to firms that specialize in detecting and removing eavesdropping and other surveillance devices... (more)

The Original Hollywood Wiretapper

By Will Vaus
The trial of private detective Anthony Pellicano, who is charged with 110 counts of racketeering, wiretapping, conspiracy and other federal charges, has been capturing headlines for quite some time. No wonder. Its connections to the mob, eavesdropping on Hollywood conversations and the revolving door of movie industry personalities make for a good read. However, for me and my family, it is déjà vu.

Why? Because my father, "Big Jim" Vaus, was the original Hollywood wiretapper. He launched the practice of listening in on the stars in the 1940s and gained the same sort of notoriety then that surrounds Pellicano now. He was written up in the L.A. papers, and his story has been featured in Time, Life, Reader's Digest and in a 1955 movie, "Wiretapper." (more)

Will Vaus, author of My Father Was a Gangster: The Jim Vaus Story

Recordings of Jim Vaus talking about his life.
More stories about Jim Vaus...
The Hollywood Vice Queen (1948)
Wiretapping in Hollywood (1955)
Why Jim Vaus Quit Wiretapping (1946)

Spybusters Selects Tektronix to Aid in Fight Against Corporate Espionage

via Microwave Journal...
Tektronix Inc., a provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, announced that Murray Associates, registered as Spybusters LLC, has selected a Tektronix Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer (RTSA) with DPX™ live RF display technology to help the security consultancy identify wireless eavesdropping devices that may be located in clients’ facilities including boardrooms and security trading floors. The RTSA instrument enables the firm to quickly and efficiently spot sophisticated listening devices, even in challenging environments where there are many competing signals.

Corporate espionage is on the rise due to such factors as globalization, decreased employee loyalty and the increasing value of information. In some parts of the world espionage is a common business practice in competitive industries. At the same time, new technologies are making it easier and more affordable than ever to steal information by tapping into private conversations. Given the potential reward, spies are employing increasingly sophisticated technology that can be difficult to detect.

To fight back against this espionage, companies as well as government agencies are turning to firms that specialize in detecting and removing eavesdropping and other surveillance devices. One of the leaders in the segment is Murray Associates. Based in Oldwick, New Jersey, the 30-year-old company, which is registered as Spybusters LLC, is seeing heightened demand for its services. The majority of the firm’s clients schedule regular inspections or sweeps for any form of electronic surveillance technology in sensitive areas such as executive suites, boardrooms, trading floors, vehicles and aircraft as well as executive homes and off-site meeting locations. (more)

Mainstreet.com asked, "Why do people wiretap?"

“People tap phones lines for one of three reasons—money, power, sex,” says Kevin Murray, of Murray Associates, which secures corporations against eavesdropping. Dr. Gordon Mitchell, president of the counterintelligence consultancy company, Future Focus agrees. “Oddly enough, in the private sector it isn’t usually a situation where the big powerful competitor is trying to get information, but some sort of soap opera is going on inside,” he says. “And usually you can preface the person you suspect with an ex. Ex-boyfriend, ex-husband ex-partner.” If you suspect that there is wiretap on one of your phone lines, you first want to establish a connection between the information loss and whoever you suspect is leaking it. If you can’t show a cause and effect relationship between the criminal and the crime, you can’t prosecute a case against an eavesdropper...

...big corporations are still conscious about securing the workplace against foreign ears. “Whenever you’re in competition it means someone isn’t going to play the game fairly,” says Murray. “Businesses are very proactive about detecting these types of devices.” Most corporations do inspections on a quarterly basis, “and it’s something you rarely hear about,” says Murray. After hours, a counterintelligence security team will come in and investigate the most sensitive areas of the company. According to Murray, it costs between $5,000 and $10,000 to inspect eight to ten executive offices and a boardroom. (more)

TSCM Technology - Keeping Pace

The tools of the trade change fast in the world of TSCM.
Blink, and you're sweep business is history.
Here are three examples of the latest tools...

Recently
Too many digital radio signals. Some of them flash on/off, quickly. Some frequency hop, quickly. Some hide within other signals. This year, a new instrument came out of the R&D labs called RSA6114A . It never blinks. It catches it all.

NOW
Too many digital radio signals. How can one identify them all? This week, a new instrument came out of the R&D labs called H600 RFhawk Signal Hunter. It knows all. It tells all... at a reasonable price.


The Future
Having Superman x-ray vision would be a big help in finding eavesdropping devices. A new instrument is in the R&D labs called LEXID. Handheld x-ray vision. Just point, and see!

TSCM challenges do not become easier with time. You can, however, count on us to keep pace and slightly ahead.

PartnerSpy vs. PartnerSpy

In Scotland, where punches are not pulled, a daily newspaper instructs its readers, "How To Spy On Your Partner." For us, of course, it is a cautionary tale. These tactics may be employed by anyone, against anyone.

Partner vs. Partner is only one of many snoop scenarios. Here are some others:
- Employees vs. Management
- Ambitious Executive vs. Unsuspecting Executive
- Competitor vs. You
- Defendant vs. Plaintiff
- News Media / Protest Groups vs. Your Company

Being aware of 'everyman' spy technology is the first step toward protection. The second step is actively looking. Which, by the way, is what we do best for businesses and governments worldwide.

How To Spy On Your Partner
Feb 27 2008 By Craig McQueen

Lipstick on collars or smelling of a strange perfume used to be how cheating husbands got caught out. But in these days of big divorce settlements, spurned partners are gathering evidence the hi-tech way.

One US firm has produced a SIM card reader that opens text messages AFTER they've been deleted - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Other surveillance gadgets used today would look at home in spy films. They're legal and freely available from websites spystoreuk.com, spycatcheronline.co.uk and brickhousesecurity.com

Here are a few of the best: (described in detail here)
- HIDDEN CAMERAS
- MOBILE PHONE TRACKING
- WIRELESS BUGS
- PHONE RECORDERS
- GPS TRACKING
- COMPUTER KEY LOGGING
- THE TEDDY CAM
- INTERCEPTOR SOFTWARE
- VEHICLE TRACKING

Cheap & Secure Communications - for Security ...and Eavesdroppers

from the TriSquare website – TSX300...
"eXtreme Radio Service (eXRS) two-way radios use proprietary Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) in the ISM band (900 MHz frequencies). 10 Billion channels." (more)

What does this walkie-talkie mean to you?
- "Secure Conversation – No Eavesdropping"
- Communications range of at least 1-2 miles.
- Very good communications within buildings.
- Voice Operated Transmit (VOX)
- No license required.
- Accessories include a headset.
- Cost: less than $100.00 per pair!

What else does this mean?
- A quick hack turns it into a long-range stealth bug!
- The average TSCM sweep team will likely miss it.
- Advanced Eavesdropping Detection will find it.

French bugs 'discovered in UK Defence Minister's office'

UK - A leading MP is to challenge the Government over claims that a Defence Minister was bugged by the French when he was responsible for the award of billions of pounds worth of contracts.

Tory MP Patrick Mercer says senior security sources have told him that bugs were placed in the offices of Lord Drayson, the then-Defence Procurement Minister, at the House of Lords and in the Ministry of Defence, so the French could eavesdrop on conversations about valuable projects.

The claim has the potential to cause a major diplomatic row between Britain and France, which regularly compete for huge defence equipment contracts all over the world. (more)

Do you handle...
• 'huge contracts',
• expensive product development,
• major marketing campaigns,
• mergers and acquisitions,
• financial investments,
• sensitive investigations,
• valuable intellectual property,
• and, things so secret only you know about them?
Imagine the effect a bug in your office would have on you and your company.
(solution)

Queen's offices 'swept for bugs'

UK - The Queen's rooms were regularly checked for bugging devices, the inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed has heard. (more)
Regular inspections to detect electronic eavesdropping devices are an essential element of quality security programs.

Ultra-wideband (UWB). Now a TSCM reality.

UWB materializes on an RSA6114A Tektronix spectrum analyzer.

New Eavesdropping Threat. Bug transmissions via Ultra-wideband. Standard eavesdropping detection techniques don't 'see' it.

Research Electronics explains it nicely...
"Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) transmitters represent a new method of RF modulation, typically consisting of extremely narrow pulses (in the range of 250 picoseconds). The modulation scheme is a time division multiplexed system based on the timing of the pulses across a large frequency range. It is suspected that this new method of modulation will likely be used for short-range communications (approximately 10 meters), but other applications will certainly be developed. With a potential frequency band of 2GHz to 10GHz, the new UWB modulation represents some interesting characteristics from the technical security perspective, specifically with regard to the detection of UWB transmissions potentially used in eavesdropping devices."

Murray Associates recognized the threat early.
(from Kevin's Security Scrapbook - February, 2002)
FutureWatch
Ultra-wideband (UWB) makes it debut... (this will be big)
Applications...
- Ground Penetrating Radar Systems
- Wall Imaging Systems
- Through-wall Imaging Systems
- Medical Systems
- Surveillance Systems
- Vehicular Radar Systems
- Communications and Measurement Systems
Not to mention, low-probability-of-intercept bugging devices.
(Shhhhhh! We told you not to mention that.) (more)

Because of this foresight, Murray Associates can counter UWB eavesdropping threats today. Knowledge and military-level TSCM instrumentation (from REI and Tektronix) are being used now to protect their client family.

Consider the advanced TSCM services of Murray Associates if your current TSCM team can't show you what UWB looks like.

Cautionary Tale #437 - Kofi Annan Bugged

This headline never should have happened...
Kofi Annan Leaves Peace Talks in Limbo After His Hotel Room Is Bugged

Kenya - Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan may walk away from Kenya's peace talks after his security detail discovered his hotel room in Nairobi was bugged, according to a report.

Sources at the Serena Hotel, where the talks are taking place, said Annan's security detail became wary of his safety after discovering that his personal conversations were being intercepted, South Africa's Independent Newspapers reported.

Who may have planted the listening device and how long it was there remain unclear, the Independent reported.

Annan is said to be "livid," but it is not yet known whether he will walk away from the already troubled negotiations. (more)

Reactive security is gambling. Proactive security is cheap insurance. Kofi's security detail apparently bet and lost. Nothing they do now can turn back the clock. The damage is done.

Check for bugs, wiretaps and spycams before you know here is a problem. (more)

Murray's Associate Bugs the TV Reporter

Eavesdropping is a very hot topic in the UK at the moment.

Our UK Associate, Crispin Sturrock, CEO of Whiterock lets a news reporter demonstrate why detecting bugs and spycams is not a job for amateurs...

Can Sky Reporter Find Hidden Bugs?
With the controversy surrounding the bugging of Labour MP Sadiq Khan still raging, a security expert set Sky News reporter David Bowden the task of finding a several bugs he had hidden in a room. How did Bowden do? Well, he was no James Bond... (video)

Bugging Device Found at TV Auditions

UK - Police were called to the audition venue for Britain's Got Talent today after a bugging device was discovered under the judges' table.

The surveillance equipment had been left overnight in the judges' room, where Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan embarked on a second day of filming.

Cowell said afterwards: "This shows the extent to which people will go to to get inside knowledge on what is going on."

A man was allegedly caught using a listening device in his car outside auditions in Manchester.

He was seen lurking backstage on Wednesday and the Palace Theatre room was swept yesterday after crew reports of sound interference.

TV bosses believe there is a possibility that a freelance journalist could have planted the device to find out what was being said in the judges' room. (more) (more)

Princess Diana hired a private security firm to secretly sweep Kensington Palace for bugs

The newspaper explains it one way...
"Diana told 'without any doubt' that she was being bugged by a five-strong surveillance team - Surveillance expert detected a device behind her bedroom wall

...She was so concerned about eavesdropping that she called in a four-man team to carry out a search for listening devices. (from Moran Security Support Services Ltd)...

Princess Diana's bedroom was being bugged two years after her split from Prince Charles, her inquest sensationally heard yesterday.

An electronic surveillance expert made the astonishing discovery after Diana asked him to check her Kensington Palace apartment for listening devices because she feared 'dark forces' were snooping on her.

Former soldier Grahame Harding located a suspected bug behind a wall in her bedroom, adjacent to a room which had been used by Charles." (more)

Mr. Harding explains it this way... (in the same article)
"My equipment detected an electronic signal which indicated that a possible bugging device may have been present behind a wall in her bedroom. Princess Diana was present when I found this signal.

"As you walk into her bedroom, I believe there was another room off it where His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales had a room and it was on that wall."

He said was unable to get behind the wall to examine the device. But there was "no indication" that the fabric of the wall had been altered. He said he swept the room again later that day and the signal had gone.

"I could not give an explanation to the reading. It could have been innocent electronic equipment in another room. But the noise behind the wall was very similar to a transmitter device."

Japanese say, "Bugs Bite"

Japan - Major firms have started offering services to detect and remove electronic bugging devices in offices as spying has become a serious concern due to increased competition in business and among employees.

With information on new technology or personnel more sought after than ever, observers point out that many Japanese firms have not taken sufficient measures to protect against eavesdropping. The need for bug-busting services is expected to grow...

According to the NPO, about 370,000 bugs and spy cameras were sold in 2006, more than double the number in 1997...

Raisuke Miyawaki, former cabinet public relations secretary and an adviser to the Institute for International Policy Studies, warns that firms should not delay in taking defensive measures against bugging. (more) (Japanese butt-biting bug video sfw)

UK - Council Office Bug Discovered

UK - It's a case of 'Bah humbug' - with the emphasis on 'bug' - at the beleaguered offices of Craigavon Borough Council this Christmas.

The council has come under the spotlight again after a bugging device was found in the office of a senior member of staff.

The Dictophone-type device was removed by the Mayor, Robert Smith, who has said little more than the matter is 'being dealt with'.

The staff member involved has apologised, saying that his actions were connected to his ongoing dispute within the Civic Centre. (more)

Spybuster's Tip #106 - Spot Cisco Eavesdroppers

Someone eavesdropping on your Cisco VoIP phone using the previous attack?

Look for these warning signs...
• Speakerphone light is on.
• Display shows off-hook icon.
• Phone makes static noises.

Best practices for securely setting up your Cisco Unified IP Phones may be found here. ~Kevin

Alert - The $7.95 Wireless Wiretap

On sale NOW at over 30 Internet shops.

Features: (from web advertising)
• Bug is only the size of a quarter.
• Transmits both sides of a telephone conversation to any FM radio.
• No battery needed.
• Complete with PC Board and Instruction Book
• Do it yourself kit form.
• Makes a great educational project.

When was the last time you had your telephones checked?

Myth - "Eavesdropping Detection is expensive."

Today's article in Forbes Magazine If Security Is Expensive, Try Getting Hacked, by Andy Greenberg, is a great cautionary tale. Andy clearly shows why your IT department's security budget is a good investment in your company's bottom line.

A sister article entitled If Security Is Expensive, Try Getting Bugged is just as easy to document. Periodic sweeps for bugs and wiretaps (TSCM inspections) can be an even better investment in your company's bottom line. Fund both.

In a nutshell...
Intelligence collection is a leisurely process. Enemies quietly collect long before they use. Until they use what they have gathered no harm is