SpyCam Story #479 - The Cost of Star Gazing

Malaysia - The man who trespassed and installed a spy camera in model Nasha Aziz’s rented apartment six years ago will spend six months in Kajang Prison after he failed in his appeal to quash his conviction.

Supervisor cum maintenance manager Ahmad Bakhtiar Abdul Kayoom (pic), 31, was found guilty of two charges of trespassing into the apartment rented by Nasha, whose real name is Noraisha A. Aziz, and intruding upon her privacy by installing a closed-circuit camera between the month of April and July in 2002.

The camera was wired to a maintenance office by Ahmad Bakhtiar, whose father owned the entire apartment block. (more)

The Case of the 'Knotso' Safe House

UK - A handheld computer reportedly belonging to Britain's domestic spy agency (MI-5) has been stolen from a house in northern England.

Police in the city of Manchester confirmed in a statement that a house had been broken into over the weekend and that an encrypted handheld computer was stolen. It is believed the burglar entered the house through an open window.

Press Association said the house was being rented by the domestic spy service MI-5.

The intelligence services have been hit by a number of security breaches recently. (more)

Meanwhile over at MI-6...
...police are investigating the sale of a camera on eBay that is said to have contained MI-6 images of terror suspects. (more)

Don't laugh.
If it can happen at the MI's, it can easily happen at your company, and probably does. What are you doing about it? Need help? Call me.

SpyCam Story #478 - Wolf J. Flywheel II

Two former employees of a Neiman Marcus store in suburban Chicago who were fired for having sex at work say the department store's management illegally videotaped them.

Steven Chalem and Veronica Miranda filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, saying a manager used a hidden camera. The lawsuit says the security employees were fired last October for "engaging in sexual activity" twice at the Northbrook store. It alleges the manager shared the videotape with other people and posted it on the Web.

The plaintiffs want damages for violation of Illinois' eavesdropping statute, emotional distress and other complaints. (more) (similar story)

Spys Under Fire

Grenada's former spy chief, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Anthony De Gale has finally been questioned in connection with reports of missing files from the department. De Gale was questioned on Tuesday by members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at their location on Hillsborough Street, St. George's. The Spy Master was sent on his 120 days accumulated leave by newly installed Police Commissioner, James Clarkson after it was discovered that at the files at Special Branch were destroyed immediately after the July 8 General Elections which brought the then opposition National Democratic Congress of Tillman Thomas to power. (more)

Former India coach Greg Chappell on Saturday laughed off speculation that he was passing on secret information about the Indian team to Australia. Chappell, who quit as India coach last year after the team's first-round exit at the World Cup, is now touring with the Australian team as their assistant coach. (more)

And... they fire back!
A former MI5 chief, Dame Stella Rimington, has criticised the government's plans to extend the period under which suspects can be held without charge.

In comments cited by the Guardian newspaper, the ex-intelligence supremo said the 42-day detention plans were excessive.

Dame Rimington was speaking at the Crime Scene festival where she was launching her espionage thriller, Dead Line. (more)

Bonus points:
Guess who is who.
--------------------------------
Update - The winner is my very knowledgeable conterespionage colleague from Australia, who writes...
"Dame Stella Rimington was the former head of the domestic counter intelligence agency 'The Security Service' (aka MI5) whereas Dame Judy Dench plays the role of M (head of the Foreign Intelligence Service 'The Secret Service' aka MI6) in the James Bond Series.
So they don't represent the same agency... small point I know :)"

And I thought the casting department was being clever. Never underestimate the vast knowledge of the Security Scrapbook readership!

Have a spy question? Send it in. If I don't know the answer, I am sure one of our readers knows.

Tracking a Corporate Spy

May 1988: On behalf of the U.S. Surgical Corp., Mary McFate begins monitoring an animal rights group protesting the company's use of dogs in surgical training at its Connecticut headquarters. As an undercover agent, McFate meets activist Fran Trutt at a rally and records her making threats to kill company president Leon C. Hirsch. McFate reports the threat to Hirsch and begins extensively monitoring Trutt.
From here the story gets weirder... (more)

August 2008: After reports of connections to the NRA, gun safety advocates try contacting McFate. Unable to do so, they expel her.

Put us on our team before you corporation has to deal with espionage issues like these.

Low-Tek, Bones

OH - A Strongsville chiropractor was convicted Friday of spying on female patients as they undressed in his offices.

James Starek, 38, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of voyeurism and obstruction of justice. Berea Municipal Judge Mark Comstock found him guilty. A sentencing date was not immediately set.

Mary Ann Suchan said she quit working for Starek after her daughter Stephanie raised concerns about unusual behavior by the doctor and a suspicious mirror in a room where she undressed.

Stephanie Suchan said she suspected the mirror was actually two-sided. Her mother later removed the roughly 8-by-10 mirror while Starek was away and found a large hole in the wall, she said. The women took photos of the hole and shared them with Strongsville police and reporters. (more)

Estonia Catches Its First Spy!

Estonian police have arrested high-ranking member of the Defense Ministry Herman Simm on accusations of espionage. His wife Heete Simm, a police lawyer, faces similarly charges. Estonian authorities have not named the country the couple were providing information to, but Estonian media and local experts claim it was Russia. (more)

SpyCam Story #472 - Adult Swim

Lorrie John Trites is wanted for allegedly making video and voice recordings of several young women as they changed their clothing in the ladies locker room of the aquatic center of a college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. These recordings were made without the knowledge of the female victims. This occurred between December of 1997 and February of 1998, while Trites was the head swimming coach at the college. Trites was charged with six counts of violating the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act in a local arrest warrant issued on March 10, 1998.
Date of Birth Used: November 19, 1961 Hair: Brown
Place of Birth: New Mexico Eyes: Brown
Height: 6'7" Sex: Male
Weight: 250 to 290 pounds Race: White
NCIC: W150879142 Nationality: American
Occupation: Former swimming coach
Scars and Marks: None known
Remarks: Trites has ties to New Mexico, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, Canada, Trinidad, and the Bahamas. He may have facial hair. Trites is an avid swimmer and may be involved in some way with the swimming community.
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST AMERICAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE. (more)

SpyCam Story #470 - Wrong Way Rubbed

TX - Police have arrested an Austin massage therapist accused of improper photography. Austin police investigators have confiscated a computer that belonged to Jason Charles Thompson, 34, that contains 120 files of his clients, and police say they may contain pictures or video of women getting dressed and undressed before and after massages.

"Apparently his room at the spa had towels and candles and a couple of cabinets. He had some personal items, so it would be easy enough to hide a video machine, a video camera," said Stephen Andreini, APD detective. (more) (video)

Maybe it was only "methodical and thorough"

Lidl (a German supermarket chain) has been fined about 1.5m Euros ($2,192,876.00) for spying on its employees, according to Guenter Schedler, the data protection commissioner in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Earlier reports had mentioned unconfirmed figures of a million-euro fine. Lidl said it "accepted" the fines, but denied the existence of any "systematic and comprehensive" company policy to spy on its staff. (more)

SpyCam Story #467 - Hong Kong "Wrong"

A Hong Kong primary schoolteacher was arrested after spy cameras were found in a girls changing room, a newspaper reported Saturday. Pinhole cameras were put in a room where girls changed for dance classes at a primary school in the city's Mongkok district, the South China Morning Post said.

A 32-year-old teacher who helped teach dance was arrested in connection with the incident and has been sacked by the school. Police have released him on bail and have not yet charged him.

The school's principal told the newspaper that the teacher said he wanted to film dancing for future use in lessons but added, "Personally, I found the explanation very unconvincing." (more)

OMG!

Scotland - The government were yesterday urged to hand over intelligence tapes of calls made by the Omagh bombers.

Relatives have been horrified at claims the atrocity may have been stopped by security staff, who were eavesdropping.

A total of 29 people, plus two unborn babies, were killed in the town centre blast in 1998. (more)

Terry and the Pirates (update)

CA - With costs related to a rogue network administrator's hijacking of the city's network now estimated at $1 million, city officials say they are searching for a mysterious networking device hidden somewhere on the network.

The device, referred to as a "terminal server" in court documents, appears to be a router that was installed to provide remote access to the city's Fiber WAN network, which connects municipal computer and telecommunication systems throughout the city. City officials haven't been able to log in to the device, however, because they do not have the username and password. In fact, the city's Department of Telecommunications and Information Services (DTIS) isn't even certain where the device is located, court filings state.

The router was discovered on Aug. 28. When investigators attempted to log in to the device, they were greeted with what appears to be a router login prompt and a warning message saying "This system is the personal property of Terry S. Childs," according to a screenshot of the prompt filed by the prosecution. (more) (history)

16 Extra Eyes in the Florida Eye Institute (update)

FL - Florida Eye Institute founder Dr. Paul Minotty says he had a security system installed in the three-story building because he believed there was a conspiracy against him, threatening his well-being.

Minotty told jurors on Tuesday he wanted protection fearing that he was going to set up for an arrest for drunken driving following a Christmas party in 2007.

He also told jurors he heard a clinic employee bought a 50-caliber military rifle.

Minotty is on trial in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought by three of the institute's six doctor-owners. The three contend Minotty financially mismanaged the firm, over their objections, and allegedly resorted to having electronic surveillance equipment secretly installed in their private offices in violation of state law. (more) (history)

The Second Cold War and Corporate Security

from stratfor.com...
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, foreign corporations have been very busy in Russia as they scramble for market share, attempt to profit from Russia’s massive natural resources and seek to meet growing demand for consumer products. For these companies, growing Russian nationalism and tension with the West increases both the chance of regulatory and legal hassles and the possibility that Russian intelligence activity might be directed their way. In other words, as tensions rise, so could the risk for Western corporations.

Not all these problems are new. As a young KGB officer, Putin earned his living by stealing technology from the West. And he has since encouraged Russian intelligence agencies to expand their collection programs with the awareness that such information can assist the Russian economy and specifically the revival of the defense sector. While the Russians have an advanced weapons research and development infrastructure, they are very pragmatic. They do not see the need to spend the money to develop a technology from scratch when they can steal or buy it for a fraction of the cost and effort. This pragmatism was clearly demonstrated in their early nuclear weapons program...

This surveillance of Western businesses may apply to both corporate offices and employees’ residences. Businessmen may be physically surveilled and their residences subjected to technical surveillance and mail/garbage covers. Domestic workers may also be recruited in an effort to collect information on their employers. Known or suspected NOCs will be carefully watched and will likely even be overtly harassed. (more)

Industrial Espionage - Other Auto Parts

MI - A Kent County couple likely is headed to federal prison after they pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to steal trade secrets from auto parts supplier Metaldyne Corp. and sell the knowledge to Chinese competitors.

Anne Lockwood, 55, and her husband, Michael Haehnel, 53, were charged in 2006 with stealing Plymouth-based Metaldyne's technology for manufacturing connecting rods and other parts. (more)

Regular Counterespionage Audits Are Cheap Insurance, compared to this...

TX - Jim Damman thought somebody was looking over his shoulder for months. Little did he know that his office was routinely broken into and more than 150-million dollars worth of trade secrets were stolen without a visible trace according to a federal lawsuit. The President of Exel Transportation Services says his suspicion grew so strong that he took the unusual step of sweeping the company's Addison offices for electronic bugs.

Exel is not a business typically considered a target of corporate spying. It's a shipping broker. Inside its offices, logistic agents sit in front of computer terminals with telephones cradled to their ears. Hundreds of times a day, they match-up shippers to freight carriers and move loads of everything from potatoes to computer chips around the world...

Damman says a new start-up competitor in Plano named Total Transportation Services (TTS) stilled seemed to have an uncanny knack of taking away Exel's customers, "the competitor was like one step ahead of us but they could not have known we were going to see a certain person, they could not have known what we were going to talk about when we were going to see that person unless they were getting information somewhere. We knew something was wrong."

Two of the former Exel executives, Mike Musacchio and Roy Brown, are accused of installing a backdoor into Exel's computer system according to the lawsuit. An exhibit in the lawsuit features a series of email messages titled "You will enjoy this" that were exchanged between Musacchio and Brown last October. Musacchio who had left Exel a month earlier to set-up TTS asked Brown who was still working at Exel, "...how are we going to get into email after you leave?" Brown left Exel three days later for TTS after replying, "Not a problem. I have the back door password that only I know and no one else can change." Musaccho replied, "Beauty!"

The lawsuit alleges that the hackers brazenly created exact replicas of Exel's documents, such as contracts, budget templates, and spreadsheets, for use in connection with TTS's business. Damman says the looted information included a $300-thousand dollar marketing study, "It's scary...it's something we all have to watch out for in this electronic day and age that we are in." (more)

Counterespionage Audits are an important element of corporate security programs. If you don't conduct Counterespionage Audits, you need to. Please contact me for assistance.

...taps, you lose.

TX - The BexarMet Board of Directors voted Thursday evening to terminate the contract of its embattled general manager, Gil Olivares.

Olivares was suspended in August days after a Bexar County jury indicted him on charges of official oppression and illegal wiretapping, among other charges. (more)

Eavesdroppers Take Stock

NY - A federal judge on Friday denied a motion by a group of ex-securities brokers and former A.B. Watley Inc. executives to dismiss a criminal case against them in an alleged scheme to misuse brokerage firm "squawk" boxes.

Prosecutors have alleged that three ex-brokers placed open telephone lines next to the internal speaker systems at their companies so that Watley day traders could secretly eavesdrop on block orders by institutional clients. (more)

"...and my loaded gun trick is hysterical!!!"

TN - A state lawmaker said Thursday night he attached a digital recorder under an aide’s desk as “just a prank,” but no one’s laughing now with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation looking into the matter as a potentially serious case of bugging.

Rep. Jim Cobb, R-Spring City, said there was “no invasion of privacy done or intended” in the incident which involved his administrative aide, Paul Overhoiser.

The lawmaker, who represents Rhea County and part of Hamilton County, said he used Velcro to lash the recorder to the underside of the desk.

“It was where you could see it from the chair,” Rep. Cobb said in an interview. “I put it there and was going to come in and when Paul found it, he was going to jump up, run in and we were going to laugh about it. It was not hidden. It was not meant to do anything except be a joke.”

...Rep. Cobb, who recalled setting the device up on Tuesday, said he forgot about putting the recorder there until Thursday. (more)

Lawmaker? know better? aghhhh... (sing-a-long)

Update II - The Case of the Blue Mocking Bird

CA - The county has agreed to pay $660,000 to settle a federal civil lawsuit against Sheriff Pat Hedges in regards to an investigation of a secret recording of an October 2006 meeting.

The suit, filed by former Chief Deputy Gary Hoving in regards to the meeting between himself and Sgt. Jay Donovan, alleged Hedges and Undersheriff Steve Bolts had violated Hoving’s civil rights and liberties while illegally using taxpayers’ money to record the meeting. (more)

Why this is important to you in the corporate world...
Post facto discovery of electronic eavesdropping is expensive!

Costs include:
• the investigation,
• the lawyers fees,
• lost employee time,
• and this subsequent civil settlement

Proactive inspections for bugs, wiretaps, wi-fi system loopholes and other info-leak pressure points – cheap insurance.

SpyCam Story #465 - "OK, you help him."

Fury as sheriff spares toilet spycam lawyer from jail
Scotland - A pervert lawyer who filmed female colleagues on the loo was spared jail yesterday after a controversial sheriff branded his actions "clumsy". Peter Fitzpatrick used a video camera hidden in a pile of cardboard boxes to spy on the ladies toilet. But Stirling sheriff Margaret Gimblett told Fitzpatrick his offence sounded like "a cry for help".

The dad-of-two grinned as he was sentenced. His punishment provoked fury from Mid-Scotland & Fife Tory MSP Liz Smith.

Ms. Smith said: "This man has committed a reprehensible offence and the public will be astonished by the suggestion that his victims were somehow at fault for not being more aware of the circumstances around them.

"How is that an excuse for his actions?" (more)

...and reconnect with old ememies!

A social-networking site for the world of spying officially launches for the U.S. intelligence community this month.

...at the CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency, bosses are encouraging their staff members to use a new social-networking site designed for the super-secret world of spying.

"It's every bit Facebook and YouTube for spies, but it's much, much more," said Michael Wertheimer, assistant deputy director of national intelligence for analysis. (more)

Bugs and Spycams discovered in Guatemalan Presidential Office and Residence

President Álvaro Colom of Guatemala fired his security chief on Thursday after the discovery of seven unauthorized listening devices and video cameras in the presidential office and residence.

He said he did not know who was responsible for the breach of security, but added, "One of the possibilities is organized crime." He said "a lot of people" had access to the palace and his office.

The president said that the discovery of the microphones and cameras explain, to him, some strange experiences he's had recently. (more)

another version...
The head of presidential security in Guatemala resigned on Thursday after President Alvaro Colom said he found cameras and voice recorders hidden in his offices and home.

Colom said the devices could have been used for espionage but did not specify who he thought had planted them or why.

Colom, a social democrat who took office in January, said he suspected a plot when information from his private conversations appeared in newspapers. (more)

Managers "Disciplined" for Alleged Eavesdropping

WA - Bechtel National has taken disciplinary action against four managers at the Hanford vitrification plant for reportedly eavesdropping on a meeting between safety representatives and the Department of Energy.

An investigation was begun by Bechtel 12 days ago after an anonymous call was made to an employee concerns program...

During the meeting, one of the safety representatives' managers called a worker's cell phone to find out where he was. The worker's cell phone was inadvertently left on after the call was answered, said Bechtel spokesman Drew Slaton.

That manager and three others then listened to at least a portion of the conversation without the knowledge of the safety representatives or Olinger, according to Bechtel.

Bechtel declined to say what disciplinary action was taken because it was a personnel issue. Disciplinary actions varied for the different managers involved and none was fired... Bechtel also did not release the names or positions of the managers involved. (more)

Was not reporting the crime another protection afforded the managers?
Wash. Rev. Code § 9.73.030: All parties generally must consent to the interception or recording of any private communication, whether conducted by telephone, telegraph, radio or face-to-face, to comply with state law. Any violation of the statute is a misdemeanor. Wash. Rev. Code § 9.73.080. Civil liability is expressly authorized for actual damages, including mental pain and suffering, or $100 per day of violation — but no more than $1,000 total based on this daily calculation. Attorney fees and litigation costs also can be recovered. Wash. Rev. Code § 9.73.060.
Just asking.

"Left 2, right to 15... uh, no, maybe right 2, left 15..."

Former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales told investigators that he could not recall whether he took home notes regarding the government's most sensitive national security program and that he did not know they contained classified information, despite his own markings that they were "top secret -- eyes only," according to a Justice Department report released yesterday.

Gonzales improperly carried notes about the warrantless wiretapping program in an unlocked briefcase and failed to keep them in a safe at his Northern Virginia home three years ago because he "could not remember the combination," the department's inspector general reported.

A National Security Agency official who reviewed the notes said they contained references to operational aspects of the wiretapping initiative, including a top-secret code word for the program, information that had been "zealously protected" by the agency and was "not a close call" in terms of its sensitivity, the report said. (more)

Now, before you snicker...
How well are you safeguarding your company's top secret information?

UPDATE...
One answer I received came with this office photo. Apparently, others have experienced not being able to remember a safe combination.

The answer in this case was, not leaving the door open, but rather writing the combination on a post-it note!

In days gone by, we didn't have as many gadget operational directions to remember and remembering a safe combination was easy and important. Now, there are too many directions, passwords, etc. to remember, and all of them are important. Time for a better way. Send me your ideas, please."