SpyCam Sunglasses

from the seller's web site...
"Sunglasses DVR Camera is the newest and most advanced spy camera with built in Video Recorder in the world. Unlike other device of this type, This sunglasses records everything you see and hear, without connecting to MP4 or other Recording source.

Cool hands free video recording any time any where. These quality Polarized lens sunglasses have a built-in 1.3 mega pixel self recording color camera and real time (30 fps) digital video recorder. Internal 2GB memory and li-polymer rechargeable battery records for 5 hours continuously.

Up to 2GB Micro SD card (not Included) offers even more recoding time and easy storage of Audio and video. Stereo recording insures great sound quality to go along with the action. Ideal for outdoor activities such as bike riding, sporting events, snow skiing, tennis, and other events and SURE for SPY and INVESTIGATION." (more)
Why do I mention it?
So you know what you are up against!

We think the Hamburglar is behind this one...

For the three weeks between July 25 and Aug. 14, 2008, kids can collect official Spy Gear gadgets with the purchase of a Happy Meal or Mighty Kids Meal at participating McDonald's restaurants.

Kids can embark on imaginative spy missions using six new Spy Gear toys offered exclusively at McDonald's: Secret Wrist Beam, Spy Guard Motion Alarm, Spy Disc Defender, Invisible Message Pen, Rear View Spy Scope and Mobile Message Bot.

The Spy Gear Happy Meal is timed with Wild Planet's 10th anniversary of making spy toys, and precedes the release of the company's first Spy Gear board games, Spy Trackdown and Spy Wire. (more)

"In becoming accustomed to such toys and the pleasures they bring, the seeds of an amoral and suspicious adulthood are unwittingly being cultivated." (more)

Whatta fun couple! "It's party time!" (fabadabaZap)

Lisa Cohen, 28, garnered media attention when she released tapes in March of her former fiance, Lee County Sheriff's Cpl. Michael DeTar, using a Taser on party guests.

Cohen pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges lessened from two felony charges against DeTar — eavesdropping and disrupting computer services for an authorized user. She pleaded guilty to stalking, making a false report and criminal mischief above $200.

Today...
...the Cape Coral woman who allegedly brought a gun into the Lee County Justice Center in March, pleaded no contest today to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a firearm in a restricted area. (more)
Extra Credit...
Tired of Tupperware?
Taser Parties - A Shocking Success (more)

SpyCam Story #452 - "What goes around...eh, Rod"

Alex Rodriguez's wife wants to know if he hired private detectives or had wiretaps installed to spy on her. Cynthia Rodriguez's lawyers demanded any surveillance information as part of a records request in the Miami divorce case.

The document asks for any tape recordings, photographs, reports from investigators or results from possible wiretaps. (more)

According to British tabloid The Daily Star, an unidentified man has come forward claiming that he secretly filmed Yankee star Alex Rodriguez and Madonna having sex, by use of a hidden camera installed in one of Madonna’s Kabbalah practicing friends’ home, who is also friends with him. (more)

Dark Knight Wiretapping Thoughts from The Web

"Did anybody else notice the strong anti-wiretapping note that Morgan Freeman’s character hits in Dark Knight?" (more)

"Normally, I’m not prone to political analysis of blockbuster movies, but “The Dark Knight” seems to beg for it with its consistent references to current events, most spectacularly in the wiretapping sequence." (more)

"Like Bush, Batman has his own warantless wiretapping program, but Nolan is kind enough to assure us that, once his goal is accomplished, the superhero will blow it up. Is he suggesting that we can count on the Dark President to do the same?" (more)

"Batman is truly trying to do the right thing for the citizens of Gotham even if he steps into gray (or black) areas. Did the wiretapping save dozens of lives? Yes. Did he use it for any other purpose? No. Was it destroyed after it was used to capture the most dangerous criminal in Gotham? Yes." (more)

...and from The New York Times...
Lucius Fox — Batman’s aide de camp and weapon-supplier — makes a brief civil liberties speech, and says he will only go along with the spying project once. ... Societies get the heroes they deserve. Seven years after Sept. 11, the United States is caught up in a misbegotten war in Iraq, is granting immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the Bush administration illegally spy on the public, and is unwilling to unequivocally renounce torture as a tactic. (more)

Money Card Bugs

A UK crime survey shows credit and debit card fraud has reached a record high of £535 million...new trend was the use of bugging devices which are fitted near shop tills to record the information stored on the magnetic microchip. (more)

Kids Science Camp - Learning to Become a Detective

WA - A group of 75-kids, from kindergarten to fifth grade...learned how to become a detective. They built a spy kit, including a homemade listening device.

"It was pretty fun. We made spy ears, pens. We made everything a detective has and stuff," said Brian McMurray, camper. (more)
Note to Washington State University - Tri-Cities teachers... (oopsie)
It is illegal for private detectives, teachers and students to possess electronic eavesdropping devices. Besides, this is not what most detectives do, and parents may should object on moral grounds. The rest of the curriculum looks very worthwhile, however. No wonder all the classes are sold out!

"Bad artists copy. Good artists steal." ~ P.P.

Brazil - Police have arrested a suspect in the heist of two Pablo Picasso prints from a museum in Sao Paulo and recovered one of the works, police and a museum official said Saturday.

Inspector Cesar Carlos Dias said information obtained through wiretaps of gang members involved in unrelated robberies led police to Ueslei Barros, the suspect in the July robbery. (more)
Want your own Picasso?
Make it yourself.
Click here.

Quote of the Week

"No matter which side of the wiretapping issue you stand on it is clear that the only way to conquer terrorism is to address the hopelessness and hatred at the root of it."
From a statement is issued by Remo, Inc.,
Remo D. Belli, CEO and Founder (more)

Security Oddballs - Airplane Trap Door and More

Some security inventions are truly useful and will undoubtedly save lives, whereas others are so bizarre that one wonders how in the world they got patented. This list is about the latter...
Behold the Top 10 Strangest Anti-Terrorism Patents! (more)

The New Jersey Ninja
Officials in Barnegat briefly locked down five schools in the township Wednesday because... a librarian said a man dressed as a ninja, carrying a large sword, was running through the woods... the man (a camp counselor) wearing a karate gi, was carrying a plastic sword and was attending a party at a local middle school. (more)

"Don't have a karate gi?
How about a nice tie?"
The Walking Timebomb Tie
"This is our first in a series of 'Concealed Weapons' neckties. They are each double printed - a more subtle graphic is on the front only giving a slight clue to a more "loaded" graphic hidden on the back. The second image is concealed on the reverse until the wearer pulls it out for show and tell - or keeps it a secret to his/her self." (more)

George Carlin on Airport Security (Not safe for work.)

Unbreakable Fighting Umbrella Splits Watermelons, Defends Presidents
The entourage of the Philippine president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has an unusual secret weapon. Her security team defends the head of the government with umbrellas. Not ordinary umbrellas, but unbreakable fighting umbrellas. Watch the video to see the combat-brolly in action, and marvel as Thomas Kurz ("the world's foremost expert on flexibility training") viciously splits a watermelon in two. (more) (more)

The Ultimate in Secure Business Meetings

Historic caves
thwart all eavesdroppers!




About 1000 feet into the white-walled chalk caves is a 40-foot diameter meeting room. Notables who have held their secret meetings here included Benjamin Franklin, Sir Francis Dashwood and their celebrity friends from the 1700's.

They required privacy for their 'Hellfire Club' meetings (rumored to be orgies). These days, corporate privacy needs are based on risk more than risqué.

Located just outside of London, the caves are available for corporate functions and parties.
Capacity...
Receptions: 120 people
Buffet: 100 people
Dinner: 50 people

Whiterock Defence, an international provider of information security services located near The Hellfire Caves, can help you secure this facility for a most memorable meeting. Contact Crispin Sturrock at +44 (0) 1494 538 222, or via email contact@whiterockdefence.com for complete details.

This past week, I visited The Caves for the second time.
You won't be disappointed. ~ Kevin

Spybusters Shades - Poop on the Paparazzi

Proof of Concept. Very effective. Murray's Prediction: Look for some sharp sunglass manufacturer to put this into production.
"Spy", perhaps?!?!

Unified Communications - Beware the Dark Side

Unified Communications refers to an umbrella of technologies that are likely already familiar to corporate users: Instant messaging, that lets users chat with others in real-time using a simple client interface; presence, which allows users to see who is available on IM, but also what is active on the network; and unified messaging, the combination of e-mail, voice, and fax in a single in-box that offers users access at any time from any device.

The products come as hardware and software combinations, stand-alone software, software suites, or as a hosted service. When working together, these tools aim to simplify the lives of professionals... (more) (more)

However...
• UC is a bigger, juicer, easier target for spies and hackers than each system individually.
• Court-ordered electronic surveillance of UC systems is easier and more productive.
• UC system breakdowns / sabotage will mean more $$$ lost than with current devices.

Larry, The IT Guy (No... make that, Spy)

Security Directors, CEOs, Chief Legal Counsels:
Immediately after you read this, make sure you have a clear, concise written policy in place detailing allowable IT behavior.

One in three IT administrators say they or one of their colleagues have used top-level admin passwords to pry into confidential or sensitive information at their workplace, according to a survey by a password-management vendor.

Nearly half also confessed that they have poked around systems for information not relevant to their jobs.

"We asked these questions last year, too," said Adam Bosnian, vice president of product strategy and sales for Cyber-Ark, a Newton, Mass.-based maker of password file security management software. "And we got similar results. So on one hand, the results weren't surprising. What was surprising initially -- and this time around, too -- is that people admit to it." (more)

Remind Employees - "Don't sing!"

One in five U.S. workers regularly attends after-work drinks with co-workers, where the most common mishaps range from bad-mouthing another worker to kissing a colleague and drinking too much, according to a study... (survey conducted for CareerBuilder.com)

As to what happens when the after-work drinks flow... Five percent said they had shared a secret about the company, and 4 percent confessed to singing karaoke.

Overall, 21 percent of workers attend happy hours with co-workers and, of those, nearly a quarter go at least once a month. (more)

Smart Spy Cameras

UK - Intelligent CCTV cameras are being developed in Britain that not only see trouble but are able to hear it, scientists said.

The technology allows the sounds of breaking glass, someone shouting, or the noise of a crowd gathering to be 'learned' by artificial intelligence software in the cameras.

The technology could slash the speed with which crimes are caught on camera and responded to by police but will again raise a debate about the extent of "surveillance Britain" and the use of such technology.

The three-year project by the University of Portsmouth aims to adapt artificial intelligence software already being developed to identify visual patterns. (more)

'Get Smart' Reviews, Smart

"GET SMART" is a film mistaken about its own identity. As a reworking of one of the great 1960s TV comedies, you'd think being funny would be its main goal. But you would be wrong. Very, very wrong. Like its protagonist, in-over-his-head secret agent Maxwell Smart, "Get Smart" yearns to be something it's not. Unaccountably eager to walk in the footsteps of James Bond, "Get Smart" neglects the laughs and amps up the action, resulting in a not very funny comedy joined at the hip to a not very exciting spy movie. Talk about killing two birds with one stone. (more)
However, in the back of the DVD bin...
Peter Segal’s top five 'Get Smart' episodes
Would you believe we asked Peter Segal, the director of the spy comedy "Get Smart," starring Steve Carell as Agent 86 Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, to name his top 50 episodes of the classic TV series on which the film is based?
Would you believe we asked him his top 25?
How about his top 10?
All right, we settled for his top five. (more)
Get Smart - The Complete Original TV Series

'Bug'ged Car Phone? With Voice Male?

The Phone Car is a modified by a 1975 Volkswagen Beetle. Created by Howard Davis as a way to promote his telephone biz, Datel Communications. Check out the video of this phone car on the road. The horn, of course, rings. (more)
More Art Cars...

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...

"Gadzooks! My secret folder... bloody Spy Bar drinks."

UK - One of Britain's top intelligence officers spies left a dossier of secret files detailing the threat from al-Qaeda and the status of Iraqi security forces on a train, the British Government was forced to concede...

Marked "secret" and in a bright orange folder, the papers were left on a commuter train traveling between Surrey and Waterloo station, London. The al-Qaeda document, apparently commissioned jointly by the Foreign Office and Home Office, was classified "UK top secret" and was so sensitive that each page was numbered and marked: "For UK, US, Canadian and Australian eyes only."

...the file, handed to the BBC by a passenger... (more)

"And just how do you think we are going to pay for all these renovations?!?!"

When we last looked, the Spy Bar in Cleveland had closed its doors forever, and the Spy Bar in Chicago had closed its doors for renovations.
What's a spy to do?
Go to Stockholm???

Good news! Spy Bar (Chicago) re-opens this week after a $1mil disguise upgrade. But our spies tell us that the bigger news is the new truth serum, "1996 Dom Perignon Rosé ($$$).. hooked up with Vosges Haut-chocolat ($$$) which is behind the truffles being paired with the Champagne." (more)
"Miss. Moneypenny, an advance from petty cash, please."

Bugged? Check your breath. (Oddball Tip # 044)

Viral Marketing or Hogwash? You decide...
Listerine mouth wash is being touted as the latest weapon in the war to repel that most pesky of insects, the blood-sucking mosquito.

...there is a bumper crop of the varmints and the threat of West Nile is still strong, say local naturalist Terry Sprague and health officials...

People being bugged has led to Listerine, which some swear by and have used on his hikes, Sprague said, although where the idea of using mouth wash to repel mosquitoes came from is not clear.

"You spray it on your person," he said. "I am not sure what the active ingredient is."

However, Listerine does contain some eucalyptus, which is an evergreen tree, and the herb thyme, two proven mosquito repellers, Sprague said. (more)

DIY Spy Tip #090 - Free Background Check Aggregator

Snoopstation.com (currently in BETA) is a portal to free web-based public records checking sites in the U.S. - Cool! They are also the entry point to a fee-based investigative service for when public record checks are not enough ...or you don't have the time / patience to DIY.

"Are You Being...

Surveilled Served?"

UK - Customers in shopping centres are having their every move tracked by a new type of surveillance (Path Intelligence) that listens in on the whisperings of their mobile phones.

The technology can tell when people enter a shopping centre, what stores they visit, how long they remain there, and what route they take as they walked around.

The device cannot access personal details about a person’s identity or contacts, but privacy campaigners expressed concern about potential intrusion should the data fall into the wrong hands.

The surveillance mechanism works by monitoring the signals produced by mobile handsets and then locating the phone by triangulation – measuring the phone’s distance from three receivers. (more)

Reverse Phone Detective

"Find out the owner of any cell phone or unlisted number. Results include name, current address, carrier, and location details when available. Your search is 100% confidential."

But, guess what!

A 'Full Report' will cost you $14.95
A One-year Membership will cost you $39.95

Want to make sure no one can look up your number?
Want to opt out?
You guessed it!
That will cost you $4.95 :)
(more)

Victorian SpyCam Project - Finally Completed!

Preceded by a great rumbling, the giant auger burst the bounds of earth – New York and London were connected, as planned!

Hardly anyone knows that a secret tunnel runs deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean.

This past week, more than a century after it was begun, the tunnel has finally been completed.

An extraordinary optical device called a Telectroscope has been installed at both ends which miraculously allows people to see right through the Earth from London to New York
and vice versa.

"...the Trans-Atlantic Telectroscope...started out as a dream project of the eccentric Victorian engineering entrepreneur Alexander Stanhope St. George.

Some called it a "folly." Others said, "shear madness." Even the greatest visionary of the age, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, blustered, "But, I was just kidding!"

The nay-sayers were correct. The spycam tunnel – a camera just a little too obscura – failed.

But now, after all these years, the tunnel has been fitted with a giant "electronic telescope" and state-of-the-art technology, by his great-grandson!

The present-day Mr. St. George, resurrected the project and developed the Telectroscope after discovering his great-grandfather's dusty notes and diaries in an attic.

The tunnel entrances were reopened beside Tower Bridge in London and Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

Needless to say, many are excited at the prospects of "seeing" friends and relatives across the Atlantic. Imagine standing 3,460 miles away from your loved one and peep into the telescope to see them."

Humbug or Amazing?
You decide...
On view until June 15th.

UPDATE...
06/01/08 0253HRS EST COUNTERMEASURE'S COMPOUND SURVEILLANCE CHOPPER PHOTO - ANALYSIS: USA SIGHTING CONFIRMED

DOUBLE UPDATE...
60/01/08 0023HRS GMT WHITEROCK DEFENCE SURVEILLANCE PHOTO - ANALYSIS: UK SIGHTING CONFIRMED

Before you upgrade your iPhone next month...

Scary stuff in the news...
"iPhones sold as refurbished units may contain personal data from their previous owners that, with a little leg-work, is readily accessible by new owners. These data include email, images, contacts and more. ...performing a “Restore” operation on the iPhone does not delete personal data from the device. Such information remains intact on the device after a restore, making the process unsuitable as a preparatory measure for iPhone resale or service. Apparently, Apple’s refurbishing procedure also does not delete the personal data.

There currently exits no viable, publicly available method for erasing personal data on the iPhone. Erasing your content and settings has no effect on whether a subsequent owner can recover personal information." (source)

Kevin's Reality Check
1. Go into Settings > General > Reset
2. Hit "Erase all Content and Settings."

This will keep your info from most people, but not forensic types with toolkits. They can access what doesn't get erased - the application screenshots. Screenshots are taken every time the Home button is pressed. Reason: to generate the zoom effect for the next time an application is accessed.

Still paranoid?
• Make new screenshots after you erase all content.
Still paranoid?
• Search the net for info on reformatting the phone's NAND.

Spook Vault Stuff - Data Loss via Optoanalysis

Researchers have developed two new techniques for stealing data from a computer that use some unlikely hacking tools: cameras and telescopes.

In two separate pieces of research, teams at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and at Saarland University in Saarbrucken, Germany, describe attacks that seem ripped from the pages of spy novels. In Saarbrucken, the researchers have read computer screens from their tiny reflections on everyday objects such as glasses, teapots, and even the human eye. The UC team has worked out a way to analyze a video of hands typing on a keyboard in order to guess what was being written. (more)

Wannaknowhowitisidone?
Reflections.
Observations.

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