DIY Spy Tip #089 - "...with 'friends' like you..."

If you are still relying on Google to snoop on your friends, you are behind the curve.

Armed with new and established Web sites, people are uncovering surprising details about colleagues, lovers and strangers that often don't turn up in a simple Internet search. Though none of these sites can reveal anything that isn't already available publicly, they can make it much easier to find. And most of them are free.

Zaba Inc.'s ZabaSearch.com turns up public records such as criminal history and birthdates. Spock Networks Inc.'s Spock.com and Wink Technologies Inc.'s Wink.com are "people-search engines" that specialize in digging up personal pages, such as social-networking profiles, buried deep in the Web. Spokeo.com is a search site operated by Spokeo Inc., a startup that lets users see what their friends are doing on other Web sites. Zillow Inc.'s Zillow.com estimates the value of people's homes, while the Huffington Post's Fundrace feature tracks their campaign donations. Jigsaw Data Corp.'s Jigsaw.com, meanwhile, lets people share details with each other from business cards they've collected -- a sort of gray market for Rolodex data. (more)

Quote of the Day

"Anybody can be a spy now."
– Todd Myers, President, Computer Sights

As a private investigator, Jim Bender has tracked everything from straying spouses to strung-out trust-fund babies - sometimes following them for days at a time.

But thanks to an innovative GPS device the size of a matchbox, he can now stake out a cheating husband without leaving his Fort Lauderdale office. Or, as he has done the last few weeks, help a major company figure out who is draining the diesel fuel from its big rigs.

Technological advances have revolutionized the surveillance business, making devices smaller, cheaper and more effective than ever. And not just for professional snoops like Bender, but for everyday people. (more)

"World's smallest" GSM bug

from the seller's web site...
The PLM-JNGSMTX08 Micro GSM Listening Device is the pinnacle of GSM listening technology packed into an incredibly small package just 43 x 34 x 17mm. Just insert any SIM card, call the number and you will hear exactly what is going on in your absence.

UK customers can track its location at any time via the internet making it a compact dual purpose surveillance device. Supplied with mains charger and protective carry case. This is the ultimate micro miniature listening device! (more)
Why do I mention it?
So you know what you are up against.

Who's Watching You at Work?

"Surveillance is now routine business practice among American employers, both large and small, as the cost and ease of introducing have dropped. You leave your rights at the office door every day you go to work. Most surveillance is conducted without any individualized suspicion, and personal as well as business-related information is routinely collected," explained Jeremy Gruber, legal director at the National Workrights Institute.

Two-thirds of the companies included in the "2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey" said they monitor Internet connections. (more)

CBS 46 Investigates: Cell Phone Spying

New cell phone “spyware” has made it easy for just about anyone to bug your phone and uncover details of your private life, communications experts say.

The “spyware," marketed to suspicious spouses, parents and employers, can turn just about any cell phone into a high-tech spying device.

A quick search on the Internet reveals dozens of "spy phone" programs ranging from $4 to $400. Some “spyware” works on Bluetooth technology, while others require a download onto a "smart" phone, like a Blackberry or Web-based device. CBS 46 Investigative Reporter Wendy Saltzman tested Flexispy, high-end software that experts say allows people to eavesdrop on calls, download e-mails, and even track a person's GPS location at the touch of a button. (more) (video) (similar subject, different source)

"36 billion channels; still nothing worth watching!"

New anti-terrorism rules 'allow US to spy on British motorists'

UK - Routine journeys carried out by millions of British motorists can be monitored by authorities in the United States and other enforcement agencies across the world under anti-terrorism rules introduced discreetly by Jacqui Smith.

The discovery that images of cars captured on road-side cameras, and "personal data" derived from them, including number plates, can be sent overseas, has angered MPs and civil liberties groups concerned by the increasing use of "Big Brother" surveillance tactics. (more)

Track My Treads - The TPMS Privacy Blowout

via hexview.com
New technologies always come with privacy issues.
Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) is one of those technologies.

What is TPMS?
TPMS lets on-board vehicle computers measure air pressure in the tires.

How does TPMS work?
In a typical TPMS, each wheel of the vehicle contains a device (TPMS sensor) - usually attached to the inflation valve - that measures air pressure and, optionally, temperature, vehicle state (moving or not), and the health of the sensor's battery. Each sensor transmits this information (either periodically or upon request) to the on-board computer in the vehicle. To differentiate between its own wheels and wheels of the vehicle in the next lane, each TPMS sensor contains a unique id.

TPMS transmits data that uniquely identifies your car!
Here is where privacy problems become obvious: Each wheel of the vehicle transmits a unique ID, easily readable using off-the-shelf receiver. Although the transmitter’s power is very low, the signal is still readable from a fair distance using a good directional antenna.

Why is this a problem?
If you live in the United States, chances are, you have heard about the “traffic-improving” ideas where transportation authorities looked for the possibility to track all vehicles in nearly real time in order to issue speeding tickets or impose mileage-adjusted taxes... Guess what? With minor limitations, TPMS can be used for the very purpose of tracking your vehicle in real time with no substantial investments! TPMS can also be used to measure the speed of your vehicle... (remember) car manufacturers know serial numbers of every part in your vehicle, including unique IDs of TPMS sensors.
("Your ticket is in the mail.")

Now, no article is complete unless it mentions terrorists...
It is now super easy to blow up someone's car. There's no need to fix the explosive to the vehicle. No more wires and buttons. No human factor. A high-school kid with passion for electronics can assemble a device that will trigger the detonator when the right vehicle passes by. (more)

"I said I was a Caloyer, not a Lawyer!"

Portugal - Madeleine McCann suspect Robert Murat has discovered tracking devices fitted to his cars.

British expat Murat, 33, found the GPS bug when he was fixing a fault on his VW Transporter. He checked girlfriend Michaela Walczuch's motor and found - another stuck to that.

Furious Murat believes Portuguese police bugged his cars in a desperate bid to nail him for the abduction of Madeleine, four, from Praia da Luz in May.

He is also probing whether Kate and Gerry McCann's private detective agency Metodo 3 could have done it on its own initiative.

His lawyer Francisco Pagarete said last night: "I'm not yet sure what kind of crime we're dealing with here." (more)

Cell Phone Spying Victim? Tell Your Story.

Have you ever been a victim of cell phone spying?

If your significant other or family member has ever plotted to listen in on your calls, even check your records or download spying software on your phone, we want to hear from you.

GMA is looking for guests who can talk about their experience with cell phone spying. Fill out the info below and you might just end up on GMA. (more)

Security and Spying With Nanotechnology as Tiny Spy Dust Chips Track Your Movements

Nox Defense has released an invisible perimeter defense technology, which combines high-resolution video pictures and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, sometimes referred to as "spy chips", to track assets and people in real time. The system allows security officers to see a theft or intrusion as it happens, and track a stolen object even if concealed inside a briefcase, under a jacket, or stuffed inside a sock. The FBI is among early adopters of the Nox Intelligent Perimeter Defense system, though has not released details how it will use the system. (more)

What in the World???

Every minute disaster strikes somewhere in the world.
These sites keep track of it all...
GlobalIncidentMap.com
Havari Information Service - AlertMap
Incident1.com
USDA Active Fire Map
Illegal Alien Activity Tracking System
PetFlight Airport Incident Map
Real-Time Earthquate Map
World Disasters
Disaster Resource Network

Using Your Mobile to Spy on Your Spouse

ALK Technologies, a New Jersey-based company selling software that turns cell phones and PDAs into satellite tracking devices, asked men and women if, given the chance, they would like to use mobile phones to spy on their partner’s comings and goings 24/7. Two times as many women as men polled—some 63% vs. 29%—said they would like to track the movements of their mates. Interestingly, only 44% of women and 41% of men wanted the roles to be reversed and to be tracked by the people they are spying on.

The survey showed that the younger they are, the more jealous people tend to be: Some 56% of 18- to 29-year olds said they would seize the opportunity to snoop, compared to 45% of people aged 41 to 50. People older than that are either more secure or don’t care anymore. Only one-fifth of people 51 to 60 wanted to know where their mates were at every moment. (more)

2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey:

Over Half of All Employers Combined Fire Workers for E-Mail & Internet Abuse

From e-mail monitoring and Website blocking to phone tapping and GPS tracking, employers increasingly combine technology with policy to manage productivity and minimize litigation, security, and other risks. To motivate compliance with rules and policies, more than one fourth of employers have fired workers for misusing e-mail and nearly one third have fired employees for misusing the Internet, according to the 2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey from American Management Association (AMA) and The ePolicy Institute. (more)

Eavesdropping on private chats is... art!

Conversations from thousands of internet chatrooms, message boards and other public forums have been transformed into an electronic art piece.

Described as a unique portrait of the internet, the electronic art - called the Listening Post – forms a free exhibition at the Science Museum in London.

The piece samples text fragments of uncensored and unedited internet conversations over 231 small electronic screens standing approximately 4m high and 5m wide. The text is accompanied by computer-synthesized voices reading or singing the words that surge, flicker and disappear over the screens.

Listening Post is a collaboration by sound artist Ben Rubin and statistician and artist Mark Hansen, who wanted to address the question: "What would 100,000 people chatting online sound like?" (more)

FutureWatch - Pimping your ride with RFID

First Singapore, then Bermuda, then...?

Here what happened in Bermuda...
"The Bermuda Government is issuing vehicle owners with credit card sized stickers containing a RFID chip and it is expected that every vehicle in Bermuda will carry one within a year or two. The scheme is mandatory and a $10,000 penalty applies if owners remove the chips. RFID readers are being placed in telephone poles and buildings throughout Bermuda, which enable authorities to monitor the past and present location of vehicles and record the speed at which they are traveling. The information is being sent to high speed computers that calculate everything you could possibly imagine about a travellers journey, even the route taken." (more)

The handwriting is on your windshield.
Look for government to pimp your ride, next.
Hey, they even call it something benign and acceptable.
...like EZ-Pass, Ipass or UneedaPass.

72% of Scots against CCTV eavesdropping

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) launched its new CCTV code of practice at the Scottish Parliament today, and also released details of a survey of a thousand people in Scotland.

Seventy-two per cent of respondents to the survey were against CCTV cameras which record conversations. This supports an earlier survey in London and South East England which produced similar results (70% against). (more)

Countdown to Smackdown - US 193 (update)

A dead US spy satellite in a deteriorating orbit is expected to hit the Earth during the first week of March, said officials.

The destination of the hit is unknown. Officials familiar with the situation say about half of the 2,270 kilogram spacecraft will survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and scatter debris. Some of them will be potentially hazardous, over several hundred miles.

The officials (Micky, Mike, Davy and Peter) spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. (more) (sing-a-long)

They Spy Back on Spy Satellites

When the government announced last month that a top-secret spy satellite would, in the next few months, come falling out of the sky, American officials said there was little risk to people because satellites fall out of orbit fairly frequently and much of the planet is covered by oceans.

But they said precious little about the satellite itself. Such information came instead from Ted Molczan, a hobbyist who tracks satellites from his apartment balcony in Toronto, and fellow satellite spotters around the world. They have grudgingly become accustomed to being seen as “propeller-headed geeks” who “poke their finger in the eye” of the government’s satellite spymasters, Mr. Molczan said, taking no offense. “I have a sense of humor,” he said. (more) (SatSpies Home Page)

Researchers Develop 100% Accurate Electronic Face Recognition

Researchers claim they have perfected a system that uses computers to accurately identify images of people's faces, which could aid in the apprehension of criminals in public places such as airports that use surveillance cameras. (more)

Wal-Mart Spying: Good, Bad, Or Just The Wave Of The Future?

Wal-Mart is used to finding its name on the front page of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, but in March of 2007 it found itself making news under very different circumstances.

Wal-Mart officially apologized to the Times and retail reporter Michael Barbaro after a member of its internal security organization was found to have secretly taped conversations between Wal-Mart employees and the Times reporter. Not only did Wal-Mart apologize to the reporter, chief executive H. Lee Scott phoned the chief executive of The New York Times to personally offer an explanation and convey the information that the technician involved, who had 19-years with the company, as well as a supervisor, had been fired.

But the matter did not end there. Weeks later, the fired technician, Bruce Gabbard, went public, telling The Wall Street Journal he was part of a larger, sophisticated surveillance operation at Wal-Mart. Gabbard said the retailer employs a variety of means, including...

To be fair, Wal-Mart is not the only company involved in a spying controversy. Other high-profile corporate spying incidents have drawn public attention to the fact that companies are using an increasing array of methods to snoop on, or monitor as is the preferred term, the everyday activities of employees, suppliers and customers on their networks. (more)

Pocket Spy - GPS Tracker

(from the seller's website...)
The Smallest GPS Logger
The Super PocketTrack is an essential gadget that maps exactly where it has been by recording its own time, date, location, speed direction and altitude at preset levels.

Super PocketTrack will work anywhere on the planet. Using the latest in GPS mapping technologies from Google EarthTM, its exact location can be shown on satellite-based maps and 3D geographical terrain.

Designed with the surveillance professional in mind, the Super PocketTrack Personal GPS Tracking Device will allow you to provide eye popping reports for your client and save you time and money in the process. People are creatures of habit who rarely stray from their normal routine. If a wayward husband, wife, employee, or teenager is suspected of deceptive activity simply provide the Super PocketTrack to your client for them to plant in the suspect's vehicle and retrieve it later for you to download the results. (more)

Can't wait? Need real-time results?
Covert GPS Tracking
• Child Custody
• Teen Drivers
• Cheating Spouses
At only 2.5 x 1.7 x 1.1 inches, this Tiny GPS Tracking Device is fully self-contained and small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Place in packages, vehicles, or personnel. The miniature GPS Tracking Device sends detailed reports of routes traveled for quality control and security purposes. It can report with a variety of uses defined methods such as automatic sending of real time position data, on demand reporting, and "GeoFencing." These reports are delivered as SMS Text Messages over your local GSM Cellular Network. An internal rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery powers unit for 12-18 Hours. The External Battery Pack operates for 7-15 days depending on settings. (more)

Why do I mention these items?
So you know what you are up against.

Sky-high arsonist spycam a first

Australia - Sydney will be scanned by sky-high spy cameras to catch arsonists in the act in a world first surveillance operation.

As new statistics reveal that a juvenile is now being charged, cautioned or sent for youth conferencing every five days for lighting fires, The Daily Telegraph can reveal that a network of new generation spy cameras is being planned for Sydney to catch them in the act. (more)

Putin on the dog...

Russia - President Vladimir Putin is to spy on his dog — by kitting her out with a sat-nav collar.

The former KGB agent’s black Labrador Connie often goes missing in woods around his holiday home.

Putin wanted to know about the hi-tech collar when he spoke to Russia’s deputy premier Sergei Ivanov yesterday, just before the launch of a satellite navigation rocket.

Putin asked him in Moscow: “When can I get a device for my dog so she can’t go too far astray?”

Ivanov replied: “Collars will be in the shops from July 2008.” (more)

Police to spy on New Year's revelers

Australia - Victorian police [No, not the Bow Street Runners. Police from Victoria, a state in Southern Australia] will be using live camera footage of streets and roads across the state to spot trouble early and control unruly revelers this New Year's Eve.

The surveillance is part of a larger early warning system which may see police 'spying on' potential troublemakers from a state-wide network of cameras.

In the New Year's Eve trial, footage will be taken from cameras operated on city streets by local councils, as well as vision taken from major roads by Vic Roads's Traffic Management Centre. (more)

The same technique was used in New York City last night... and it worked. Helicopter and street cams did their part to assure a safe celebration. I was in Times Square last night and had the opportunity to see it, and hear it (via police scanner) in action. In addition to modern technology, departments like NYPD realized back in the 70's that future law enforcement would need to be cerebral and technical in addition to physical. The 70's education push has filled the ranks with some very smart people. As always, it was a pleasure to see NYPD at work. I wasn't there to see "The Ball" drop. Standing in "a pen" for six hours is not very cerebral. I was on Broadway in Times Square to see Les Paul; the 92 year old legend who made rock and roll possible.

FutureWatch - CCTV

In preparation for the Beijing Olympics and a series of other international events, American companies, such as Honeywell, General Electric, United Technologies and IBM, are helping the Chinese government design and install one of the most comprehensive high-tech public surveillance systems in the world. (more)

Geoslavery

Geoslavery is a new form of human bondage based on cellphone or GPS tracking. Four years ago in IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Pete Fisher and I [Jerome E. Dobson] defined geoslavery as "a practice in which one entity, the master, coercively or surreptitiously monitors and exerts control over the physical location of another individual, the slave." ...

This year in the Geographical Review, Pete and I warned that human tracking will become commonplace, mainly because of reduction in price. As recently as 10 years ago, the cost of round-the-clock surveillance was about $350,000 per watched person per year -- an exorbitant price tag justified only for high-value targets in matters of national security or corporate espionage. Now the cost is less than $500 per watched person per year. (more)

Alert - Analog Cellular - Discontinued

As of midnight on February 18, 2008, cellular telephone companies will not be required to provide analog service. While most wireless telephone users will not be affected by this transition (often called the “analog cellular sunset”), some users may be affected. In addition, the transition could affect some alarm systems and some users of OnStar in-vehicle communications service.

You will not be affected by the transition if you:
• use a digital handset; or
• subscribe to wireless service from Sprint/Nextel or T-Mobile.

You may be affected by the transition if you:
• use an analog-only handset (there are very few of these left in service); and
• receive service from a cellular telephone company, including AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Alltel, US Cellular, and Dobson (and other companies that market their services as “Cellular One”); or if you
• use service that may rely on analog cellular radio equipment, such as an alarm system with a wireless radio link or OnStar service in an older vehicle. (more)

Santa tracks naughty and nice kids with RFID

Santa has been spying on kids for centuries but now, his these days, his job is easier, thanks to modern technology.

“At Santa Claus Office in Finland, St. Nick’s elves give EPC Gen 2 tags to visiting boys and girls, who wear them so he knows who’s naughty or nice.”

EPC Gen 2 tags translates to RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification), aka spy tags. (more) (more)

Spy back on Santa. (more)

Surveillance Society: High-Tech Cameras Watch You

In the era of computer-controlled surveillance, your every move could be captured by cameras, whether you're shopping in the grocery store or driving on the freeway. Proponents say it will keep us safe, but at what cost? (more)

"How To Spy On People"

from Forbes Magazine...
...the most pervasive form of electronic surveillance nowadays comes from people you know--your boss, your business competitor, someone on a journalist’s beat, and even your spouse. ... (more) (In Pictures: How They're Watching You) (more)

From the 'esoteric but important' files...

New Details Support Tor Spying Theory

"You'll recall the story about the Swedish security researcher who stumbled upon unencrypted embassy e-mail traffic that was passing through five Tor exit nodes he set up. ...

TeamFurry researchers decided to examine the configuration of a few Tor exit nodes to see what they might be up to and found some interesting results...

Of course there's no telling who the exit node owners are (bored hackers, industrial spies or intelligence agencies) or what they're doing for sure, but as TeamFurry notes, the configurations sure look suspicious." (more)

Tor is digital 'Hide and Seek'.
Carter would have loved it.

Beware - More Mobile Phone Spyware

From the web site...
• "Read everything on their mobile phones."
• "Read their SMS, call logs, emails and track their locations."
• "Remote listening. Listen to the phone's surroundings."
• "BUG Meeting rooms and CHECK babysitters."
• "Protect Your Children"
• "Catch Cheating Spouses"

Your first reaction might be, "Wow, this is amazingly cool!"

But, think...
FlexiSPY and other spyphone software like Neo-Call are Internet-available products which can be installed by anyone. The target could easily be you... especially if your phone was given to you.

Employers can use it too. "How?!?!"

Those wonderful folks at FlexiSPY also make FLEXIAnalyzer Enterprise - "Log EVERYTHING that happens on your employees business phones. ...a unique analytical tool for mobile device deployments that offers intelligent knowledge based analysis, in real-time, of all corporate phone activity." In other words, your boss can, "Monitor SMS, MMS, Email and other phone events..."

But wait! (Here comes the cruelest Ginsu knife cut of all...) "If required FlexiANALYZER comes bundled with FlexiSYNC enabling secure archiving and retrieval of all corporate contact lists..." Keep your little black book off your corporate cell phone.

Enterprise Theft by Cell Phone

There are a growing number of instances in which an employee or visitor in a corporate facility, factory, research and development lab or business exposition has photographed sensitive information, prototype products or processes using a company or personal cellular phone and sent the data instantly elsewhere.

Such actions may be illegal; some are legal; and some corporations have instituted policies and prohibitions on cell phones. This article shows how a chief security officer, working with his or her counsel, can conduct an investigation of a suspected phone. ~ Editor (more)

Salient points...
1. Contact your corporate general counsel or in-house counsel.
2. Use the proper software tools. Device Seizure from Paraben, Secure View from Susteen and the Cell-Dek from Logic Cube are commonly used tools that have been accepted by the legal system.
3. Misuse of camera phones is being addressed by enterprises.
4. An enterprise may choose to just dismiss an employee caught spying... More often visitors, contractors and others may face federal charges. Economic Espionage (18 U.S.C. § 1831)
5. There are more instances of corporate or employee cellular phones lost or stolen. Technology exists to trace missing handsets: CellTrace

Bug Your Laptop - Get It Back

The Cautionary Tale of the Khaki Bandit...

"'The khaki bandit' posed as an office worker at several corporations and successfully stole over 130 laptops which he later sold on eBay.

The ease of theft from the corporate offices (including FedEx and Burger King) shows just how bad corporate security can be. In some cases, the career thief just walked into the office behind an employee with a security badge.

Two million laptops were stolen just in 2004, and of those 97 percent were never recovered. Ultimately it was the corporate headquarters of Outback Steakhouse who caught the thief with a bugged laptop that notified them when he re-connected it to the internet." (more) (more)

How the Khaki Bandit (and others) do it...
• Choose targets with care. He went to neighborhoods, cities or states where he was not recognized. He sought large corporate offices to blend in with their large staffs and to find lots of laptops. When possible, he scheduled multiple burglaries for a single building that housing more than one company.

• Know the victims. He observed his targets in advance and paid attention to how employees dressed, whether they needed magnetic passes to enter and move about the building, and what time most of them left for the day.

• Time the arrival. He entered a business on the heels of an employee who could hold open a security door. He often arrived at about 4 p.m., a busy time of day that let him blend with the staff and exploit a time period when receptionists and assistants left for the day, but beefed-up nighttime security measures had not kicked in. He acted like he belonged.

• Make the move. When the office emptied, he went looking for laptops room by room. He kept an eye out for magnetic access cards, too. He had an alibi in case he was confronted. When done, he put the laptops in his shoulder bags - he would carry one into the building with a second bag inside it - and go.

• Move the product. He drove or mailed laptops back to his temporary home. He prepared them for sale by erasing the prior owner's data and installing or updating critical software.

Even folks from the Outback bug their laptops.
You should, too.
Resources...
XTool Mobile Security