Amateur Hour: Spying Politicos Leave Their Video Behind

MI - For the third time this year, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer is accusing Republicans of attempting to spy on his campaign.

But this time, the suspected political subterfuge involves a high-tech hidden camera and a video memory disk that fell into the hands of Democrats.


And Republicans are defending their campaign snooping.

Schauer’s campaign and Oakland County Democrats recently came into possession of a tiny disk containing raw video footage of a young woman and man who secretly recorded a Schauer campaign fundraiser June 22 at a private home in Bloomfield Hills.

A spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party acknowledged Wednesday the state party sent staffers... to videotape Schauer and his running mate... (more)

Outrageous Phone Tap of the Month

via Techlicious...
If you’ve ever tried to cut the cable TV cord, then you know how difficult an experience it can be. Your cable company has customer retention specialists trained to do whatever it takes to keep you as a customer. Usually, this just means offering leaving customers better prices to entice them to stay. Usually.

Last week, AOL executive Ryan Block and his wife Veronica Belmont called up Comcast to close their account and switch to another cable provider. Their customer service rep would have none of it, however. After 10 minutes of unsuccessfully trying to end service via the worst customer service agent in the world, Belmont handed the phone over to Block, who had the foresight to start recording the conversation. (more)

REI - Business Intelligence and Security Conference - Sept. 9-11

REI is hosting a 3-day conference on securing corporate and private sector assets. September 9 through 11 at the REI Training Center, Algood, TN. 

Too often, security is primarily focused on physical protection of property and personnel. However, the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) states that 70% of a corporations’ value is from intangible assets and its proprietary business operations.

REI has assembled a group of leading experts to cover several aspects of corporate and private sector technical security in today’s environment. (flyer and registration form)

I have attended many of REI's training sessions and related conferences. All have been very worthwhile. Guaranteed, you will learn things not taught elsewhere. This seminar seems especially worthwhile for security directors and security consultants. PS - They always provide great food.

See Threat, Ignore Security - IT = Idocracy Time

In a study, most IT execs at critical infrastructure companies revealed that their organization was compromised in the last year, but only 28 percent of them said that security was a top priority across their enterprise.

Nearly 600 global IT and IT security execs across 13 countries were polled for the “Critical Infrastructure: Security Preparedness and Maturity” report, released Thursday. And of those respondents, 67 percent said they had dealt with at least one security compromise, leading to the loss of confidential information or disruption to operations, at their companies.  
In an interview with SCMagazine.com, Dave Frymier, CISO of Unisys, found it concerning that so many respondents seemed to be knowledgeable of threats to their organizations, but that this awareness hadn't translated to a heightened focus on security. (more) (10 things "Idocracy" predicted that came true.)

Time to yank some of that IT "security" budget and put it back where it was doing some good - traditional information and intellectual property security measures. Call us.

Counterespionage Trick #003: Germany Blows the Dust off of Old Typewriters

Germany is considering going back to the trusty old typewriter to counter alleged spying by the U.S. government.

In an interview with the TV service Morgenmagazin, a politician in charge of a parliamentary inquiry into U.S. spying in Germany said that the government is seriously considering a low-tech solution to the ongoing espionage problem, according to the Guardian.

Asked "Are you considering typewriters?" by the interviewer, Christian Democrat politician Patrick Sensburg said: "As a matter of fact, we have – and not electronic models either." "Really?" the surprised interviewer checked. "Yes, no joke," Sensburg responded. (more)

Police Won't Rule Out Reports Coffin was Bugged in Bid to Catch Killer

Australia - The former head of the Queensland Police homicide squad is not ruling out reports that Allison Baden-Clay's coffin or flowers were bugged at her funeral in a bid to catch her killer. 

Former real estate agent Gerard Baden-Clay was yesterday sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering his wife in 2012.

He reported her missing 10 days before her body was found on the bank of Kholo Creek in Brisbane.

Detective Superintendent Brian Wilkins, who headed the investigation into Allison's murder, told 612 ABC Brisbane's Steve Austin that police were immediately suspicious of Baden-Clay because his face was scratched and "things did not add up".

He also said "wide and varied strategies" were used to gather evidence. (more)

Tap Stars of Las Vegas - "...we're damn good!"

"Let me call in a buddy of mine. He's an expert on wiretaps."

Las Vegas authorities use electronic wiretaps more than almost every other police agency in the country, according to a new report. Clark County judges approved 187 wiretaps on phones in 2013, and police executed 178, according to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts. 

All of the wiretaps were for drug investigations. That’s a lot of wiretapping, especially when you factor the county’s population, compared to metro areas at least four times larger. 

Los Angeles County judges approved 148 wiretaps last year. New York City’s special narcotics bureau had 138 wiretaps approved. 

Pew Research Center analyzed the data and determined — based on population — that the Silver State leads the nation with 38 phone wiretaps per 500,000 people in 2013. 

No other state saw more than 12 wiretaps per 500,000 people, according to the nonpartisan think tank. So why are Nevada’s numbers so high... (more)

Privacy Tip: How To Remove Your House From Google Street View

Stars like Paul McCartney and Jimmy Page are asking Google to blur out their houses on Street View, but that's not a feature exclusive to celebrities. You can do it, too. Celebrities -- they're just like us!

There's not a whole lot of privacy to go around nowadays, so it's a good idea to take advantage of any opportunity for anonymity you can find. It's actually pretty easy to ask Google to blur out your house from Street View.  

Here's how: Find your house on Street View by searching for your address on Google Maps... (more)

How bad is computer security in the business world?

Complete disarray, if you believe a friend of mine who's worked in the industry forever. Behold his hair-raising tales... (more)

Australia - Stronger privacy laws needed to protect public from drones

A federal parliamentary committee is recommending stronger privacy laws to protect the public from invasive technologies like drones.

The Government-dominated committee's report is titled Eyes in the Sky, but its recommendations go beyond the use of remote piloted aircraft, more commonly known as drones.

The House of Representatives' standing committee on social policy and legal affairs calls on the Abbott Government to look at creating a tort of privacy.

But Attorney-General George Brandis has previously rejected such a move as an intrusion on personal freedoms. (more)

The fight drones on. Personal Privacy v. Personal Freedoms.

PI High Flyers are not Keeping a Low Profile - What could possibly go wrong?

(Private) Investigators are taking drones to new heights — using the remote-controlled aircraft to catch New Yorkers cheating on spouses, lying about disabilities and endangering their kids.

“People want you to believe there’s all this negativity associated with drones . . . but they could be a very helpful tool,” said Olwyn Triggs, a gumshoe for 23 years and president of Professional Investigators Network Inc. in Glen Cove, LI.

Triggs recently used a drone to find an upstate man suspected of insurance fraud. Signs on his rural property warned that trespassers would be shot, so she sent in her 2-pound, foot-long Phantom 2 Vision quadcopter, which costs about $1,000...

"And if they're not disabled..."

Matthew Seifer recently pretended to test-fly a drone in Central Park. He was actually recording a husband fooling around with a female coworker from 100 feet away.

“Sometimes the best thing is to be right there in plain sight,” said Seifer, president of Long Island-based Executive Investigations...

“We raised the drone above the restaurant, [and] he was engaged in a sexual act in the front seat of his car,” the investigator said. “[Drones] get us those types of money shots.” (more)

...an FAA crackdown, loss of PI license, lawsuit defense expenses, etc.

Keylogger Malware Found in Hotel Business Centers

The NCCIC and the USSS North Texas Electronic Crimes Task Force recommend that hotel managers, owners and other hospitality industry stakeholders consider the following.
 
Contacting your network administrator to request that:
• A banner be displayed to users when logging onto business center computers; this should include warnings that highlight the risks of using publicly accessible machines.
• Individual unique log on credentials be generated for access to both business center computers and Wi-Fi; this may deter individuals who are not guests from logging in.
• All accounts be given least privilege accesses; for example, guests logging in with the supplied user ID and password should not be able to download, install, uninstall, or save files whereas one authorized employee may have a need for those privileges to carry out daily duties. 
• Virtual local area networks (VLANs) are made available for all users, which will inhibit attackers from using their computer to imitate the hotel’s main server.
• All new devices are scanned (e.g. USB drives and other removable media) before they are attached to the computer and network; disabling the Auto run feature will also prevent removable media from opening automatically.
• Predetermined time limits are established for active and non-active guest and employee sessions.
• Safe defaults are selected in the browsers available on the business center desktops (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox). Options such as private browsing and ‘do not track’ for passwords and websites are some of the many available.

Any questions regarding this advisory can be directed to the United States Secret Service North Texas Electronic Crimes Task Force at (972) 868-3200

Correctional Facility Bugs Employees, Claims it was a Test (cue klaxon)

Correctional staff are reeling and demanding answers after a microphone was found inside of a smoke detector in a staff lounge area.

CBC News reports that the acting director of Saskatoon Correctional Center claimed the listening device was a prototype for a new intercom system intended to keep the facility safer.

If it were actually used, it would be placed in inmate living areas. The testing, however, had to be done elsewhere.

“It was not installed as a means in which to covertly listen to staff conversations. For anyone to covertly listen or intercept private communications would require legal authority to do so,” Jock McDowell said.

The device was designed to look like a smoke detector to discourage inmates to tamper with it.

The union says this has further strained staff-management relations. (more) (RIP Dick Jones) (sing-a-long)

Business Espionage: White Pigment Spy Sentenced by Judge White

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a California chemical engineer to 15 years in prison and fined him $28.3 million for a rare economic-espionage conviction for selling China a secret recipe to a widely used white pigment.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland said Liew, a naturalized U.S. citizen, had "turned against his adopted country over greed." (more)

You Know You Want One...

Have something small — cash, microfilm, an SD card loaded with private videos — that you want kept safe and out-of-sight? 

Hide it in plain view with the Spy Bolt. Based on Soviet KGB hollow bolts, this handy gadget features a secret storage compartment that's nearly half and inch in diameter and almost three inches long, offering plenty of room for covert communications. And should the bolt find its way outside, you rest assured that the contents are safe, thanks to an O-ring seal around the top. (more)