FutureWatch - Robot Eavesdropping Microphone Smart Swarms

by Nick Bil

With the help of modern technology, muting distracting voices in video calls has become a simple process. With just a few clicks, you can silence unwanted background noise and side conversations, ensuring that the primary speaker's message remains clear and uninterrupted. This is largely possible due to the sophisticated audio processing algorithms and noise cancellation features built into video conferencing software...

One can take precautions to minimize background noise and encourage attendees to be considerate, but there is no easy technological solution to separate voices cleanly from a shared physical space. That may change in the near future, however, thanks to a swarm of robotic smart microphones that was recently developed by researchers at the University of Washington. The robots autonomously navigate around a room to distribute themselves optimally, then they run onboard deep learning algorithms to identify and track the position of each individual speaker.

The robots are powered by Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 microcontroller, with a Bluetooth Low Energy module added for wireless communication capabilities. By selecting a sufficiently powerful microcontroller, the algorithms can run on-device, sidestepping any privacy concerns associated with sending a stream of audio to a cloud service. A gyroscope and accelerometer provide odometry information, and a pair of micro motors provide for locomotion. A pair of microphones and a speaker are onboard, and the entire system is powered by a rechargeable LiPo battery.

Each of the circular, wheeled robots is about an inch across. After deployment from a charging station, they all travel in different directions, emitting high frequency sounds to communicate with one another and make sure they are spread out as far as possible from one another. These high-pitched chirps also keep the robots from falling off of tables or bumping into other obstacles.

By feeding audio information into a deep neural network, including the delay in time with which a particular voice arrives at microphones in different positions, the team found that it was possible to locate and track individual speakers in space. And the algorithm proved to be accurate enough to distinguish between speakers, even if they had similar sounding voices and were near to one another. Experiments showed that the present system was able to accurately distinguish between nearby individuals 90% of the time. Importantly, this was accomplished without prior information about the individuals, so no initial training session is required to calibrate the device...

And further down the road yet, they plan to explore incorporating noise-canceling technologies into the robots. That addition could allow them to mute noisy areas in physical locations, producing a sci-fi-like cone of silence. more

Time for an espionage sequel to the movie Runaway (1984)?

Weird Files: Somewhat Covert Microphone is a Blast & Bugged Bugs

The GREEN12 is a cardioid directional, small diaphragm electret condenser microphone that is a great choice for users that are looking for a slim profile, high-quality microphone which is perfect for most professional, semi-professional, and home-recording applications. 

Its cardioid capsule and machined vents allow for high off-axis rejection and a focused recording, great for stringed acoustic instruments. 

The GREEN12 is handmade from an actual discharged 12Ga shell. more

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The first Asian giant hornet nest of 2021 was found Thursday morning, Aug. 19, in a rural area east of Blaine, about one-quarter mile from where a resident reported a sighting of a live Asian giant hornet on Wednesday, Aug. 11.

The state agriculture staff netted, tagged with a tracker and released three of hornets Aug. 11, to Tuesday, Aug. 17, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Agriculture. One of the so-called “murder hornets” slipped out of the tracking device, another hornet was never located and one eventually led the team to the nest. more

Read more here: https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article253621598.html#storylink=cp

From the Man Who Brought Us Every Kid's First Spy Toy - Ron Popel (RIP)

How many Mr. Microphones wound up behind the couch when the younger brother's older sister brought her date home?

Spy Tech - Molar Mic - No more finger to ear and mouth to sleeve.

Next time you pass someone on the street who appears to be talking to themselves, they may literally have voices inside their head…and be a highly trained soldier on a dangerous mission. 

The Pentagon has inked a roughly $10 million contract with a California company to provide secure communication gear that’s essentially invisible.

Dubbed the Molar Mic, it’s a small device that clips to your back teeth. The device is both microphone and “speaker,” allowing the wearer to transmit without any conspicuous external microphone and receive with no visible headset or earpiece. 

Incoming sound is transmitted through the wearer’s bone matter in the jaw and skull to the auditory nerves; outgoing sound is sent to a radio transmitter on the neck, and sent to another radio unit that can be concealed on the operator. From there, the signal can be sent anywhere. more

Open Mike Strikes Out

As the New York Mets and Miami Marlins mulled over whether to play a game on Thursday night, a man who appeared to be Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen unknowingly let the public know of a plan from Major League Baseball.

Cameras were rolling on the Mets' page of the MLB app Thursday afternoon and picked up a candid conversation from someone believed to be the Mets general manager.

"Baseball is trying to come up with a solution," the man says. "You know what would be super powerful?"

The man then pauses to tell the two people he's speaking to that this doesn't leave the room, unaware that the camera is rolling. more

The "Yes Master" Bracelet

Children who end up caught in Chicago's policing and justice system are being outfitted with ReliAlert XC3 GPS ankle-cuffs supplied by the Track Group, who use them to log children's movements and to bark orders at them, as well as listening in on them. The children have to wear them 24/7 while on bail awaiting trial.

The company claims that the recording function in the tracking anklets generates a notification every time it is used, but its own technicians have testified under oath that the listening function can be covertly activated. Track Group stores all recordings of its interactions with children indefinitely.  more

"Sooo, what are you wearing Mr. big, strong, Alexa man."

Tens of millions of people use smart speakers and their voice software to play games, find music or trawl for trivia. Millions more are reluctant to invite the devices and their powerful microphones into their homes out of concern that someone might be listening.

Sometimes, someone is.

Amazon.com Inc. employs thousands of people around the world to help improve the Alexa digital assistant powering its line of Echo speakers... more

Idea: Taunt them. "Sooo, what are you wearing Mr. big, strong, Alexa man."

Spybuster Tip # 629 - Watch What You Say at the Drive-Thru

Next time you have a private conversation while in a drive-through, you might want to keep it quiet — as workers in fast food restaurants are able to hear you, even when you can’t hear them.

Well, as long as they are wearing a headset and you’re parked next to the microphone with your window down, that is.

...the revelation on r/LifeProTips: They posted; “If we apologize [sic] and say we’ll be with you in a minute – you’re not on hold, we can hear everything. If you’ve ordered but the drive-thru line won’t let you pull ahead yet – we can hear every single thing you’re saying.

Suggesting that having the ability to eavesdrop isn’t always a good thing, they added: “I wish I could forget some of the stuff I’ve heard.” more

FutureWatch: Spying on a Computer Screen Via the Microphone

Daniel Genkin of the University of Michigan, Mihir Pattani of the University of Pennsylvania, Roei Schuster of Cornell Tech and Tel Aviv University, and Eran Tromer of Tel Aviv University and Columbia University investigated a potential new avenue of remote surveillance that they have dubbed "Synesthesia": a side-channel attack that can reveal the contents of a remote screen, providing access to potentially sensitive information based solely on "content-dependent acoustic leakage from LCD screens."

The research, supported by the Check Point Institute for Information Security at Tel Aviv University (of which Schuster and Tromer are members) and funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, examined what amounts to an acoustic form of Van Eck phreaking. While Van Eck phreaking uses radio signal emissions that leak from display connectors, the Synesthesia research leverages "coil whine," the audio emissions from transformers and other electronic components powering a device's LCD display. more

Digital Assistants: The Eavesdropping Attacks Begin

It's important not to overstate the security risks of the Amazon Echo and other so-called smart speakers. They're useful, fun, and generally have well thought-out privacy protections.

Then again, putting a mic in your home naturally invites questions over whether it can be used for eavesdropping—which is why researchers at the security firm Checkmarx started fiddling with Alexa, to see if they could turn it into a spy device. They did, with no intensive meddling required.

The attack, which Amazon has since fixed, follows the intended flow of using and programming an Echo. Because an Echo's mic only activates to send sound over the internet when someone says a wake word—usually "Alexa"— the researchers looked to see if they could piggyback on one of those legitimate reactions to listen in. A few clever manipulations later, they'd achieved their goal...

There are clear limitations to this eavesdropping approach. It would only have given attackers transcriptions, not audio recordings, of a target's conversations. more

Our advice to clients, "Keep these things out of offices and conference rooms where confidential discussions are held." ~Kevin

TSCM: African Union Headquarters China Built Found To Be Bugged

China has again been accused of state-sponsored espionage after several information backdoors were discovered in the African Union (AU) headquarters it built in the Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

The AU is a bloc of the 55 countries in Africa, where China has been trying to spread it’s influence in quest of the natural resources the continent holds. As part of it’s African outreach, China had financed and built the AU headquarters at a cost of $200 million in 2012. The building was inaugurated with much fanfare as a symbol and was meant to be a symbol of Chinese-African partnership.

However, an investigation by the French newspaper Le Monde has revealed that data from the servers in the AU headquarters was being transferred to Shanghai every night since the last five years, starting 2012. A followup sweep of the building led to the discovery of microphones embedded in desks and walls of the building revealing major cracks in the building’s security.

The AU has since replaced the Chinese machines with it’s own servers and is moving to encrypt it’s data and communications. more

Stop Your Apps from Spying on Your TV Viewing

That innocent-looking mobile game you just downloaded might just have an ulterior motive. Behind the scenes, hundreds of different apps could be using your smartphone's microphone to figure out what you watch on TV, a new report from The New York Times reveals...

Basically, a bunch of apps with innocuous names like "Pocket Bowling 3D" include extra software that's designed to listen for recognizable audio from your TV, including specific shows and commercials...

All of these apps need to get your permission before they can record in the background. So the easiest way is just to deny that permission. However, it's possible that you might approved the request without realising it, or your kid might do it while playing with your phone. In that case, switching it off is pretty easy...

Just head into Settings on your device and check the permissions for the app in question. If the app has microphone access when it doesn't need to (why would a bowling game need to use your microphone?), just toggle that permission off. more

Seoul Trained Trackers, or Party Police Bugged

South Korea - One maintenance office of a Seoul apartment complex is in hot water after it took its investigation into noise complaints one step too far.

According to residents and security personnel, during a recent five-day period, the maintenance office dispatched security guards to investigate the source of excessive noise among suites on floors 9 through 15 in one building. The guards, deployed from midnight to three in the morning on the apartment corridors, were armed with sound amplifying equipment.

“Throughout the course of the investigation, I ended up listening to the conversations of the residents in each suite, even though I didn’t want to,” one security guard said. “Problems of excessive noise should be resolved through legal and appropriate means, but I think that using a sound amplifier that can result in an invasion of privacy is taking things too far.” more

FutureWatch - Microphone with an Ear and Brains, or how to stay ahead of the bad guys...

Clients know how quickly technology advances, and they occasionally ask...

"Aren't you always one step behind the bad guys?"

I've heard some colleagues agree, and even mention it themselves as a pre-sweep hedge against failure, along with the idiotic statement, "All bets are off once we leave." Talk about defeatist logic.

The bad guys question is a good one, however, and there are several answers. All depend upon the mindset of the TSCM team...

1. Yes, if you buy a detection gadget and only read the instructions.
2. Yes, if you just surf the Internet for education.
3. Yes, if you're getting your education from an annual TSCM seminar, or occasional training course.
4. No, if you pay attention to research papers, newly developing electronic components and processes, before they are used in surveillance devices.

Here is a Number 4 example I came across this week... a very tiny microphone with an ear, a brain, and almost no need to be fed electricity.

Wake-On Sound - Piezoelectric MEMS Microphone
PUI Audio's ZeroPower Listening™ piezoelectric MEMS microphone designed for ultra-low power always listening solutions. 

PUI Audio’s PMM-3738-VM1010-R is a single-ended analog MEMS microphone with wake-on sound. The wake-on sound mode allows for detection of voice activity while consuming only 5 μA of supply current (9 μW of power). In wake-on sound mode, a sound in the vocal band above the level threshold instantly alerts a processor of an acoustic event. The processor (DSP or voice processor) then switches the PMM-3738-VM1010-R into normal mode, with full audio output within 100 microseconds. Fast enough for the microphone to capture the triggering sound and pass it along for processing. This is the system architecture for ZeroPower Listening. 

Wake-on sound delivers voice activation to battery-powered voice-interface consumer devices, such as smart speakers, smart TV remote controls, smart headphones, and IoT smart home products, while drawing nearly zero power. 

PUI Audio’s PMM-3738-VM1010-R, the first wake-on sound MEMS microphone, brings voice activation to battery-powered devices of all kinds. Drawing a scant 5 μA of current while in listening mode, PUI Audio’s newest piezoelectric MEMS microphone is the only device that uses sound energy itself to wake a system from full power-down. 

The PMM-3738-VM1010-R features a configurable voice zone, allowing voice in a 5 foot to 20 foot radius-zone to trigger the system and increase to a higher-power mode. When the environment is quiet, the system can enter the low-power ”wake-on-sound” mode. 

Imagine the new types of eavesdropping devices this microphone will make possible.

Combine this with a battery powered bug that recharges using ambient radio-frequency signals, and you have a sleeper bug that could (theoretically) last forever. 

The bad guys probably haven't built and deployed this yet, but when they do, it won't be a surprise to us.

The posts tagged FutureWatch you see in the Security Scrapbook are examples of Number 4 attention to detail. Here are some more...
https://spybusters.blogspot.com/2017/03/futurewatch-cheap-difficult-to-detect.html
https://spybusters.blogspot.com/2013/08/solar-powered-smartphones-and-more.html

The Cuban "Acoustic Attack" - Eavesdropping, TSCM, or Other?

The FBI is reportedly investigating who was behind an “acoustic attack” that inflicted at least two staffers of the U.S. Embassy in Havana with sudden hearing loss. Washington expelled two Cuban diplomats earlier this year in response to the incident, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

The Cuban foreign ministry said it was investigating the allegations.

Citing officials familiar with the investigation, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that embassy staff in Havana began suffering from hearing loss in the fall of 2016. U.S. officials later concluded that a device operating outside the range of audible sound has been installed inside or near diplomatic residences in Havana. more

Media speculation as to what and who is rampant. 

Some what theories, which the media has missed, include: 
• An ultrasonic bugging device (an eavesdropping attack).
• An ultrasonic room flooding device (an eavesdropping countermeasure). 

If either of these were incompetently programmed–thus producing a higher than safe level of audio power output–people would experience hearing loss and other sickness symptoms (headache, nausea, disorientation, etc.).

As to who... A bugging device could be planted by anyone, not just the Cubans. An ultrasonic room flooding device would be placed by whoever has control of the room, in an effort to deter electronic eavesdropping attempts — mixing differing frequencies of ultrasound has a detrimental effect on microphones. This is a rarely used Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) tactic due to the fine balance between effectiveness and dangerousness. It zaps hearing aids, too.

An "acoustic attack" just to cause intentional harm seems unlikely. The results of the investigation should be interesting, if they see the light of day. Ultra-unlikely. ~Kevin

Visit us at counterespionage.com to learn how business and governments protect themselves against electronic eavesdropping attacks.

Murray's TSCM Tip # 623 - Hiding in Plain Sight - The USB Microphone

USB microphones have many legitimate uses, students recording lectures, for example. Much more sensitive than a laptop's built-in microphone, they are perfect for that application. They also make eavesdropping on co-workers very easy.

The Plausible Deniability Bonus... Hey, it's not a bug. It's a legitimate piece of office equipment.

If you see one of these in a laptop, always assume it is recording. Some USB microphones have a red tally light, but a dot of black paint (or a piece of electrical tape) can cripple that tip-off. 

From the seller...
"This microphone is capable of picking up all of the sounds in large room (range of approximately 80 feet) or it can pick up small area its up to you, because you control the amplifier power! It's small size makes it perfect for situations where you don't want to draw attention to the fact that you are recording audio right into your computer."

Visit counterespionage.com to learn more about what you can do to detect and deter electronic eavesdropping.

TSCM Questions We Get - "How small is a bug's microphone?"

A. Very small.
You probably carry the one shown in the photo, in your cell phone.


In some cases, microphones are invisible. Before you say impossible, hear me out...

You are surrounded by items which can be commandeered for surveillance eavesdropping wherever you go. Solids and liquids conduct sound even better than air. Vibrations through these items may be picked up and amplified at some distance using: a piezoelectric contact microphone, a hydrophone, or light / sound beams (laser / ultrasonic).

Optimic1140 fiber optical microphone

There is also one esoteric microphone to consider—the fiber optic microphone. No wires. No electricity. Just connected to a clear glass thread.

It is so unusual, many people who claim to be technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM) technicians don't know it exists.

So, when you add Technical Information Security Surveys to your organization's security program, ask the vendor what they know about fiber optic microphones. Good ones will tell you all about it, and how it works. They will also be impressed with you for asking.

Click here for more questions we get.