About Charles Patterson

Charles Patterson is the president, CEO, and primary consultant of Exec Security TSCM. He began working in the security field in 1978 in executive protection and related technical security services. He has been providing TSCM sweeps since 1995.

North Korea bugging the homes of officials.

Not surprisingly, North Korea reportedly bugs the residences of party officials.

SEOUL, Dec. 19 (UPI) — The North Korean diplomat who fled from Pyongyang’s embassy in London testified Monday that former Defense Minister Hyon Yong Chol was executed based on information from wiretapped conversations at his home.

Thae Yong Ho, who arrived in South Korea with his family in August, provided the statement to Seoul lawmakers Monday, local news service News 1 reported.

Thae, who was in charge of propaganda at the embassy, said all high-ranking members of North Korea’s security department are “constantly being eavesdropped on,” according to Lee Cheol-uoo, chairman of the national assembly’s intelligence committee.

“In North Korea, surveillance becomes more intense with rank and it has become the norm for homes to be wiretapped, according to Minister Thae,” Lee said.

Thae Yong-ho says North Korea eavesdrops on officials' homes. North Korea’s former […]

2016-12-20T21:56:25-05:00December 20th, 2016|
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Cameras with audio lead to eavesdropping arrest in upstate New York.

In upstate NY, Geddes town employees complained that they were being eavesdropped on through security cameras that had audio capability. Originally the town supervisor, Manny Falcone, denied that the cameras had any microphones at all, but a work order was produced that indicated that at least one of the cameras did have audio capability, now his secretary faces felony eavesdropping charges.

2016-12-16T20:23:30-05:00December 16th, 2016|
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Japan: Sweep team finds eavesdropping device in city assembly room

From The Mainichi, December 8, 2016

 MITO — An eavesdropping device was found in a waiting room for conservative members of the Mito Municipal Assembly, local city government officials and other sources told the Mainichi Shimbun on Dec. 7.
Ibaraki Prefectural Police seized the device and are investigating the case which they suspect could constitute trespassing into the building and violation of the Radio Act.

According to Mito Municipal Government officials, it was tipped off about the bug on Dec. 6. Specialized workers hired by the local government began searching for the device from the evening of Dec. 7 and found it in a waiting room for three assembly members from “Suiseikai” — a conservative parliamentary group — on the first floor of the temporary two-story prefabricated assembly building. The bug plugs into an electric outlet.

The Mito Municipal Government is still using a temporary office building […]

2016-12-16T20:23:30-05:00December 9th, 2016|
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Millionaire bugged his girlfriend, she ends up murdered.

A millionaire told police how he secretly bugged his escort girlfriend - and heard her bragging she was going to "do him over" for his money, a murder trial heard today. Property tycoon Peter Morgan, 54, put the listening device in the bungalow home of Georgina Symonds, 25, in the grounds of his castle. Mr Morgan allegedly strangled the mum-of-one with a ligature in January 2016.

2016-12-16T20:23:30-05:00December 7th, 2016|
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UK: Sportswear company bugs meeting of Members of Parliment during surprise investigation visit

Eavesdropping attempts may not always be well thought out, they could be spur of the moment opportunities. A camera recording with audio was found under a chair during a private meeting of MPs. British sportswear company Sports Direct was being paid an unannounced visit by members of the House of Commons' Business Select Committee. The MPs were there to insure that good working practices were being upheld by CEO Mike Ashley and the rest of the company.

2016-12-16T20:23:30-05:00November 8th, 2016|
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Bugging news: DNC headquarters thinks they might have been bugged.

News journal Mother Jones has an exclusive report that the Democratic National Committee told the FBI that they may have found evidence their headquarters was bugged. Nov. 4, 2016

DNC Headquarters may have been bugged.

…the Democratic Party recently informed the FBI that it had collected evidence suggesting its Washington headquarters had been bugged, according to two Democratic National Committee officials who asked not to be named.

In September, according to these sources, the DNC hired a firm to conduct an electronic sweep of its offices. After Russian hackers had penetrated its email system and those of other Democratic targets, DNC officials believed it was prudent to scrutinize their offices. This examination found nothing unusual.

In late October, after conservative activist James O’Keefe released a new set of hidden-camera videos targeting Democrats, interim party chairwoman Donna Brazile ordered up another sweep. […]

2016-11-06T18:01:37-05:00November 6th, 2016|
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Alexa sleeps with the fish. The possibilities of hacked hardware.

In my previous post I mentioned potential problems with IoT devices, including the possible threat of a hacked Amazon Echo. So today, I have to share this, an Echo hacked by developer Brian Kane. He was able to embed the functions of the Echo into a Big Mouth Billy Bass (usually known for singing “Take Me to the River” or “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”). It was put together as an in-class demonstration on rapid prototyping for his design course at Rhode Island School of Design in the industrial design dept.

It is funny, makes me laugh every time I watch it! But to bring the topic back to TSCM, it is also indication of things that are possible by hardware hacking of the many devices we surround ourselves with every day. Someone with a little electronic skill could install a […]

2016-12-16T20:23:30-05:00November 6th, 2016|
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Lawsuit against Colts alleges app is eavesdropping. But is it really? What determines an eavesdropping threat?

Most are familiar with the old question, “If a tree falls in the forest, but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”  Here is the new one that lawyers are facing: “If a microphone is turned on, but no one is there to hear it, is it still eavesdropping?”

Fear of eavesdropping is helping to spawn lawsuits as so many devices in daily use now come with some sort of microphone built in. An Indianapolis Colts fan has brought a lawsuit against the Colts, their app developer, YinzCam, and LISNR who created the technology used.

The Colts smartphone app uses fairly new technology to help deliver news, information, and ads to their fans. It supposedly can activate the smartphone microphone and be able to detect ultra high frequency sounds, far above the normal range of […]

2016-12-16T20:23:31-05:00November 3rd, 2016|
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Fitting a fake cell tower into an office printer

An engineer has shown how you can sneak a tiny cellphone base station into an innocuous office printer.

The idea is the brainchild of New Zealand’s Julian Oliver, who was inspired by the Stingray cellphone snooping technology now in widespread use by the cops and FBI. He was looking to see how such tech could be hidden and what better to do this in than the humble office.

 

SMS hacking

 

The printer still does its main job of spewing out documents, but now – using code Oliver developed and published – it also acts as a fake cellphone tower that detects and communicates with nearby phones and sends them SMS messages

 

[Read more]

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/02/printer_spy_box/?mt=1478140328427

 

2016-12-16T20:23:31-05:00November 2nd, 2016|
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IOT Update: Arlo Pro battery powered camera now with audio- creating a more serious eavesdropping threat.

Earlier this year I wrote about a few different consumer security cameras on the market that pose unique eavesdropping threats (here).

One of the more popular cameras has been the Arlo, sold by Netgear, available at outlets such as Best Buy and Sam’s Club. The Arlo was a replacement for the Netgear VueZone camera and was easy to use as a video device, but it only recorded video, no audio, so it was not able to eavesdrop on conversations (thankfully). It also required an active internet connection for the base unit. This would make it a bit more difficult to install in a corporate environment where the network may have active security in place.  We found that Arlo cameras have been discovered being used as covert residential spy devices, but have not seen them used for corporate level eavesdropping espionage yet. The new version makes it a much more significant threat.

 

arlo-pro-hub-and-camera Arlo Pro, […]

2016-12-16T20:23:31-05:00October 14th, 2016|
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Royal bugging? NOT. News of William and Kate being bugged deemed false.

Celebrity status has it’s downside- gossip. News recently came out in the British tabloids  (RadarOnline) that Prince William and Kate Middleton had listening devices found throughout their home.

It seems they can relax. Another popular site, GossipCop.com, which tries to police the tabloids, asserts the claims are all false.

Headlines from RadarOnline Headlines from RadarOnline

Gossip Cop points out:

According to RadarOnline, Queen Elizabeth has supposedly handpicked her grandson, Prince William, to become the next king when she either abdicates the throne or passes away, despite her son, Prince Charles, being next in line. As a result of this alleged development, the site claims Prince Charles is now trying to dig up dirt on his son that will prevent him from becoming king.

A so-called “source” tells the outlet that security at Prince William and Middleton’s royal residence recently discovered their “phones were tapped and the rooms were bugged,” […]

2016-12-16T20:23:31-05:00October 14th, 2016|
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Evidence of eavesdropping may be right in front of you.

Even the best eavesdroppers may be nervous or have a lot on their minds. This could cause them to be careless when planting a bug or listening device. This would be true if they were spy-shop amateurs, disgruntled employees, or even state sponsored agents. Failure to clean up well after installing a device could be the clue that gives them away.

2016-12-16T20:23:31-05:00October 5th, 2016|
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Espionage Research Institute International holds 2016 TSCM and Counterespionage Conference

Our blog posts have been a bit scarce recently due to a fairly busy schedule. One weekend was well spent attending the 2016 conference of Espionage Research Institute International (ERII), held in yearly in the Washington, DC area.

erii-logo

ERII is made up of a number TSCM and other security professionals who are interested developing their craft and learning more about the threat of espionage, counterintelligence, and countermeasures against eavesdropping and other spy tactics. More information on the organization can be found at www.erii.org. J.D. Leasure and his wife Lisa did an excellent job of putting the program together.

This year’s conference included a number of valuable presentations.

An update on cellular surveillance was given by Jason Dibley, director of QCC Global, UK.
John Minor, fiber optic expert, presented a good look into threats facing fiber networks. Retiring TSCM-er Tim Johnson […]

2016-12-16T20:23:31-05:00September 30th, 2016|
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Eavesdropping on City Hall- Phone System Used for Wiretapping

Former Lake Station mayor had secretly recorded approximately 425,000 calls between Oct. 12, 2011, and Aug. 13, 2015, and continued the activity even after being released on bond as his federal corruption cases were pending. An audit of your phone system operations can help reveal potential misuse such as this. Almost all telecom systems in use today have features that can allow various forms of eavesdropping to take place.

2016-12-16T20:23:31-05:00September 5th, 2016|
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Family feud: NY man charged with eavesdropping on his family.

Bottom line: don’t spy on your family! Many people who want to play James Bond end up looking more like Inspector Clouseau. The vast supply of monitoring devices available from online spy shops tempt many to eavesdrop on their bosses, competitors, friends and families.

A Bloomingburg, NY, man was charged Thursday, 8/18/2016, with eavesdropping on family members.

State police said their investigation found that Joseph Codi, 33, of Bloomingburg, used a hidden electronic monitoring device over a month long period to overhear conversations between other family members without their consent or knowledge. Codi was charged with eavesdropping, a felony.

No further information is available at this time.

Family members must have been a little annoyed to want to turn him in to police.

[Read more]

2016-08-31T15:25:39-04:00August 19th, 2016|
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