*Security and TSCM Archives - Page 15 of 30 - Exec Security TSCM

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Aircraft security: forgotten reports say French spies bugged Concorde passengers

Corporate aircraft should regularly be swept for listening devices. It is a misconception to think that just because they are up in the air that conversations would be safe from eavesdroppers. Recording devices, hidden microphones and video cameras, and even Wifi enabled devices could make their way into the passenger compartments where many confidential conversations may take place.

This article from The Register reflects on past concerns that the French government had bugged the passenger areas of their Concorde fleet. The precautions are even more significant these days.

Ed Wallace, director of incident response and advanced threats at security consultancy MWR Infosecurity, pointed towards forgotten reports that French spies routinely bugged first-class passengers flying with Air France – including Concorde passengers – back in the 1990s.

The idea was that business people relaxing on a long trip, and perhaps enjoying a drink or two, might discuss all […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:40-05:00June 9th, 2015|

Protecting your meetings: No Cell Phones Allowed; Steps to Consider

Security firm G4S began confiscating smart phones from share holders and journalists at it’s 2015 AGM (Annual General Meeting) in London after activists used them to record their protests and removal by security staff at last year’s event. Such events can not only be disruptive to the meeting but also damaging to shareholder relations.

A spokesman for G4S told the Guardian newspaper: “Last year we had a large number of protesters who were effectively staging demonstrations in the meeting and they were filming it. The intention is not to suppress the legitimate free speech of people but it is just simply to maintain some degree of security for our people in the meeting.” [Read more at rt.com]

Jun 5, 2014- Not much in terms of video footage due to covert nature of the recording, but a lot of very audible disruption as the G4S AGM was […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:40-05:00June 7th, 2015|

Tech alert: GOOGLE TONE Shares Links Using Beeps and Boops

If your computer starts sounding like R2D2, it may be sharing links to others within earshot.

A report from Popular Science discusses a new Chrome extension that lets a computer share a URL with another computer using tones.

Popular Science, Jason Cipriani

Google Tone

A new Chrome extension, called Google Tone, released this week makes it possible to share a URL with another computer in the room using a series ofbeeps and boops. The concept is dead simple yet instantly instills a sense of disbelief. A computer making seemingly random sounds can transmit the URL for the tab I have open in Chrome across the room? Get out.

Full of skepticism, I decided to put it to the test. I installed the Chrome extension on a MacBook Air and a HP laptop running […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:40-05:00May 27th, 2015|

NYC pranksters publish secretly-recorded public conversations to make point about privacy

WeAreAlwaysListening.com says:

Eavesdropping on the population has revealed many saying “I’m not doing anything wrong so who cares if the NSA tracks what I say and do?”

Citizens don’t seem to mind this monitoring, so we’re hiding recorders in public places in hopes of gathering information to help win the war on terror. We’ve started with NYC as a pilot program, but hope to roll the initiative out all across The Homeland.

Report from CBS News:

A group of anonymous anti-NSA activists claim to have placed hidden recording devices in restaurants, bars, gyms and cafes all around the city to eavesdrop on citizens’ private conversations.

While, as some have pointed out, this claim cannot be verified, a series of recordings uploaded to the group’s Soundcloud page and website last week have got many people talking.

WeAreAlwaysListening.com started blowing up on the viral web over the weekend after being spotlighted by a few high-profile Twitter accounts (like the ACLU’s) and publications (like WIRED.)

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:40-05:00May 27th, 2015|

South Africa: Increased corporate espionage concerns

Times Live, Graeme Hosken

Industrial espionage is at an all-time high in South Africa, with an increase in requests for debugging services coming from gaming firms, research and development companies and those tendering for multimillion-rand contracts.

Driving fear in the world of Spy vs Spy are tough economic times and the ease with which South Africans can buy listening devices online.

The unregulated eavesdropping industry had led to an apparent surge in spying by businessmen on one another, according to Justicia Investigations, a company specialising in surveillance.

Its operations director, Alan Carey, said the number of inquiries about debugging services had increased rapidly since November, indicating a spike in South Africans spying on each other.

“In the past we received maybe two inquiries every fortnight. Now we are receiving at least three a week.

“The majority are from the gaming industry, research and development firms, cellular communication companies and businesses bidding for […]

Exec Security2015-05-16T09:05:30-04:00May 16th, 2015|

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy in devastating phone bugging setback

A Paris court says judges were correct to order the tapping of the former French President’s phones.

Compelling evidence Nicolas Sarkozy had been in the pay of Colonel Gaddafi meant judges were correct to order his phones to be bugged, the Paris appeals court has ruled.

In a devastating legal setback for the former French president, his lawyers failed to halt a criminal inquiry into the sleaze allegations. The phone tapping started in April 2013 following claims that Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign was bankrolled by Libya’s late dictator.

The judicial snooping was described by Sarkozy’s lawyer as a “monstrous violation” of his legal rights. But transcripts of the taped conversations supported the hugely damaging corruption case against the 60-year-old.

Nicolas Sarkozy

After hearing rumours that he was being listened to, Sarkozy obtained a second mobile phone, which he used […]

Charles Patterson2016-12-16T20:23:40-05:00May 7th, 2015|

Where do you keep your passwords? Posted on your monitor for all to see on a TV documentary?

Reported in The Hacker News, the passwords and login credentials for a London railway station were posted on the top of a computer monitor and broadcast on a BBC TV documentary. Company security policies should include never displaying your credentials where they might be viewed by unauthorized personnel… or TV cameras!

The Weakest Link In the Information Security Chain is still – Humans.

And this news has ability to prove this fact right.

One of London’s busiest railway stations has unwittingly exposed their system credentials during a BBC documentary. The sensitive credentials printed and attached to the top of a station controller’s monitor were aired on Wednesday night on BBC.

What could be even worse?

If you think that the credentials might have been shown off in the documentary for a short while or just some seconds, then you are still unaware of the limit of their stupidity.

The login credentials were visible for […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:40-05:00May 4th, 2015|

US using anti-spy laws to fight trade secret theft

DES MOINES, Iowa—The criminal trial of a Chinese executive accused of stealing high-tech U.S. corn seeds is turning into a battle over the federal government’s use of an anti-spying law to fight industrial espionage.

U.S. prosecutors say Mo Hailong, an official with a Chinese agriculture company, participated in a multiyear scheme to pilfer seeds from test fields of U.S. agribusiness giants Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co. The prosecutors claim that Mr. Mo, who was arrested in December 2013 at his home in Boca Raton, Fla., and several alleged accomplices transported seeds back to China, sometimes secreted in boxes of Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn.

Smuggled seeds were secreted in boxes of Orville Redenbacher popcorn.

Prosecutors have charged Mr. Mo, now under house arrest in Des Moines, Iowa, and six alleged co-conspirators—five of whom remain at large—with stealing trade secrets. Mr. […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:40-05:00May 2nd, 2015|

Give us our daily bread… with cell phone inside.

Smuggling cell phones into secure areas can be a problem for security at prisons as well as in boardrooms or other confidential meetings. Perpetrators can go to great lengths to get access for the contraband items. An inmate in a prison in Perth received a loaf of bread that had been carved out to conceal a cell phone inside. Contact us if you need help preventing cell phones or other recording devices from entering your secure facilities.

from the Evening Telegraph, UK, 4/15/2015

Phone found in loaf as killer’s Perth Prison cell searched

A mobile phone was found in a loaf of bread within the cell of prisoner who murdered a woman from Montrose.

Several slices of Kingsmill had been carefully carved to store the device in Douglas Matthewson’s cell at maximum security Perth Prison.

Matthewson […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:40-05:00April 15th, 2015|

Future watch: secure fiber optics

Scientists Create Secure Communications By Slowing Down Light

Have you always wanted a more secure way of transmitting your information and not be worried about it being intercepted or eavesdropped along the way? While there are various security measures available at the moment, such as encryption, scientists at the Vienna University of Technology have come up with a way that could technically make eavesdropping impossible.

How they achieved this is by slowing down the speed of light from its typical speed of 300 million meters per second to a much more manageable 180kmph, and they did this using fiber optics which is a system that is currently in place around the world, thus making their findings even more applicable and viable.

To slow down the speed of light, the scientists grafted cesium atoms to the fibers which allowed it to slow light […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:40-05:00April 12th, 2015|

Turkish beauty queen’s bedroom ‘bugged by in-laws’

Hurrieyt Daily News

A former Turkish beauty queen has sued her former in-laws for bugging her bedroom with the help of her ex-husband, according to a local media report.

Sinem Sülün and the bug in the power socket.

Sinem Sülün, who was crowned Miss Model Turkey in 2005 and was runner-up at Miss Turkey-Universe in2007, divorced her husband Mustafa Yüksel last month. She was awarded 200,000 Turkish Liras in compensation and 2,500 liras as a monthly alimony after the divorce.

Daily Milliyet reported on April 1 that the divorce case led to a fierce argument between the two sides, after Sülün claimed that her husband and his parents had illegally wiretapped their private conversations by bugging a power socket in their bedroom.

The 5th Criminal Court of Peace recently ruled for the trial of businessman Yüksel and his parents on charges of illegally recording a […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:41-05:00April 12th, 2015|

“Spy Wednesday” – Trusted advisors can become internal threats- for thirty pieces of silver.

The Wednesday before Easter is known to many as “Spy Wednesday”. It is recognized as the day on which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. It can serve as a reminder that internal threats and betrayal can lead to very serious damages indeed!

Judas receives thirty pieces of silver.

“…The Wednesday before Easter is known as Spy Wednesday. The name comes from the Bible passage read in churches on that day,which explains the role that Judas Iscariot played in bringing about Jesus’death. According to the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, Spy Wednesday marks the last full day of Lent and Holy […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:41-05:00April 1st, 2015|

Smart phones not limited to smart people. Stupid criminals can still use technology.

Everyone seems to like stupid criminal stories.

Wanted by police in Maine for theft of a wood stove, Christopher Wallace announced his location on Snapchat. One of his trusty followers was kind enough to report it to police.

While the police were searching his girlfriend’s home, a bit over confident he posted again on Snapchat that he was hiding in a cabinet.

“While the deputies/officers were wrapping up their search, Wallace posted again on Snapchat. This time he posted that the police were searching for him in the house, and that he was hiding in a cabinet. Again, we received phone calls.” Somerset County Sheriff’s Office posted on it’s own Facebook page.

“A search of the kitchen cabinets turned up some food, some pots and pans, and also a pair of feet,” the police explained on the Facebook page. “The pair of feet just so happened to be attached […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:41-05:00March 26th, 2015|

Walkie-talkies lead to eavesdropping accusations at SF Zoo

Many modern two-way radios have a feature that can allow a supervisor to remotely turn on the transmitter of one of the units of the connected radios. The user of that radio will be automatically put into hands-free communication with the supervisor or with others in the group, possibly with their knowledge. We reported on the vulnerability of this type of feature in a previous post [here]. The feature has legitimate application for such things as emergency response for medical or safety services. Knowing that the capability exists could lead others to misuse the feature for eavesdropping.

Workers at the San Francisco Zoo were abusing this capability in their radios. Their misadventures created union trouble with possible legal ramifications. Radios, telephone systems, intercom systems, all have features that can be misused. Employees need to understand proper use of the equipment. If you have such features you may want to consider having them […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:41-05:00March 19th, 2015|

Tap, tap, tap, “is this thing on?”, from embarrassment to murder conviction- check your mic, you may be bugged.

Robert Durst should have paid more attention to Leslie Nielson in “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!”. For those who missed it, check out the clip below to see the type of embarrassment that can come from forgetting that your microphone is still on.

Durst, suspected in the 1982 disappearance of his wife, and the 2000 murder of his girl friend, was the subject of an HBO documentary “The Jinx”. In filming the final episode, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki suggests it is Durst ‘s handwriting on a note directing police to Berman’s body, Durst left his microphone on as he went to the bathroom. “There it is. You’re caught,” he said, adding “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.” Now he has a bit more to answer to.

Executives and others involved in public speaking or the media may find themselves from time to time wearing a wireless […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:41-05:00March 17th, 2015|

Covert cameras found at Denver area Post Office

FOX31 Denver: Mysterious spy cameras collecting data at post offices

DENVER — Within an hour of FOX31 Denver discovering a hidden camera, which was positioned to capture and record the license plates and facial features of customers leaving a Golden Post Office, the device was ripped from the ground and disappeared.

FOX31 Denver investigative reporter Chris Halsne confirmed the hidden camera and recorder is owned and operated by the United State Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement branch of the U.S. Postal Service.

The recording device appeared to be tripped by any vehicle leaving the property on Johnson Road, but the lens was not positioned to capture images of the front door, employee entrance, or loading dock areas of the post office.

An alert customer first noticed the data collection device, hidden inside a utilities box, around Thanksgiving 2014. It stayed in […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:41-05:00March 16th, 2015|

Move over Furby, Eavesdropping Barbie is here.

A number of years ago, while performing an electronic countermeasures sweep in a Manhattan apartment, our non-linear junction detector (locates hidden electronics) alerted to one Barbie doll that was on display among a few other dolls. To further inspect the Barbie to be sure there was no concealed listening device, we removed her clothes, revealing only that it was a “Talking Barbie” with a circuit that played back pre-recorded phrases. Unfortunately, that was the moment the client came into the room to check on how we were doing. After explaining our peculiar actions, we had a good laugh.

Now though, a “Listening Barbie” (actually named “Hello Barbie”) is coming and this one may be a real threat. This off the shelf, WIFI enabled Barbie records conversations, remembering what it hears, processing it through a cloud server, and enabling it to respond with appropriate comments.

“Eavesdropping Barbie”

While this could sound like fun […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:41-05:00March 11th, 2015|

Spoofing the boss’ email nets big profit.

Report from Brian Krebs www.krebsonsecurity.com explains how scammers are spoofing emails pretending to be from heads of corporations and requesting funds through wire transfer.

Known variously as “CEO fraud,” and the “business email compromise,” this swindle is a sophisticated and increasingly common one targeting businesses working with foreign suppliers and/or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments. In January 2015, the FBI warned that cyber thieves stole nearly $215 million from businesses in the previous 14 months through such scams, which start when crooks spoof or hijack the email accounts of business executives or employees.

In February, con artists made off with a whopping $17.2 million from one of Omaha, Nebraska’s oldest companies — The Scoular Co., an employee-owned commodities […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:41-05:00March 11th, 2015|