Tech News Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Exec Security TSCM

Articles intended for TSCM technicians.

Anti-Spy-Phone attachment being developed by Snowden and Huang

Edward Snowden and Andrew Huang are designing a device to help protect smartphones from eavesdropping.

Whether you are a journalist worried about government control, or anyone with confidential conversations, their idea could help protect your phone. Edward Snowden expressed the concern that sophisticated malware could control your phone to make it transmit information when you are not aware, even […]

Charles Patterson2016-12-16T20:23:32-05:00July 21st, 2016|

Tech watch: Fans transmitting data from air-gapped computers

Researchers at Ben Gurion University have published a paper regarding their experiments transmitting data from an air-gapped computer to a smartphone in the same room. They were able to inject malware into the computer that used the noise from the cooling fans in the computer to transmit binary data to a remote microphone.

Charles Patterson2016-07-07T22:15:40-04:00July 7th, 2016|

Future TSCM tool? Walabot uses RF to see inside walls.

Walabot is a sensor that looks into objects using radio frequency signals.

It comes in three versions, Starter Kit, Maker, and Pro ($150, $300, and $600 respectively). It seems that the company doesn’t quite know what to do with it yet, they are reaching out to the robotic and maker community for ideas and apps. TSCM […]

Charles Patterson2016-12-16T20:23:32-05:00June 28th, 2016|

New Tech: Conductive concrete blocks radio waves, guarding against espionage

De-icing concrete could improve roadway safety, guard against corporate espionage

…By replacing the limestone and sand typically used in concrete with a mineral called magnetite, Tuan has shown that the mixture can also shield against electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic spectrum includes the radiofrequency waves transmitted and received by cellphones, which Tuan said could […]

Exec Security2016-01-22T11:51:26-05:00January 22nd, 2016|

Happy 101st Birthday of Hedy Lamarr, and thanks for frequency hopping.

November 9, the Google Doodle (on Google’s home page) celebrated the birthday of Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, 9 November 1914 – 19 January 2000.

She is most known for being a beautiful movie star, but she was also a talented inventor who helped develop spread spectrum frequency hopping technology, used in World War […]

Exec Security2015-11-09T09:24:04-05:00November 9th, 2015|

Tech alert: Hacking Siri or Google Now through radio waves

Researchers in France have found that by beaming radio waves at the headset wire attached to a smart phone, they can modulate the radio waves to cause the signals in the headset wires to interpret it as voice, thus triggering the voice commands of Siri or Google Now services.

A lot of things have to be right […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:39-05:00October 15th, 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

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

Wearable Tech Alert: Store and forward 60 seconds of audio from your wrist- anytime, anyplace

From smart TV’s to Amazon Echo, new devices all around us are listening. A new tech item scheduled for shipping this month promises to bring personal eavesdropping and BYOD threats to a new level.

The Kapture device, funded by Kickstarter, is a wearable device that constantly records all audio in it’s vicinity. It is designed to […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:42-05:00February 9th, 2015|

Waiting to be hacked… new consumer devices offer new eavesdropping potential.

Internet connected devices are attracting a lot of attention. Many, though, have potential security vulnerabilities just waiting to be hacked. The following devices may not have been exploited yet… but considering the possibilities, it’s only a matter of time. Some of these just appeared at the CES show in Las Vegas and may not have hit the street yet but […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:43-05:00January 12th, 2015|

Hackers attack LA road signs

Science fiction stories often have tales of computerized devices taking over the world. Probably a more immediate worry, rather than the devices controlling us, would be hackers take over those devices, as that is already happening. Cyber security researcher, Graham Cluley, clues us in on happenings in downtown LA where hackers changed the words […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:43-05:00January 12th, 2015|

Tech watch: Device uses lasers to map an entire room through a 1-inch gap

from DailyMail.co.uk Science and Tech

Looking through a keyhole could soon reveal far more than you imagine. Scientists have developed a device that could map an entire room simply by shining a laser through a 2cm gap. The system could be used in applications such as firefighting, battlefield surveillance and disaster recovery operations.

The technology […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:43-05:00January 10th, 2015|

NORAD tracking Santa for over 50 years

For almost 60 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight.

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:45-05:00December 13th, 2014|

Wiretapping ATMs

News came out last month [here] on information security blog Krebsonsecurity.com, about attacks on European ATM machines that involved cutting into the machines and tapping into the wires that connect to the internal card reader. The hole would then be covered up with a fake decal or sticker. Photos supplied by NCR now show what such attacks […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:45-05:00December 9th, 2014|

Cyber bugs studied used for disaster rescue, real bugs…

by Kelly Dickerson, LiveScience.com

Remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches could one day be among the first responders at disaster scenes to help locate survivors.

A team of researchers at North Carolina State University has created a swarm of cyborg cockroaches, nicknamed “biobots,” that are equipped with microphones to pick up sounds and trace them to […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:46-05:00November 27th, 2014|

Telephone fraud and PBX hacking revisited… “will you accept the charges?”

A recent article in the NY Times caught the attention of some of our clients. It documented an architectural firm in Norcross, Georgia, that had their phone system hacked, resulting in a phone bill for $166,000 over just one weekend.

In past ExecSecurity posts we have discussed a few methods used by hackers for compromising […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:47-05:00October 24th, 2014|

Ford to offer Police Interceptor surveillance tech to competitors

by Chris Bruce, www.Autoblog.com

Ford unveiled its surveillance mode technology last year as an option for 2014 Ford Police Interceptor Sedan and Utility models, and it has been a huge success. Now, the automaker and its partner InterMotive Inc. have decided to license the patent-pending system, including possibly to competitors and the military.

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:47-05:00October 6th, 2014|

Where have you been? Google knows.

If you have a Google account and you have Google apps’ “Location Reporting” or “Location Services” active on your phone, you can find out where you have been for just about any day that you have had the feature turned on. These could be apps on an iPhone or iPad, or just built into your […]

Exec Security2016-12-16T20:23:47-05:00September 24th, 2014|

Spy kids… spy theme store raises funds for non-profit creative writing program for kids.

Spy themes always seem attractive to almost anyone. A Chicago store uses a spy theme to help raise funds for a 826CHI, a non-profit writing and tutoring center for children.

Formerly known as “The Boring Store”, it has recently moved and changed it’s name to “Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co.“, with a website at www.notasecretagentstore.com. […]

Charles Patterson2016-12-16T20:23:48-05:00August 13th, 2014|