Corporate Espionage and Countermeasures News
News updates and articles are presented regarding corporate espionage, eavesdropping, electronic countermeasures, and TSCM. Please subscribe for automatic updates by entering your email address in the box on the right. You can search past articles and view archives in the column on the right.
Excerpts from recent posts are shown below. Click on the title to view the entire article.
Video recorder found in school administrator’s office.
A Prince George's County school administrator found a recording device that may have been hidden inside their office for months, county officials said.Â
Tech industry insider threat concerns- Apple’s warning about leaks gets leaked…
The issue of internal leaks is at the forefront of security concerns for all major corporations but especially tech companies today. These may come from leaked documents but also from deliberate eavesdropping efforts such as from overheard conversations and unauthorized audio or video recordings. The pleasing, open atmosphere found at many technology companies doesn't help security, so we see many of them needing to tighten up there security efforts at preventing leaks and corporate espionage. Unfortunately, many in the workplace do not understand the seriousness of the problem and the damage that can be done, or perhaps in some cases they do understand and are acting as willing spies.
Ultrasonic eavesdropping and microphone jamming- researching Cuban ailments
Kevin Fu and Wenyuan Xu, researchers with the University of Michigan and Zhejiang University in China, study the use of ultrasonic waves that may have been a possible source of recent ailments of diplomats living in Cuba. Causes of the symptoms of the diplomats and their families have not yet been confirmed, but one of the possible causes offered was the use of some sort of sonic "weapon". Â Hearing about this caused Fu and Xu to wonder if ultrasound could be the culprit. Their research tries to explain possible ways the effects that were described could have been created leading them to also investigate ultrasonic eavesdropping and microphone jamming.
$1 million lawsuit against big oil companies for failing to protect employee from covert surveillance.
A civil lawsuit against several large oil companies for allegedly failing to act when a female drill rig engineer discovered a spy cam in her room is one step closer to a jury trial... it is one expensive reason why corporations need to take unauthorized surveillance seriously- and have a professional TSCM sweep team on call.
Plugging leaks in government: Canadian experts soundproof new offices for Trudeau
Keeping conversations private and information confidential requires more than electronic inspections and fortified firewalls. When conducting TSCM sweeps we regularly find vulnerabilities that allow sound to escape from meeting rooms and offices. It may be through an air duct, heating vent, or other unexpected physical attribute. Canadian officials have spent millions plugging leaks in Ottawa's renovated West Block, a heritage building that will become a temporary home for the House of Commons later this year. But no plumbers were hired for the job. Instead, acoustical experts were called in to prevent eavesdropping in the halls by pesky journalists and others eager for hot information leaks.
Evi and Randy Quaid may have actually been bugged
From the "just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean..." department. Reported on Page Six Evi and Randy Quaid might be justified in some of their paranoia. They say they were among the victims of wiretapping private eye Anthony Pellicano and his inside man at the Los Angeles [...]
School district worker arrested- some people still don’t realize eavesdropping is illegal!
If you are going to record -video or audio- there is a good chance you may be breaking the law. You may have good motivation, but don't expect the courts - or your co-workers- to see it that way. Such devices can appear anywhere, at [...]
Early Spy Camera- circa 1890.
The temptation to use technology for spying has been with us for a long time. Carl Stormer purchased his first hidden camera- a "C.P. Stirn Concealed Vest Spy Camera"- when he was a young student of mathematics in Oslo. It was so small that the lens fit through the buttonhole in his vest with a cord that led down to his pocket, allowing him to snap his secret photos.
Radio history: Mickey Gurdus dies at 73, monitored radio waves for Israel Radio.
Interesting story of a man who listened to radio signals for a living. Mickey monitored the airwaves for the state-run Israel Radio and passed on information to his editors — and, sometimes, intelligence agents — to hijackings, invasions and revolutions, even intercepting a telephone call between the White House and Air Force One.
Tech Alert: RF Vulnerability found in Clear-Com wired headsets.
Analog audio was being transmitted from wired Clear-Com headsets. The signals were not intended to emanate in the air, but we were able to receive and demodulate the audio from at least 20 feet away.