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.
Nashville man spied on co-worker with baby monitor
Nashville, TN, police arrested a man after they say he used a baby monitor to spy on a female coworker in her Sylvan Heights home. Baby monitors and other off-the-shelf communications devices work well as tools for eavesdropping and surveillance. Be on the lookout for any unauthorized or out-of-place devices that may be spotted in your place of business or your home. ...and you may want to check under your bed before you go to sleep tonight.
Keep ’em guessing. Simple countermeasures work to block sports spying.
When there is a lot at stake, such as at the World Cup tournament, spying among sports teams is almost expected. Businesses might learn something from South Korean coach Shin Tae Young's attitude. Your competition always wants to find out as much as they can about you and your activities. Sometimes they may overstep ethical boundaries, so you should always be prepared and plan regular pro-active countermeasures.
Surveillance devices being discovered… or not
News reports revealed that bugging and listening devices were recently found in a number of offices around the world- foreign government offices and a school administrator's office. Spy devices abound - Casey Neistat reviews a spy camera from B&H photo.
From bugs to bombs, Seabees protect US embassies from threats.
A military unit that helped secure U.S. diplomatic compounds for decades has seen its mission grow as security threats have escalated from bugs buried in embassy walls to car bombs driven up to embassy gates. A small group of Navy Seabees, known as the Naval Support Unit - State Department, has played a largely behind-the-scenes role implementing technical measures to combat threats abroad since the 1960s.
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.
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". 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 [...]