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.
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.
Speakers as microphones. Software changes headphones into eavesdropping mics.
Researchers from the Negev Cyber Security Research Center of Ben-Gurion University have presented a paper explaining that the software controlling signals to headphone jacks in many computers can be altered or re-tasked to change the jack from an output to an input, thereby turning the earphones into potential microphones.
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.
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 ...the Democratic Party recently informed the FBI that it had collected evidence suggesting its Washington headquarters [...]
Bugging news: devices found at Iran nuclear talks hotel, say Swiss officials
A number of computers at a five-star Geneva hotel that has hosted sensitive talks, including Iranian nuclear negotiations, were found to be infected with malware used for espionage, Swiss prosecutors have revealed. In Vienna, where the Iranian nuclear talks concluded in July 2015, the state prosecutor has launched two separate investigations into possible espionage. A spokesperson for the justice ministry told the Guardian that the two ongoing investigations were launched in June 2015 after bugging devices were discovered at Palais Coburg.
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]