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.
Tech watch: New style “shotgun” mic
Microphones come in all shapes and sizes. Some may be very small and used in covert applications. Others may just take on unique designs. This mic clearly adds the humorous effect, but it does go to show that microphones can be designed in any shape or size.
Eavesdropping and spy updates, September 2021
Where the wild spys are... Eavesdropping can be a concern for all areas, corporate espionage, sports, and celebrities. Your office may be a target, of course, but recent news also includes concerns for Peyton Manning as well as Britney Spears.
When the insider becomes an outsider- Terminated employee destroys company data.
Insider threats are one of the most significant security concerns for all businesses. Many companies do not recognize the dangers that may exist within their own staff. This can quickly become apparent when an employee with a grudge is terminated. This employee was with the company for just 6 months, but was able to cause over $100,000 in damage within two days of her termination.
Threat watch: “Glowworm” attack using power LEDs
Researchers at Ben Gurion University have demonstrated a new class of TEMPEST attack for intercepting confidential information. Their technique involves recovering sound by analyzing optical emanations from a device’s power indicator LED, specifically in the circuits providing power to various speaker systems. Could your conversations be vulnerable?
Spy Stories: Interview with Jonna Mendez, Former CIA Chief of Disguise
Interview with Jonna Mendez, former CIA Chief of Disguise from Wired Magazine. Being a spy has always been difficult. During the Cold War, being a spy in Moscow was especially hard...
REI MESA REVIEW, New Spectrum Analysis and Detection Tool.
Here is an in depth review of the MESA, the Mobility Enhanced Spectrum Analyzer for TSCM, from Research Electronics International. We put the MESA through its paces and provide the results of our tests as well as our thoughts and experiences using the unit on the job.
Eavesdropper caught on video trying to retrieve devices.
Lessons learned. An eavesdropper planted listening devices in a neighbor's home. She finds multiple devices then catches the stalker on video when he comes back to retrieve the devices. Some of the steps she takes provide good lessons and are worth paying attention to.
IoT concerns – TV remote eavesdropping via voice commands
Recently revealed at the RSA security conference and reported in TechTarget, researchers from security firm Guardicore were able to successfully turn Comcast TV voice remotes into eavesdropping tools, covertly recording conversations via the remote's microphone.
Corporate Information Security and Privacy Challenges from Covid – 2021 update.
2021 update: originally posted in April of 2020, a year later this article is still very significant. Empty offices and increased work from home creates privacy and information security problems. Meetings once contained in a secure board room have now spread out to executive homes in multiple locations, each one with it's own inherent security vulnerabilities. The need for TSCM sweeps has moved to a new level.
Killer eavesdropped on victims for a year using hidden microphone
A loner installed a listening device to eavesdrop on neighbors before launching a “carefully planned, premeditated” attack, where he used a crossbow to kill a council worker and seriously injured his girlfriend. This helps demonstrate the importance of TSCM for personal protection.