USB Flash Drive Spy Cufflinks

cg

All Spies must have their data with them at all times! We want absolutely everything to be mobile and with us at all times. Which makes these flash drive cufflinks only the obvious next step. This pair of USB drives will let you keep all of your documents directly on your wrist. Plus you can keep two different sets, since you’ll have a drive on each wrist.

It will give you a total of 4GB worth of space to fill up, there’s 2GB on each of the drives. You can even have the shiny drive engraved. Should you not like the shiny look you can also pick up gunmetal and gold finishes. They are small enough that it’s unlikely that another spy will notice them.

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You Too Can Have An iPad Spy Suit !

cg

"Q" meets Armani?

So you decided to jump on the bandwagon and buy an iPad. Now what? You can’t just slip it into your pocket like the rest of your electronics, but it just seems odd to carry it in a laptop bag. The iPad just doesn’t have a category so it’s trying to attempt to find the proper way to carry it around. Thankfully one suit maker is more than happy to create a custom suit that has a giant pocket on the inside just for your precious iPad.

Rush out and get yours Here

Protecting the smartphone from malware

connectedplanetonline.com

Despite the increasing sophistication of smartphones and other mobile devices, viruses and malware don’t plague the wireless industry the way they do the personal and business computing worlds. But computer protection software giant Symantec has decided to dive into the smartphone space regardless, in anticipation of future security threats and to stake a claim in the growing applications market.

Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) today announced the launch of Norton Everywhere a suite of services and applications targeting Android and Apple iPhone devices as well the growing number of non-PC devices connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi and home networks. The most familiar service in that suite is a mobile version of its Norton Antivirus software, initially for Android phones only, which identifies malicious applications and software before they’re downloaded and installed onto a device. It will also scan applications already installed on a device to see if they are doing anything suspicious, such as accessing phone logs and phone books and relaying that information across the network, and warn users about just what their apps are doing.

Norton Mobile will be available as a Beta application in June, and while Symantec is investigating optimizing the security solution for other platforms, it felt Android was the best place to start. Unlike the iPhone, which uses a closed application distribution model driven by Apple’s App Store, Android software can come from anywhere — the Web, third-party app stores, even embedded in an e-mail, said Dan Nadir, director of product management for Symantec.

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iPhone Security Flaw: Using a PIN Won't Help You

pcworld.com
Using a four-digit PIN to lock your iPhone doesn't really protect your data, security and IT blogger Bernd Marienfeldt has discovered. In an article describing the iPhone's business security framework, Marienfeldt has found a "data protection vulnerability" in Apple's iPhone 3GS.

Marienfeldt, working with security expert Jim Herbeck, has been able to reproduce the vulnerability on at least three non jail-broken iPhone 3GS handsets with different iPhone OS versions installed (including the latest). All tested iPhones were protected with a four-digit PIN.

In Marienfeldt's own words:

"The unprotected iPhone 3GS mounting is “limited” to the DCIM folder under Ubuntu <>please do make sure that the native Ubuntu system is fully up to date, e.g. “apt-get update, “apt-get upgrade” - any virtualization based solution will not work as described). I used the Alternate CD with x86 and AMD64 on different hardware."

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Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, caught on tape trying to sell access to ex-husband, Prince Andrew

nydailynews.com

The Duchess of York has been caught on tape trying to make big bucks off Buckingham Palace, selling access to ex-hubby Prince Andrew for more than $700,000.

The pathetic bid for money was completely unknown to the prince, who is the second son of Queen Elizabeth and fourth in line to the throne, according to the News of the World, which set up the sting operation.

Ferguson, a 50-year-old redhead, even says flat out the prince "never does accept a penny for anything," before shaking on the shady deal.

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IBM: We distributed malware-ridden USB drives

news.cnet.com

IBM is apologizing for handing out USB drives at a security conference in Australia this week that had malware on them.

The thumb drives were distributed for free to people who walked up to the IBM booth at the AusCERT conference.

"Unfortunately we have discovered that some of these USB keys contained malware and we suspect that all USB keys may be affected," Glenn Wightwick, chief technologist at IBM Australia, wrote in a letter to AusCERT delegates that was reprinted on the Beast or Buddha blog.

"The malware is detected by the majority of current Anti Virus products [as at 20/05/2010] and been known since 2008," the letter said. "The malware is known by a number of names and is contained in the setup.exe and autorun.ini files. It is spread when the infected USB device is inserted into a Microsoft Windows workstation or server whereby the setup.exe and autorun.ini files run automatically."

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''Do not put anything on the internet that you don't want on the front page of the New York Times.''

winknews.com

LEE COUNTY, Fla. - Ever wonder what your kids are doing on-line? Now, you can find out, but the same device that is helping you spy could be used on you without you knowing.

They're little flash drives that do the snooping. You just plug them into the computer you want to spy on. After 60 seconds, you take it out and can access all the information from that computer... anytime, anywhere.

"As soon as they plug it in, I can launch the software and - game over. Now I have control of that computer."

It's something some parents like the idea of - especially when it comes to kids chatting with strangers online.

"I think kids get into a lot more trouble sometimes without them even realizing it and parents have no control over what they are seeing and looking and going through."

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Google's Wi-Fi Spying: What Were They Thinking?

pcworld.com
"Don't be evil" has gone all 1984 on us. Or so it seems after Google revealed Friday that its Street View cars, in addition to snapping photos of the world's roadways, have also been collecting sensitive personal information from unencrypted wireless networks.

It was no secret that Google's cars had already been collecting publicly broadcast SSID information (Wi-Fi network names) and MAC addresses (unique numbers for devices like Wi-Fi routers). But this techie data, which is used for location-based services such as Google Maps, didn't include any "payload data," or personal information sent over the network.

Or so "Big Brother" Google claimed on April 27. But yesterday the search behemoth 'fessed up to a security gaffe of Orwellian proportions. Due to a piece of code written in 2006 by an engineer for an experimental Wi-Fi project, Google had in fact been collecting those private bits after all.

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Confessed Spy Convicted of Exporting U.S. Crypto Gear to China

wired.com

A Chinese national was convicted this week of smuggling and other charges over his efforts to acquire sensitive military and NSA-encryption gear from eBay and other internet sources.

Chi Tong Kuok, of Macau, told Defense Department and Customs investigators that he had been “acting at the direction of officials for the People’s Republic of China,” according to a government affidavit in the case. “Kuok indicated he and PRC officials sought the items to figure out ways to listen to or monitor U.S. government and military communications.”

Kuok was arrested at the Atlanta International Airport last year en route from Paris to Panama, where he planned to meet an undercover federal agent he believed was going to provide him with military radios. He was transferred to California and indicted (.pdf) for money laundering, conspiracy, smuggling and one count of attempting to export a defense article without a license. On Tuesday, a jury convicted him on all counts.

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Is your web cam spying on you?

kwgn.com
DENVER - Web cameras make it easy to keep in touch with far away friends and family. If you have a web cam on your home computer, laptop or even your cell phone, a hacker can be lurking, just waiting for a chance to gain control.

Right now, hackers are spying on innocent users via their web cam and microphones. It starts with a simple email, link or program sent to you.

"The bad guys go out there and find vulnerabilities in different applications and programs," says Michael Gregg, COO of Superior Solutions Inc.

Once you click on it, your computer is overrun by the hacker's program.

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Espionage Expo-sed

economist.com

IS industrial espionage something to worry about on a business trip? That obviously depends where you're going. Homeland Security Newswire (HSNW), not a government website, but a news service in "the business of homeland security", has concerns about China, and offered some advice last week to anyone thinking of visiting Shanghai's World Expo. Leave your laptop at home (to avoid it being compromised); carry a disposable mobile phone (for the same reason); and beware agents of foreign powers (ie, China) on the look-out for new recruits.

China will stop at nothing to steal trade secrets (Russia is also singled out)—witness a 2008 US intelligence report, whose authority Fox backs up with mostly anonymous comments from American officials past and present. Businessmen foolhardy enough to bring their own electronic devices run the risk of electronic bugging by hotel staff. "A hotel maid could simply install a file on a guest’s computer.

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Thieves Flood Victim’s Phone With Calls to Loot Bank Accounts

wired.com

Bank thieves have rolled out a new weapon in their arsenal of tactics — telephony denial-of-service attacks that flood a victim’s phone with diversionary calls while the thieves drain the victim’s account of money.

A Florida dentist lost $400,000 from his retirement account last year in this manner, and the FBI said the attacks are growing.

A spokeswoman for the Communication Fraud Control Association — a telecom industry organization — told Threat Level that although fraudulent transfers have been halted in a number of cases, the losses are increasing.

“I know it’s in the millions,” said Roberta Aranoff, executive director of the CFCA. “It has exceeded a million dollars easily.”

Last November, Robert Thousand Jr., a semi-retired dentist in Florida, received a flood of calls to several phones. When he answered them, he heard a 30-second recording for a sex hotline, according to the St. Augustine Record.

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Chemical Concussions and Secret LSD: Pentagon Details Cold War Mind-Control Tests

wired.com

More than 30 years after it was written, the Pentagon has released a memorandum detailing its involvement in the CIA’s infamous Cold War mind-control experiments.

But a warning to conspiracy theorists on the lookout for new fodder: This isn’t quite Men Who Stare at Goats II.

The 17-page document (.pdf), “Experimentation Programs conducted by the Department of Defense That Had CIA Sponsorship or Participation and That Involved the Administration to Human Subjects of Drugs Intended for Mind-Control or Behavior-Modification Purposes,” was prepared in 1977 by the General Counsel of the Department of Defense and released on May 6 after a Freedom of Information Act request.

Most of the details have been revealed in earlier CIA papers. And if anything, the Pentagon’s recap is a reminder of how little the Department of Defense cops to knowing about the CIA projects.

Still, there are some tantalizing new details. Take the origins of MK-ULTRA, the notorious CIA program that dosed thousands of unwitting participants with hallucinogenic drugs.

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Personal Surveillance: Video Cameras to Watch Your Home From Afar

foxbusiness.com

Daydreams about getting away for the summer (or for just the weekend) can quickly lead to anxiety: Will my home be safe while I'm away? Will the kids obey the rules or throw some wild party? Is my neighbor really checking on the cats?

Enter the high-tech solution: Video cameras to monitor your place from afar.

While Web cams have been around for many years, they have typically been either expensive standalone systems (meaning professional installation required) or about as much fun to set up as chewing tin foil. Thankfully, a new generation of Web cam monitoring systems promises to be easier to install and easier on the wallet.

The classic approach to monitoring your home on your own is to use a video camera that can be connected directly to a home network without the aid of a PC. Panasonic has long been one of the leaders in this area (the company also makes professional surveillance systems). The company's $200 BL-C210A Network Camera can be plugged directly into a home router and accessed through its own Internet address (supplied for free by Panasonic).

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Former Con Man Helps Feds Thwart Alleged ATM Hacking Spree

wired.com

A North Carolina grocery worker is being held without bail in Houston on attempted computer hacking charges after inadvertently partnering with an undercover FBI agent in an alleged citywide ATM-reprogramming caper.

Thor Alexander Morris, 19, was arrested at a Houston flea market last month after trying a default administrative passcode on a Tranax Mini-Bank ATM there, according to the FBI. Morris, who was wearing a wig to disguise his appearance, allegedly hoped to reprogram the machine to think it was loaded with $1 bills instead of $20 bills. That would let him pull $8,000 in cash with $400 in withdrawals from a prepaid debit card.

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Former Michelin executive guilty of trying to sell company secrets

etyres.co.uk

A former Michelin tyres executive has been found guilty of trying to sell company secrets to the firm’s main rival Bridgestone.

Marwan Arbache faces a maximum 10-year jail sentence and a heavy fine after sending an email offering to sell confidential information for around £100,000 back in July 2007.

Michelin was tipped off by Bridgestone and the Japanese competitor ultimately helped its French rival nail the suspect.

Arbache, 34, who worked for Michelin for seven years, was charged with supplying information to a foreign company that could have “undermined the country’s fundamental interests”, violating trademark secrets and breach of trust.

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Android Spy Software Exposes Photo, Video and Email Secrets

prnewswire.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Retina-X Studios, LLC announced today new logging features for their hidden monitoring software for Android smartphones. Mobile Spy now includes the ability to view every photo and video captured and every email sent or received. These new features add to the previous features of call, SMS, browser and GPS logging.

After the hidden software is installed to the phone by a parent or employer, activity logs are viewable online in real time. The software records the actual contents of every text message, logs full call details and web browser visits. Actual GPS locations linked to maps are also recorded at a rate the user sets. All logs can be reviewed from anywhere by logging into a secure website.

Anytime a new photo or video is taken on the monitored Android device, it will instantly be viewable inside the online Mobile Spy account.

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World’s Expo In China Attendees, potential targets for espionage?

foxnews.com
China says it's an "opportunity to showcase great achievements and diverse cultures," but the World's Expo, which opens in Shanghai on Friday night, is also an opportunity for China to spy on Americans and even recruit new intelligence sources, according to current and former U.S. officials.

"Are people who go to the Expo potential targets for espionage? I think you'd be a fool to think otherwise," said one U.S. official, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the topic.

More than 70 million people from China and abroad, including some of the world's most powerful businessmen, are expected to visit the Expo before it closes in six months. Nearly 200 countries have set up pavilions, displays and food stands representing their singular cultures and history, according to event organizers.

"The event will be the first registered world exhibition held in a developing country, demonstrating the international community's trust in China and its anticipation of the country's future development," said a video released by event organizers. "Expo Shanghai provides an opportunity for China to see the world, and the world to see China."

But for years U.S. officials have worried that China might be able to see too much during the World’s Expo and similar global events.

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Police Wiretapping Jumps 26 Percent

wired.com

The number of wiretaps authorized by state and federal judges in criminal investigations jumped 26 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to a report released Friday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Courts authorized 2,376 criminal wiretap orders in 2009, with 96 percent targeting mobile phones in drug cases, according to the report. Federal officials requested 663 of the wiretaps, while 24 states accounted for 1,713 orders.

Not one request for a wiretap was turned down.

Each wiretap caught the communications of an average of 113 people, meaning that 268,488 people had text messages or phone calls monitored through the surveillance in 2009, a new record. Only 19 percent of the intercepted communications were incriminating, the same as in 2008. The report attributes some of the rise in the numbers to better reporting by the nation’s courts.

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