Mirage device to be used in espionage?

(CBS News)  

You don't have to be in the hot desert or on a long road in the summer to see an optical phenomenon - also known as a mirage - thanks to new scientific innovations.

Straight out of sci-fi novel, researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas have come up with a device that makes objects disappear using the mirage effect, a cool optical illusion that is often portrayed in classic, American western movies.

So how does it work? This device uses an optical phenomenon, in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky, according to the IOP (Institute of Physics blog).

"The most common example of a mirage is when an observer appears to see pools of water on the ground. This occurs because the air near the ground is a lot warmer than the air higher up, causing lights rays to bend upward towards the viewer's eye rather than bounce off the surface," explains the IOP.

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Double-O Who? Meet history's unsung spies

telegraph.co.uk

Ask most people to name a spy and they will say James Bond. If they are a little more cerebral they might say George Smiley, the spymaster who, having been immortalised by Sir Alec Guinness on the small screen, this Friday comes to the big screen in one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the autumn. In the latest version of John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Gary Oldman is taking on the role of Smiley, with a supporting cast that includes John Hurt and Colin Firth.

But back to our question, which was name a spy. Such is the potency of literature that most people have long since blurred in their imaginations the difference between fictional spies and real-life ones. This is partly because some of the best spy novels were written by former spies, notably Ian Fleming, Graham Greene and, of course, John le Carré.

So let us phrase the question more clearly. Name a real-life spy… Most people will go with the big three: Philby, Burgess and Maclean. Others that pole-vault to mind are Anthony Blunt, George Blake, Dame Stella Rimington, Mata Hari, Eddie Chapman (Agent Zig-Zag), and Peter “Spycatcher” Wright. Those wishing to put the vaulting bar a little higher might also name Guy Liddell, Oleg Gordievsky, Vera Atkins, Melita Norwood, the atomic spy Klaus Fuchs, Richard Sorge and that notorious Soviet spy Harold Wilson.

But what do all these real-life spies have in common?

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Appeals Court to Weigh NSA Dragnet Surveillance

wired.com



Whether the federal government and the nation’s telecommunication companies can be held accountable for allegedly funneling every American’s electronic communication to the National Security Agency without warrants is the subject of oral arguments scheduled for a federal appeals court Wednesday.

At issue is a Jan. 31, 2006 lawsuit, and others that followed, alleging violations of the Fourth Amendment right to be free from warrantless searches and seizures. The cases, about three dozen which will be consolidated into two oral arguments, have been thrown out of court on a variety of grounds, chiefly the government’s claim that the lawsuits would expose state secrets, and a 2008 law that immunized the nation’s telcos from such lawsuits.

Nearly six years later, the merits of the lawsuits have never been addressed. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which brought the leading cases, appealed, and contends that the litigation should never have been dismissed.

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Art Professor to Remove "Third Eye" Camera From Head

Not everyone is cutout to be an "Eye Spy"...;)
nbcnewyork.com
Artist had a camera installed on the back of his head for a performance project

A New York City professor's controversial art project is becoming quite a headache - literally.

Wafaa Bilal, an assistant arts professor at New York University, needed to remove the camera he had installed into the back of his head earlier this month because his body rejected the foreign object.

One of the three titanium posts holding his "third eye" was removed by surgery this Friday, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports, forcing him to find other means to continue with his photography project for a museum in Qatar.

"I'm determined to continue with it," Bilal told the Chronicle about "3rdi" which is described on his website as "a statement on surveillance, the mundane and the things we leave behind."

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AeroScout Announces Wi-Fi RFID Tag That Withstands Surgical-Equipment Sterilization Processes

rfidjournal.com

AeroScout, a provider of Wi-Fi based real-time location systems (RTLS), has announced a Wi-Fi RFID tag for tracking surgical equipment through its entire lifecycle—from sterilization to the operating room. The AeroScout Autoclave tag is designed to withstand rigorous sterilization processes, the company reports, including ultrasonic cleaning, high-pressure liquid sterilization and steam autoclaving. According to AeroScout, the combination of these new tags with AeroScout's health-care RTLS solution is aimed at helping hospitals improve staff efficiency, automate inventory management and optimize operating-room workflow. The new tag is designed for attachment to surgical instrument trays and other equipment, so that they may be automatically tracked while progressing through the numerous stages of preparation for surgical procedures, and then through the perioperative process. After every use, surgical equipment requires thorough sterilization, often including an autoclave. The AeroScout Autoclave Tag handles temperatures of 135 degrees Celsius (275 degrees Fahrenheit) and changes in pressure experienced during cleaning and sterilization, ranging from negative pressure (a vacuum) to 35 pounds per square inch. In addition, the tag is designed to deliver a battery life of two years, and to withstand the harsh conditions of hundreds of sterilization cycles.

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Man in disguise boards international flight

Note: This just in from our friend "Mike" Heads up! Pay attention out there will ya! Grandma was slow, but she was 100! JDL
cnn.com

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Canadian authorities are investigating an "unbelievable" incident in which a passenger boarded an Air Canada flight disguised as an elderly man, according to a confidential alert obtained by CNN.

The incident occurred on October 29 on Air Canada flight AC018 to Vancouver originating in Hong Kong. An intelligence alert from the Canada Border Services Agency describes the incident as an "unbelievable case of concealment."

"Information was received from Air Canada Corporate Security regarding a possible imposter on a flight originating from Hong Kong," the alert says. "The passenger in question was observed at the beginning of the flight to be an elderly Caucasian male who appeared to have young looking hands. During the flight the subject attended the washroom and emerged an Asian looking male that appeared to be in his early 20s."

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iPod Shuffle Spy Camera

gadgetreview.com

Believe it or not this is a spy cam. Yup, it looks just like the recently released iPod Shuffle, so it should have no problems fitting it. To the right of the controls is a pinhole that contains a small camera that can capture 640×480 video. Unlike the actual Apple device this one contains an SD card slot and can play your favorite MP3s while you record all sorts of nefarious activities. The only downside is that the battery will last for just one hour when in full operation.

Not All Technical Threats are Bugs: Sonic Nausea device

cg

We’re not too sure what something like the Sonic Nausea device is doing in the open market – shouldn’t stuff like this be banned? After all, the rather deadly combination of high frequency soundwaves that will result in the majority of people who hear it to feel queasy or suffer from headaches, intense irritation, sweating, imbalance, nausea and vomiting sounds (pun intended) as though it belongs to the military or riot police and not in the hands of pranksters. To make matters worse, the nature of its sound makes it all the harder to track down if the device is hidden. Perhaps the 9V battery which it is connected to will be able to provide enough juice to run for hours on end – making it the ideal tool to have everyone in the immediate office feel sick to call it quits for the day.

Note: Contact ComSec LLc, we use State of the Art TSCM equipment to detect, isolate & nullify this type of Technical Harassment Threat. JDL

12 Top Spy Gadgets

pcworld.com
Spies are everywhere these days, from the 10 Russian agents nabbed recently here in the United States to the more glamorous Hollywood variety, such as is Angelina Jolie. In the movie Salt, Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, a CIA officer accused of being a Russian spy.

With so many secret agents--both real and fictional--these days, we thought it might be helpful to examine a short list of modern-day high-tech spy gear. After all, who knows when you'll need invisible ink, or a code to pass messages in, or just the right bag to swap in a stairwell?

But before we get started on our surveillance, we must offer a big disclaimer about this collection of sneaky hardware (and software): Using any of this spy gear may be illegal or unethical, depending on how and where you use it. If you're unsure, check the laws in your state and consult your conscience. By linking to the Websites hosting additional information about the products mentioned in this article, we do not mean to endorse them.

To view an abbreviated, slideshow version of this article, see "Spies Like Us: Spy Gear for Your Inner Secret Agent."

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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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Auction heaven for 007: Rare espionage gadgets

dailymail.co.uk

There's a camera that shoots darts, a lipstick tube containing a dagger and fake monkey dung that explodes.

All were part of the armoury developed at a top-secret British spy camp on the bleak shore of a Canadian lake.

And if it all sounds a bit James Bond, then perhaps that's not surprising. Among the agents who learned their deadly craft at Camp X near Ontario was Bond's creator, Ian Fleming.

The gadgets, which also include a poison gas pen, and hundreds of other artefacts such as photos, fake cash, weapons, radios and uniforms, are part of an intriguing collection left behind after the wartime spy factory closed.

For years they have been housed in a museum, a reminder of the daring of the British special operatives who were trained at the camp before going behind enemy lines.

But now the museum's owner wants to sell up, angering those with links to Camp X. Among the items for sale is a radio used to keep in touch with London. It is expected to fetch £32,000.

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