Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – 2011 Trailer

An espionage thriller set around the Cold War. Ex MI6 George Smiley is forced out of retirement to unearth a Soviet agent within “The Circus.” It hits theaters on November 11th and I must say after peeping the trailer I’m eagerly anticipating its arrival. Watch this, and See for yourself.

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?

More...

Espionage Lessons Learned From Bond—James Bond

wsj.com

For "Carte Blanche," the newest James Bond novel, I soaked up a number of fascinating factoids about tradecraft—the subdued term for the techniques of espionage. My knowledge will have faded in a few years, but in the short term, I'm a bit of a spymaster. I thought I might share a few of the more useful tricks of the trade, in case you find yourself tapped (recruited) by a handler (the spy who supervises field agents) to help out the pros.

Apparently this happens quite frequently. At least according to Hollywood.

• To be a spy, you don't need to break into top-secret facilities, climb through air ducts and make your way through laser beam fields. Yes, agents do some of that acrobatic stuff, as well as sit in front of really neat high-def monitors, a la Jack Bauer in "24," while vacuuming up cellphone calls and emails. But a huge amount of "product," as intelligence is called, comes from open sources, information available to everyone, found in newspapers, on TV, in unclassified government, corporate and nonprofit reports and from observations in public. You can be sure that somebody in Russia's SVR, one of the KGB's successor agencies, is jotting down notes about this article even as you read it.

More...

Military Tracking Tech, From Super Scents to Quantum Dots

wired
Scents that make you trackable, indoors and out. Nanocrystals that stick to your body, and light up on night-vision goggles. Miniradar that maps your location on Google Earth.

You can run, but you'll learn it's hard to hide from a new range of military tech. The Defense Department calls it “tagging, tracking and locating,” or TTL, this business of finding and following high-value targets on the battlefield. Ever since SEAL Team 6 took out Osama bin Laden, we’ve learned a lot about the technology used by special operators to find and reach their targets, from stealth helicopters to biometric identification devices. TTL gear, though, ranks among the spookiest Special Operations’ extremely spooky arsenal.

More...

CIA reveals invisible ink recipes used by WWI spies

bbc.co.uk
World War I spies engraved messages on toe-nails and used lemon juice to write invisible letters, classified documents released by the CIA reveal.

The six documents, amongst the oldest secret papers to be held by the agency, disclose a number of spying techniques.

The nearly century-old records include instructions "to suspect and examine every possible thing".

Recent advancements in technology have made it possible to release the documents, the CIA said.

One document suggests soaking a handkerchief, or any other starched substance, in nitrate, soda and starch, in order to make a portable invisible ink solution.

Putting the treated handkerchief in water would release a solution that could then be used to write secret messages, the records say. A document written in 1914 in French, exposes a German formula for making secret ink, suggesting that French spies had managed to crack the enemy's code.

More...

Tools of Tradecraft: The CIA’s Historic Spy Kit

wired

Whenever James Bond needed a nifty device to snap a surreptitious surveillance picture or escape the gilded clutches of Auric Goldfinger, he could count on the ingenious minds in the Secret Service's Q Division to devise a solution. Real-world Bonds working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and its precursor the Office of Strategic Services, could turn to the Office of Research and Development for similar tradecraft tools.

From mosquito drones to couture cameras, the CIA had its agents' needs covered. Some of these devices are now displayed in the CIA's museum, located at the agency's Langley, Virginia, headquarters.

More...

'Archer' Season 2: The Smartest, Smuttiest, Silliest Spy Satire on TV Returns

buddytv.com
As with most great comedies, especially of the cartoon variety, to describe FX's spy satire Archer on premise alone is to greatly undersell it. Sure, there's international espionage, jokes about code names and turtlenecks and bomb diffusion, and Get Smart-esque assassins screwing everything up before saving the day at the last possible second. Video & More...

Caught Spying on Student, FBI Demands GPS Tracker Back

wired

A California student got a visit from the FBI this week after
he found a secret GPS tracking device on his car, and a
friend posted photos of it online. The post prompted wide
speculation about whether the device was real, whether the
young Arab-American was being targeted in a terrorism
investigation and what the authorities would do.
It took just 48 hours to find out: The device was real, the
student was being secretly tracked and the FBI wanted its
expensive device back, the student told Wired.com in an
interview Wednesday. More...

Charlie Wilson’s Warrior Becomes Top Pentagon Spook

wired
Remember that nerdy-yet-lethal kid from the Tom Hanks biopic about the U.S.’s proxy fight in 80s-era Afghanistan, Charlie Wilson’s War? That’s Michael Vickers, a longtime Special Forces and CIA guy. Last night, President Obama quietly nominated him to one of the Pentagon’s highest offices. Call it a trend: in the last few months, architects and advocates of stealth wars against terrorists have risen to the highest levels of the intelligence community.

More...

Cell phone spying: James Bond cool or cyberstalking tool?

computerworld.com
Security researchers masked as hackers have begun to show the world the many vulnerabilities in smart phones. MWR InfoSecurity recently cooked up a Palm Pre bug which allowed them to turn the Pre into a James Bond-like device. According to Belfast Telegraph, MWR also discovered a flaw in Google's Android phone that would allow attackers to collect all the information stored in the phone's browser, such as browser history, passwords and usernames.

In the coming years, more vulnerabilities will be discovered by security researchers and hackers. Phones may be used to conduct espionage or personal blackmail. Yet it does not take a hacker to turn your smartphone against you or to spy on you. These spy gadget "tools" have been around for years. They could be used by bosses or by a suspicious significant other.

More...

SECURITY ALERT! Latest New Video Spy Gadget

Note: This "Spy Gadget Security Alert" just in from our friend "Mike", so pay attention! You know the drill. He’d tell where he got this secret information from....but then he'd have to.....well, you know! JDL

mattel.com

Barbie® Video Girl™ Doll

Budding Spymasters, take note: Barbie® doll now doubles as a video camera! Girls (or little Spies in training) can record and play back clips with this multi-tasking doll, which has a video camera built right in. Capture everything from a doll's-eye-view, then watch it instantly or upload to your computer. There's an LCD screen on Barbie® doll's back, and a camera lens hidden discreetly in her necklace. Talk about spying on your enemies in style!



More...

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."

More...

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.

More...

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

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.

More...

Corporate Espionage: Fact And Fiction

sfgate.com
Corporate espionage is probably not what you think of when you hear the word spy. It's not Sean Connery with his debonair manner, nor is it Tom Cruise hanging from suspension cable; sometimes it's as simple as a man in a bathrobe sitting in front of a computer with a touchtone phone beside it. Google found out that espionage can "allegedly" be a sovereign state seeking to quash dissidents. We'll look at both the fact and fiction surrounding the world of the corporate spy. (From godfathers to perps, familiarize yourself with the "criminal elements" creeping around Wall Street, in Handcuffs And Smoking Guns: The Criminal Elements Of Wall Street.)

More...

"The Stake Out"