A few posts ago, it was noted that the FBI is echoing the desires of several countries around the world about having backdoor keys to all communications encryption schemes. BlackBerry, Skype, etc. are seeing the beginning of the end of their privacy advantage.
Some countries threatened to outright ban encryption they can’t crack, but how can this concept be sold to the U.S. Congress?
Attending and presenting at the annual ERI meeting means telling clients we will be unavailable for a few days. They understand once I tell them what goes on behind these closed doors. The information I gather directly benefits them. If you think any of this can help you, give me a call and I will brief you in greater detail.
This is what I heard today…
• Need to make sure the people outside of your room can’t overhear you?
Dynasound to the rescue. As they say, “These are not your father’s white noise generators.” Made to be un-filterable, this white noise is injected directly into construction materials (as opposed to vibrated in with old piezo-electric transducers). The benefit… walls, windows, ceilings and floors transmit the sound outward. People in the room can hardly hear it. Bonus… Need a temporary solution (as in a hotel) or need to move the permanent installation? No problem. The new transducers are easy to move.
• Want to have 24/7 monitoring of an area for certain types of bugging devices?
Global TSCM Group has an answer. Their multi-faceted monitoring system may be monitored anywhere via the Internet. It may not be the total answer, but it helps when securing Boardrooms and creating secure conference rooms.
• Need to control Wi-Fi and cell phone usage in your building?
AirPatrol can do it. Once their system is installed, you will know where every rogue laptop, unauthorized Wi-Fi appearance point and cell phone is… within six feet of its exact location, plotted on a computer map. Also, monitorable via the Internet. (PS – There is a whole lot more their system does. Visit their web site.)
Ok… Lunch break.
• Need portable secure storage for cell phones and tablets when everyone enters the top secret meeting? Hey, you never know whose cell phone is infected with spyware, turning their phone into a bugging device.
Vector Technologies has the answer, and if the answer doesn’t suit you, talk to them. They will
make whatever you need. Bonus… It won’t look like an old pirate’s chest. They make really nice looking stuff with pneumatic lids! Independent testing labs certify effectiveness. Call 540-872-0444.
The rest of the afternoon, ERI members taught what they know…
• “Finds in the Computer World” – Dr. Gordon Mitchell
• “Access Control / Physical Security” – Mark Clayton
• “Building and Using a UV LED Light Source” – Dr. Gordon Mitchell
• “Adventures with Software Defined Radio” – Kevin D. Murray
More tomorrow…
(MJD, DC can be fun. Make the TSCM hajj next year.)
Back in 2007, when the Dutch government announced that all 7 million homes in the Netherlands would be equipped with smart meters by 2013, it anticipated little resistance. After all, who wouldn’t welcome a device that could save both energy and money? But consumers worried that such intelligent monitoring devices, which transmit power-usage information to the utility as frequently as every 15 minutes, would make them vulnerable to thieves, annoying marketers, and police investigations. They spoke out so strongly against these ”espionage meters” that the government made them optional…
Of more than 9000 consumers polled in 17 countries, about one-third said they would be discouraged from using energy-management programs, such as smart metering, if it gave utilities greater access to data about their personal energy use…
It all sounds less paranoid when you consider that each appliance—the refrigerator, kettle, toaster, washing machine—has its own energy fingerprint, or ”appliance load signature,” that a smart meter can read. Anyone who gets hold of this data gets a glimpse of exactly what appliances you use and how often you use them. (more)
“300” writer Michael Gordon has sold a spooky surveillance project to NBC. The idea was spawned by the controversial U.S electronic eavesdropping apparatus ECHELON, a program that supposedly captures virtually all data signals for analysis at a central hub in West Virginia.
These millions of video, audio and data files are then disseminated to various federal and local law enforcement agencies for further investigation.
Now here’s the twist from the show’s logline: “There is, however, less than 1% of the data that nobody wants to touch. These are the classified video files that seem to have captured the unexplainable.”
The show will center on a fictional team called G.H.O.S.T. (Global Hierarchical Observation Strategy Taskforce) whose assignment it is to investigate this paranormal data. (more)
An Akamai Technologies Inc. employee was arrested and charged Wednesday with allegedly providing confidential business information over an 18-month period to a person he believed to be an agent of a foreign government.
Elliot Doxer, 42 years old, was charged in a complaint with one count of wire fraud, according to the Justice Department. The complaint alleges that on June 22, 2006, Mr. Doxer, of Brookline, Mass., sent an email to a foreign country’s consulate in Boston stating that he was willing to provide any information that he had access to that might help the country.
It is alleged that in later communications, Mr. Doxer said his chief desire “was to help our homeland and our war against our enemies.” He also allegedly asked for $3,000 in light of the risks he was taking.
The unnamed foreign government cooperated with the U.S. in the investigation. A Justice Department spokeswoman wasn’t immediately available to comment. (more)
