The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is warning local politicians, government officials and faction leaders against buying cars imported from Israel for fear they may contain eavesdropping equipment or even remote-activated bombs planted by Israeli security agencies. (more)
Test your car…
If you own a late model General Motors car with OnStar, try this test. Tune your radio to 770 AM, turn up the volume and tap on the OnStar microphone near the rear view mirror. Do you hear yourself coming through the radio? No? Maybe they only bugged my car. ~Kevin
A controversial mobile phone application, which helps a cell phone user read the text messages of others secretly, has been removed from sale by Internet search engine Google.
Google said the application, called SMS Secret Replicator, violated its terms.
Once installed on a mobile phone, the Android phone application automatically creates carbon copies of incoming text messages and forwards them to a selected number – prompting fears it could be used by jealous lovers and even work colleagues to snoop on private messages. (more) (video)
Google may have dropped it from their marketplace, but doesn’t mean this $9.99 app is not available elsewhere. (more)
Coming soon, a way you can detect if your phone is infected with spyware. (more)
Earlier this year after a suspicious break-in, a leading Sydney Councillor accidentally discovered a listening device concealed under his house. It was alleged that the same councillor had located another device some weeks earlier that was apparently logging computer activity, via a crude attachment at the back of his PC. The councillor felt that the installation must be politically motivated, as little was stolen during the initial break-in. Furthermore, there was an election looming and various suspicious [political] incidents occurred during the lead-up.
As a result, management within the local government he represents requested that a series of sweeps be undertaken of other councillor’s homes.
It begs the question of who would be bugging a local councillor and for what benefit? We have undertaken technical surveillance countermeasure inspections for numerous governments (local, state and federal) over the years, generally as a precautionary measure. Interestingly, we’ve found definitive evidence of listening devices having been placed at a number of locations and have provided practical security advice accordingly. In most cases, however, we’ve believed that these placements have been in relation to various inquiries undertaken by law enforcement agencies – an area we do not want to interfere with.
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via Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
The only thing “new” about Firesheep is that how it easy makes it to do. I’m unimpressed. Anyone who was serious about grabbing your personal information has already been doing it for years. Trust me, if someone really wanted your data and you’ve been using open Wi-Fi networks, they already grabbed it.
No, the real worry isn’t about some jerk grabbing your Twitter password in a coffee house.
The real worry has always been that your office Wi-Fi is easy to compromise and then someone can use a
packet-sniffer to get something that really matters like your your Accounts Payable password. (
more)
Need a Wi-Fi Security Audit and Compliance Inspection? (you do) Please call me. (more)
11/4/10 – UPDATE: IBM researchers are proposing an approach to WiFi security they call Secure Open Wireless in light of the release of the Firesheep tool. (more)
11/5/10 – UPDATE: 10 Ways to Protect Yourself from Firesheep Attacks (more)
