Business organisations take a lot of precaution to ensure security of their premises, in particular this holds very true for any organisation where the safeguarding of data and information is vital to its operations because of high value of intellectual property.

Spycatcheronline has a service that provides an extensive and thorough sweep of any premise carried out by qualified surveillance technicians that includes detecting for any hidden devices such as listening devices, cameras, inspection of wirings, telecommunication systems, etc upon which a detailed report will be provided that can be used a guide to upgrade security, if required.

Of course, carrying out a one-off counter surveillance sweep may not seem very efficient on first thought as threats are ever present, but these sweeps are very comprehensive and designed to report on possible shortcomings interms of current defence the organistaion has in place because there can be leakages even when firms have strong security in place, so it will recommend devices that might be used to increase security of the premise further. Of course these types of comprehensive sweeps can also be carried out at random periodically to ensure consistency.

Police in the UK are warning computer users to upgrade their computer security and avoid opening emails they don’t recognise after a banking Trojan named Zeus (aka Zbot) infected thousands of computers globally to steal sensitive personal data. Passwords, credit card and bank account details have been stolen in this massive fraud.

The Trojan is one that also copies social network sites’ passwords and the data is automatically forwarded to servers which are under the control on hackers. It also showed itself as a Facebook page disguise asking users to download a software patch, which installed the malware on their systems. This is then used to infect and get information from computers of families and friends who are also on the networking site.

However, Zeus is sophisticated and avoids being caught by standard anti-virus, anti spyware/malware which is supposed to protect your computer, by changing its guise often so maximising online security and being vigilant is important. A man and a woman were arrested in Manchester in connection with this cyber crime. However the hacking is global and the two are out on bail pending further investigations.

Via: BBC

In the cut-throat world of business rivalry in all fields, it is no wonder that competition is even more fierce in the field of mobile communications – everybody wants a slice of the pie. As such T-Mobile’s loss of personal data is a big blow. Employees of the company stole and sold records of thousands of customers to third parties.

When people started getting calls from other mobile companies just as their contracts with T-Mobile was about to expire, the data loss came to light. Christopher Graham, information commissioner, said that the data breach was the biggest of its kind.

The office is preparing to prosecute the people responsible. Unfortunately, in the present scenario, penalties are not stringent enough. The Data Protection Act bans the selling on of data without prior permission from the customer and a fine of £5,000 can be imposed following a successful prosecution.

The threat of a prison sentence may act as a greater deterrent, but till such time, misuse of data and data theft can only attract a fine.

Via: BBC

The Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) is going to be responsible for cybersecurity, cyberdefence and even cyberattack (if necessary). Based in Cheltenham, the centre will be working with 19 staff members who are going to be recruited from within the government’s agencies/departments like the signal intelligence agency GCHQ, the Cabinet Office, UK intelligence agencies and law enforcement.

All staff recruited will have to understand the ‘hacker mentality’ as well as pass rigorous security vetting tests for this sensitive department. The agency is supposed to be fully staffed and functioning by March 10, 2010. It is going to protect and defend UK’s IT infrastructure.

The OCS (Office of Cyber Security) had been allocated a budget of £130,000 for the 2009-2010 period but there was no separate allocation for the CSOC – money to fund its operations would come out of existing budgets of all the organisations involved.

Via: ZDNet

Cars being broken into or even stolen is not that uncommon, especially in areas where its more prone to happen such as rough neighbourhoods, but it can happen anywhere. And often there seems to be precious little that you can do about it. This fingerprint car security system makes your car as secure as it possibly can be, with only people whose fingerprints are on the system allowed access to the car.

So you need the fingerprints and the car keys to even start the car – and if a thief gets hold of your car keys the car still won’t start. This makes it doubly secure. If you install a GSM sim card into the unit, it will even send you a text message letting you know if anybody has knocked your car or forcibly tried to enter or break into it.

This fingerprint ID security system has another built in feature – you can send text commands from your mobile phone to able or disable certain features as the needs arises. For instance if the car needs any repair you can disable the fingerprint scanner system, so that he can work on it without need to access the security system at all.

In case of an emergency you can even disable or enable the security system. In case somebody tries to break into the car, it will sound a loud alarm. But of course if somebody is holding a gun to your head, there is precious little you will be able to do!

The product does seem to have some complex functions (in a good way) and very useful features for a very reasonable price of around £135.

One problem with this might be what if the system fails to recognise the driver’s own fingerprint as it sometimes happens with fingerprint authentication?

Also, a determined thief might be able to get round it by breaking the system. But in any case there will be an alarm as well as a text sent to you if there is any forceful contact made on the car.

We have seen a calculator hide a covert camera before which has been covered by this site, but this is an even better idea – a calculator that is also a listening in device built around GSM technology.

The calculator picks up sounds with a coverage of around 20 feet radius around where it is positioned. It is a normal functioning calculator so it won’t raise any suspicion as the high sensitive microphone is stacked inside.

It is a clever device that secretly sends an alert via SMS whenever sounds are picked up so you will know when to listen in rather than wait impatiently. It also has a long (30 days) standby time meaning you can leave it for a long time if there is no activity without having to replace batteries.

The reason why I say this is better than the covert calculator camera is because a small hole needs to pip out to record the activity and the recording will be hindered somewhat by where the calculator is placed, these restrictions do not apply here with this one because the calculator hides the microphone inside so there is no visible element that might be a giveaway and also because sound can be picked irrespective of where the calculator is placed.

But the price is quite a bit on the expensive side; at well over £300, there are definitely cheaper options available, but this sound detection calculator does provide an excellent disguise other similar listening devices lack. There may also be cheaper imitations available from an online electronics store in China. If there is, I doubt it will match the quality of this particular one.

What is a phishing email?

A phishing email is an email which lands in your inbox and asks for sensitive personal data like bank account details, user names, passwords and other security information which the phisher can then use to steal your identity or your money. The email may purportedly come from banks, financial institutions or even friends whose addresses and identities have been mined from data mining sources or even your email address book.

Occasionally these emails may come from social networking sites which are a great source of information for various purposes, often nefarious or may come from supposedly trusted websites like Microsoft, eBay, Paypal or others, though it is not the web site which is sending the emails.

Here you can see screenshots of how a fake email but purported to be from Paypal may read and then there are screenshots of a fake Paypal login page and credit card detail form.

How does it work?

Very often the phishing email tells you to click on a link which will take you to a website which looks exactly like that of your bank or other website and enter data. The email will have already lured you by saying that data has been lost, corrupted or you just need to verify the data to prevent unauthorized transactions from taking place. And they may use pressure tactics saying that your account will be closed if you don’t do this.

Sometimes the email will ask you to phone a free number, which will be a free hotline number – beware it will be fake – and will ask you information orally.

While often the emails look extremely professional with the right logos and all that, sometimes the actual wording will be in improper or bad English with spelling and grammar mistakes. These are easier to spot.

What you should do to secure yourself

If you do receive an email from your bank, the best thing would be to call them up and ask them if they are actually asking for any such information because they almost never will. If you have secure anti virus software then you may go directly (by typing in the bank’s website address) and check with them through email. Never, never click on the link which is provided in the phishing email. At best you could be the victim of a virus attack at the worst, your identity will be stolen and your monies, too.

There are settings in most email providers which allow emails only from safe sources, do not allow mail to be sent as if it is coming from you and tell you if the mail may have a virus – that is if your anti-virus does not work. If you use Internet Explorer 8, it has a SmartScreen Filter to help detect unsafe and potentially unsafe Web sites as you browse.

The latest anti-virus software like McCafee, Norton and BitDefender and others all come with anti spyware, malware, anti spam and anti phishing add-ons which will lower your risk of being a victim of email fraud. If you suspect that you have inadvertently given your credit card/bank account details, call up the company immediately and tell them. Report to the appropriate authorities in your part of the world.

Make sure you run updates on Windows regularly as it will identify new forms spyware which it will detect and warn you about when you browse the Internet.

If you think you’ve become a victim you should take action early and as soon as possible. Below are some contact details that you can get in touch with to report violations.

Contact:

In the UK contact www. banksafeonline.org.uk, www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk or contact your bank or credit card issuer directly.

In the US, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report the situation, whether online or by telephone toll-free at 1-877-ID THEFT (877-438-4338) or TDD at 202-326-2502. If you are a victim of credit card fraud contact:
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374- 0241
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

https://www.paypal.com/helpcenter/main.jsp;jsessionid=0JyNK4tXr9CGtL10Gk06kqhpB2t5pXBhyHfk6KlvYcpvp1yxc5Tp!2015389319?locale=en_GB&_dyncharset=UTF-8&countrycode=US&cmd=_help&serverInstance=9016&t=solutionTab&ft=searchTab&ps=solutionPanels&solutionId=17210&isSrch=Yes
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html#whatifvictim
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/phishing/symptoms.aspx
http://www.bankofscotland-international.com/security/phishing.asp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4879468.stm
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/ContactOrDealWithHMRC/DG_10014956

Google has launched its Dashboard which allows a Google user greater and easier access to his account and also permits him to change his privacy and other settings. This is because Google was on the hot seat for the potential its services had to invade a user’s privacy.

Google Docs, Google Desktop and Gmail and also Street View have been in the news for providing easy access to unauthorised personnel even if it was unintentional on Google’s part. With Dashboard, a user will be able to check which Google applications have access to his data which is on Google and disable those functions.

However, Google has not been able to address all privacy concerns with this application. When people access Google for its search engine features, Google stores the data for a longer period of time than the European commission would like. Its Street View application is still an invasion of privacy.

Another problem that users are concerned about is that Google has the facility to save the user’s password, which can then be misused if the computer is hacked into. However, it is good that at least Google is moving forward to address privacy concerns though it has not been able to do so fully and completely.

Sometimes all this can be a double-edge-sword because people on the one hand want privacy but also want to be provided with better services from Google and other online companies, but without bit of intrusion, this is not always possible. Take Street View, for example, while a lot of people hate the idea of their streets and homes being accessible by all, it has great benefits for others such as estate agents and house hunters, for example.

Search is another good example where people want to be served with relevant results but without Google keeping a record of a person’s internet activity, they wouldn’t be able to provide precise results. Same goes for ad serving.

Via: PC World

Nobody would likely suspect the innocuous soda/coke can lying in a room or a car to be camera. It is not only a high end digital camera recorder, but also records audio. Just in between the writing is a tiny lens which would be incredibly difficult to spot to the uninitiated.

The on-off switches are under the can and it comes with a record button and a remote which means that you don’t have to touch the can to start recording. With 4 GB of memory, it can record up to 15 hours of footage. And since the memory is built in, you don’t need an extra recording device.

The USB cord will help download the recording as well as charge the device, though it comes with a separate charger as well. There is only one downside to this – its range of view is going to be very limited and it can only record what the lens can view.

The positioning of the item when recording is very important because of the hole on the can. If someone were to notice the hole, they would become suspicious.

My guess is that this only records straight in line rather than having a wide angle recording (there is no mention of the angles), so the placement of the device is all the more crucial. But it seems the hole in the Coke Zero can is very cleverly integrated as one of the bubbles on the can which is much more difficult to tell. This is also from Chinagrabber and the item can be located here.

If you are just in the next room or outside a door, you can now listen in to whatever is going on in the room supposedly with absolute clarity with this spy eavesdropping device. While earlier you may have put your ear to the door and listened as hard as possible, this is a sensitive device that picks up on conversation or sounds emanating from it and can be heard clearly.

This sophisticated listening device comes with attached ear phones, a volume control feature, and a rechargeable battery charger. It amplifies the sounds that it picks up, so you can hear clearly.

Perhaps you want to hear gossip among your friends or try to listen into a conversation your superiors may be having about you behind closed doors, whatever the motive, this could do the job, theoretically at least. Though its very difficult to say how good the product may be without actually trying it, such spy devices coming out of China are not always of the highest quality, but that is not to say they are all bad. I have tested products sent to me by spy stores based in China and some have been very good but others not so.

As we regularly remind our readers, spy devices like this one may not be legal with out authorisation so you need to be careful when using it.