Archive for the ‘Debugging - Electronic Countermeasures’ Category

Good Guy Hacker Builds $1500 Cell Phone Tapping Device

By MSI in Crime, Debugging - Electronic Countermeasures, Electronic Fraud, Privacy, Technology, eavesdropping, invasion of privacy, taps at August 1st, 2010 | 2 comments

A hacker wanting to demonstrate the security holes in our current GSM Cellular Phone network built a device that can listen in on and tap cell phone conversations on some carriers. This device is most likely totally illegal states an FBI spokesman. But this hacker is not trying to gain corporate secrets or steal your credit card information. He is simply showing the world and hopefully the cell phone companies that this cell phone eavesdropping device is not only possible but easy and cheap to build.

The attack Chris Paget showed Saturday illustrates weaknesses in GSM, one of the world’s most widely used cellular communications technologies.

“GSM is broken – it’s just plain broken,” he said.
GSM is considered 2G, or “second generation,” cellular technology. Phones that run on the newer 3G and 4G standards aren’t vulnerable to his attack.

Read more here!

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Counterfeiter, DVD Pirate, & Drug Lord

By Jeff L in Background Checks, Crime, Debugging - Electronic Countermeasures, Electronic Fraud, Electronic Theft, MSI Detective Services, Police Records, Stolen Property, Technology, Theft Investigations, eavesdropping, technorati at July 28th, 2010 | 1 comment

Pirate_flagIan Sweeney once sold sharks for a living.  He also was a notorious Scotland counterfeiter. Now, he is accused of being a drug dealer and faces charges after Scottish Police “smashed his drug factory.”

Lately, Sweeney’s supposedly run a legitimate business, sweeping homes of the famous and infamous for bugs and listening/recording devices.

The raid on the factory revealed about $124 880 (U.S. dollars) of cocaine, scales, blenders, a press and heat sealing machine. Sweeney, age 38, was exposed by the Sunday Mail nearly a decade ago as Scotland’s largest music and movie pirate.

Sweeney admitted to dealing coke at the High Court in Glasgow. According to a police spokesperson,  ”No one was found within the f lat and it was obviously not being occupied for domestic residential purposes but was being used for the preparation of cocaine for distribution.”

Police investigation revealed two kilos of coke in a wardrobe plus 25 k ilos of benzocaine – usually used in throat lozenges but also the UK’s most common cocaine “bulking agent”.

“The accused accepts that he established the illegal operation at his f lat and that he was actively involved during the period of the charge in the bulking out of cocaine with benzocaine.”

The court last week heard that Sweeney had several bank accounts showing large cash deposits, and used cash to pay credit card bills for luxurious trips to the United States, Japan, and Mexico.

Five years ago he was hit with a more than $780K in after being found guilty of pirating DVDs, but police won’t say how much of ill-gotten booty was  recovered.

Sweeney is now bankrupt and jailed waiting for sentencing in August.

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Easy Tap Find When the Bad Guys are Dumb

By MSI in Debugging - Electronic Countermeasures, Investigations, Privacy, Private Investigator, Technology, eavesdropping, hidden cameras, invasion of privacy, taps at July 26th, 2010 | 1 comment

The following was sent to us from a friend who also specializes in electronic countermeasure sweeps on the East coast. Very interesting short read and tells you that even the highest paid spies make mistakes.

“During a bug sweep, I notice freshly installed wire in the ceiling that should not have been there.”

“There” being a secure government facility, and this wire was not supposed to be here.
One end of the cable was attached to “bad things” and the other end went to bad places.
I love it when the spies make it this easy.”

“Read the markings on the cable to see why I was so amused.”

CCTV Hidden Camera wire found in debugging sweep

Bad Guy's Wire found in Sweep!

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Smartphone Spying Bust in Romania

By Jeff L in Crime, Debugging - Electronic Countermeasures, Electronic Fraud, Electronic Theft, Infidelity, Investigations, MSI Detective Services, Privacy, Private Investigator, Safety, Security, Surveillance Services, Technology, eavesdropping, harassment, invasion of privacy, technorati at July 6th, 2010 | 1 comment

SmartphonesIn Romania, eavesdropping via smartphone has been taken to a new level.  Fifty people were accused of using smartphone software to listen in on conversations.

The software, obtained from an IT cell phone communication specialist, allowed the accused to monitor the communication interactions of business competitors and spouses according to news sources.

Dan Nicolae Opoiu is the 30-year-old IT specialist who reportedly sold the spyware for the following operating system’s: Blackberry, Symbian, iPhone, and Windows Mobile. The Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism arrested Oproiu for selling the spyware over the Internet.

Softpedia reports that purchasers included businessmen, doctors, and engineers, a judge, a government official, a police officer and a former member of Parliament. Detective agencies and private investigators also reportedly used the spyware illegally.

It seems that Opriou was reselling an already available  spyware package known as FlexiSpy, a package that’s been sold to people who want to catch cheaters–both at home and at work.  There are three versions available, ranging in price from $150 to $350 depending on the features, was being sold for upwards of $500. The high-end version allows a “spy” to monitor phone calls, read text messages, retrieve call logs, read emails, and even activate the cell phone’s microphone to listen-in on conversations where the cell phone is present.

If you’re concerned that your phone is being monitored, please contact MSI to learn more about our Debugging Countermeasures services.

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