VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 JULY 1995

The absent are always in the wrong.
- English Proverb

TSCM/POPI SEMINARS



  The most recent session of TSCI's Protection Of Proprietary Information/Technical Surveillance CounterMeasures seminar was held at the Ramada Hotel in Houston on 15-16 May. In attendance were eight persons, representing 4 different organizations. All indications were that no one left wanting for information. That was based on the number of pencil stubs found on the floor, the smoke rising from the note books and the quality of questions asked during the presentations and the breaks.

Do not attempt to do a thing unless you are sure of yourself; but do not relinquish it simply because someone else is not sure of you.
- Stewart E. White

TSCM/POPI SEMINARS



  The Houston session was held in response to the many requests received for the seminar to be held in other parts of the country. If enough interest is shown, we would be willing to visit the New England area (Stamford, CT?)next Spring. Drop us a line with your comments.

  As Las Vegas is convenient to TSCI and the security people are always so helpful, we will continue holding most of our fall/winter session there. For your information, the accommodations are great, cost are reasonable, the weather is excellent (except for about seven days a year of rain) the assistance we get from the security directors at the casinos is super, and some great deals are available if you make your travel reservations at least two to three weeks in advance. Do like we do, travel with your spouse and make it a mini vacation by arriving on Friday or Saturday and enjoying some of the excellent entertainment.

  The next seminar is scheduled to be held in Las Vegas on Monday and Tuesday, 23-24 October, and will probably be held at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. Call or write for more information. What will be discussed? Some of the items are listed on the last page of The Hot Micx.

Think like a man of action and act like a man of thought.
- Henri Bergson

COMPUTER CLOCKS



  Michael Ollove, the Baltimore Sun and published in the Arizona Republic on May 15, 1995, addressed the upcoming problem of computer dates on or after 12/31/1999. Someone within your organization had better start looking at their computer system in the very near future. A recent study has shown that approximately 90 - 95 % of all computer systems in use at this time will fail on or after 31 December 1999. In reality some systems may start having problems as early as 1997 where projections have to be made four or more years into the future. The problem is that most computers are set up to read only the last two digits of the year and are not programmed to read 00 as the year 2000 or 01 as 2001, etc. They read the date as 1900 or 1901. Rather than repeating all the information, I'll be glad to fax a copy of the article if you'll drop me a line. But it is a REAL problem which must be addressed in a short period of time. Five years is not that far away.

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.
- Chinese Proverb

TSCI-Nine and Counting



  In April, TSCI celebrated its ninth year in business. As with any business, it had its up and down periods and there were a couple of times there when I wondered what possessed me to even consider it when Toni said "go for it" back in April of 1986. On the whole, I wouldn't change a thing. If I hadn't "sweated" a few times, I wouldn¹t appreciate as much the good things that continue to happen. Thanks to all of you for the success we have experienced and we intend to be here for at least another nine years to support your needs.

Every man who is high up loves to think that he has done it all himself; and the wife smiles, and lets it go at that.
- James Matthew Barrie

FM TRANSMITTER (BUG)



  I recently testified at a trial in which it was alleged an individual (call him Ralph) had placed a bug operating in the FM range in a competitors (call him Bob) office. Bob's business had recently taken a nose dive which he couldn't explain, but attributed it to the luck of the business. Bob was in the process of cleaning out his office to move when he returned to his office late one night. He found Ralph (who had an office approximately 150 feet away) behind his desk. Bob threw him out of the office. The next morning, Bob returned with a friend to finish moving his office. During the course of packing up, Bob found an FM transmitter in a basket of artificial plants on top of a book case. The device was turned over to the local police and retained for approximately 8 months, after which it was released to Bob's lawyer. At that point, the lawyer contacted me again (he had originally contacted me when he was retained by Bob and asked if I would perform an evaluation of the device when it was released) and arranged for me to pick up the device for testing. The tests showed the device was operating at 104.5 MHz, FM mode, could operate up to 24 hours on a 9 volt battery, and audio from the office could be received up to 300 meters away. To make a long story short, I was retained as an expert witness, was on the stand for the better part of three days and later found out Ralph¹s lawyers offered to settle out of court the next morning.

You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. Don't let yourself indulge in vain wishes.
- Rabindranath Tagore

BBS



  If you are out computer surfing and have access to America Online, stop by the Public Safety Center, Special Items and go to Industrial Security section (about the 5th from last department) and say Hi. I couldn't find anything pertaining to security in general or particular when I signed up, so I bothered the AOL people until they gave us a section we could play with. Now, we're trying to get a little more interest generated. Comments, articles, items, anything is welcome. If you need to leave anything for me on AOL, I'm D Bug Man (My uploads are In the Macintosh library).

One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests.
- John Stuart Mill

FINDS


A short list of some of the things that have turned up over the years during TSCM Sweeps:
  • Voice operated recorders hidden in offices or conference rooms. Found during physical examinations or with non linear junction detectors.
  • A telephone with an altered hook switch. Audio was detected when the phone was checked with the handset on hook but wasn't present when then phone was removed from the wall (Was I checking the wrong pair or was the small pyramid shaped piece of plastic which fell out when it was dismantled placed between the other part of the hook switch).
  • Another telephone in the same area which operated OK but had two pyramid shaped pieces of plastic in it when examined.
  • Numerous RF transmitters built from kits or purchased from the "spy-type-shops".
  • Telephones modified to pass audio when on hook.
  • Microphones or speakers.
  • Wireless microphones active during sensitive meetings
  • Portable telephones in use in homes or offices.
  • Sensitive documents being placed in trash cans or recycle bins.
  • Several instances in which tape or suspicious sticky areas were found under tables, desks, etc.
  • Microphones, recorders and transmitters installed by office occupants.
  • Electronic equipment which had changed value or had been intentionally modified to do things not originally intended to do.
  • Tampering with portable computers or evidence of breaking into briefcases left in hotel rooms.


How often are they found?
  • On an average, 1 or 2 percent of the sweeps will turn up something.


Where are they found?
  • In offices.
  • Conference rooms and board rooms.
  • Homes.
  • Break rooms/rest rooms.
  • Group meetings in public facilities where privacy is expected.
  • Government facilities.
  • Hotel rooms.


When are they found?
  • Most often in situations involving private individuals or small organizations.
  • When internal activity is occurring
    (takeovers, ousters, idle curiosity about another persons activities etc.).
  • Strategy sessions, R&D, disciplinary hearings, employment screening discussions, etc.


What are the probabilities you might become a target?
  • Consider the number of devices and recorders sold on an annual basis which are designed almost totally for the purpose of eavesdropping. (Tens of) Thousands of these devices have been sold but only a few hundred have actually been located.
  • They are not sophisticated, are easily installed and serviced and require a low level of technical expertise to operate.
  • Most sensitive areas have dozens of "unauthorized" people authorized unlimited access.


Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Tim Johnson