This is a very short article, but worthy of your time nonetheless. It points out one of the glaring inadequacies of the current state of our Foreign Intelligence apparatus in this country. All of the sentences in italics are of my doing for emphasis on these points. -SF By Williamson Murray At the start of…
Category: Security
Facebook Friend or Terrorist: Who’s in Your Online Social Network?
As a law enforcement officer in Northeast Florida, the arrest of a 19-year-old local man named Shelton Thomas Bell got my attention. In January of this year, Bell was sentenced to twenty years in federal prison for conspiring and attempting to provide material support to terrorists. He burned American flags, recruited support locally, conducted “training…
Jerusalem’s Solution: Everyone Carry Guns
I must admit, when I see a picture like the one below, a teacher looking after her kids with a slung rifle on her shoulder..I get a warm, proud feeling inside. Why Can’t America be this smart?-SF By John Farnam Look closely. The teacher has an weapon slung over her shoulder. In Israel, much of…
Halloween: Wasting Police Resources On Sexual Predators, And What You Can Do to Protect Your Child
The crisp cool air and short nights are upon us, and Halloween is near. While Halloween brings excitement to children with the thoughts of wearing costumes, eating candy, and ghoulish monsters, it often brings fear to parents with the thoughts of another type of monster. The one that lures children in with sweets and then…
Being Anonymous in Public Just got a Little Harder
I would like to think my friend Mr. A for sending me this link and picture; he is always on the lookout for interesting “security” issues for the CO and I am grateful for his diligence!-SF This photo was taken in Canada and shows about 700,000 people. Pick on a small part of the …
The Chip and Pin Credit Card Hack
THE CHIP-ENABLED CREDIT card system long used in Europe, a watered down version of which is rolling out for the first time in America, is meant to create a double check against fraud. In a so-called “chip-and-PIN” system, a would-be thief has to both steal a victim’s chip-enabled card and be able to enter…
If You’re not Paranoid, You’re Crazy
As government agencies and tech companies develop more and more intrusive means of watching and influencing people, how can we live free lives? By Walter Kirn I knew we’d bought walnuts at the store that week, and I wanted to add some to my oatmeal. I called to my wife and asked her where she’d…
Learning from Terrorist Tactics: Exploiting islamic Garb and Male Cross-Dressing
I know it sounds hilarious when you first hear it, but this is actually a fairly standard tactic among terrorist overseas. Consider this most recent incident as reported by Jihad Watch. The underlying principles for this tactic are quite simple, regardless if it is a man or woman in the garb: A fully clothed…
Cold War Espionage: How Soviets used IBM Selectric keyloggers to spy on US diplomats
How Highly sophisticated bugs went undetected for 8 years during the Cold War. By Dan Goodin A National Security Agency memo that recently resurfaced a few years after it was first published contains a detailed analysis of what very possibly was the world’s first keylogger—a 1970s bug that Soviet spies implanted in US diplomats’ IBM…
The Cartel Corner #3: Re-thinking that Acapulco Vacation
Acapulco’s hotels, bars, and golden sand beaches stretch out along the entire length of the resort’s spectacular crescent-shaped bay, but their promise of unbridled fun struggles to shake off the shadow of the cartel turf war violence that is never far away. Miguel Alemán, the city’s coastal road that connects the main tourist hotspots along the beach, seeks to separate…