Chad's News

Apparently it is quite easy (and legal) for law enforcement to use your cell phone as an eavesdropping tool. With the right software downloaded to the phone, it becomes a microphone and transmits all nearby conversations to a third party. This can be done without the owner’s knowledge, and the eavesdropping occurs even when the phone is turned off. There is, however, some question as to the exact methods used by the FBI in this specific case. They may have installed traditional hardware bugs in the suspects’ phones, but some experts believe they used the software method.

For the paranoid, there is this link, explaining how to detect/circumvent software bugs on your phone. More information on how a cell phone can become a bug is at this link (scroll down to the article entitled “Cell Phones Become Instant Bugs!”).

Link: http://news.com.com/…
(via Ars Technica)

This prisoner managed to smuggle himself out of jail in a shipment of shrink-wrapped street lamp parts. Authorities quickly caught on, but it was too late to capture him.

http://today.reuters.com/…

Security researcher Christopher Soghoian, a Ph.D. student at Indiana University, published a web application that would generate a realistic-looking Northwest Airlines boarding pass with information that you supply. He said it would probably be possible use the boarding pass to get past security, but that it most likely would not work for getting on the airplane itself. He also stated that he had never actually used the program to bypass security. The purpose was to expose a flaw in airport security and try to shame the TSA into doing something about it. Note that this flaw is not new and has previously been “exposed” multiple times—but Soghoian is the first one to openly publish a boarding pass generator on the web.

It turns out that what he did is illegal, and he got in trouble. First, a Congressman called for his arrest. Then he got a visit from the FBI, with an order to take down the site. Then he got another visit from the FBI, but this time they confiscated his computer equipment. As one slashdot user states in his signature: “Civil Disobedience, it’s not just a good idea, it’s illegal.”

Soghoian has a blog, slight paranoia, where posts the latest news about his situation. He’s also taking donations for his legal defense fund.

http://www.wired.com/…

http://www.consumerist.com/…

UPDATE: The charges have been dropped [link2] [link3] in this case. All is well.

UPDATE #2: Okay, all is not well. The Transportation Safety Administration has opened an investigation into the matter. They could levy a big fine, but not criminal charges.

American citizen Adam Gadahn has been charged with treason. He is not, however, in the custody of any authorities, so there’s a big reward for his capture.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…
(via digg)

I’ve heard various ways of dealing with telemarketers, but this one is definitely the funniest. Warning: some of the language is NSFW.

http://joshualowry.vox.com/…
(via digg)

Remember this post, made only 10 days ago, where I predicted that Washington state’s online gambling law would be misused in ways the legislature didn’t intend? Well the first person charged under the law was not actually caught gambling; rather, he runs a web site that has information about online gambling. This constitutes transmitting “gambling information,” which is illegal under the new law. It will be interesting to see if he gets convicted.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/…

Is it just me, or do the anti-DNA-database arguments presented in this article fall flat? I agree it would be necessary to include proper controls, such as re-testing to verify the match, but I just don’t see much difference between taking DNA samples and taking fingerprints. And nobody complains when a suspect is fingerprinted. Leave some comments and let me know your take on the subject.

On a side note, any database would have to include some method of dealing with human chimeras.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…
(via slashdot)

One of those rare cases where technology actually comes through on its promises, with tangible results.

http://www.cbsnews.com/…

Okay, so they didn’t actually arrest him, but they were called. The picture is priceless:

Link: http://www.theforce.net/…