OSS News

A number of scandals have hit the care home sector in recent years. Abuse, neglect and poor standards have unfairly tarnished the entire care sector due to the actions of a small minority. Sadly, this has caused a drop in confidence in the services provided to our families and loved ones in their times of need. This drop in confidence...

In a previous article, we examined the principles and practices of basic counter surveillance; the simple common sense steps to take if you want to keep your private life private. We promised we’d explore the technical side of counter surveillance. Technical counter surveillance - who needs it? Everyone. The complexity and depth of counter surveillance measures varies according to the...

You may not realise, but you probably conduct counter surveillance measures every week, if not every day. If you lock your computer screen when leaving it on, you’re making sure - whether intentionally or not - that people can’t look at what you’re working on. When you check over your shoulder to see if you’re being followed or watched, you’re...

Ask any private investigator what their most important piece of equipment is and they’ll probably tell you it’s their brain. They’re a funny bunch you see, and while they need a keen instinct for dodgy behaviour, they’re nothing without the standard tools of the trade. The role of a private investigator is quite varied and as such, you’ll need an...

The Wikimedia Foundation, the charity the operates the Wikipedia website, announced last month (June 2015) that it would be changing its website address. The site, which has historically been found at the following URL - http://www.wikipedia.org - is now at https://www.wikipedia.org. What’s the difference? If you look carefully you’ll see that the new address has an ‘s’ before the colon...

If you’ve been accessing American Netflix from outside the UK, you will  most likely have been using a virtual private network (VPN) in order to make the Netflix servers mistakenly believe you are accessing from inside the country. It’s not the biggest crime anyone committed online, but it’s technically a “tiny bit dodgy.” Hola is one such VPN service and...

On May 31st this year the United States Senate had a rare Sunday sitting in which the members voted on the controversial Patriot Act, a piece of legislation that would have extended US spy agencies’ snooping powers. The Act didn’t pass. A separate act, entitled the US Freedom Act was voted through on the same day. This legislation, seen by...

Tucked away on a hilly farm in the north of England is Andrew Jennings. An old-school investigative journalist, football lover and Scotsman. To pass him in the street, you wouldn’t in a million years assume he was the reason behind the recent FIFA scandal that has rocked the world of football, but for almost 15 years, he’s been quietly, conscientiously...

Earlier this week (May 23rd 2015), American mathematician and the person upon whom the film A Beautiful Mind is based, John Nash, died in a car crash. Nash innovated the concept of game theory, a now accepted and widely used strategic basis for business, religion and even spying. His risk model underpins everything from the “Mexican standoff” to the “prisoner’s...

The Communications Data Bill, otherwise known as the “Snoopers Charter,” is a piece of draft legislation designed to give government all manner of powers to spy on us. Its back on the table for discussion because now the Liberal Democrats are no longer part of the Coalition, the Conservative Government plan to push ahead with its implementation. Home Secretary Theresa...