Social Media Privacy

As times goes by, the big (and small) social media sites tend to upgrade this or that and inevitably change the privacy settings you forgot how to set.

Usually they will give out some press release, but for the noon-0nerds out there who don't get the tech blog info, they tend to miss it.

It should be a general monthly chore to go and check your privacy settings, but people are busy and let's face it, we like to think once we have set something, we can forget about it.

That being said, if you're reading this, then it's a good time to remind you about some of the more recent changes:

• Google has decided to implement a new system in which your +1's and Google+ endorsements can now be publicly used to help advertise certain products. While not really new in the free to use business model, it can be a shock to people who were not aware their info would be used in this way. If it is a shock and you want to adjust these settings, take a look at this blog to find out how you can limit this -  http://www.tomsguide.com/us/how-to-google-shared-ads,news-17690.html 
• Facebook has also made some new changes, namely the unhiding of people from it's new graph search function. This is great news for a private investigator (as I am), but not so great for everyone else. The thing here is that there is no way to adjust this setting. Add to this, Facebook indicates now that they are unblocking the ability for youth to share with others, meaning that their indiscretions may yet haunt them down the road. The best thing here is to educate yourself and kids about what is appropriate and not on Facebook. If you can't beat 'em, at least limit what they can get.
• Final point here is for those living in Canada, Bell has decided it will now use your browsing data to sell targeted ads to you. This is a pretty gross violation that hopefully hits the courts soon or gets shut down by privacy heads. As opposed to others who do this, like Google, you can't escape the grip of your internet service provider (ISP), who can see everything you do (for Google and others, you can simply use a service that does not take your data and sell it). An ISP getting into this is pretty major and should be fought at all levels, so feel free to contact your local MP and let your voice be heard.

Thats it for this week. As always, take precautions on all you do online and limit what you and those you know post about you to keep things as private as you can.

Blog post is courtesy Elemental Investigations: Private Investigator Edmonton, an Edmonton, Canada based private investigator agency. They can be found online at www.elementalpi.ca

Parental Abduction

Parental abduction cases are traumatic events for obvious reasons. This occurs when one parent takes a child away from the other, sometimes in the midst or after a divorce and child custody decision, sometimes at other times. Although in some cases the abduction is in the abducting parent's mind altruistic, it is nevertheless illegal and needs to be settled ultimately through law enforcement and legal remedy.

While abductions within the parent/child home country is usually sorted out easily once the parent/child have been located, traditionally in the past, once the abducting parent has crossed a border (or more), the recovery process becomes very difficult.

This have gotten better though, as the UN and signatory countries have enabled the recovery process to be eased significantly on most locations, enabling local law enforcement and courts to hasten transfer back to the home country quickly for legal proceedings there.

The trick still remains location. While law enforcement should be the first stop in an abduction case, the more complex the movement, the more difficult it is for local law enforcement to keep up the hunt in a quick and manoeuvrable fashion. Private investigators can help out significantly in cases like this as they are significantly less bogged down by jurisdiction issues and can deploy rapidly to a host country or city and begin the leg work, sometimes with local support when the laws require, and can keep immediate pressure on the abducting parent. Once found, they can advise local and home country law enforcement and maintain surveillance until contact by law enforcement is made.

If you are involved in a situation like this, contact a local PI after you have notified police to see how they can help out and what advice they can provide.

Blog post is courtesy Elemental Investigations: Private Investigator Edmonton, an Edmonton, Canada based private investigator agency. They can be found online at www.elementalpi.ca

Recent Corporate Spying

Here in Canada, and specifically Ottawa, two events serve well to warn off the public sector about the effects of corporate espionage, and to hammer home the concept that corporate espionage does in fact occur on the large scale, and the work can often be split between public and private bodies to execute.

The first report came from the Department of National Defence report leaking out indicating that there were concerns over the potential presence of eavesdropping devices on the former Nortel campus. While it is amazing that a defence security/intelligence organization failed to consider this before dropping a cool billion on a real estate transaction, the real bit goes to show that while Ottawa is only an average sized city globally, it is a hub of hi-tech business, and as such has a heavy amount of corporate espionage. That the Nortel campus had been bugged is not so new, but knowing the extent of the penetration is really an interesting story on the capabilities and the devastating effects of corporate espionage, as this was one of the main factors contributing to the downfall of the former tech giant.

The other story is the Communications Security Establishment of Canada getting its hand caught in the Brazilian mining cookie jar after further Snowden leaks revealed the Canadian spy agency was prying into mining and energy sector information from Brazil. Again, this should not (I hope) be news, as many advanced countries take part in healthy spying campaigns, even on their allies. This means that France spies on the US, we spy on the Brazilians and the Americans spy on the Germans. It is normal business. However there exists a belief, particularly in newer companies, that the first world and allied countries are super duper friendly and would never seek to advance their own corporate capabilities and R&D. This is naïve and all corporations should make sure they incorporate at least some thought towards how they manage their info and counter-measures to mitigate the damage which can occur in the face of international corporate espionage.

Blog post is courtesy Elemental Investigations: Private Investigator Edmonton, an Edmonton, Canada based private investigator agency. They can be found online at www.elementalpi.ca

Physical Due Diligence

Anytime an organization, business or individual needs to make an acquisition, merger or partnership, the main thing that needs to be conducted is a due diligence check. In plain speak, this is doing what you can to ensure that what you are being told or led to believe is actually what you are getting.

While this is required by law for major corporate moves, it is largely only so in terms of financial due diligence, which involves accountants going over the books to ensure that the financial health of an organization has been accurately disclosed to the interested party.

What is not as well known or enforced, is the physical , or real world side of due diligence which can have major implications when not conducted.

A physical due diligence investigation involves real world checking of facts and holdings, which can exist on paper but not in fact. The on paper disclosures must be checked against reality as financial papers can be simply created, and when done well, can evade the financial due diligence process.

What a Private Investigator can provide in the conduct of a physical due diligence investigation includes the following:

• Check labour practices and obligations
• Confirm environmental standards
• Verify the existence and effectiveness of businesses and alliances
• Assess business reputation
• Identify the involvement of criminal elements
• Identify and confirm stockpiles of product and resources, including those moving
• Conduct background checks on important personnel and assess conflicts of interest

A PI can help identify these and many other aspects of interest to a prospective move and should be brought in to work in concert with the financial aspect of the due diligence process. Give a local PI a call to see how they can help!

Blog post is courtesy Elemental Investigations: Private Investigator Edmonton, an Edmonton, Canada based private investigator agency. They can be found online at www.elementalpi.ca