Telephone Tapping and Bugging
Following on from my article "Mobile Phone hacking and telephone tapping" this article deals exclusively with telephone tapping or bugging.
Phone tapping should refer exclusively to listening in on or recording a telephone conversation and is not telephone or voice mail hacking.
There are a number of methods of achieving this and it can be quite easily achieved if you have the necessary knowledge and equipment.
In one of the stories regarding the telephone hacking case and the News Of The World, a so called expert explained that there are only two methods of tapping or bugging a phone conversation and that was either at the telephone itself or at the exchange.
Actually there are a few other methods too.
Phone tapping or bugging at source
This is achieved by placing a bug inside the phone to be tapped.
A wireless bug transmits the conversation to a receiver where it can be listened to live or recorded.
Placing a bug inside a mobile phone would be a challenge due to its very small size and lack of internal free space but you could place the bug in a room however you would be unlikely to hear both sides of the conversation.
Very small and simple bugs can be made for under £10 and you are able to listen to the transmission on a standard FM radio.
Some well known high street electronic shops sell cheap bugging and tapping devices and a quick search online shows a whole range of assorted devices.
I have also heard about bugs that can be remotely operated and transmit an encoded transmission back down the phone line making them almost undetectable.
In order to bug or tap a phone at source you would obviously need to gain access to the phone to place the bug in it. Placing a bug inside someone’s home also poses similar challenges.
You may want to consider how loyal your friends or staff are or consider if the repair man is genuine. (Sounds like a spy movie huh)
Other listening devices
Unfortunately some home devices leave our privacy wide open to abuse, things like baby monitors and older analogue cordless phones can be picked up on a radio receiver such as a frequency scanner or even some old valve radios.
There are other devices such as dish microphones and laser bugs these are more specialised devices but again can be purchased online by anybody at not too high a cost. I’m sure professional private investigators are very aware of these and probably far more sophisticated devices.
Remote phone call bugging or tapping
As I sad above one story suggested that phone calls could be recorded or bugged at the phone exchange, this is probably not true even with expert knowledge as unless you was a BT engineer authorised to carryout work at a phone exchange it would be almost impossible to enter the building and place such a bug even if you did manage to get inside knowing where to place the bug among the vast array of computer equipment would be a challenge but again I suppose not impossible. Maybe you know a BT engineer who could do this for you.
Line interception
What I have found surprising and frankly a worry is the vast number of telephone patch panels located in streets that generally have their doors open swinging in the wind.
These could provide easy access to monitor calls.
I suspect if you donned a florescent jacket and began to look like you was working on the equipment no one would but an eyelid.
It could be possible to connect a device to a line within these panels and listen in on both sides of the conversation.
I can’t imagine a private investigator doing this but then you never know.
Telephone wires
Another way to intercept a call would be to place a bugging device actually on the telephone line where it enters your house, most telephone cables connect to a small box usually located on your wall outside your house. A transmitting bug or even making direct connection could be achieved in seconds.
What about digital?
Some of the more technical people reading this may be thinking that now most phones are digital we cannot easily decode the signals as we did when they were analogue.
Probably true but lots of people still don’t have digital telephones and I am sure some bugs are advanced enough to decode digital telephone signals as well as analogue ones.
It is probably also possible to connect a computer to someone’s telephone line and monitor their internet traffic. Certainly WiFi transmutations can be recorded and in most cases decoded to text.
An Android app exists that can do exactly that.
Overview
Most of our systems are very insecure if you have the knowledge and expertise to exploit them. These vulnerabilities leave us wide open to having our private lives spied on, our identities stolen and even terrorism.
Although of slightly different subject there are a number of conserning stories relating to technological threats.
UK infrastructure faces cyber threat.
2 million home computers hijacked in the US
US military hit in cyber strike and over 200 billion spam emails sent each day I would suggest this threat is upon us already.
I can’t help feel that the more advanced technology becomes the more vulnerable we become.
I hope this article is useful and clears up any conflictions between hacking and tapping and maybe the police and BBC will find it of benefit too when they next need to describe tapping and or hacking.
|
