Guide to DIY Wiretapping

Geeks are Sexy writes "ITSecurity.com has a nice piece this week on how wiretapping works and how you can protect yourself from people who wants to snoop into your life. From the article 'Even if you aren't involved in a criminal case or illegal operation, it's incredibly easy to set up a wiretap or surveillance system on any type of phone. Don't be surprised to learn that virtually anyone could be spying on you for any reason.'" Maybe I'm on the wrong track here, but I guess I assumed that wiretapping now happened in secret rooms at the telco, and not by affixing something physically to a wire in your home, but I'll definitely be aware next time I hear a stranger breathing next time I'm stuck on hold.

Re:It was..

[omeomi]

They are legal when they bother to get a judge to sign a warrant. It's only when they don't get a warrant that they're illegal.

Re:voltage drop

[faloi]

The downside to some of the audible cues is that, at least amongst people I know, the use of cordless phones is prevalent. And most of the people I know tend to immediately write off any abnormality (shifts in volume, clicking, etc.) in their conversation as being because of the phone. Which is probably the case. Either that or I need a better class of acquaintances.

Encrypted VOIP not secure...

[bugnuts]

They recommend Skype, which encrypts its traffic.

But the computer is even more vulnerable than a phone to bugs. Tons of malware exists that can "own" a computer, which has given rise to an entire new security market. A phone is easy to tell if it has a bug ... you can simply open it up and look at it. Computers not so much.

It also recommends using a cellphone for confidential calls. Just make sure neither provider uses ATT.

Re:It was..

[omeomi]

It's only illegal if someone (or an entity) gets caught, you're able to prove it court, are able to get a ruling in your favor in court, and are able thereafter to enforce remedial action. Good luck with all that.

Well, it's still illegal. Just because the powers that be think they can ignore laws, and have the power to keep from getting prosecuted doesn't change the legality. Maybe someday they'll be brought to justice. Doubt it, though.

@CmdrTaco: it's worse than you think.

[palegray.net]

Maybe I'm on the wrong track here, but I guess I assumed that wiretapping now happened in secret rooms at the telco, and not by affixing something physically to a wire in your home, but I'll definitely be aware next time I hear a stranger breathing next time I'm stuck on hold.

The type of surveillance you describe is indeed occuring, but it's not particularly selective in many cases. What's concerning is the fact that wiretapping occurs a lot more than people realize, for a variety of reasons, by private and public sector parties. As I'm sure you're aware, physical access is rarely required to accomplish the task these days.

if you want to speak to someone in private

[circletimessquare]

go walk with them on a beach. if this seems like too much effort, then whatever it is you have to talk about isn't that important to you, and therefore not worth the effort to ensure its privacy

if you are upset at your government spying on you, then what strange notion of yours convinced you that an expansive public network would have no spying on it? i'm not talking about the government passing this law or that law about surveillance, i'm talking about the surveillance that woudl happen anyway, regardless of the laws. duh. which brings us to:

the creeps and slimy types interested in spying on other people's conversations. congratulations, you are as bad as the government who spies on people, because your motivations are certainly no better than their's

so this article sucks, in three different ways:

1. the lazy and indolent who don't want to ensure their privacy by just talking face to face in an obscure place
2. the naive and stupid, who somehow believe it is possible to have a network free of government intrusion, anywhere in the world, regardless of any laws
3. the evil and creepy, who actually want to listen in on other people's conversations, never mind what the government is doing

this whole article is a loser's ball

Re:How do you wiretap a cell phone?

[GeckoX]

So true, though I'm about to have to add a land line back in the mix again unfortunately.
Went out with my wife a couple weeks ago, got a baby sitter. Left our contact numbers with her. She asks "Where's the phone?". Er...
Had to leave my cell phone behind for her to use in case of emergency.

Won't be many more years before my son has friends calling. I either leave him unable to be contacted by phone, let his friends call my cell, or get a land line.

Nope, landlines aren't dead yet and won't be for some time I'm sure.

Re:It was..

[TheGratefulNet]

Well, it's still illegal. Just because the powers that be think they can ignore laws, and have the power to keep from getting prosecuted
doesn't change the legality. Maybe someday they'll be brought to justice.

legality is only for those of us who are NOT in law enforcement or the government.

you can talk all you want about constitution this or law that; but while you rot in prison being raped by other guys, tell me again how 'illegal'it was that they tapped you.

laws are an abstract concept. being locked away is the farthest thing from being abstract.

they all know this and this is why we are kept in fear (ie, in check).

(lovely country/world we got here, huh?)

possible != likely

[petes_PoV]

Even if someone did try one of these amateurish techniques, they are unlikely to come up with anything they can use against you. Apart from the fact that most people simply aren't that interesting, do you really care if they hear you talking to Aunt Ethel. Most people use their mobile phones for any discrete communication - far less chance of someone in your own house picking up an extension, or hitting redial.

This is old information which didn't ever work properly and is increasingly irrelevant today.

Coming up next: how to get free long-distance by whistling down the phone ...

Re:You don't need a phone to listen in..

[mollymoo]

Capacitors don't pass current at DC, but they will pass AC current. An analogue signal (which POTS is) is by definition AC. What you need is high impedance. Any old op-amp will have an input impedance of 10^5 ohms or better (often an order of magnitude better), which would cause a negligible voltage drop and be virtually undetectable.

Who remebers the U5 testmode on Motphones?

[Sabz5150]

Remember how easy it was to listen on conversations over cellular phones back then? A piece of tinfoil or a soldered wire (some even allowed you to enter this mode via keypad) was all you needed to listen in on conversations. Not that I did any of this stuff... not me, no sir.

Re:What a load of crap.

[idontgno]

Well then thank $DIETY that business conversations never occur outside the secure premises of a place of business. Certainly, what manager, executive, or board member [techlawjournal.com]* would use a home phone line to conduct confidential business.

Dang, I left my sarcasm tags at home this morning.

*Yes, the link is not about phone tapping, it's about pretexting. But note that some of the target phone numbers were home phone lines. If someone can be troubled to illegally access your home phone records for a business investigation, it's only a difference of degree, not kind, to tapping that same home phone.

Who's Interested In What You're Saying?

[Illbay]

You might be surprised. The obvious culprit is the government, but consider...

There have been numerous instances of "terrorist sympathizers" who hunt around online for people who say things they don't like, about their religion, their objectives, etc. They attempt to shut the blog down, even to discover the identity of the blogger to cause further trouble.

Can you imagine if this grew to further proportion, where you would be in danger of being "discovered" by some amateur terrorist or terrorists, who decided to make your life a living hell, or even to cut it short?

Sure, you had Theo van Gogh [nytimes.com] killed because he made a film that "they" didn't like, but what if they start aiming a bit "lower" on the food chain, start cyberstalking and tapping the phone lines of some guy who's an outspoking blogger or letter-to-the-editor afficianado?

How do you protect yourself at that level of obscurity?