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.

Hear a stranger breathing?

If someone is dumb enough to leave the microphone connected on an intercept phone, they deserve to get caught.

Re:Hear a stranger breathing?

You sneeze while on the phone with your friend, and hear "gesundheit".... twice.

Re:Hear a stranger breathing?

To the stranger listening on my phone.

Please provide a transcript of the shopping list my wife just gave me. I think that I may have forgotten to write something down.

voltage drop

Most of the land line suggestions in that article don't seem to bother with taking care of the noticeable voltage drop caused by adding an extra phone to a call. You can tell when somebody else in your house picks up the phone while you're on it because the person on the other end gets quieter. The same thing would happen if you plugged a phone into the line outside your house. I thought professional surveillance systems did something to make up for this, so there's no noticeable change in volume when the wiretapper starts listening.

Re:voltage drop

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.

Re:voltage drop

True story: I have a cordless phone and one time I was talking with my mom and the phone acted a bit weird. She sounded somewhat quieter and there seemed to be static. I shook the phone thinking there was a loose connection and the static was gone but her voice was still quieter.

She asked me what was going on and I told her, "Eh, must be the wiretap on my phone."

As far as I can tell, I have not had that problem since that time.

*cue spooky music*

Re:voltage drop

If you use a normal phone, yes. Until recently I worked in telecoms and we were all issued with a near perfect bugging device - a butt phone with monitor mode. Monitor mode is high-impedance so undetectable without some clever kit. Connect it to the right pair, hit the button and you can listen in undetected at will. You can buy one [nimans.net] for a hundred quid ($200) or so, probably less if you shop around. Monitoring lines was standard practice, albeit briefly, when working on a line - you listen to make sure nobody is using the phone, then dial a test number using the line to make sure it's the right circuit, then do whatever you need to do. You aren't supposed to listen to people's conversations, merely ensure the line isn't in use, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Telecoms cabinets aren't all that secure, it's easy to break in and put a tap in one and with a little care it wouldn't be obvious to an engineer working in the cabinet there was anything amiss. You could make a tap with a microcontroller with an ADC and some external RAM. The hard part would be finding the right pair without access to the phone company records or target's premises.

Re:voltage drop

It's even simpler in the USA to find out if the line is tapped. If the year is 2000 or later, it is.

Re:voltage drop

The Ringer Equivalence Number is just the number of phones the ringer can drive. More than that, and they won't have the voltage to ring.

It has nothing to do with talking on the phone.

What you'd want to do is use an inductive microphone or even an inductive loop around the actual cable. It doesn't touch it, and is very difficult to detect if it's nearby the cable... Search for the USS Halibut, and how it tapped a Soviet military underwater cable by using a nearby inductive coil which never interfered with the cable.

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

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.

No thanks...

I'll hold off on trying any of their wiretapping suggestions until they release guides on "DIY Legal defense" and "How to Avoid Getting Buggered in a Federal Prison".

Still, if you're feeling paranoid, by all means check your phones. It's true, nosy neighbors could indeed be spying on you. Never underestimate the average person's voyeurism urges...

A blast from the past

It's the 90s bomb making/revenge/wiretapping text file guides all over again. Only this time it's Web 2.0

"Open up your phone's receiver"

Yes, because corporate espionage is so often carried out by nefarious time travelers from the 70s and 80s. This gem should also include look for men with wavy hair and bright rays from the nearest time gate.

Encrypted VOIP not secure...

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.

What a load of crap.

The 80s called and their want their wiretapping tech back.

This is great if you're worried about the neighbor kid listening in, but not for anyone serious. Wiretapping is done at the telco level and you can't tell you're being tapped. In the digital age there is no clicking, breathing, voltage drops or any other indication. There is a big long checklist when implementing a CALEA node for making certain there is no way the target can tell they're being monitored.

WTF??

The article also links to this product [toysrus.com]. They never had toys this fscking cool when I was a kid.

Wireless phone = more fun

Couple of years ago, one of my neighbors narced on me because they thought I was playing video games too loud. This led to me getting a set of wireless headphones to listen to TV with.

It completely surprised me the first time I put them on and couldn't get them to tune into the TV's transmitter because all the channels were full of wireless phone conversations.

Sadly, none of my neighbors have any secrets worth listening to. And even worst, most of them seem to have no issues with taking the phone into the shitter with them :/

In revenge, I've hooked up the transmitter to a cheap dvd player and leave anime porn running on a loop just before going to work, every few days....

Re:Wireless phone = more fun

In revenge, I've hooked up the transmitter to a cheap dvd player and leave anime porn running on a loop just before going to work, every few days.

But at the end of the day, you're still a dude who owns anime porn. FAIL.

When I was young...

I remember when I was younger, going around with a handset with roach clips at the end of the wire, opening phone boxes and plugging in. It was always a bit of a surprise when we tapped an active line, but MAN! So easy to do. I don't know if things are still setup the same way these days - I know the phone boxes around here are locked - not sure if the same key opens all of them anymore, but yeah - easy to tap a phone line? Sure, as long as you don't mind sitting in the bushes! I'm sure there is technology that can make it easier than that, these days.

Oh, the above story? Not me, of course. When I say I, I'm talking about someone else I heard stories about, of course. I'd never do anything remotely approaching illegal, such as making long distance phone calls on other people's lines. That's crazy!

DIY wire tapping?

Why would I want to wiretap myself?

Listen for breathing???

That won't help me: all my calls consist of heavy breathing.

Re:It was..

Of course you can still tap any POTS line the good old fashion way. Its just a matter of accounting for the voltage drop on the line. Although yes if you are the telco it is just easier to capture everything while it is in digital format on the switch. Now if you don't use analog, inline (some random place between the CO and customer) tapping can be a bit harder. You basically either have to record the signals on the line and decode it later, or toss a non-terminating CSU/test kit in the line without making too much of a disruption in the signal.

Re:It was..

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.

Re:It was..

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?)

Re:How do you wiretap a cell phone?

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.