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Warspying in San Francisco
hak_fan writes "SecurityFocus has a story on a group of radio hobbiests in San Francisco who occasionally go out warspying for wireless cameras in the 2.4GHz band, using some customized equipment. Their latest expedition turned up some interesting finds."
feed the troll .... :-D
rtfa gives you
"This kind of snooping doesn't violate federal wiretap laws, which generally protect audio communication, but not video, says Joseph Metcalf, an assistant professor at the University of Oregon law school. Moreover, the law keeps it legal to monitor radio transmissions that aren't encrypted or scrambled in any way, unless they're in a band specifically protected by statute, like analog cell phone signals. "If a communication is readily accessible to the general public, that communication is not protected by the federal Wiretap Act," says Metcalf. "
Basically if you don't encrypt it it's your fault that someone else can read the signal.
Worst
This is exactly the reason why I opted to use a hard wired camera for my home. Before I hooked up the camera, I search all over the place for an encrypted wireless camera. I could not find a single one, not even a high priced professional camera that James Bond would use. It certainly seems like this kind of product would exist. Anyone know of any encrypted wireless video cameras?
--- I'm Green Hornet's sidekick not Inspector Clouseau's!
If I remember correctly, he owned consecutive properties and rented out one to his friends. There was sound, but since it was his house/equipment it was illegal. They did end up busting him, but it was for secretly recording the woman and her daughter changing at his house when they were invited over to use the hot tub. Because the girl was 15, they got him for kiddie porn.
Fnord.
Yes, they actually DO 'technically' work... however, you have to either be VERY close (1 foot or less) from the source of the transmission, or you need to be ready to see it going off constantly due to cordless phones if you set it too sensitive. (Says the guy who worked for Radio Shack for a while). Whenever we saw one of those leave the store, we knew it would be back in a day or two. Think about it... It basically detects all 'strong' radio frequencies in a number of ranges, but it is NOT directional. SOOooo, if you want to sweep it over your body to see if somebody has wired a bug into your clothes, shoes, or pen, it's good to go, however, for anything else, it's not that great. For the average person, it's useless. That is, unless you like saying "Look! This thing beeps just before my cordless phone rings!".
@Whee