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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.
If someone is dumb enough to leave the microphone connected on an intercept phone, they deserve to get caught.
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.
ZuluPad, the wiki notepad on crack
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...
psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo
It's the 90s bomb making/revenge/wiretapping text file guides all over again. Only this time it's Web 2.0
Because how can you wiretap something with no wires? It must be completely immune to wiretapping XD.
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.
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.
They recommend Skype, which encrypts its traffic.
... you can simply open it up and look at it. Computers not so much.
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
It also recommends using a cellphone for confidential calls. Just make sure neither provider uses ATT.
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.
ZuluPad, the wiki notepad on crack
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.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
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The article also links to this product. They never had toys this fscking cool when I was a kid.
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.
No Comment.
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....
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?)
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
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.
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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!
Why would I want to wiretap myself?
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
That won't help me: all my calls consist of heavy breathing.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
I sometimes feel bad about flaming Skype. They really are more resistant to eavesdropping than most everything else, and it's nice they used AES256. They almost got it right.
But saying it's mathematically impossible to crack 'em is bullshit, because Skype's design is flawed (in at least one way that we know of -- and there's a lot we don't know about it, because it's closed and hasn't been really audited by crypto-nerds -- that's Skype first problem). AES256 is useless if the key itself has been compromised by MitM, and Skype's design allows that (that's Skype's second problem). Skype depends on a central server to introduce identities to one another, and that central point is potentially subject to compromise (or coercion). There's no reason VoIP users can't (in many cases, at least) cert each other directly, but unfortunately, that's not how Skype works.
Skype can be tapped, and all this talk about how its heavy crypto prevents that, is a smokescreen. AES is believed to be a strong link in this chain, but don't forget that we're talking about a chain.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Not recommended, but I used to use a 9VDC battery in a circuit to boost signal in the local circuit back when I was on a party line. It seemed to provide the boost needed and the telco never complained. I never did figure out why it worked, considering analog twisted copper does run AC.