What Equipment Do You Use for Spying?
Spycraft and spying tools have been a fascination for people for decades. From early systems for encrypting battlefield messages to modern digital surveillance techniques, the tools available to you and others for spying and surveillance have become smaller and cheaper. In fact, some more advanced cellular phones offer tools that are either designed for covert spying or are readily adapted for spy purposes.
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History
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The history of personal spy equipment closely follows the history of governmental spy technology development. Cryptographic systems and technology can, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, be traced back to the beginnings of writing. In 400 B.C., the Spartans used a cryptographic device called a scytale. To use a scytale, a paper is wrapped around a rod. The message sender writes the message lengthwise on the paper. When unwrapped, the message is unreadable until it is wrapped around a rod the same thickness. Over time, the scytale lead to more complex cryptographic systems, including single-key paper cyphers and mechanical cryptographic systems, like the German military's Enigma machine used during World War II. Initial digital encryption systems developed from the mechanical systems, resulting in modern digital cryptography.
The advent of photography and magnetic tape recording triggered the development of modern spy cameras, and covert video and audio surveillance devices.
Significance
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Governmental and personal spy devices have had a significant impact on personal privacy. Although there has been much discussion on the loss of personal privacy as a result of surveillance technology, these technologies also have had a positive impact. For example, older analog cellular telephone conversations can be intercepted with inexpensive radio receivers. Modern digital cellular telephones use digital encryption to keep your conversations private. Video surveillance, once only available to governmental agencies, now allows you to monitor your home and business from remote locations, thus increasing security.
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Considerations
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Surveillance, especially through video and audio, is regulated in a number of jurisdictions. Different municipalities, states and countries may have laws limiting covert recordings by audio and video. In many jurisdictions, it is illegal to record in situations where the person being recorded could have a reasonable expectation of privacy. According to video-surveillance-guide.com, these laws make it illegal for a person to, for example, put a camera in your bathroom or bedroom. Some states have laws that make it illegal for you to record a conversation without notifying all parties involved in the conversation. In other states, this practice is perfectly legal.
Size
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Most personal and governmental spy equipment is, by design, very small. In some cases, miniature cameras are built in to common household devices, like clocks and radios. Covert recording devices, often called "bugs," are tiny and designed to be placed in a wall or other inconspicuous place. In the past, small cameras, like the Minox, were often used for espionage. In fact, many people call the Minox a "spy camera."
Some modern smart phones offer software that turn them into classic covert spy tools. For example, phones that use the Android operating system can use covert photography and video systems and also record conversations without the other party's knowledge.
Types
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Aside from individual purpose devices like cryptographic systems, cameras and audio surveillance equipment, intelligence work also requires less obvious equipment. Once you have encrypted a document or letter, you have to deliver that letter. Although modern encryption is suited to digital delivery by e-mail, dead drops can be used for delivering paper messages. A dead drop is an inconspicuous place, like a hole in a tree, where a note is left for a recipient. Often, a signal is used, like placing a soda can at the base of the tree, to tell the recipient that a message is in the dead drop.
New digital techniques have developed for encoding secret messages in places that normally don't trigger suspicion. Steganography is a method of encoding a message in pictures or other digital media. If you want to send a steganographic picture, use a software package to merge your text message with the original picture. The software changes the color of a few pixels slightly to store your text message. The person receiving the picture can then use the same software package to decode the message embedded in the picture.
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