After a phone-tapping scandal took centre stage in Parliament in May 2010, the government has again come under a cloud, following reports of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s room allegedly being ‘bugged’. It’s not surprising then, if the thought, ‘Is my phone being tapped’ crosses one’s mind.
While it is typically illegal to bug (listen to the conversations remotely) anyone’s phone in the country (security concerns being exceptions), it’s very easy to tap a landline phone connection. If you ever hooked up another phone in your house, technically you have tapped your own phone line. A phone line has a green (positive end) and a red (negative) copper wire, which form a circuit. The wires transmit sound waves (your voice) as an electrical current, which a phone company sends through wires connected to the phone’s speaker and microphone. It’s easy to add a new load to the circuit board along this path.
This method, however, is too primitive in today’s tech-savvy world. Eavesdroppers now use bugs with tiny microphones that pick up sound waves directly. The sound runs to a radio transmitter, which transmits a signal varying with the current. Those spying on you could set up a nearby radio receiver that picks up this signal and sends it to a speaker or encodes it on a tape.
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There could be an ‘acoustic bug’ that can even be placed on a water glass, soft spots around windows, structural defects, ventilation structures or poorly-installed power outlets—any area through where sound may leak. An ultrasonic or VLF bug is a technique used to convert the sound into an audio signal above the range of human hearing. An RF (radio frequency) bug is the most well-known bugging device, through which a radio transmitter is placed in an area or a device. An optical bug converts sound (or data) into an optical pulse or a beam of light. It is rarely used, expensive, and easy to detect. A good example of this would be an active or a passive laser listening device.
Various companies also sell spy software like the ‘Ultimate bluetooth mobile phone spy 2010’, with which one can eavesdrop on anyone’s calls, or even read SMSs. Listening devices like the ‘bionic ear with booster’, that can magnify faint or distant sounds, or the ‘detect ear parabolic microphone system’, which claims to hear conversations with pinpoint accuracy even at 300 yards, are also available.
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FlexiSpy, for instance, is a software that can be downloaded on a phone. The software collects all available data and sends it to a web account for viewing. It also looks out for incoming calls with predefined numbers and silently switches on the phone. Another tool, the Spybubble Cell Phone Spying Software, can be downloaded for Rs 2,690. This allows live call interception, recording of incoming and outgoing call history, viewing text messages and the transfer of recorded mobile phone activities into a remote server for storage.
On the internet, data packets (voice over internet protocol or VoIP phones like Skype or Gchat) can be intercepted by the government using packet sniffers, such as the FBI’s (now abandoned) carnivore system.
It is common knowledge that every mobile subscriber’s phone conversations are recorded and retained for a period of at least seven days, primarily to monitor the various communication channels used by terrorists. Tracking would be easier with third-generation (3G) phones, since the base stations would be located close to each other. For mobile phones, a major threat is the collection of communication data, which not only include information about the time, duration, originator and recipient of the call, but also the identification of the base station where the call was made (the approximate geographical location).
A government agency can request for a wiretap, as well as other details like call detail records, SMSs and the usage of other services from telecom services providers. The conversation is then recorded and stored in a proprietary format using a communications interception system.
Vishal Gupta, chief executive officer, Seclore Technology, an enterprise information rights management firm, says, “What happens to the file after it’s received by the agency is anyone’s guess. If this piece of digital information is stolen or leaked to unauthorised personnel, due to lack of accountability, it is likely to result in a blame game among various agencies and the telecom service provider.” Seclore works with telecom operators and companies which outsource their data to third-party vendors, to protect the shared data.
Recent phone tapping incidents have prompted the government to consider data protection and privacy in its amendment to the Information Technology Act. Any company holding sensitive personal data, according to the new laws, cannot retain information more than required and the third party receiving the sensitive personal data or information from the company or any person on its behalf, cannot disclose it.
However, there are ways to counter phone-tapping threats. A high-tech ‘frequency finder bug detector’, for instance, can detect phone taps, hidden cameras, eavesdropping devices or bugs, GPS trackers, cellphone bugs and room bugs. An RF ‘telephone analyser’ can alert one about a wiretap on a telephone line in case of eavesdropping while on a call and also continually sweep one’s room for RF bugs. A computer-controlled unit from Brickhouse Security continuously sweeps a telephone and phone line for any eavesdropping. It also sweeps a room for RF bugs (the detection frequency ranges from 70Mhz to 2Ghz).
A ‘vibrating transmitter detector’ instantly alerts one when a transmitter is detected and gives two silent forms of notification — silent vibration and visual blinking light emitting device light. With the device hidden in one’s pocket, one can covertly monitor eavesdropping activity, without alerting anyone that he is sweeping the premises for concealed bugs.
Data encryption technologies too, are helping to curtail unauthorised phone-tapping to an extent. As encryption capabilities improve, so do wiretapping techniques. Being aware, however, can be of immense help.