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The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone's microphone and using it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations.

The technique is called a "roving bug," and was approved by top U.S. Department of Justice officials for use against members of a New York organized crime family who were wary of conventional surveillance techniques such as tailing a suspect or wiretapping him.

The eavesdropping technique "functions" whether the phone is powered on or off.

Nextel and Samsung handsets and the Motorola Razr are especially vulnerable to software downloads that activate their microphones, said James Atkinson, a counter-surveillance consultant who has worked closely with government agencies. "They can be remotely accessed and made to transmit room audio all the time," he said. "You can do that without having physical access to the phone."

Because modern handsets are miniature computers, downloaded software could modify the usual interface that always displays when a call is in progress. The spyware could then place a call to the FBI and activate the microphone--all without the owner knowing it happened.

"If a phone has in fact been modified to act as a bug, the only way to counteract that is to either have a bugsweeper follow you around 24-7, which is not practical, or to peel the battery off the phone," Atkinson said. Security-conscious corporate executives routinely remove the batteries from their cell phones, he added.

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Posted: 2006-12-03 18:05:33
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whats next?would it be possible to access and activate a phones camera/video recorder to stream what is in its line of sight and sens back to whoever using 3g?
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Posted: 2006-12-03 18:59:13
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I would say that would quite easily be possible.


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Posted: 2006-12-03 19:00:42
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it would only work on phones that didnt have lens covers or on the video call camera.
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Posted: 2006-12-03 19:06:38
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This is going on in the uk too! there are trigger words that will start a mobile conversation to be listened to. It all goes on at a very secret nationally but well known in Harrogate called Menwith hill its very close to were i live. I can see the big "golf balls" from the top of a street near my house!. Its super secret too, i have friends who's dads work there and his own family have no clue what he does and he cant tell them!

http://cndyorks.gn.apc.org/mhs/

[ This Message was edited by: Adz21 on 2007-07-17 13:06 ]
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Posted: 2007-07-17 14:00:02
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How can this possibly work when the phone is "off"?
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Posted: 2007-07-17 14:06:03
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who knows? the only way you can get round it is by taking your battery out! theres a news report here

http://youtube.com/watch?v=muBzQs9GuHg

[ This Message was edited by: Adz21 on 2007-07-17 13:08 ]
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Posted: 2007-07-17 14:07:53
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any links to the software lol could be interesting haha
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Posted: 2007-07-17 14:25:18
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That is a pretty big bug.
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Posted: 2007-07-17 15:03:06
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