wiretapping

     Shhhhh...Sam's spying! Did you ever wonder how the best top secret spies really get all their top secret information? Sam the spy uses lots of cool tricks and tools when he is trying to get all of his information. He has all the newest tools like hidden cameras, night vision goggles like the ones in figure one, and even cool lasers. But Sam's favorite way to get his information about people is to wiretap them. Lots of spies like to use wiretapping because it allows them to hear everything a person says into their phone (1). 

Figure 1. Sam's night vision goggles

     Since most people do not have home phones anymore Sam usually only has to wiretap cell phones. When he finds the perfect target he sets up shop inside of his BIG van of secrets. He begins the process by first linking to the cell phone by using his BTS tool. The BTS takes the signals from the phone floating through the air and pulls them down and records them (1). Then it is one of Sam's secret spy workers to decode all the messages that were picked up. 

 Figure 2. Sam putting a speaker in a home phone

     If Sam did end up needing to tap into a home phone it would be easier. When he taps into home phones he simply attaches a little speaker inside the phone where the person talks into. You can see Sam doing this is figure two! Then the speaker picks up everything that the person has said into their phone and it is sent to Sam's BIG van of secrets (2). Sam has to be careful when doing this though; if he forgets to go back and take the speaker out the person might find it and his cover will be blown! 
     Wiretapping isn't just for super secret spies like Sam either! Anyone can tap into someone else's phone. In fact, Sam's good friend Charlie the cop also uses wiretapping. Charlie loves using all the stuff Sam taught him. He uses it against bad guys when he's trying to catch them planning something or when he's trying to catch them admitting to something they did that would get them in trouble (1). If Charlie is able to catch the bad guys then he can put them in jail and that only makes the world safer for people just like you and me!
     You can even wiretap if you really wanted to! Although, many average people cannot afford these tools. Some of them can cost a whole lot of money, almost as much as a house! In most cases the only way for a person just like you to wiretap a cell phone is if they are able to make the tool themselves (2). You can see the first tool Sam ever made in figure 3!

Figure 3. Sam's first home made tool

It is not super hard to make the tools if you are really committed to it and really want to figure it out. A lot of the time when average people use wiretapping who aren't spies like Sam or cops like Charlie they use it to find stuff out about people close to them (1). They don't need to worry about taking down the bad guys and they don't have to worry about spying so they just use it when it becomes useful to them.

            Wiretapping is becoming more useful to people other than Sam and Charlie. They are both perfect examples of how wiretapping can help save lives and people's relationships. You never know maybe you will be the next super secret spy or chief cop that gets to enter the world of wiretapping next!

References

Advanced Electric Security Co. [illustration]. (1964) Retrieved from the ZDNet website:                                                                 http://www.bugsweeps.com/info/big_bro.html

Brian Hochman [illustration]. (2014) Retrieved from the ZDNet website: http://brianhochman.net/eavesdrop/

Mullikin, A., Rahman, S. M. (2010). The ethical dilemma of the usa government wiretapping. International Journal of Managing Information Technology, 2, 32-39. doi:10.5121/ijmit.2010.2403 

Night Vision Binoculars [illustration]. (n.d.) Retrieved from the ZDNet website: http://www.cultofdegan.com/night-vision-goggles  

Pell, S. K., & Soghoian, C. (2014). Your secret stingray’s no secret anymore: the vanishing government monopoly over cell phone surveillance and its impact on national security and consumer privacy. Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, 28, 1-75. Retrieved from http://jolt.law.harvard.edu