Are You Being Watched? Probably
Looking back at the surveillance all around us--from wiretapped phones to security cameras
Are You Being Watched? Probably
- THE MIC IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: This pen, perhaps left on a desk or given over to a suspect as a favor, is equipped with a special mini microphone. It can pick up and transmit the audio of a targeted person's conversation to a spook with a receiver almost 1,640 feet (500 meters) away. DK Publishing
- TAPPED OUT: Connecting leads to the wires in phones or in the junction box where phone lines enter a building can give snoopers direct access to callers' conversations. Government spying on Americans had been made illegal without a warrant in the 1970s, but the Bush administration controversially circumvented these laws after the September 11 attacks. DK Publishing
- SAFETY THROUGH VIGILANCE: That is the apparent security motto in more and more locations, as cameras festoon public areas, outdoor ATMs and street corners. Security cameras have proliferated in cities like Beijing ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, as well as metropolises struck by terrorist attacks, such as London and New York. iStockPhoto
- PHONING IT IN: Public telephones have become increasingly scarce in the era of cell phones, but land lines still serve as a vital communication link where cell phones won't work (in underground train stations, for example). Whether some are tapped or not is up for debate--the role of the telecom industry in assisting the U.S. government's antiterrorism efforts remains murky. Astrojunta
