ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Bugs and Bug Detectorstelephones, paved the way for the development of bugsthat operate using ultrahigh frequency wavelength ormicrowaves. This has made the detection of bugs moredifficult than simply detecting the output of radio waves.Some modern bugging devices can also disguise theoutput signal or vary the frequency of the signal, whichcan thwart detection.Some bugs contain voice-activated recorders that arecapable of storing up to 12 hours of conversation. Theinformation can then be rapidly sent to a receiver in a“burst” transmission. Because detection of the bug isgeared toward the frequencies emitted during transmission,the detection of these bugs is difficult. Countersystems are designed to try and activate the bug and thendetect it. The transmission range of bugs has improvedfrom mere yards to miles. Some bugs can even transmit tosatellites, making monitoring from thousands of milesaway feasible.Another surveillance option is the use of a microphone.Conventional microphones operate electronically;the electrical signals representing the converted soundwaves are passed through a wire to a receiving devicelocated elsewhere. Microphones that operate using magneticfields also exist.Shotgun microphones equipped with a parabolic reflectorcan record conversation outside at a distance.Electronic filters screen out extraneous background noisein order to enhance the sensitivity of the microphone.Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams dsiplays an electronic tracking andlistening device, found in a car used by Sinn Fein leaders, during a pressconference in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1999. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS.transmitted by the bug to the receiver can be recorded orlistened to directly. Other types of bugs exist. For example,radio frequencies passing through the electrical wiringof a building can be intercepted. Bugs can also interceptthe electrical transmissions from portable phones,wireless computers linked to a network, and even from acomputer monitor.The designation of secret listening devices as bugs isentirely suitable, given their small size. Modern bugs canbe concealed in pens, calculators, and even buttons (althoughthe latter need to be replaced frequently, as theirpower supply is so small).The miniaturization of electronics has made it possibleto pack more devices into the small package. Forexample, video equipment can be contained in a bug,enabling sight as well as sound surveillance.Up to the 1980s, bugs operated using very high frequency,or VHF, radio waves. However, the developmentof mobile communications technology, particularly digitalLaser microphones bounce a laser beam off of anobject that is near the conversation. The object must besomething that resonates, or is able to move as pressurewaves created by noise in the room encounter it. As theobject vibrates back and forth due to the sound wavesfrom the conversation in the room, the distance traveledby the laser beam will become slightly shorter and longer.These length differences can be measured over time, andthe pattern of the vibrations translated into the text of theconversation.Microphones are extremely hard to detect, especiallywhen used in a room where other electrical appliances(i.e., computers, telephones) are operating.Bugs are detected by virtue of the frequencies theyemit. Essentially a bug detector is a receiver. When broughtnear an operating bug, the detector will collect and amplifythe bug’s transmission. Bug detectors are now portableenough to be carried in a “sweep” of a room.Bugs and microphones have moved from the arena ofpolitical espionage to the boardrooms of corporate officesand police surveillance operations. Recognizing the prevalenceof electronic eavesdropping devices and their threatto privacy, the United States Congress passed the ElectronicCommunication Privacy Act in 1986, which madebugging illegal. Nonetheless, the use of eavesdroppingdevices and detectors is widespread in the intelligence146 Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security