Wire Tapping

It is a popular misconception that wiretapping only refers to telephone lines. Not so. It is possible to hard wiretap Local Area Networks (LAN's), CAT 5 cabling, CCTV and alarm cabling.

In the simplest form a wiretap could simply be a physical connection across a telephone line via a high impedance amplifier to a pair of headphones where the perpetrator listens in.

The addition of a recorder would allow the perpetrator to collect the contents of the recorder perhaps once a week depending on how much the telephone line under coverage is being used. Modern recorders are small, reliable, high quality and require only small amount of power facilitating their concealment almost anywhere. In the UK a private investigator tapped a telephone line at the top of a telegraph pole and ran the cables down to a concealed recorder buried in a biscuit tin at the foot of the pole. He was observed collecting the tapes from the biscuit tin, arrested, prosecuted and subsequently served a jail sentence.........because tapping telephone in the UK is illegal.

Some tapping devices incorporate a RF device to radiate the audio away to a suitable listening post (LP). These type of devices can radiate for up to 250 metres in any direction which provides the perpetrator with a high degree of flexibility in choosing the point that he/she collects the information. This type of device can take the power it needs from the telephone line itself or be powered separately by battery. An RF hard wire attack is easy to locate because every time the telephone handset is lifted from the cradle the bug is activated and a signal appears.

Professionally installed hard wiretaps can be very difficult to locate, even for professionals with the appropriate equipment.

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