Cellphone bugging found in SA companies
March 23, 2006
Modified cellphones that can be used for bugging - and can be bought
for as little as R6 000 over the internet - have been found hidden in
South African corporate boardrooms, awaiting remote activation.
Tim Jackson, counter-espionage technical expert with corporate
security company GriffithsReid, said: "The modifications to the
cellphone mean that it does not ring when its number is dialled, but
simply switches on and then transmits whatever sounds it picks up on
a sensitive microphone attached to the cellphone electronics board."
Speaking at a seminar on the tactics of corporate espionage, Jackson
said such a cellphone had recently been found in a boardroom ceiling
in South Africa, with the microphone between the ceiling boards and
pointing downward.
He pointed out that it was perfectly legal to tape a conversation to
which one is a party, even without the knowledge or consent of other
participants: "The rationale is that you are not learning anything
that was not being told to you in any event."
The grey area was the recording of a conversation of which one is not
a part. "This means that you gain information which you otherwise
would not have had," he said.
This was against the spirit of the Regulation of Interception of
Communication law.
If a company bugged the phone conversation of an employee at work in
order to investigate theft or wrongdoing, it was illegal if that
person's permission had not been obtained, he said.
The managing director of Griffiths Reid, Jenny Reid, said the best
way for companies to protect themselves in such situations was to
include in all employment contracts a clause which specifically
allowed the company to monitor all communications.
"We have specialised in providing such contractual advice to many
clients already," she said. - Sapa
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We Expertly Hunt Real Spies, Real Eavesdroppers, and Real Wiretappers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James M. Atkinson Phone: (978) 546-3803
Granite Island Group Fax: (978) 546-9467
127 Eastern Avenue #291 Web:
http://www.tscm.com/
Gloucester, MA 01931-8008 Email: mailto:jm..._at_tscm.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World Class, Professional, Ethical, and Competent Bug Sweeps, and
Wiretap Detection using Sophisticated Laboratory Grade Test Equipment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:16 CST