
Usually, some sort of device is attached to the body in an inconspicuous way, such as taping a microphone wire to their chest. The act of "wearing a wire" refers to a person knowingly recording the conversation or transmitting the contents of a conversation to a police listening post. Wires are typically used in police sting operations in order to gather information about suspects. A wire Ī "wire" is a device that is hidden or concealed under a person's clothes for the purpose of covertly listening to conversations in proximity to the person wearing the "wire". While also marketed as a device that allowed broadcasting of sounds, or dictating text from one room to a typist in another, it was used in several criminal investigations. It consisted of a microphone in one location and a remote listening post with a speaker that could also be recorded using a phonograph. Turner patented in 1906 (US Patent US843186A). Dictograph Īmong the earliest covert listening devices used in the United States of America was the dictograph, an invention of Kelley M. For instance, with the right equipment, it is possible to remotely activate the microphone of cellular phones, even when a call is not being made, to listen to conversations in the vicinity of the phone. An all solid-state device had low enough power needs that it could be operated by small batteries, which revolutionized the business of covert listening.Ī bug does not have to be a device specifically designed for the purpose of eavesdropping. By 1956, the US Central Intelligence Agency was designing and building "Surveillance Transmitters" that employed transistors, which greatly reduced the size and power consumption. Self-contained electronic covert listening devices came into common use with intelligence agencies in the 1950s, when technology allowed for a suitable transmitter to be built into a relatively small package. The use of bugs, called bugging, or wiretapping is a common technique in surveillance, espionage and police investigations. Listening devices of the East German security services.Ī covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone.
