wmartin@st-louis-emh2.army.mil (Will Martin -- AMXAL-RI) (04/11/89)
The following item appeared in RISKS Digest V8 #52 and is of interest
to Telecom and Hams. Please note there is no mention of the ECPA in this,
except fo a slight allusion to it at the end. Also note that the equipment
being used is not a high-end 800 MHz-coverage scanner, but a simple TV
audio tuner or radio. Obviously a continuous-tuned TV will work as well.
(Maybe the bandwidth on this simpler equipment is wide enough that the
listeners get multiple cellular frequencies without retuning, and
therefore are not impeded by the frequency-hopping during handoffs
within conversations? That would mean this low-tech method was actually
better for surreptitious eavesdropping than using more sophisticated
equipment. Certainly makes fools of the scanner manufacturers who
program out cellular coverage!) -- Will Martin
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Date: Fri, 07 Apr 89 20:27:24 -0400
From: denbeste@BBN.COM
Subject: Cellular telephones
>From the 4/7/89 Boston Globe:
"Some Bostonians are having the time of their lives eavesdropping on Nynex
Mobile Communications cellular phones. With the help of their trusty Radio Shack
Portavision 55s, designed to pick up the audio portion of UHF television
signals, these naughty people claim to have heard Secretary of Finance and
Administration Edward Lashman discussing a press conference with his wife and
Boston Mayor Ray Flynn checking in with his office. "It makes for a great day,"
says one listener who calls in sick at his job to spend the day with his ear
pressed against the radio. "At 7 a.m. you hear the construction people
complaining that their suppliers delivered the wrong stuff. At 9, it's the
lawyers telling their clients how to lie in court. After noon the risque stuff
starts..."
The article goes on to say that Radio Shack no longer sells that model, and
that the FCC says such eavesdropping is illegal.
Steven C. Den Beste, BBN Communications Corp., Cambridge MA
***End of item***