Editing Covert listening device

{{Short description|Surveillance device}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{globalize|article|UK|date=June 2020}}
[[File:MfS wanzen.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Listening devices of the [[East Germany|East German]] [[Stasi|security services]]]]
[[File:CCTV Microphone By Gibson Torreon.JPG|thumb|A microphone disguised as a [[power outlet]] plate]]
A '''covert listening device''', more commonly known as a '''bug''' or a '''wire''', is usually a combination of a miniature [[radio transmitter]] with a [[microphone]]. The use of bugs, called bugging, or [[wiretapping]] is a common technique in [[surveillance]], [[espionage]] and [[police]] investigations.

Self-contained electronic covert listening devices came into common use with [[Intelligence agency|intelligence agencies]] in the 1950s, when technology allowed for a suitable transmitter to be built into a relatively small package. By 1956, the US [[Central Intelligence Agency]] was designing and building "Surveillance Transmitters" that employed transistors, which greatly reduced the size and power consumption. With no moving parts and greater power efficiency, these [[Solid-state electronics|solid-state devices]] could be operated by small batteries, which revolutionized the process of covert listening.

A bug does not have to be a device specifically designed for the purpose of [[eavesdropping]]. 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.<ref name="KrögerRaschke2019">{{cite book|last1=Kröger|first1=Jacob Leon|last2=Raschke|first2=Philip|title=Data and Applications Security and Privacy XXXIII|chapter=Is My Phone Listening in? On the Feasibility and Detectability of Mobile Eavesdropping|series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science|volume=11559|year=2019|pages=102–120|issn=0302-9743|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-22479-0_6|isbn=978-3-030-22478-3|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="schneier-roving-bugs" /><ref name="roving-bugs" /><ref name="uk-mobile-bug" /><ref name="noaa-phone" /><ref name="can-you-hear-me" />

== Dictograph ==
Among the earliest covert listening devices used in the United States of America was the dictograph, an invention of [https://patents.google.com/patent/US843186A/en Kelley M. Turner patented in 1906 (US Patent US843186A)].<ref>{{Cite patent|number=US843186A|title=Telephone dictating machine or apparatus|gdate=1907-02-05|invent1=Germer|inventor1-first=William F. H.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US843186A/en}}</ref> It consisted of a microphone in one location and a remote listening post with a speaker that could also be recorded using a phonograph. 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.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1017/S153778140000222X|title="The Dictograph Hears All": An Example of Surveillance Technology in the Progressive Era|journal=The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era|volume=6|issue=4|pages=409–430|year=2007|last1=Kemp|first1=Kathryn W.|s2cid=163849152}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=What the dictograph is| author=Strother, French| url= https://archive.org/details/worldswork24gard/page/37|pages=37–41|journal=The World's Work|year=1912|volume=24| issue=1}}</ref>

== "Wearing a wire" ==
A "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 wearer. Wires are typically used in police [[sting operation]]s in order to gather information about suspects.<ref>Informants and Undercover Investigations: A Practical Guide to Law, Policy, Dennis G. Fitzgerald, CRC Press, Jan 24, 2007, page 204</ref> The wire device transmits to a remote location where law enforcement agents monitor what is being said. 

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. Usually, some sort of device is attached to the body in an inconspicuous way, such as taping a microphone wire to their chest. Undercover agents "wearing a wire" is a typical plot element in [[gangster]] and police-related movies and television shows. A stereotypical scene might include an individual being suspected by criminals of wearing a hidden microphone, and having their shirt torn open to reveal the deception.<ref>Guide to Writing Movie Scripts, Wils Randel, 2009, page 123</ref>

When infiltrating a criminal organization a [[mole (espionage)|mole]] may be given a wire to wear under their clothes.

Wearing a wire is viewed as risky since discovery could lead to violence against the mole or other retaliatory responses.<ref>Organized Crime, Micheal Benson, Infobase Publishing, Jan. 1, 2009, page</ref>

== Remotely activated mobile phone microphones ==
[[Mobile phone]] (cell phone) microphones can be activated remotely, without any need for physical access.<ref name="KrögerRaschke2019"/><ref name="schneier-roving-bugs">{{cite web |url=http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/12/remotely_eavesd_1.html|title=Remotely Eavesdropping on Cell Phone Microphones |last=Schneier|first=Bruce|date=5 December 2006|work=Schneier On Security|access-date=13 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112133850/https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/12/remotely_eavesd_1.html|archive-date=12 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="roving-bugs">{{cite news|url=http://news.cnet.com/FBI-taps-cell-phone-mic-as-eavesdropping-tool/2100-1029_3-6140191.html|title=FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool|last=McCullagh|first=Declan |author2=Anne Broache|date=1 December 2006|work=CNet News|access-date=14 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110182623/http://news.cnet.com/FBI-taps-cell-phone-mic-as-eavesdropping-tool/2100-1029_3-6140191.html|archive-date=10 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="uk-mobile-bug">{{cite news|url=http://news.ft.com/cms/s/7166b8a2-02cb-11da-84e5-00000e2511c8.html|title=Use of mobile helped police keep tabs on suspect |last=Odell|first=Mark|date=1 August 2005|work=[[Financial Times]]|access-date=14 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="noaa-phone">{{cite web |url=http://www.wrc.noaa.gov/wrso/security_guide/telephon.htm|title=Telephones|year=2001|work=Western Regional Security Office (NOAA official site)|access-date=22 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106021817/http://www.wrc.noaa.gov/wrso/security_guide/telephon.htm|archive-date=6 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="can-you-hear-me">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/12/can_you_hear_me.html|title=Can You Hear Me Now?|work=ABC News: The Blotter|access-date=13 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825102123/http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/12/can_you_hear_me.html|archive-date=25 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/26/cell_hack_geek_spook_stalk/ |title=Cell hack geek stalks pretty blonde shocker |author=Lewis Page |website=The Register |date=26 June 2007 |access-date=1 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103193709/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/26/cell_hack_geek_spook_stalk/ |archive-date=3 November 2013 }}</ref> This "roving bug" feature has been used by law enforcement agencies and intelligence services to listen in on nearby conversations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3522137.stm |title=This goes no further... |author=Brian Wheeler |publisher=[[BBC News Online Magazine]] |date=2 March 2004 |access-date=23 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327110049/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3522137.stm |archive-date=27 March 2014 }}</ref> A United States court ruled in 1988 that a similar technique used by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] against reputed former [[Gulfport, Mississippi]], cocaine dealers after having obtained a court order was permissible.<ref>[http://news.cnet.com/FBI+taps+cell+phone+mic+as+eavesdropping+tool/2100-1029_3-6140191.html FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714144758/http://news.cnet.com/FBI+taps+cell+phone+mic+as+eavesdropping+tool/2100-1029_3-6140191.html |date=14 July 2014 }}, CNET News.com, 1 December 2006</ref> Not only microphones but also seemingly innocuous motion sensors, which can be accessed by third-party apps on Android and iOS devices without any notification to the user, are a potential eavesdropping channel in smartphones.<ref name="KrögerRaschke2019"/>
With the Covid-19 pandemic came an increase in remote work spurring on a new advent of Employee Monitoring Software which remotely collects many forms of data from laptops and smartphones issued by employers, including webcam and microphone data, raising concerns that a new era of corporate spying has shifted the power balance between workers and businesses.

==Automobile computer systems==

In 2003, the [[FBI]] obtained a court order to surreptitiously listen in on conversations in a car through the car's built-in emergency and tracking security system. A panel of the [[9th Circuit Court of Appeals]] prohibited the use of this technique because it involved deactivating the device's security features.<ref>[http://www.refuseandresist.org/police_state/art.php?aid=1216 "Court Leaves the Door Open for Safety System Wiretaps"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 21 December 2003 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301162754/http://www.refuseandresist.org/police_state/art.php?aid=1216 |date=1 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://news.cnet.com/Court+to+FBI+No+spying+on+in-car+computers/2100-1029_3-5109435.html Court to FBI: No spying on in-car computers.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714141739/http://news.cnet.com/Court+to+FBI+No+spying+on+in-car+computers/2100-1029_3-5109435.html |date=14 July 2014 }} CNET News.com, 19 November 2003</ref>

==Audio from optical sources==

A [[laser microphone]] can be used to reconstruct audio from a laser beam shot onto an object in a room, or the glass pane of a window.

Researchers have also prototyped a method for reconstructing audio from video of thin objects that can pick up sound vibrations, such as a houseplant or bag of potato chips.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/08/05/338099752/how-to-turn-sight-into-sound-its-all-in-the-vibrations|title=How To Translate Sight Into Sound? It's All In The Vibrations|website=npr.org|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714191450/http://www.npr.org/2014/08/05/338099752/how-to-turn-sight-into-sound-its-all-in-the-vibrations|archive-date=14 July 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Examples of use==
* [[Embassy|Embassies]] and other diplomatic posts are often the targets of bugging operations.
** The [[Embassy of Russia in Ottawa|Soviet embassy in Ottawa]] was bugged by the [[Government of Canada]] and [[MI5]] during its construction in 1956.<ref>Operation Dew Worm. Described by Peter Wright in ''Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer'', Stoddart (paperback), 1987. pp. 79-83</ref>
** The Russian Embassy in [[The Hague]] was bugged by the [[AIVD|BVD]] and the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] in 1958 and 1959 using an [[Operation Easy Chair|Easy Chair]] [http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/ec/ec3/index.htm Mark III] listening device.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/cases/nl/ra1958.htm|title=Operation Easy Chair: Bugging the Russian Embassy in The Hague in 1958|date=30 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401054627/http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/cases/nl/ra1958.htm|archive-date=1 April 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
** Extensive bugging of the [[West German]] embassy in [[Moscow]] by the [[KGB]] was discovered by German engineer [[Horst Schwirkmann]], leading to an attack on Schwirkmann in 1964.<ref>{{cite magazine
 |title=Fumigating the Fumigator 
 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]
 |date=25 September 1964 
 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,876162,00.html 
 |access-date=6 June 2009 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823151105/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C876162%2C00.html 
 |archive-date=23 August 2013 
 |url-status=dead 
}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
** [[The Great Seal bug]] was hidden in a copy of the [[Great Seal of the United States]], presented by the [[Soviet Union]] to the [[United States]] ambassador in [[Moscow]] in 1946 and only discovered in 1952. The bug was unusual in that it had no power source or active components, making it much harder to detect—it was a new type of device, called a [[Thing (listening device)|passive resonant cavity bug]]. The cavity had a metallic diaphragm that moved in unison with sound waves from a conversation in the room. When illuminated by a radio beam from a remote location, the cavity would return a [[Frequency modulation|frequency modulated]] signal.
** The [[Embassy of the United States in Moscow|United States Embassy in Moscow]] was bugged during its construction in the 1970s by Soviet agents posing as laborers. When discovered in the early 1980s, it was found that even the concrete columns were so riddled with bugs that the building eventually had to be torn down and replaced with a new one, built with US materials and labor.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hyde |first=Hon. Henry J. |title= Embassy Moscow: Paying the Bill |date=26 October 1990 |page=E3555 |work=Congressional Record |url=https://fas.org/irp/congress/1990_cr/h901026-embassy.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126054641/https://fas.org/irp/congress/1990_cr/h901026-embassy.htm |archive-date=26 November 2012 }}<!--in the House of Representatives--></ref>
** In 1984, bugs were discovered in at least 16 [[IBM Selectric typewriter]]s in the [[Embassy of the United States, Moscow|US Embassy in Moscow]] and the [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|US Consulate]] in Leningrad. The highly sophisticated devices were planted by the Soviets between 1976 and 1984 and were hidden inside a metal support bar. Information was intercepted by detecting the movements of metal bars inside the typewriter (the so-called latch interposers) by means of [[magnetometer]]s. The data was then compressed and transmitted in bursts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/selectric/index.htm|title=Operation Gunman: how the Soviets bugged IBM typewriters|date=14 October 2015|website=Crypto Museum|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515195015/http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/selectric/index.htm|archive-date=15 May 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
** In 1990, it was reported that the embassy of the [[People's Republic of China]] in [[Canberra]], [[Australia]], had been bugged by the [[Australian Secret Intelligence Service]] as part of the [[UKUSA]] [[Project Echelon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/ww2/pages-2aif-cmf/aib-asio.htm |title=Australian Security & Intelligence Organization (ASIO) |access-date=5 April 2011 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503131918/http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/ww2/pages-2aif-cmf/aib-asio.htm |archive-date=3 May 2009 }} "In 1990, it was learned, that the ASIS, along with the help of 30 NSA technicians, had bugged the Chinese embassy. The story had originally been picked up by an Australian paper, but the ASIS asked them to sit on the story. Shortly thereafter, the Associated Press also picked up the story, but the ASIS also got them to sit on the story. However, the story somehow made its way to ''Time'' magazine, where it was published, compromising the operation."</ref>
** In 2003, the Pakistani embassy building in London was found bugged; contractors hired by MI5 had planted bugs in the building in 2001.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3257265.stm | work=BBC News | title=UK embassy 'bug' angers Pakistan | date=10 November 2003 |access-date=30 April 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114062123/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3257265.stm | archive-date=14 November 2012 }}</ref>
* During World War II, the Nazis took over a Berlin brothel, [[Salon Kitty]], and used concealed microphones to spy on patrons.
* Also during the war, the British used covert listening devices to monitor captured German fighter pilots being held at [[Trent Park#Second World War|Trent Park]].
* In the late 1970s, a bug was discovered in a meeting room at the [[OPEC]] headquarters in [[Vienna]]. The bug intercepted the audio from the [[Public address system|PA system]] via a pickup coil and transmitted it on a frequency near 600&nbsp;MHz using [[subcarrier]] audio masking. It was not discovered who was responsible for planting the bug.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/opec/index.htm|title=OPEC bug|date=28 August 2016|website=Crypto Museum|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331210022/http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/opec/index.htm|archive-date=31 March 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* [[Colin Thatcher]], a [[Canadians|Canadian]] politician, was secretly recorded making statements which would later be used to convict him of his wife's murder. The recording device was concealed on a person Thatcher had previously approached for help in the crime.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
* Electronic bugging devices were found in March 2003 at offices used by [[France|French]] and [[Germany|German]] delegations at the European Union headquarters in [[Brussels]]. Devices were also discovered at offices used by other delegations. The discovery of the [[telephone tapping]] systems was first reported by ''[[Le Figaro]]'' newspaper, which blamed the US.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2003-03-19|title=EU investigates mystery buggings|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2864063.stm|access-date=2020-05-13}}</ref>
* The car of Thomas Hentschell, who was involved in the [[Melbourne gangland killings]], was bugged by police.
* In 1999, the US expelled a Russian diplomat, accusing him of using a listening device in a top floor conference room used by diplomats in the [[United States Department of State]] [[Harry S Truman Building|headquarters]].<ref name="NYT 1999-12-10">{{cite news | first=David | last=Johnston |author2=James Risen | title=U.S. Expelling Russian Diplomat in Bugging of State Dept. | date=10 December 1999 | url =https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E0DF1431F933A25751C1A96F958260 | work =The New York Times |access-date=27 March 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206230511/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E0DF1431F933A25751C1A96F958260| archive-date=6 February 2009}}</ref>
* In 2001, the [[Government of China|government]] of the [[China|People's Republic of China]] announced that it had discovered twenty-seven bugs in a [[Boeing 767]] purchased as an [[Air transports of heads of state and government|official aircraft]] of the [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]], [[Jiang Zemin]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1382116/China-finds-spy-bugs-in-Jiangs-Boeing-jet.html|title=China finds spy bugs in Jiang's Boeing jet|last1=McElroy|first1=Damien|date=20 January 2002|work=The Telegraph|url-status=live|last2=Wastell|first2=David|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306111613/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1382116/China-finds-spy-bugs-in-Jiangs-Boeing-jet.html|archive-date=6 March 2014}}</ref>
* In 2003, [[Alastair John Campbell|Alastair Campbell]] (who was [[public relations|Director of Communications and Strategy]] from 1997 to 2003 for the British Prime Minister) in his memoirs ''The Blair Years: The Alastair Campbell Diaries'' alleged that two bugs were discovered in the hotel room meant for visiting Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] planted by [[Intelligence Bureau (India)|Indian intelligence agencies]]. The alleged bug discovery was at a hotel during Blair's official visit to New Delhi in 2001. Security services supposedly informed him that the bugs could not be removed without drilling the wall and therefore he changed to another room.<ref>{{cite news |date=20 July 2007 |title=Vajpayee govt tried to bug Blair's bedroom in Delhi |work=IBNLive |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/vajpayee-govt-tried-to-bug-blairs-bedroom-in-delhi/45265-2.html|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929145020/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/vajpayee-govt-tried-to-bug-blairs-bedroom-in-delhi/45265-2.html |archive-date=29 September 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi_clumsily_bugged_Blairs_room/articleshow/2243144.cms | work=[[The Times of India]] | title=Delhi clumsily bugged Blair's room | date=30 July 2007 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808035105/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi_clumsily_bugged_Blairs_room/articleshow/2243144.cms | archive-date=8 August 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>
* In 2004, a bug was found in a meeting room at the [[United Nations]] offices in [[Geneva]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2004-12-18|title=Bugging device found at UN offices|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/dec/18/iraq.iraq|access-date=2021-09-04|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref>
* In 2008, it was reported that an electric [[samovar]] presented to [[Elizabeth II]] in about 1968 by a Soviet aerobatic team was removed from [[Balmoral Castle]] as a security precaution amid fears that its wiring could contain a listening device.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/3515927/Russias-teapot-gift-to-Queen-could-have-been-bugged.html | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | title=Russia's teapot gift to Queen 'could have been bugged' | first=Matthew | last=Moore | date=25 November 2008 |access-date=30 April 2010| url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207195100/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/3515927/Russias-teapot-gift-to-Queen-could-have-been-bugged.html | archive-date=7 February 2009 }}</ref>
* On 6 December 1972, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] placed a wire tap on a multiplex trunk line 24 kilometers southwest of [[Vinh]] to intercept Vietnamese communist messages concerning negotiating an end to the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>Conboy, Kenneth, and James Morrison, ''Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos'', Paladin Press, pp. 381&ndash;385.</ref>
* The [[Watergate scandal]] in the 1970s.

== Listening devices and the UK law ==
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2019}}
The use of listening devices is permitted under UK law providing that they are used in compliance with Data Protection and Human Rights laws. If a government body or organisation intends to use listening or recording devices they must follow the laws put in place by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). It is usually permitted to record audio covertly in a public setting or one's own home.

=== Legal requirements of listening and recording device use ===
It is illegal to use listening or recording devices that are not permitted for public use. Individuals may only use listening or recording devices within reasonable [[privacy law]]s for legitimate security and safety reasons. Many people use listening devices on their own property to capture evidence of excessive noise in a neighbour complaint, which is legal in normal circumstances.<ref name=":0">The Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000.</ref>

=== Legal use of listening and recording devices ===
It is legal to use listening or recording devices in public areas, in an office or business area, or in one's own home. Many people use listening devices to record evidence or to take notes for their own reference.<ref name=":0" />

=== Illegal use of listening and recording devices ===
It is illegal to use listening devices on certain Military band and Air Band UHF and FM frequencies - people in the past who have not followed this law have been fined over £10,000. This is because the use of a radio transmission bug that transmits on restricted frequencies contravenes the Telecommunications Act and is illegal. It is also against the law to place a listening or recording device in someone else's home. Due to privacy and human rights laws, using a listening or recording device to intrude on the reasonable [[expectation of privacy]] of an individual is highly illegal, i.e. placing gadgets in someone's home or car to which one does not have permitted access, or in a private area such as a bathroom.

== United States Law on Listening Devices ==
{{See also|Telephone call recording laws}}

=== Federal laws on Listening Devices ===
Several federal laws were passed by [[United States Congress|congress]] that apply nation-wide. Under [[Title 18 of the United States Code|Title 18]] of the US Code § 2251 2(iii)(c) at least one of the parties involved in the communication must have given consent to interception of the [[communication]]. This title applies to wire, [[Oral Communication|oral]], or any kind of electric communication.   This single party consent only applies if one of the parties is an "officer of the United States" [[Title 18 of the United States Code|(Title 18]] of the US Code § 2251 [2d]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=18 U.S. Code § 2511 - Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2511 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}}</ref> Furthermore, congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA). This act updated the Federal Wiretap Act of 1968. The Federal Wiretap act addressed the interception of conversations over telephone lines, but not interception of [[computer]] or other digital data. This act was further updated by the [[Patriot Act|USA Patriot Act]] to clarify and modernize the ECPA. The ECPA has three title. Title I prohibits attempted or successful interception of or "procure[ment] [of] any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept any wire, oral, or electronic communication." It also prohibits the storage of any information obtained via phone calls without consent or illegally obtained though wiretaps.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) {{!}} Bureau of Justice Assistance |url=https://bja.ojp.gov/program/it/privacy-civil-liberties/authorities/statutes/1285 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=bja.ojp.gov |language=en}}</ref> Furthermore, the US passed the [[Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968|Wiretap Act]] which prohibits unauthorized interception of "wire, oral, or electronic communications" by the government or by private citizens. Furthermore, this act establishes the procedure for government officials to obtain [[Court order|warrants]] to authorize any wiretapping activates. Such laws were passed in response to congressional investigations that found extensive cases of government and private wiretapping without consent or legal authorization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Title III of The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Wiretap Act) {{!}} Bureau of Justice Assistance |url=https://bja.ojp.gov/program/it/privacy-civil-liberties/authorities/statutes/1284 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=bja.ojp.gov |language=en}}</ref> In the US, electronic surveillance is seen as protected under the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] that the [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]], which protects against unreasonable search and seizure by the government,<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Does the Fourth Amendment Mean? {{!}} United States Courts |url=https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/what-does-0 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=www.uscourts.gov |language=en}}</ref> which also is seen by the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] as electronic surveillance.

=== State to State variation ===
Listening devices are regulated by several legislative bodies in the [[United States]]. Laws on listening devices varies between [[U.S. state|states]] within the US. Typically the variation comes on whether or not the state is a one or two party consent state. Within one party consent states, only one party must approve the recording, whereas in all party consent states all parties must consent to the recording. In many states, the consent requirements listed below only apply to situations where the parties have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as private property, and do not apply in public areas.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-04-25 |title=Recording Phone Calls and Conversations: 50-State Survey |url=https://www.justia.com/50-state-surveys/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations/ |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=Justia |language=en}}</ref> (Protection can apply to conversations in public areas in some circumstances.)<ref>{{Cite web |title=eavesdropping |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/eavesdropping |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+Parties required to give consent by state
!One-party Consent States
!All-Party Consent States
|-
|Alabama
|California
|-
|Alaska
|Connecticut 
|-
|Arizona
|Delaware
|-
|Arkansas
|Florida
|-
|Colorado 
|Illinois
|-
|District of Columbia (D.C.)
|Maryland
|-
|Georgia
|Massachusetts
|-
|Hawaii
|Michigan
|-
|Idaho
|Montana
|-
|Indiana
|Nevada
|-
|Iowa
|New Hampshire
|-
|Kansas
|Oregon
|-
|Kentucky
|Pennsylvania
|-
|Louisiana
|Vermont
|-
|Maine
|Washington
|-
|Minnesota
| rowspan="21" |
|-
|Mississippi
|-
|Missouri
|-
|Nebraska
|-
|New Jersey
|-
|New Mexico
|-
|New York
|-
|North Carolina
|-
|North Dakota
|-
|Ohio
|-
|Oklahoma
|-
|Rhode Island
|-
|South Carolina
|-
|South Dakota
|-
|Tennessee
|-
|Texas
|-
|Utah
|-
|Virginia
|-
|West Virginia
|-
|Wisconsin
|-
|Wyoming
|}

==See also==
{{div col}}
* [[Acoustic cryptanalysis]]
* [[Cellphone surveillance]]
* [[SIGINT|Communications interception]]
* [[Eavesdropping]]
* [[Electronic Privacy Information Center]]
* [[Espionage]]
* [[Greek telephone tapping case 2004-2005]]
* [[Mobile phone tracking]]
* [[National Cryptologic Museum]]
* [[Nonlinear junction detector]]
* [[Peter Wright (MI5 officer)#Father's footsteps|Peter Wright]]
* [[Privacy]]
* [[Privacy International]]
* [[Surveillance]]
* [[Technical surveillance counter-measures]]
* [[Telephone tapping]]
* [[Tempest (codename)|TEMPEST]]
* {{sectionlink|Vault 7|Part 6 – "Weeping Angel"}}
* [[Watergate scandal]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://onetuberadio.com/2017/09/11/1917-spy-antennas-everywhere/ Secret Radio Aerials: Spy antennas everywhere]
* [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/french-german-eu-offices-bugged/ French, German EU Offices Bugged] - CBS news story
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2864063.stm EU investigates mystery buggings] - BBC News story
* ''[http://www.international-intelligence.co.uk/tscm-sweep-guide.html A simple guide to TSCM]'', How to protect privacy
* "[http://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/107507.pdf Listening In: Electronic Eavesdropping in the Cold War Era]". [[US Department of State]], [[Bureau of Diplomatic Security]], 2008
* "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140303064548/http://www.dm.usda.gov/ocpm/Security%20Guide/T4travel/Bughotel.htm Bugging Hotel Rooms]". [[US Department of Agriculture]].
* [http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/ Covert listening devices on the Crypto Museum website]
* [https://www.qccglobal.com/eavesdropping-devices-found-in-restaurant/ Eavesdropping Devices Found in Restaurant] - QCC Global News Story
* [http://militaryradio.com/spyradio/tsd.html Some CIA surveillance and bugging devices]

{{Espionage}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Covert Listening Device}}
[[Category:Surveillance]]
[[Category:Law enforcement equipment]]
[[Category:Espionage devices]]
[[Category:Espionage techniques]]
[[Category:Covert listening devices| ]]