A Bug that works like a phone: Surveillance Technology goes GSM.

The increasing potential for interactivity of different technologies is bringing us devices which are the combination of two different concepts apparently not designed for working together.
For example we can have internet-operated home appliances that can be activated from work so that your oven or bath can be warm when you are home, or, talking about surveillance technology, there are listening devices that work like a mobile phone… without actually BEING a mobile phone!

The trick is easy: These so called GSM Audio Transmitters are equipped with a SIM card, and are configured to eavesdrop conversations around them, relaying them to a third-party listener via a simple phone call.
Just like the oven or bath of the example above, they can be activated or configured remotely, simply by SMS (don’t forget that a SIM card is actually a phone number), so sending a particular SMS message would result in activating/deactivating the device.

This kind of listening device is twice the size of a 2 Euro coin, is battery-equipped and due to its size, it can easily be hidden in cars, homes, offices etc. It can be purchased online from specialized spy shops.

One may worry about the quality of sound recorded by this particular kind of bugs, especially those installed in cars. In order to solve this problem, the GSM listening devices are equipped with particular processing software, which filters out the background noise and disturbances. This software can also be set to two different levels of filtering, depending on whether the car engine is on or off.

It can also be used to track down movements of the vehicle under surveillance, as it would automatically send am SMS when the vehicle itself is started or turned off.

In a few words, if you are concerned about the ones you trust (family members, business partners, employees), a device as small as two coins would allow you to make sure that your trust is well placed, and it would do it… by phone!