Surveillance Equipment Surveillance methods have undergone a sea change since the Mata Hari days. James Bond had outwitted her in more than one ways with his Octopussy film. But Bond too, has to take the rear seat now since contemporary surveillance agents are today using such sophisticated equipments that make 007 gadgetry as archaic as manual typewriters. As an instance, take the case of guiltless MP3 players (such as Walkmans). Insert recording devices, cameras and communication devices within it and pretend listening to music while roaming round or sitting near the target/targets. The ultra-sensitive recording device catches all the conversation while the hidden camera takes uninterrupted images of suspected subjects. Even bugs now come in all shapes and sizes. Miniaturization of electronics has gone to such an extent that TV pictures can even be broadcast via bugs that incorporate miniature video cameras. If, however, surveillance is the main issue, you can do so by sending radio frequencies through the main wiring of a building and then pick them up outside. And the cost of these ultra-sensitive devices is falling dramatically. At base level, computers are great surveillance targets since large amount of personal data are often stored on their hard disc. There is a generation of hackers who have made it their profession to infiltrate the computers and put in their surveillance equipment with the sole purpose of capturing the browsing habits of people – and sometimes their intentions are worse. When a computer bug is electronically inserted within a PC, it no longer remains one’s Personal Computer in that sense. As a matter of fact, an outsider sitting thousands of miles away can easily drain out all the information stored in the PC and can also sell it to any interested party at a profit. Steve Gibson, the self-styled computer security Guru who ‘invented’ spy ware have described in detail how surveillance tools can be installed against the user’s will or choice. High-speed Internet connections have made the job easier too. But surveillance equipment can be used for other purposes too – such as to monitor the activities of partners who are suspecting of extra marital affairs. Often such gadgets that are very small are installed to catch an unsuspecting partner. These gadgets are so small and they are so cleverly hidden that it becomes very difficult, almost impossible really for an untrained eye to find them out and dismantle them. CCTV or closed-circuit television is yet another modern surveillance tool. Here a miniature TV camera installed at a strategic point in a hall or a mall goes on taking images within the location and transmitting them to a monitor set in a secure site for viewing and taking appropriate action when needed. Created initially for use in high security areas, banks, etc, CCTV today is widely used in airports, shopping malls or even in housing blocks to prevent access by unauthorized persons. Although photographs are no more accepted as evidence in courts of law since they can be easily doctored, photos nevertheless can be taken as first hand proof of a crime committed before the lens of a camera. Alfred Kodak would have shifted in his grave if he ever had a chance to see how his box cameras have now taken the shape of pencil cameras that are capable of taking accurate pictures of events when focused at them. Why, even the cell phone cameras crated quite a stir when they had hit the market a few years back. Many European glossy social tabloids probably survived because of those trendy mobile camera phones. Contrary to earlier days, surveillance can now be done in a passive way. A person in his day-to-day activity leaves many trails behind from which his/her lifestyle could somehow be gathered. These may be termed as paper trails. Like when a person makes payment through checks, such payments are recorded in the bank’s ledger that forms a part of the person’s paper trail. But today, most of these records are electronic, forming an ‘electronic trail’ that can be easily reconstructed through automated means. Every time a person uses a bank teller, pays by credit card, uses a phone card, tops up cell phones or otherwise completes a recorded transaction, an electronic record is generated. Aggregated and analyzed, this electronic trail will give away person’s behavior pattern or lifestyle to anyone merely for the asking. This kind of electronic surveillance can be a profession for someone who can earn his livelihood by selling the electronic trail. As for buyers, they are aplenty! Banks or companies selling credit cards, professionals engaged in credit rating, loan sanctioning agencies and mortgagers are the biggest buyers of such personal electronic trails of persons who are in need of such facilities.