Modern day spies

Don’t you love James Bond, the slick spy and Chuck, the bumbling spy-wannabe? So it was really exciting to read about this week’s top story of Russian spies in the USA as alleged by the FBI.

Anna Chapman, femme-fatale Russian spy that's part of the spy ring.

I bet you too, during your younger days, dreamt of being a spy with all those cool James Bond gadgets. Yours truly not excluded of course.

One of the observations of the 11 named Russian spies is that they all appear to live the usual middle-income life. Anna have a LinkedIn page and also Facebook. They live in decent suburbs. Just like you and me.

So it came to me – with all these state-of-the-art technologies available today, surely I too can have the necessary spying tools to be Malaysia’s newest secret agent. Or at least to spy on my boss . In fact an Associated Press article said that the Russian spy suspects use just ordinary gadgets.

Let’s do a quick search and see what can we find on the good ole World Wide Web, eh.

SPY CAMERA

What is a spy without one of those spy camera? Obviously, almost every mobile phone has a built in camera – so is a very capable spy camera. But what if I want to take picture discreetly? A quick search online presents a myriad of spy camera variations, from Coca-Cola cans to the improbable guise of a toy camera.

Notice that all spies have cool shades. So I might as well pick a Sun Glasses Spy Camera for RM426 from Digitalzone2u. Appearance counts and I’m sure it will blend well with my alter-ego persona.

LISTENING DEVICE

Another must have equipment for a spy wannabe

We found this parabolic microphone that will allow you to eavesdrop your target’s conversation at a Mamak stall of up to 100 meters away from the safety of your car. So that you can see the action as well, it comes with a monocular with 8x magnification.

Pretty cheap as well – only AU$46 from Chinavasion.

But being in KL, more likely I’ll want to do my spying actions in air-cond comfort indoors.

. From the same place, I can get this Inspector Gadget Audio Listening Device. Simply put it on the wall and listen to what’s being said next door. This audio gadget works by amplifying the vibrations of audio. When people are talking in a room their voices are simply a waveband, and depending on how loud they are talking, the waveband travels short and long distances which are picked up and amplified by this device.

Hah … no juicy office gossips can escape me any more.

Computer Key Logger

Not content with looking at who they’re meeting or eavesdropping, how can one up the ante and snoop into their computer habit? Using simply a small plug-in device, between a person’s keyboard (even a wireless one) and their computer, you can see hundreds of pages of text that they type no matter what it is. You can monitor every single button they press on their keyboard.

When it has been recording a good deal of time you can take it out and plug it into your own computer enter the password and Viola! You can see all their chats and everything they’ve typed.

Recover deleted data

It is so easy nowadays to snoop inside a computer and find out the information. If the target has deleted crucial files, many software are now available to let you search for the deleted pictures or documents. Try Diskinternals for free.

The Word or Excel documents are password protected? Just download a Password Recovery Tools that will help you to discover Microsoft Office and OpenOffice passwords with maximum speed. The software cracks simple passwords instantly and uses the latest GPU technology to get the job done.

Lock Pick

I also noticed that all good detectives and spies in the movies can pick locks with ease. I was told that it is a skill that can be mastered, but I certainly have no time for all that.

So I was glad when I came across this Lock Pick Gun which does the job automatically. It can quickly pick pin tumbler locks and cost only US$79.00.

X-Ray Spray

This gadget make a dodgy claim but it sure sounds exciting. Use this X-Ray Spray turns opaque paper temporarily translucent, allowing the user to view the contents of an envelope without ever opening.

30 seconds after application, the envelope will return to its’ original state, leaving absolutely no markings, discoloration or other indications of use.

It had better be more effective than the X-Ray glasses, of my earlier days, that promised to let one see through clothes and skirts. The advert looked very convincing in my Marvel comic pages but, damn, what a waste of Hari Raya money it was.

Tracker

Admit it. You’ve watched a lot of Hollywood in your lifetime and from 007 to StarWars films have had many scenes where people trace each other with small gadgets they slipped onto each other.

Thanks to Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) this is now no large feat to do. As a beginner spy, your budget may not be as deep as MI5. But fret not, what UK can do China can do it cheaper. This personal tracker from ShenZhen will get the position’s longitude and latitude coordinates using GPS and then send SMS to your phone. You can then use Google map or your Nokia’s navigational app to track the exact location.

Spy Vehicle

Ideally, I would like to have one of these James Bond’s Aston Martin fully gadget-equipped. But unless I can come up with $125,000 spare change… that will remain a dream lah.

But this is an area where reality is increasingly imitate fiction. In this case, the Governments are spying on its people. Here we have the Sky Drone that is used by the US police force.

These Honeywell Micro Air Vehicles have forward and downward looking cameras and can set 100 different way points. The Spy Drone that looks as if it has come direct from a Star Wars movie can travel at 57mph and can reach an altitude of 10,500 feet. Watch out, Big Brother is watching.

The U.S. government, through NSA, has engaged in a massive program of dragnet surveillance of domestic communications and communications records of millions of ordinary Americans since at least 2001. News reports in December 2005 first revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been intercepting Americans’ phone calls and Internet communications. The Bush Administration said that this is part of its war on terror

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program. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales confirmed the existence of the program, first reported in a 16 Dec 2005 article in The New York Times. Many has opposed this move and consider it illegal. In a recent development, on January 2009, the administration of President Barack Obama adopted the same position as his predecessor when it urged U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker to set aside a ruling in Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation et al. v. Obama, et al.

Realistically, I will settle for one of these remote control vehicles. What we have here is called Remotely Operated Mobile Platform (ROMP) that will allow the operator to “drive” the vehicle and shoot weapon even though it is out of sight. The platform has been designed for any use, “including remote surveillance, security patrolling and bomb investigation.” and uses an audio/video system linked to an VR headset for control, aiming, and firing.

I can go on and on… but it is evident that there are more than enough toys available in the open market that can be used effectively to spy on somebody. In fact, my keyboard appeared to be laggy today. Maybe my rival has installed a spy software in my PC and as I typed this article, somewhere out there some one is reading and watching.

I guess I’ll find out the next time I land on JF Kennedy airport eh.