[105213] in Cypherpunks
Re: Spy News
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steve Schear)
Sun Nov 8 18:04:58 1998
In-Reply-To: <199811081454.JAA30292@dewdrop2.mindspring.com>
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1998 14:51:07 -0800
To: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
From: Steve Schear <schear@lvcm.com>
Cc: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Reply-To: Steve Schear <schear@lvcm.com>
>NYT reports today on a new book, "Blind Man's Bluff,"
>which reports on the US's success at placing surveillance
>devices on Soviet subsea communications cables around
>the world. With much technical detail about how it was
>done, beginning with the simple but overlooked idea of
>locating shoreline warning signs about undersea cables
>then tracking from there.
>
>The devices, some up to 20 feet long for housing elaborate
>processing equipment, captured electronic emanations, thereby
>eluding detection measures aimed at physical taps. One was
>found by the Soviets but most were not and much information
>on the program is still classified.
>
>AT&T and Bell labs built many of them. The US Navy will not
>comment on the book, citing national security restrictions.
With the advent of fiber optics capable of repeater-less operation over
transoceanic distances, one would think this sort of underwater surveilence
would be come much more difficult.
--Steve
