Teardown of a consumer voice/location cellular spying device that fits in the tip of a USB cable by Cory Doctorow.
From the post:
Mich from ha.cking bought a $25 “S8 data line locator” device — a cellular spying tool, disguised as a USB cable and marketed to the general public — and did a teardown of the gadget, offering a glimpse into the world of “trickle down surveillance” where the kinds of surveillance tools used by the NSA are turned into products and sold to randos over the internet for $25.
The S8 makes use of the GSM cellular network and takes a regular micro-SIM, and can use any of the international GSM bands. You communicate with it by sending it SMSes or by using a web front-end, which causes it to switch on a hidden mic so you can listen in on its surroundings; it can also give a coarse approximation of its location (based on GSM towers, not GPS, and accurate to within about 1.57km).
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For all the technical details see: Inside a low budget consumer hardware espionage implant by mich @0x6d696368by.
In some legal jurisdictions use of this cable may be construed as a crime. But, as US torture of prisoners, NSA surveillance, and numerous other crimes by US operatives demonstrates, prosecution of crimes is at the whim and caprice of prosecutors.
Calling something a “crime” is pejorative labeling for media purposes, unless you are a prosecutor deciding on prosecution. Otherwise, it’s just labeling.