The monitoring of mobile phone conversations

George Orwell would be shocked at the popular support for the spread of surveillance technology, writes Victor Keegan in The Guardian.

..."The main means of tracking terrorist suspects down has been the monitoring of mobile phone conversations. Not only can operators pinpoint users to within yards of their location by "triangulating" the signals from three base stations, but - according to a report in the Financial Times - the operators (under instructions from the authorities) can remotely install software onto a handset to activate the microphone even when the user is not making a call. Who needs an ID card when they can do that already.

...Technology has undoubtedly helped terrorists get organised. The internet is a source for fundamentalist proselytising, information about activities such as bomb making and links to like-minded people, while mobile phones provide constant communication and, in some instances, detonators.

Technology also offers unprecedented ways to track criminals down. But each advance in technological detection produces a counter-reaction from terrorists."

emily | 8:56 AM | Technology |
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