Hans Howe

[New Scientist] A sensor previously used for military operations can now be tuned to secretly locate and record any single conversation on a busy street

EVERYONE knows that to have a private chat in the NSA era, you go outdoors. Phones, the internet, email and your office can all be compromised with ease. But soon even that whispered conversation in the park may no longer be safe from prying ears.

Carrying out covert audio surveillance along a city street or a wooded path, say, currently requires parabolic microphones, which look like large, clear salad bowls and need a direct, unobstructed view of the subject. Hardly 007 territory.

Now, a Dutch acoustics firm, Microflown Technologies, has developed a matchstick-sized sensor that can pinpoint and record a target’s conversations from a distance.

… A number of countries are now testing the matchstick sensor attached to drones and crewed vehicles, says de Bree. He foresees governments placing them on small dirigibles that tail suspects or hover over political rallies….

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21929364.400-matchsticksized-sensor-can-record-your-private-chats.html#.Ukeo3H9vC7s

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