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From: res@sdiris1.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,sci.physics
Subject: Re: Laser eavesdropping
Message-ID: <564@sdiris1.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 5-Apr-87 22:11:54 EST
Article-I.D.: sdiris1.564
Posted: Sun Apr  5 22:11:54 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 9-Apr-87 03:09:59 EST
References: <503@sw1e.UUCP> <704@brl-sem.ARPA> <16143@sun.uucp> <2632@phri.UUCP>
Organization: Control Data Corp.(CIM), San Diego
Lines: 23
Keywords: modulation
Xref: utgpu sci.electronics:466 sci.physics:1060
Summary: yes, the Eagle existed...

In article <2632@phri.UUCP>, roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes:
> 	The story I heard (about as reliable as any Nth-hand info) was that
> the the Russians presented the American embassy folks with some sort of
> carved wood plaque of an american bald eagle, or something like that, as a
> gift.  Of course, the embassy folks gave it to the electronics types to
> look at to make sure it wasn't bugged and then hung it up in the office.
> It never occured to them that the sheet metal plate on the back of it might
> actually be a microwave reflector...  Memory is hazy, but I seem to
> remember hearing this 5-7 years ago, and the story was at least a few years
> old by then.  Believe it at your own risk.

The Bugged Eagle was real, I remember seeing a photo of it in the news.

The method involved was that the eagle contained a tuned cavity, with
one wall acting as a sound microphone... vibration varied the frequency
of the cavity, which radiated for a short distance to a listening post
outside the embassy... the bug was powered by a microwave beam at a
harmonically related frequency, inducing a signal at the main frequency.


-- 
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