Bluetooth spy rocks replace pumpkins
By Tim Finin on Saturday, January 28th, 2006 at 2:19 pm.Anand mentioned the (alleged) British spy rock as a good example of an advance that pervasive computing technology has wrought.
Russia’s state security service has accused British diplomats of spying in Moscow using electronic rocks. It’s an obvious hack, when you think about it — a bluetooth enabled PDA in a hollowed out rock could be used to drop off or pickup heavily encrypted documents from spys as they stroll by. The only problem would be power. Such a bluetooth rock would be much better than Alger Hiss’s pumpkin patch.
In an infamous spy case from the early days of the cold war, US State Department official Alger Hiss was accused (by a young Richard Nixon!) of passing documents via rolls of microfilm secreted in a hollowed-out pumpkin on his Maryland farm. But, technology marches on, with wireless rocks replacing pumpkins.
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The March of Progress
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1948
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2006
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In 1948 Alger Hiss was accused of transferring secrets using microfilm in a hollowed out pumpkin.
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In 2006 the British were accused of transferring secrets using a wireless enabled PDA in a hollowed out rock.
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cost: low encryption: no durability: low models: Jack-o’-lantern, squash vulnerable to: rodents, fungus, kids pluses: organic, biodegradable negatives: decay, rot |
cost: medium encryption: yes durability: high models: igneous, sedimentary vulnerable to: bluejacking, spyware pluses: tetris, plays mp3s negatives: heavy |
UMBC eBiquity Blog
January 30th, 2006 at 7:22 am
Smart rocks replace pumpkins
The (alleged) British spy rock shows the advances wrought by pervasive computing technology. Russia’s state security service recently accused British diplomats of spying in Moscow using electronic rocks. It’s an obvious hack, when you think about it …