Bugging Explained
Modern audio bugs are less common than you think and more common than you known. This is a brief summary of why someone might have the motivation to use a bug, the different types of bugs, and a conops diagram of their usage.
Note: This website won’t cover the use of state actor bugs. I am going to be real with you, if a state actor is coming after you there is a relatively low chance you will find out without dropping tens of thousands of dollars on expensive equipment and training. On top of that, information on them is very hard to come by.
Why do people use bugs:
The motivation behind the use of a commercial bug can be split into two broad categories.
Commercial Gain: In any industry where all possible market share has been absorbed, any attempts to expand comes at the cost of their competitors. Candy, steel, Commodities Trading, and many high pressure industries are common places where small RF transmitters are used.
Individual Gain/Control: Often people will use bugs for personal, strange, and petty reasons. As an example, Ray Dalio’s investment group Bridgewater Associates was known to bug the woods and keep their employees under constant surveillance. There was very little economic value in doing such an act, however Ray Dalio undertook it anyways out of a personal need for control over his own employees.
Types of Commercial Bugs:
RF Transmission: This is what you would think of as a standard traditional bug. The bug uses an antenna to broadcast out a signal that someone else receives. Most commercial bugs really just transmit out an NFM signal, although a few high grade systems in this category can broadcast out a QPSK encoded message, usually to encrypt the audio. In all of these cases, someone will have to be nearby to pick up the audio with a transmitter.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌┐ │ \ │ │ ││ │ Targets \|\\ │ │ ││ │ 0 0 \|||| │ ─┼────────────────► ┌────┘│ │ /|\ /|\ /|||| ┌────────┤ │ │┌───┐│ │ | | /|// │ │ │ ││ ││ │ / \ / \ / └────────┘ │ │└───┘│ │ sound Transmitter │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────┘ │ │ Reciever │ │ │ │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
GSM Transmission: GSM bugs can be best described as a small cell phone, with a sim card and inverted F cellular antenna. A listener calls into the bug to hear what is going on. This is highly advantageous, as the user no longer has to be near the bug for it to function, the bug simply has to be near a cell phone tower. They can also offer other features that traditional bugs cannot, such as GPS tracking.
|
┌───────────────────► /|\ ─────────────────────┐
│ / | \ │
│ / /|\ \ │
│ /_/_|_\_\ │
┌──────────────┼────┐ / / /|\ \ \ │
│ │ │ /_/_/_|_\_\_\ │
│ │ │ / / / /|\ \ \ \ │
│ │ │ Cell Tower │
│ │ │ │ ▼
│ │ │ ┌───────┐
│ ┌─────────┤ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ └─────────┘ │ │ │
│ Transmitter │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ └───────┘
└───────────────────┘ Phone
WIFI Transmission: There are not many bugs that use this technique, but there are enough that I should go over it. Some bugs can either be connected into through a wifi signal, or be connected to a different external network. Using a web interface the audio (and sometimes video) feed can be accessed. Some also may support storing these files on an FTP server set by a user.
┌─────────────────────┐
│ │
│ │
│ │ Possible Internet
│ │ Connection
│ Wifi access ├─────────\\────────┐
┌────────►│ point │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ▼
│ │ │ ┌──────────────────────┐
│ │ │ │ │
│ └─────────┬───────────┘ │ │
┌───────────────────────┐ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ FTP Server │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ ▼ │ (Remote or │
│ │ │ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ Local) │
│ │ ────────┼────┘ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ ┌─────────┤ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ ────────┼────────────► │ │ └──────────────────────┘
│ └─────────┘ │ Device │ │
│ Transmitter │ Hosted │ User Client │
│ │ Wifi │ │
│ │ Hotspot │ │
└───────────────────────┘ │ │
│ │
└─────────────────────┘
