Air Corps aircraft bugging

[Silver]

Is there a danger of electronic surveillance devices being placed in Corps aircraft when they are being overhauled abroad ?

Some may scoff at this question but there is a real possibility  of this and, if memory serves me, wasn't something along these lines suggested when the Learjet was being built/delivered ?

[Silver]

no opinions guys ?

[Frank]

Hi Silver,

I don't think the Irish Government would be a big enough fish for the US, or any one else for that matter, to warrant fitting electronic surveillance devices in any aircraft.

The US tried it a few years back by putting listening devices in a new Boeing 767 destined for the Chinese President / Government (click on link below) but they were found after it was delivered, they aparrently even hid a bug in the headboard of the Chinese President's bed, but there's no fear of that happening in the GIV ot Learjet seeing as they don't have beds!

http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/012002/usn_bugged.shtml


Regards,

Frank.

[Silver]

I agree that we are not 'big fish' by any manner-or-means. But it's surprising the lengths some govts/agancies will go to for 'tid bit's' of information.

Was there something about the Lear jet being bugged ?

-----------------------------------------------------

Does anybody recall the 'incident' a few years ago when Prime Time reported that a communications tower in the UK was DEDICATED to listening in on Irish communications ?

A UK 'whistle blower' told Prime Time the full story about how he had worked there for many years and what was going on there.

I was expecting a large outcry in the Dail/Media, but it barely received a mention in the Dail.
If I recall correctly, Bertie said the matter would "be investigated" - and we heard no more about it    '>

[FMolloy]

It's been long established that foreign intelligence services conduct industrial espionage on behalf of their countries corporations. In that regard, Ireland would be as likely a target for actions such as bugging as any other nation.

We can only trust in the Gardai & DF and in their ability to detect such devices if they were placed on government aircraft.

The GCHQ tower Prime Time featured was there to pick up mobile phone transmitions IIRC.

[pym]

Hey Silver - I think the chances of bugging in the manner you suggest are slim. If the government aircraft are serviced here - bugs will be found - and if Military intelligence had any inklings about a threat I'm sure they'd search the aircraft. (For all I know they do it as a matter of course.) Most bugs are very easy to find with the right equipment.

There is of course intelligence gathering going on all the time and I'd say the main culprits over the years were (are) of course our British friends, the aformentioned tower was for all telecommunications as far as I know, e-mails etc. If you do a traceroute of your access to even an irish website, you may actually discover you route through British servers. Its hardly conspiracy material, just a fact of life with some ISPs.

Obviously the British wanted to keep tabs on the IRA but the sophistication and degree of money obviously spent on the effort is pretty mind blowing. I'd imagine the phones of everyone involved in the peace process are still most probably tapped.

On a sidenote whether fact or fiction Ireland is reputed to be a member of Echelon and based on the budget we do have some manner of secret service ourselves. Again - almost certainly solely concerned with Counter-Terrorism rather than spying on other nations.

[Turkey]

I doubt if anybody would be foolhardy enough to bug an aircraft, except mayby on the lines suggested by Clancy in 'sum of all fears'.
Any other method would eventually be found, and the political fallout would be, possably, huge.
Remember a few years ago when a load of sensitive papers were found on one of the Peacocks during a  service?
Besides, the Brits can get a lot of info from GCHQ so it is belived.

[Guinness]

Guys,  ever heard of satelites??

These thing can pick up phonepatches etc. so a logical thought would be that they use these.

Guinness

[Flyboy]

It would make interesting listening to an evesdropper........ the sounds of Ms Harney munching her way thru her bag of doughnuts !!!  It might be mistaken for an Irish Goverment secret jamming system.

[Imshi-Yallah]

Actually it would be the sound of ministers eating E1,400 boxes of chocolates.

[John K]

I doubt it would be possible to 'hide' a black box and associated hardware for a microphone and transmitter anywhere in a small aircraft. A normal microphone wouldn't work in the less dense atmosphere (most aircraft pressurise to 10,000ft) have you noticed you can hardly hear the conversation of the people behind you on an airliner.
We were doing a check on a BA 747 a while ago and found a black box in one of the wardrobes (not a usual occurance!) we traced the wires and the important ones went to small cameras in the freight bays, 'course if we'd looked at the paperwork we'd have known! But it just goes to show!