Do you want to run a sting operation? Here's how

BANGALORE, INDIA: Covert operations haven't lost their sting. Not just yet.

A tad more than three weeks after former BJP president Bangaru Laxman was convicted for accepting a bribe of Rs. 1 lakh in 2001 — by a candid camera expose by Tehelka, the Board of Control for Cricket in India suspended five Indian Premier League (IPL) players pending inquiry, based on a sting operation by a news channel.

It is not only the websites and news channels. The extent to which the tentacles of 'the mighty sting' are spread over was best illustrated by the third episode of Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate.

Power of sting

When a thinking lady from Mumbai, Rani Tripathi, explained on the talk show as to how she decided to expose her in-laws' avarice through a meticulously drawn-out sting operation, it would have made most of the female viewers, if not all, sit up and make a note. The greed of her groom's side to get a car and Rs. 5 lakh on a platter was blown up by the clandestine video.

In such cases, being courageous is one, and getting hold of the right equipment/devices is altogether a different ballgame. There are cameras, microphones, audio recorders, communication devices and mobile equipment, if you discount the need for weapons, depending on the kind of operation you are planning to execute.

According to Prabhsahay Kaur, a lawyer from the Delhi High Court, "The advent of miniaturized audio and video technology, especially the pinhole camera, enables one to clandestinely make a video/audio recording of a conversation and actions of individuals."

Get it right

More often than not, such equipment have four major components: a miniaturized camera, measuring roughly about a 25 paisa coin or even smaller (pin-top size), a miniature video recording device, a cord to transmit the signals and a battery cell. The use of the cord can be avoided through wireless transmissions.

One of the latest devices in vogue among commoners these days is the cell phone-bugging device, says a cybersecurity expert from Bangalore. "Using this, one can snoop around SMSes and listen to conversations remotely — not only the voice, also the environment. It's known as the rooming facility. One could even gift a mobile to others and then get the bug activated like a spam program."

He says that some cell phone devices that look like a mobile, but don't function so, are also being put into use. In the Garden City, one can find such equipment off-the-shelf on SP Road for about Rs. 7,000-8,000, he said, on condition of anonymity. Apparently, the camera and voice recording capabilities of these devices are excellent. Besides these, button cameras — that can be attached to a shirt, pant or top  (costing Rs. 5,000 and above for a good one) — table clock cameras and pen cameras are also employed.

Although there are other types of equipment, like a hidden camera, recording equipment, transmitting cord and battery that can be fixed in briefcases and bags, the cybersecurity expert said that they are mostly analog, not miniaturized and hence, not much in use in this digital era.

Alternatively, depending on the operation, a cigarette lighter or a smoke detector and even the nose frame of sunglasses can be used to conceal a micro camera. Most of these gadgets have a self-activation mechanism.

To sting or not to?

Sanjeev Deswal, managing director, of Aider Detectives in New Delhi says that they provide the right equipment to those in search of one for collecting relevant background details and executing a sting operation successfully.

He adds that they also provide services based on the demands of the clients that include many companies, private individuals and even the media.

There are many such detective agencies that offer these services and products across the country, but the downside to this trend is that many criminals have begun using these to blackmail people.

"A lot of corporates, too, use interceptors to tag along some employees they grow suspicious of," said the cybersecurity expert, adding, "These high-tech equipment are generally used by government agencies and are priced Rs. 4 crore upwards."

Do you think these devices would empower the masses in exposing wrong-doers and getting liberated?