Photos: Is this rock a high-tech spy? - TechRepublic

Photos: Is this rock a high-tech spy?

  • caught spying

    Russia’s intelligence service has accused four British diplomats of spying, charging that their espionage efforts in part involved the use of communications gear hidden in a fake rock located in the vicinity of Moscow. The accusations were first made public on state-run Rossiya television Sunday night, and grainy images of an alleged British spy handling the rock–including those shown here–were picked up for wider broadcast by the Euronews channel.

    HO/AFP/Getty Images
  • These pictures show the fake rock in greater detail, with the alleged communications device inside. Russian security officials said the device could transmit and receive data, in one- and two-second bursts, at distances of more than 60 feet to and from handheld computers wielded by spies, according to an article in The New York Times.

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Bill Detwiler is the Editor for Technical Content and Ecosystem at Celonis. He is the former Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and previous host of TechRepublic's Dynamic Developer podcast and Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Previously, Bill was an IT manager in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention.