Here is a new technique that is used to authenticate recording for legal purposes, including court cases, where it has been proven successful several times in court cases.
It is a little known fact that the fluctuations in the power grid are recorded on to CCTV and audio recordings. It’s called noise and is unwanted. However, this seeminingly random noise is useful in being able to validate a recording.
It’s all because the noise was recognised as practically random and thus impossible to predict. Met scientists have been recording this noise now for years. Thus when a recording is analysed they can identify this noise, compare it with the recording and come up with an exact date and time for that moment in the recording. Fast forward 20 minutes and do the same comparison. If the time stamp is now 5 minutes or 30 minutes or whatever then it has been tampered with. Read the secretive story here.
Although I would have thought this data would be very specific to certain areas, such as London or at least it’s local grid and of no use whatsover for other areas such a Birmingham or Bristol although they are all interconnected. Although I would think it would be easy to set up a similar database for those areas. Could even artificially generate noise where necessary to identify general areas. A very rough tool but a tool none the less.
As with all these tools the problem I see is that it is Plod with control of them. So it wouldn’t be too hard for them to edit recordings and then imprint them with the right noise for what they want. Like the child porn system where it disappears into a black hole and then out comes someone saying ‘Yep, found some.’ when required. Or am I just too distrustful?
The thing I found a little ‘odd’ about the results was the fact it turned up just when needed to get a conviction.
As several of the comments wondered, how does this work on well filtered battery operated equipment – the strength of the signal radiated from the mains wiring should be too low to influence recording on to digital media. Years ago, when I did design work on equipment for the film and TV industry, we filtered out anything like that. We even had a recorder for the dubbing facility that would allow the replacement of individual words. Such replacement could not be detected even by doing an analysis of the reproduced signal from the tape.
Until such time as a full disclosure of the technique, that is reproducible, is published, I call bullsh*t on it and recon you are not being distrustful enough – I wouldn’t put anything past them.
The technique makes perfect sense, Lord T.
@ Ivan “you are not being distrustful enough – I wouldn’t put anything past them” We do live in interesting times.
Reports of unscrupulous police, secretly collecting and planting DNA evidence have been documented as far away as Australia.
Ivan,
I consider myself corrected. I was too busy thinking about the technology and all the things that could screw it up like your suggestions. I also spend some time working with AV equipment in one of my jobs and electronic signalling in another so I understand what is going on.
MTG,
I agree. Although, interesting as long as you are not the one being fitted up though.
why do you need all this to catch someone out, i think you guys a bit too far ahead to look back and see the most simple things. In doing so you will make yourself vulnerable as its normally the things you dont worry about that you should really be terrified of.
Of course that is if you have done something wrong.
I doubt very much that we will be singled out one by one in an effort to have the whole hman race locked up.
So your there monitoring all your equipment , becoming even more paranoid than you were before you had the opportunity to do so…
You have to pop out to send a parcel (of whatever it is ignites this fear into you ) then you go home continue or switch back to the indoor methods of monitoring.
Next minute hauled away by Tommy lee Jones will smith, and inspector gadget perhaps even batman…. to spend your days being tortured for that amazingly evil thing that you ‘haven’t actually done’!
At the end of the day you can think about these things, you can imagine what it would be like how much better life would be with a cure for cancer etc. It is not going to happen.
Reason being that we are firstly not that intelligent as a race to create something that will help us and never fail or start working against us at some point. We can only create things up to the level of our intelligence not above. Then we need the whole world to know how to use it when half the planet have no control over manners if anything else.
If we made something somehow smarter than ourselves we would land up hurting ourselves or sitting in front of an inanimate object trying to work out how exactly to turn it on. On top of this as i was informed by some person whom won’t be named, the time we get our hands on anything we think is new say like html5 or F , do you think that any other than a select few knew about it when it actually came out oh say 2 or 3 years ago? purely an example of course……
Now Ive had the chance to see some ‘certain devices’ such as bug detectors basically just a scanner like at the supermarket that will detect any suspect signals around you. Also have you not noticed how you can buy basic bugging devices to insert into a phone (or replace the lead or adsl with an exat replica that does the same without detection) from EBAY! Now if that is available to the average lets face it probably jealous spouse. Do you think you stand a chance?
When i was 14 i bugged the office in my childrens home during a handover meeting ! while they spoke about us all i was in the other house listening 1st time with a run of the mill portable radio. This you tune into the frequency that you configure the bug to. Crystal clear sound through about five walls the next level up. Oh this thing was around the size of say half a matchbox with a quarts battery and two wires one each side of the box which you then just put inside a cushion.
2nd time would you believe a calculator from the gadget shop which worked on the exact same idea. All you had to do was move the slider underneath stayed as a working calculator and came set at a certain frequency easy .
Then the sound amplifiers, working up to last time i knew about 600yards so that person behind you wearing the headphones can hear every word your saying probably better than you can yourself. Add to that lot the bluetooth spy software which sets you back no more than a fiver, in fact i may still have the link as i (sad but true) bought it myself. Again from ebay. That will lock staight into any bluetooth device copy all you contacs pic vids call records and even block the thing so you cant use it.
Even the old nokia phones, there happens to be a software that all you have to do is have the phone you wish to track in reach then you ring it and that is all there is to it.
So if you were suspecting something such as that the ways and means are all there and have been for at least 8 years for the general public! So don’t you think that whatever you come up with has already been thought of at least 20 years prior to the idea entering your head. You guys on the other hand will probably not accept the fact that there is no possible way you could win. If you had the slightest chance you would already no doubt be amongst those making these things long before we contemplate the idea. That is the sort of thing that gets you taken away , i cant possibly see what it is that you may of done that would leader anyone individually needing to worry about these things unless you had done something very very wrong.
Plus as i said remember popping out to get that parcel, well the guy in the posties get up would of been using nothing technical to find out what he did, just his ears. And it really does happen, no more of the undercover that are about as undercover as a bead spread lol. If you think like that all the time time then you just entrap yourselves and much better than any government ever could .
I have said to my auntie countless times that she shouldn’t snoop through phones etc, as at the end of the day half the time you would rather not know whats going on.
Half of the stuff wont have anything to do with you and…
the rest is probably completely innocent but youve missed out a few words or hought you heard a few more or just taken it the wrong way. Then you only really have yourself to blame.
“when all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed”