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A traditional telephone system, such as a PABX, does not have any online
monitoring or Snooping module, feature or sub-system. A
traditional Snooping device is also known as a wiretapping device. The device
is separate from the PABX and can be attached to any telephone line, extension
line or the telephone instrument. The conversation is acquired at the wiretap
and can be transmitted over another wire pair, using a radio frequency (RF)
transmitter, stored on a tape recorder or any of these combinations. The target
telephone line can also be bridge-tapped to any available wire pair within the
same junction box. To extend the listening post away from the bridge tap and
the target, a wire pair that travels to a distant location is used.
The range of wiretapping devices available in the market is quite wide. The
four basic types are:
The RF transmitter tap technique is the most common. A separately purchased RF
transmitter is attached to a telephone line, extension line or within the
telephone instrument. The audio fluctuations from the telephone conversation
modulate the transmitter carrier and transmit the conversation into the air.
These signals are picked up by another wire pair and stored on a tape recorder.
An infinity transmitter is installed in the target area, commonly as house
monitors. It uses the telephone line to transmit the room audio out. The
wiretapping is activated with a tone signal by making a call from a dedicated
remote telephone line.
A popular wiretap device with the police and professional eavesdroppers, the
slave parallel wiretap operates similarly to the infinity transmitter with the
additional of a parallel wiretap. The device requires a standard working
telephone line located in the same cable, cross-connect or closet as the target
line. The slave is attached anywhere along the target phone line. Both lines
are connected to the slave. The listener calls his dedicated phone line and
activates the slave by connecting the eavesdropper phone line to the target
phone line. This method allows eavesdropping on the target phone line from
anywhere in the world.
Another popular wiretap used by industry professionals, the inductive tap is
achieved by bringing a coil into the electro-magnetic field created by the
current fluctuations during a phone conversation. These fluctuations are
amplified in order to recover the target conversations. The split/resplit
inductive wiretap is the safest from accidental detection or location by
telephone company. It also produces excellent audio recovery. It is
accomplished by rewiring the target telephone line to induce conversational
audio into the eavesdropper telephone line.
Some telephone wiretaps can last quite long. For instance a series RF tap or
leach is powered by the telephone line and, therefore, does not require
frequent battery changes. Some, such as the drop-in, can be installed within
seconds. This popular RF series wiretap device is built onto the back of a
carbon microphone which is typically found in most telephone instrument
handsets.
The PowerX2011™ telecom server has an online monitoring or Snooping
facility within its rich set of built-in Feature Access Digits. The Feature
Access Digits are configured into the PowerX2011™ telecom server via a
user-friendly System Configuration interface. No programming is required.
A separate Feature Access Digit is used for each of the two modes of online
monitoring/Snooping. The online monitoring/Snooping features available are :
When an authorized user wishes to listen to the conversation of a specific
extension, he enters the number of the extension he wishes to listen to. If
there is an ongoing conversation between the extension user and another party,
the authorized user can immediately listen to the real time conversation in
confidence. If the extension is not in use, the system will send a busy tone to
the listener.
When an authorized user wishes to monitor the conversation of a work group or
automatic call distribution (ACD) group comprising a group of extensions, he
enters the number of the pilot extension of the work group he wishes to listen
to. If all the extensions in the work group are not online, the system will
signal a busy tone. If at least one member of the extension is on the line, the
user will hear the real time conversation immediately. Once the listener is
able to hear the ongoing conversation of at least one extension, he can use the
“ # “ and “ * “ keys on the keypad of his handset to snoop to the next or
previous extension respectively which is active or online.
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