Are you being spied on? That worry is a top focus of discussion at the Def Con 22 hackers conference. High-tech surveillance is a top interest for hackers given the past 18 months of news regarding illegal national surveillance reports tied to the National Security Agency's PRISM surveillance program.
At this year's conference, Philip Polstra, associate professor of digital forensics at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, discussed low-tech solutions for battling high-tech surveillance activities.
He presented a segment titled, "Am I being spied on: Low-tech ways of detecting high-tech surveillance." Polstra argued that as a result of the Snowden NSA revelations, the average citizen understands they could be the victim of software, hardware or firmware that allows third parties to track actions and movements.
"Our government's assault on the Constitution is pretty well-known," he says. "But there's a chance someone else could be spying on you, like someone you've ticked off or a jealous and suspicious significant other."
He was clear, however, people should truly first consider the supposed level of surveillance in determining any needed response. In other words, he asked attendees to question their level of paranoia in determining to what extent they are willing to find out if they are being watched.
One way to check to see if there are any hidden cameras in a home or business is to track infrared lights. This can be done, Polstra says, by turning off the lights in a house, pulling out your smartphone camera and begin slowly scanning a room with the camera feature. The hidden cameras will appear as a flare of infrared red light on the phone's display. And it's free option to use.
He also talked about how to tell if your vehicle has been tagged. If so, turn the car radio on, tune it to an AM station -- a "consistent and loud tone" can be heard while driving, he said.
Not to simply focus on the digital, Polstra pointed to ways to tell if you are being followed.
"When you're going places, don't just look ahead. Look around ... Watch for those vehicles that go away and suddenly come back. Time it so you're the last person to go through a traffic light ... Just park your car for no reason. Sit inside for a couple minutes. If you're real paranoid get out of your car," he continues.
Surveillance has become a major issue over the past year since the government program was revealed. Tech Times has reported on the issue and how it is driving a new face of technology, one that focuses on privacy and security matters, both for corporations as well as individuals.
