TSGL: Phone Phreakers

[Jesse Hathaway]

Will,

I'm fairly sure this is a load of bunk.  I have heard similar things 
before, but a Google search for "listen in on any phone" returns mostly 
liberal blogs talking about the NSA's wiretapping of suspects and the 
CIA's 1990s data-mining/keyword searching project, Project Echelon.  
Also, apparently this is something that managers in other jobs tell 
their subordinates 
(http://www.gapersblock.com/fuel/archives/bad_jobs/#comment-26046), 
probably to scare them into doing a better job.

As for cell phones, I call shenanigans.  As far I know, cell phone 
companies have a different system (wires 'n switches) structure than 
land-line phone companies, as it seems that cell phone company circuits 
would have to handle more data in the same amount of time.  Saying that 
a dialing hack that works on all land-line phones works on all cell 
phones, is like saying that a cheat code for a Nintendo DS game works on 
all other Nintendo games and boxes (yes, even the old school NES), but 
also works on all of Nintendo's competitors' games and boxes.  Bad 
analogy, maybe.  But this is the Internet, that's where bad analogies live.

As for the NSA and Patriot Act, no, civilains messing with, or 
"phreaking" the phone system is still a federal crime.  The Patriot Act, 
or for that the matter, its collorary and precedent, the Foreign 
Surveillance Act of 1978, hasn't changed the laws regarding hacking "the 
matrix", so to speak.

Don't worry.  The NSA has much better things to do than listen in on 
Social Security Administration support calls.  Your unioneer there needs 
to relax and quit being so paranoid.  If she doesn't relax after you 
reassuring her, I might suggest having her speak with a manager or a 
human resources supe, just to reassure her with facts. 
> Will Seehorn said:
>
> This is off topic, I know, but this group knows so much about 
> everything that I figured someone would be able to point me in the 
> right direction.
>
> Among other things I'm a union steward, in a US government agency.
>
> In talking to one of my members she says that she knows that it is 
> possible (because she heard one of the investigators from the Office 
> of Inspector General -- kind of like the Agency's FBI) tell a manager 
> that he could listen into any phone conversation by dialing a four 
> (?) digit number and then the phone number.  I'm willing to belive 
> that this is true for the office's internal phone system (four digits 
> and the extension), but she says that it is true for any phone, 
> anywhere, including, she thinks. cell phones.
>
> I also know that at one time it was a federal crime to intercept and 
> reveal/use phone calls. She says the Patriot Act has changed all that.
>
> I'm sure the NSA has the ability to do interceptions, but we're not 
> talking NSA here, we're talking Social Security Administration. For 
> some reason I don't think that our investigators are NSA quality 
> (unless the NSA has nothing better to do than listen in on the phone 
> calls of employees who've filed grievances.)
>
> Comments, leads?
>
> Thanks
>
> Will 
>
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