• too_high_for_this@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Do you know what ‘passive’ means? It’s a basically a mirror for a specific frequency. There’s no way to “detect” it other than tearing apart whatever it’s hidden in.

      The fact that it was made with 1960’s Soviet analog tech should tell you that China could plausibly make something better and smaller now.

      • Bloefz@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        It would certainly be detectable. You could do an X-ray, sweep the RF spectrum and see the energy disappear at the right frequency, things like that.

        They had that tech in the 60s too.

        Also when the bug was in operation it was definitely not passive. It was being fed by what must have been a really strong signal to power it, and transmitted the results back.

    • flandish@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      tech is tech. if it’s able to not be detected then it’s able to be not detected now.

      • Casterial@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        This is assuming one country is lagging behind their advancements. Most countries are finally catching up to our tech made in the 90s my dude.

          • Casterial@lemmy.world
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            15 hours ago

            Sure, in terms of infrastructure. Their military is still playing catch up and Venezuela and Iran both used Chinese defense tech.

            China is good at reverse engineering - it’s what they do, but temu tech isn’t the same as the original.

        • Redjard@reddthat.com
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          15 hours ago

          Modern version would be a silicon device not using any metal, that has a very low power mechanism (perhaps mechanical/chemical) that wakes it up much later where it then works as a bug. For example.

        • toofpic@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          Who “they”? Security services are not the hive, It’s not like everyone knows everything pr never misses anything. Or do you think it’s like a game where you unlock the “passive listening device countermeasures” technology and suddenly 100% bugs across the country are found and new bugs can’t be planted?

          • Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works
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            1 day ago

            Or do you think it’s like a game where you unlock the “passive listening device countermeasures” technology

            Kinda, yes. Now that everyone knows how it works, and they will, because intelligence agencies share this stuff with their allies, it would become a lot harder to pull the same trick again.