The Computers are Listening How the NSA Converts Spoken Words Into Searchable Text

The Intercept ^ | Today at 7:08 AM | Dan Froomkin

[Utilizer]

Most people realize that emails and other digital communications they once considered private can now become part of their permanent record.

But even as they increasingly use apps that understand what they say, most people don’t realize that the words they speak are not so private anymore, either.

Top-secret documents from the archive of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show the National Security Agency can now automatically recognize the content within phone calls by creating rough transcripts and phonetic representations that can be easily searched and stored.

The documents show NSA analysts celebrating the development of what they called “Google for Voice” nearly a decade ago.

Though perfect transcription of natural conversation apparently remains the Intelligence Community’s “holy grail,” the Snowden documents describe extensive use of keyword searching as well as computer programs designed to analyze and “extract” the content of voice conversations, and even use sophisticated algorithms to flag conversations of interest.

[MayflowerMadam]

Saw a news segment last week where hackers were accessing audio and video of home baby monitors — when monitors were wifi based. Not only could the hackers see and hear what was going on in the room, they could speak to the people in the room.

I’m glad I’m boring.

[Utilizer]

It is not an unknown concept, and in fact in the past even cordless phones were easily listened in on. Any HF receiver could be tuned in to those frequencies if one wished and even radio scanners could access them.

Today, modern radio scanners are limited legally in the US to bypass the frequencies that cellphones transmit on, but the overseas models are not. Granted that is not the same as remotely turning on your cellphone cam and mic, but yes when you talk on a cellphone the conversation can be listened in on by anyone with sufficient knowledge and equipment. The transmissions are in the clear and not encrypted in any way.