RE: Russia's demise?3 Oct 2024 23:12
The Soviet Union used a variety of listening devices, or "bugs", to spy on the US Embassy during the Cold War, including:
The Thing
Also known as the Great Seal bug, this device was given to the US Ambassador to the Soviet Union as a gift in 1945. It was one of the first covert listening devices to use passive techniques to transmit audio signals. The device disappeared for a number of years, but reappeared at the United Nations in 1960. A replica of the Great Seal is on display at the NSA National Cryptologic Museum.
Microphones in the embassy
In 1964, the US Embassy in Moscow discovered 40 microphones, which were metal cylinders attached to wooden pipes. The microphones were found after a room was demolished.
Microwave transmissions
Soviet intelligence sent microwave transmissions to the US Embassy in Moscow on a daily basis. In the late 1950s, they also penetrated the US ambassador's residence with ionizing radiation.
Covert listening devices, also known as bugs or wires, are often a combination of a microphone and a miniature radio transmitter.