Chinese Firm Hawking Eavesdropping Systems
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By Stew Magnuson and Matthew Rusling
The state-owned Chinese electronics giant CETC International Co. Ltd. wants to break into the homeland security market with a variety of products that only Big Brother could love.
At the recent IDEX conference in Abu Dhabi, the firm was selling many recognizable items — everything from roadside bomb jamming devices to airport trace explosive detectors.
But the CETC catalog distributed at the conference touted wares that veered into the “public security” realm, such as the WIS-30 wireless interception system that is “specifically designed for law enforcement, military, and government personnel and agencies to intercept, record, decode, analyze and exploit … wireless Internet traffic.”
The telephone voice recording system “can intercept and record voice signals being transmitted on various telephone lines.” Not only can the wiretapping device be used by law enforcement, it’s perfect for “financial institutions, airports and customer service departments of various businesses,” the literature reveals.
The GSM mobile communications monitoring system can intercept the conversations and text messages of mobile phone users as well as locate and track their whereabouts.
“The system is usually mounted onboard a van so that it can be deployed at any location when required,” the catalog states.
CETC in January inked a deal to set up a joint information and electronics complex in Pakistan, according to reports in the Pakistani press.
