ENVIRONMENTAL RECLAMATION A super-secure, 007-proof house Bugs, scanners, directional microphones, laser microphones, micro detectors. Devices that up until now pertained exclusively to espionage books are now becoming a current topic of conversation at home or among friends. The last few weeks' news, in fact, have made it clear that a lot of intrusive ears are ready to spy on us, and that one's conversations are easily intercepted even though one is no famous person and has no secret to conceal. Generally, the engineering departments of big enterprises are under special surveillance, as well as lawyers offices. Nor does electronic monitoring spare private residences and professionals who have an office in their own house. On the contrary, private residences are particularly defenseless, since nobody would reasonably expect being spied at home. However, counter-measures are available, and within the reach of everybody. NEW TECHNOLOGIES Professional "spies" nearly always rely on suitable technologies; to avoid this, especially regarding industrial or professional espionage (against journalists, managers, lawyers, engineers and stock-exchange operators) close attention and correct countermeasures are required. To give an extent of the problem, in 1995 alone, firms and professionals spent about 500 billion lire to defend themselves both against wire-tapping and environmental eavesdropping (carried out by placing a bug inside a room or a meeting hall). CELLULAR PHONES AT RISK Eavesdropping is by now common practice. Someone has even made the plot of a book or a personal sport out of it. But even the security of cellular phones has been under discussion in the last few days, with the news of the hundredth sensational swindle: a criminal organization cloned about 20 thousand bigwigs' cellular phones in order to make free phone calls. Even the range of possible targets has expanded to a great extent. Each of us today could be the unknowing victim of interceptions. Intercepting a telephone conversation from a mobile phone is quite simple: all you need is 300 thousand to 500 thousand lire and a very small technical know-how. Suitable devices such as small scanner machines, weighing a mere 280 grams, are even publicized by mail-order firms. COUNTERMOVES A way to avoid being eavesdropped or having your portable cloned (from the Greek Klone that stands for "duplicate") is to switch to the new and digital Gsm cellular phone which has proved so far to be free of such risks, only the police is able to intercept them. Those who are not ready yet to purchase a Gsm, can at least avoid unpleasant swindles by checking their own telephonic traffic more often, through a special service, offered by Telecom Italia Mobile at the cost of 42 lira per call, including Iva. Author: Massimiliano Paolucci