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Diversion safe, stash, microcache
A concealement device, or diversion safe, is an oject that has been
modified to hide things for the purpose of secrecy or security. They are
commonly made from ordinary household objects in order to attract as little
attention as possible. Examples are a
hollow coin, a soda can with a false bottom,
or a prepared book. A special kind of concealment device is the
so-called dead-drop.
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A good example of a concealment device is the
walnut shown in the image
on the right. Its contents have been removed to provide storage space for
– in this case – a One-Time Pad (OTP).
Concealment devices can be used for smuggling goods accross the border,
e.g. as a travel kit with a hidden compartment
or a briefcase with a false bottom.
They can also be used to hide things like money, fake IDs, maps,
secret codes, chemical substances, microfilms,
suicide pills, weapons, ammunition, clandestine (spy) radio transmitters, etc.,
for a longer period of time.
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Concealments can also be used to hide a
covert listening device (bug),
such as the triangular piece of wood
shown below. A special kind of concealment
device is the so-called dead drop,
a special container that is used to exchange objects and information
between people, without the need to physically meet each other.
Such dead drop containers are generally purpose-made.
Virtually any common object can be converted into
a concealment device. For example: a metal bolt,
a coin,
a stone,
a brick, a ballpoint,
a food can,
a picture frame,
a razor,
a cut-out book
or even a piece of food like a walnut.
Below are some popular examples.
Click them for further info.
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Concealment devices on this website
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A stash is a secret hiding place in which personal objects, such as
money, ID papers, frequency lists, drop pick locations and code material,
are hidden. When an object is used as a stash, it is also known as a
concealment device,
much like a dead drop.
In fact, many concealment devices are suitable as a dead drop
as well as a stash, which is why we have listed them together here.
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During the Cold War, both sides of the
Iron Curtain
made frequent use of secret underground storage places,
commonly known as caches. A cache can be located on
enemy territory – for use in case of an emergency – but can also be located
in the home country, for example as part of a
Stay-Behind Organisation.
A good example is the story behind the concealment container
shown in the image on the right. It was found in 2018 in a forgotten cache
in Western Europe and had been placed there by the
East-German Stasi
almost 60 years earlier.
➤ Read the full story
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Friday 24 October 2014. Last changed: Monday, 14 September 2020 - 09:44 CET.
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