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Concealment device
This ordinary looking stone, is in fact a concealment device
that can be used in the espionage tradecraft as a secret hiding place
for documents or money (stash),
or as a so-called dead drop
or dead letter box. Objects like these are commonly used
to pass messages between secret agents and their handlers.
This fake stone can also be used to hide a
covert listening device (radio bug).
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The fake stone has the look, feel and weight of a normal stone and will
hardly be noticed when placed in an existing stack of stones or as part
of a wall. And this is precisely what makes it suitable as a dead drop.
It can be used to pass messages, money, frequency lists, cryptographic keys
and maps between a handler and an agent.
Turning the stone around however, reveals a small compartment that acts
as the stash. It is large enough to hold some folded paper work and even
money or small objects. It is usually closed with a small panel
or a piece of tape.
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Stones like this can easily be made by casting plaster or cement around
a small metal box (be sure to leave the lid accessible though). Once
the material is dry, it can be painted in any colour, so that it resembles
existing stones in, say, a wall or a bunch of stones in a forest.
Alternatively, a real stone can be used. It should be cut and hollowed-out,
but this requires special skills and suitable equipment.
The fake stone shown here was made
in China and was found on eBay in 2015.
It came with a plastic cover that looked so cheap that we've ditched it.
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When the stone is used as a piece of decoration, for example as a paper
weight in someone's office or living room, it could also be used to conceal
a covert listening device,
or radio bug. The concealment area is large enough
to hold a powerful battery-powered bug that works for days.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Saturday 25 October 2014. Last changed: Tuesday, 13 June 2017 - 10:52 CET.
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