Spy tech gadgets

Spy Tech for Everyday Use

Like most young boys growing up in America, I not only went through a magician phase, but a spy phase as well. I read all the books on the history of espionage, watched all the James Bond movies, and I had the complete line of Spy Tech toys (including the cool rearview mirror sunglasses). I even dabbled in codes and invisible inks. My targets were usually unsuspecting siblings, our family's suspiciously aloof cat, and annoying neighbor kids.

Even though I'm an adult, I still love the intrigue of cloak and dagger operations. While I'll never be a part of the CIA or MI6, thanks to a booming home and personal security industry that sells real spy technology to civilians, I can at least have a few of the cool toys that spies throughout history have used.

Below we highlight some spy gear and apps for everyday civilian use. Some of the items we highlight simply have a fun factor, while others have practical home and personal security applications. Put on your dark shades and flip up your trench coat collars. It's spying time. 

Hollow Spy Coins

Hollow coins have been used by spies all over the world for almost a century and were especially popular during the Cold War. The coins were made of two halves that screwed together in a virtually undetectable way, and they could be used to hide suicide poisons, secret messages, and microfilm. 

These days civilians can tote around a hollow coin too. They're available in many denominations (nickel, quarter, half dollar, and so on), and some come with a MicroSD card that fits inside the coin. With 32 gig MicroSD cards now available, you can carry around a lot of information in your pocket. Just don't accidentally stick the coin in a vending machine!

Mobile Spy App
Your smartphone contains sensitive information. If by chance it gets into enemy hands (or somebody who simply picks up your misplaced phone), you might want to know what they're looking at and doing with it. The Mobile Spy App lets you do just that. Simply install the app on the phone you want to track and boot up Mobile Spy software on your desktop to see what phone calls and text messages the crook is making and the photos they're taking. You can even open up a screen to watch a live view of your smartphone's screen. 
$49 for 3 months of service 

Spy Tie 

A common intelligence-collecting tactic is for a spy to carry a discreet looking object that's actually a recording device. The Spy Tie allows you to pull off this trick with style. What looks like a normal necktie is actually a hi-res video recorder. Simply put on the Spy Tie like you would any other necktie. When you're ready to record your target, hit the record button on a standard-looking key fob. The video is downloaded later to a computer for review. 

Note: Before you go out and get all record-happy with your Spy Tie, make sure you understand the laws governing recording without people's consent.

Dropp App

Since Ancient Roman times, spies have used "dead drops" to pass on information to fellow agents without having to see them face-to-face. The way dead drops typically worked was that one agent would conceal secret information inside an innocuous-looking item (such as a taxidermied, hollowed-out rat) and drop it on the side of the road or in a public park. Then another agent would come by later and casually pick it up.

  

The Dropp iPhone app takes this ancient espionage technique and updates it for today's smartphone world. The Dropp app allows you to send messages or photos to other Dropp users as soon as they arrive at a specified location. The app uses the iPhone's GPS capabilities to deliver the location-based messages. You could use Dropp to create a romantically suspenseful secret agent-themed date. Just install the app on your date's phone and create scavenger hunt-like clues that will appear whenever she successfully finds the locations you marked in Dropp.
Free 

RFID and Cell Phone Blocking Faraday Pouch

While cell phones and new RFID technology have certainly made life easier for us, they're a double-edged sword. That same technology that allows Nebraskan tourists to navigate NYC easily and you to quickly make payments with your RFID credit card can also be used to track your location and steal sensitive financial information.  

To counter Big Brother, enemy spies, and the growing number of thieves and hackers using RFID transmitters to steal credit card info, keep your cell phone and credit cards in a Faraday pouch. Faraday pouches are made from a metallically-lined fabric that blocks cell phone signals as well as RFID transmitters. The downside is that nobody will be able to call you if your phone's in the pouch, but then again, maybe that's actually a plus.
$13