BTN Camps

The letter from an anonymous student who had to sit through a BTN camp lecture seems to be making the rounds today. Actually, I seemed to have been unfortunate enough, to have missed out on BTN camps. They sound like really exciting stuff.

From the second hand stories that filter out of the camps, it seems that there are lots of interesting lectures in these camps. It would be really interesting to be able to capture a recording of these and let the greater public share in their grand ideas. According to some other blogs, it seems that they would confiscate all recording equipment, in order to protect the intellectual property of the lectures. These lectures must have some really classy stuff in it.

However, I was just wondering, if the cinemas are unable to stop people from bringing in video cameras into a film, a truly concerted effort at recording the lecture series to educate the public, should be technically feasible. Let us assume that there are people checking the bags and pockets of participants for electronic snooping devices. So, let me put on my black hat and hack this problem.

The most obvious way to hack it is to place the recording equipment in the lecture halls before the lecture is held. Goodness knows, if students can smuggle answers into an exam hall, under the watchful eye of multiple invigilators, I’m sure that the students can figure out a way to bring some recording equipment in.

An MP3 voice recorder, is so small that it would snugly fit under almost any chair or table, with a nicely applied piece of gum. A 4Gb device configured to record a mono audio channel at 64kbps rate, can record continuously for almost 6 days before running out of storage space. The battery probably would not last half as long. So, a backup battery will be needed. Adding it is a 5 minute surgery.

A wireless webcam or something similar can be used for video. These webcams are rather small in size and can be tucked away in a corner and configured to only record when it detects movement. The bulk of the recording equipment would be kept in a laptop, that I assume, would be kept safely in a bag outside the hall. Again, a small battery may be needed.

But now for the really classic coup de grace. The lecturers themselves use off-the-shelf laptops to conduct the lectures.

Ever heard of Van Eck phreaking? Probably not. Anyway, it is a well documented method of capturing the video signals of any display, off the air, as all electronic devices emit electromagnetic radiation. So, it can be used to capture the videos and slides that the lecturer shows, without actually having to steal the machine or hacking into it, which is incidentally a crime!

Copying the lectures off the air can at most, be classified as a copyright infringement, which is not a criminal offence. Unless of course, the course materials are classified as official secrets. However, in such a case, the attendees must agree to keeping it a secret first, by signing some sort of NDA or similar piece of contract. Otherwise, it is definitely not a secret.

So, it’s actually technically feasible. It’s only a question of preparation and will.