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Photos: Is this rock a high-tech spy?

Russia accuses British diplomats of using a communications device embedded in a fake rock to send and receive information.
By Bill Detwiler, Contributor
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1 of 2 Bill Detwiler/ZDNET

caught spying

Russia's intelligence service has accused four British diplomats of spying, charging that their espionage efforts in part involved the use of communications gear hidden in a fake rock located in the vicinity of Moscow. The accusations were first made public on state-run Rossiya television Sunday night, and grainy images of an alleged British spy handling the rock--including those shown here--were picked up for wider broadcast by the Euronews channel.

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2 of 2 Bill Detwiler/ZDNET

spy rock

These pictures show the fake rock in greater detail, with the alleged communications device inside. Russian security officials said the device could transmit and receive data, in one- and two-second bursts, at distances of more than 60 feet to and from handheld computers wielded by spies, according to an article in The New York Times.

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