Education Technology


NUMB3RS - Season 1 - "Sacrifice" - Phreak Out!

Activity Overview

While investigating a victim's apartment, agent Sinclair finds a piece of wire dangling from the security alarm control panel. The FBI later determines that the wire was from a high gain antenna, which enabled the victim's wife to electronically eavesdrop on the images on his computer screen. This process is called "van Eck phreaking."
Students will have the chance to see how screen images are recreated from the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) data collected through phreaking.

Before the Activity

Download the attached PDF and look over the Teacher Page.

During the Activity

Discuss the materials from the Student Page with your class. Share the attached PHREAK calculator program with students.

After the Activity

Encourage students to explore web sites and questions from the Extensions Page.