[gravescale]

In 2001, image sensors and the electronics to drive them were far larger then they are today, an endoscope-style fibre optic isn't necessarily ridiculous if you only had a tiny hole to sneak through a thick obstruction.

Even today, a non-CIA-grade camera head is probably 2-3mm across and the optics on a fibre optic can be far narrower.

You can only have a pinhole spy cam if you have a void directly behind the pinhole.

[kjkjadksj]

Whats the spec on the CIA grade stuff then?

[gravescale]

Well, I assume they can do better than a £10 USB endoscope from AliExpress!

But even if you have some ultratiny thing hot out of a classified lab, fibre optics also keep the active electronics further away and harder to detect.

[thebruce87m]

They probably don’t even have to bother, just hack the targets phone, tv, iPad, laptop to get every bit of content they consume and conversation they have.