Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger’s revelation that his newspaper
was forced by British spooks to destroy hard disks containing
files provided by the contractor Edward Snowden included a
fascinating detail on modern spy craft. The Guardian reported:
“In a subsequent meeting, an intelligence agency expert argued
that the material was still vulnerable. He said by way of
example that if there was a plastic cup in the room where the
work was being carried out foreign agents could train a laser on
it to pick up the vibrations of what was being said. Vibrations
on windows could similarly be monitored remotely by laser.”  I’m
sorry, come again?  You read that correctly. GCHQ, the British
intelligence agency, feared that if Russian or Chinese agents
were unsuccessful in penetrating the Guardian’s computer
systems, they might try to listen to journalists discussing the
Snowden files by using a laser beam.  That sounds like a far-
fetched plot line from the US hit TV series Homeland…  True. But
laser microphone surveilla