Your footsteps are everywhere!

Humans cheat. Research tells us that on average, around 20% of men are unfaithful to their spouse, as compared to 13% of women. And if we can justify cheating and lying to those who are closest to us, there is really no moral or social barrier to con our ‘enemies’. The list is long: tax office, government, foreigners, those who don’t belong to our social group and those who are simply not members of our club.

Cheating in sport? Doping, drugging, gender hopping is a regular part of athletics. Here is one that may surprise you: 1% of all games played at the top chess tournaments are won by cheaters!

Amateur radio is a competitive hobby. Unfortunately amateurs cheat too. Some of them just can’t help themselves; while they are honest most of the time, the lure of getting that super rare one on the most difficult band is too much to resist.

Being on top, being perceived by peers as the best, means maintaining the highest score at any cost.

Making a public accusation would be unwise – when exposed, they cry loudly, making counter accusations. Also, the most prolific cheaters are actually the old timers who have been in the hobby for decades, maintaining an aura of reputation, based on expertise. To their credit, they are really good cheaters too, quick to implement all the advantages of cutting edge technology: remote listening and remote transmitting.

Yet there is no such thing as the perfect crime. Every time they tune into a remote receiver, and every time they transmit, they leave their dirty footprints. Those digital footprints are everywhere, and can not be hidden. The login in IP address, signal traces on the spectrum, logs containing data, reverse beacon reports, clusters, ham spots – countless fingerprints and footsteps which are invisible to the ‘naked eye’ – yet obvious to those who know what to look for.

“But what is the damage?” you may ask. “After all, ham radio is just a hobby and at the end of the day, the cheaters really cheat themselves”. You are right. I have no illusion that after reading this, a hard core self deluded cheater will stop cheating. On the contrary. The purpose of this note is to make him aware that every time he turns the radio on, he knows that someone is listening, recording and analysing data. And one day, that data will be made public. Enjoy!