Meet Dom, the inadvertent spy on Iran

Iran, always leery when it comes to espionage, has taken a number of steps to fend off would-be spies. The latest came just yesterday, with the announcement of an “Islamic” alternative to Google Earth — the ironically named Basir (spectator). But there’s one thing Tehran didn’t plan on: Dom. Dom is a U.K. resident who ...

By , a researcher at Foreign Policy in 2013.
611057_130411_Map2.png
611057_130411_Map2.png

Iran, always leery when it comes to espionage, has taken a number of steps to fend off would-be spies. The latest came just yesterday, with the announcement of an "Islamic" alternative to Google Earth -- the ironically named Basir (spectator). But there's one thing Tehran didn't plan on: Dom.

Iran, always leery when it comes to espionage, has taken a number of steps to fend off would-be spies. The latest came just yesterday, with the announcement of an “Islamic” alternative to Google Earth — the ironically named Basir (spectator). But there’s one thing Tehran didn’t plan on: Dom.

Dom is a U.K. resident who had his laptop stolen from his London apartment two months ago. But luckily for him — and us — he’d installed an application that tracks the location of his laptop and even sends back screenshots of it being used.

Where did the computer end up? Nearly two months after the burglary it appeared in the heart of Tehran:

The Telegraph, which identifies Dom as an animator named Dom del Toro, explains that del Toro reported the theft to British police, who claimed they couldn’t do anything since Iran was outside their jurisdiction. He then set up a Tumblr blog — the aptly named, Dom’s laptop is in Iran — where he’s been posting pictures of the Tehrani woman currently using his computer.

We learn about her taste in music:

And even her interest in Jenga:

Hidden App claims to work by taking “real time photos of the thief and screenshots of them using your computer” — all “without them knowing you’re watching.” Unless, that is, you post the images on the Internet.

Marya Hannun was a researcher at Foreign Policy in 2013.

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