copper theft
Telekom wants to protect cables with artificial DNA
D ie German Telekom will henceforth mark their telephone and data cables in a big way with artificial DNA to potential copper cable deter thieves. On Monday, the company launched a nationwide campaign in Berlin.
The Telekom including a remote-controlled mini-helicopter to apply a marking fluid to over underground cables. In the liquid, which can be sniffed by sniffer dogs, are located next to the artificial DNA also tiny metal plate with the logo of Deutsche Telekom and a specific code. So that investigators can determine with the aid of a pocket microscope also the stretch where the cable was originally used.
270 cases of copper theft
cable thieves have stolen last year in 270 cases of copper cable from Deutsche Telekom. Here, a loss of 1.1 million euros was. “We are concerned not only about the customers whose lines are interrupted in the thefts, the cable, but also the protection,” said Manfred Strifler, security manager at Deutsche Telekom. Of the thefts not only the north-eastern Germany was affected, but the entire country.
itemprop=”caption”> The Sprühdrohnen be remotely controlled from the ground © Britta Pedersen / DPA
residues of DNA in the marking fluid can be detected even if the copper wires are unsheathed and melted down, according to Deutsche Telekom. A single undamaged molecule is sufficient for detection. “We create a track that can be clearly traced back to us,” said Rüdiger Caspari, head of technical infrastructure of the Northeast branch of Deutsche Telekom. When the perpetrators DNA evidence for a long time on the clothes, in the car, gloves, skin or tool used were detectable and could not be washed off.
alliance against metal thieves
The German Telekom has joined with other companies and organizations in an alliance to fight together against a similar technology for metal thefts. These include the German railway, the power company RWE and Vattenfall as well as the associations of the German Metal Traders (VDM) and steel recycling and waste management companies (BDSV).
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