Disabling Surveillence Video Cameras

by John Markoff

In his research, Mr. Naimark discovered that there was already military literature widely available about using lasers to blind sensors, and that it was relatively simple to become invisible in front the cameras that now watch over many public spaces in this country.

"I began by aiming an inexpensive laser pointer directly into the lens of a video camera," he writes. "The results were striking. The tiny beam neutralized regions of the camera sensor far larger than the actual size of the beam. Properly aimed, it could block a far-away camera from seeing anything inside of a large window."

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/07/technology/07ZZAP.html