Mass surveillance in North Korea is a routine practice employed throughout North Korea. North Korea "operates a vast network of informants who monitor and report to the authorities fellow citizens they suspect of criminal or subversive behavior." North Korea has been described as a "massive police state", and its people "under constant surveillance". Overview One author wrote: Seemingly, every aspect of a person's existence in North Korea is monitored. This oversight of citizens has extended beyond wired microphones and wiretapping of fixed-line and mobile phones. Microphones are now even being used outdoors to pick up conversations. There is a general sense that it is dangerous to engage in any serious conversation about sensitive topics when three or more people gather at one place, regardless of how friendly they may be. Juan Reynaldo Sanchez, a defected Bodyguard for Fidel Castro who visited North Korea in 1986, wrote later how Fidel's Bodyguard Units were briefed by Cuban Intelligence who had worked in North Korea not to say anything sensitive since "The North Korean's put mics everywhere, listen to everything, and film everything". Unlike Cuba, which were usually limited to certain rooms for the purposes of investigations, the North Koreans reportedly bugged everywhere: hallways, elevators, rooms, bathrooms, etc. Curious about the veracity of this, while in a hotel elevator with another bodyguard, Sanchez disingenuously said out loud "You know what? I would love to read the works of Kim Il-Sung in Spanish. It's probably really interesting. But we can't get them in Cuba. It's a shame, don't you think?". Upon returning to their rooms later in the evening, all the members of the Cuban Delegation found spread out on their beds the complete collection of Kim Il-Sung's works in Spanish. All computers are subject to random checks by authorities and must be registered with the government. Some computers may access the national intranet, called Kwangmyong, but true Internet access is restricted to the "super-elites". North Korean officials stationed abroad generally have their internet access monitored by staff. Western companies have been criticized for selling surveillance technology to repressive regimes, including North Korea. In order to "tighten surveillance over the populations in the border regions", surveillance teams were switched from five people to three. Organizations The three major surveillance organizations in North Korea are the State Security Department, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), and the Military Security Command (MSC). The Committee for Human