Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) – Threat Analysis

 

 

 

 

Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM), also referred to as Bug Sweeping or Sweeps is the process of having a qualified Technician or team of Technicians attend a location physically and conduct an environmental assessment of an area using highly specialized equipment, to determine if unauthorized recording or transmitting devices are currently in use or if there is any evidence that such a device was previously in use.

 

For many years, the Technicians of Axis Vero Incorporated have performed these services on behalf of both public and privately held companies internationally. In the past, access to this equipment was very limited and very few agencies were able to afford their own equipment. The equipment used to look very impressive and involve numerous antennas and specialized scanners. However, in recent years, technology has rapidly evolved and much of this impressive-looking equipment has become obsolete.

 

As a result, much of this equipment that used to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars can periodically be purchased for pennies on the dollar. Many corporations and financial institutions have made the mistake of purchasing this “discarded” equipment thinking that they were getting a great deal. Many security and investigation companies have purchased this “discarded” equipment, in order to broaden their offerings in the marketplace. 

 

Some important facts that every potential customer should know about Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) are:

 

There is no official oversight body and there are no legal requirements:

• to educate or license equipment operators;
• to ensure the quality of the actual equipment that these agencies possess and use;
• to disclose the actual equipment used for these projects;
• to disclose the success/failure rates of these practitioners;
• or any real way for the majority of clients to verify if such an inspection was conducted properly or by qualified personnel.

 

Specialized Equipment Manufacturers and Respective Software Developers:

• often offer training courses; however,
  • there is no legal requirement for any purchaser to be trained;
  • these training programs cost thousands of dollars per attendee;
  • most courses that are attended do not publish pass/fail rates;
  • these courses are not always open to 2nd or 3rd hand purchasers;
  • these courses rarely guarantee proficiency with the product – they offer an overview of use;

• offer their product with a limited warranty but regular calibration or maintenance is not included;

• offer regular calibration or maintenance at a high cost of service;

• do not offer a warranty once a product is deemed obsolete;

• rarely offer service or support after a product is deemed obsolete;

 

As a result, Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) is advertised and offered by many security and investigation agencies; however, very few of them can actually deliver this service competently. Even fewer companies are using equipment that is reliable, properly calibrated and/or truly designed or capable of finding current threats.

 

 

For example, the item shown to the left OSCOR 5000 or the right ORION Non-Linear Junction Detector as developed by REI (a US-based manufacturer) has been considered the crown jewels of any TSCM Service Provider for many years.

 

Many banks, financial institutions, colleges, major corporations, trade unions, and more are currently “swept” using these devices today.

 

 However…

 

 

BOTH OF THESE DEVICES ARE OBSOLETE.

 

THEY ARE USED AT YOUR SITE BECAUSE THEY ARE IMPRESSIVE-LOOKING. THEY NO LONGER HAVE THE ABILITY TO PROTECT YOU! (The OSCOR 5000 as used by most providers is no longer capable of detecting the common cellular phone, let alone the advanced technology in use today; and the ORION has been discontinued by REI entirely.)

 

To be fair, these are not the only obsolete devices in use today, but are the most common and are shown above for that reason. If you see these in use at your site, you should be very concerned about the integrity and depth of your analysis. Another large problem that the industry faces, is that over the past 10-15 years, a large number of foreign manufacturers have sprung up that “knock off” the original products for much lower prices. This is very tempting to a small boutique firm or “security specialist” that really wants a key piece of equipment but doesn’t want to be paying for it for the next 30 years because their client base is limited in this area.

 

Axis Vero Incorporated has attended numerous sites where the client has shown us equipment that they purchased online or from a specialty store and had requested that we isolate and locate the threat. Sadly, in almost every one of these situations, we have had to explain to those clients that they bought faulty or improperly made equipment.

 

• • One customer advised he had spent $10,000.00 on a piece of equipment and had to be shown that the same product was regularly sold for $1,200.00 at other retailers and was not a popular item because of the inconsistent results. In essence, this specific customer bought a $10,000.00 FM radio without the ability to change frequency.

• • We are often called into other security or investigation companies to assist them in operating equipment that they have purchased or instructing them on use. One such company became very upset when it was explained to them that just because they had invested $300.00 in a single multi-use inspection tool online, that it was far from honest or ethical to sell themselves as “Sweep Specialists”. Tragically, they are currently operating with the same equipment in the Greater Toronto Area; buyer beware.