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TSCM

Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures
Icon: TSCM Techical Surveillance Counter-Measures

What is TSCM, Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures? It is a term coined by the US government – an abbreviation that describes the process of bug sweeping or electronic counter surveillance.

Using sophisticated specialist equipment, a variety of technical surveillance service processes help to identify technical security weaknesses in and around the premises concerned through visual, electronic and physical examinations.

Why you need help with TSCM surveying

Modern multimedia devices, remote control technology and the internet mean every business that collects, uses, relies on or holds data faces the threat of cyber theft. Even in super-secure environments threats have become a reality, often thanks to poor security and unhappy employees.

We provide TSCM surveys designed to detect devices like bugs that might be listening in on you and your activities. Other relevant services include communications security, information technology security and physical security services.  

It is common knowledge that electronic eavesdropping devices, security hazards and weaknesses can easily ruin a successful business and destroy its reputation. Our TSCM surveys help mitigate the risks.

The evidence we gather is prepared and presented so it is admissible in court. This means you have the best chance of achieving justice. If an effective internal enquiry is the desired outcome, the evidence we collect is perfect for that purpose, too.

What does TSCM involve?

Bugs record and transmit information as data, video or voice content. Our engineers use a radio frequency receiver to trace concealed bugs. For a frequency receiver to work properly it requires precise control by a professional technician who has plenty of radio frequency experience. The most expensive and advanced bugs include burst transmission and spread spectrum technology, both of which make them very hard – often impossible – for amateurs to detect.

When we are sweeping office premises, we do so during working hours to detect any devices that can be remotely switched off outside office hours, this stops them slipping through the net. Some devices that record sound do not emit any radio waves, so are particularly difficult to detect unless you know exactly what you are doing. You need to know exactly how to use the exceptionally sensitive sweeping equipment used, to locate and pinpoint tiny differences in magnetic fields and electronic noise.

 

Sometimes we use extremely responsive thermal cameras to detect the residual heat from a concealed bug or its power supply. By detecting changes in electromagnetism using a combination of techniques together with resonance sweeps, we can often locate dead bugs i.e. the ones that used to work but have stopped emitting radio waves. If these procedures fail and you want us to continue with the TSCM search, Eagle View Investigations can carry out a detailed physical search in the area of greatest concern.

We use a wide variety of tech to achieve all this, including:

  • Broadband receivers to detect radio transmissions nearby
  • A non-linear junction detector (NLJD) to identify bug components
  • A frequency scanner with several different antennae
  • Video scopes to examine inaccessible spaces
  • A portable x-ray to check inside objects and hidden spaces
  • Multimeters to measure power supplies
  • An oscilloscope to provide a visual image of any signals
  • A spectrum analyser and vector signal analyser to look deeper into suspicious radio frequency signals
  • Thermal imaging technology that reveals hotspots, e.g. those given off by hidden electronic components
  • A time-domain reflectometer to test the integrity of communication cabling

Why use Eagle View Investigations to sweep for bugs?

An ordinary person could easily stare at an actual bug for an hour and not realise what they are looking at. That’s because the people or agents who place the bugs are often very resourceful. It is their job to try to outwit and outsmart their target and make sure the devices they install remain secretly hidden and undetected.

Eagle View Investigations have been in this industry long enough to have seen all the tricks of the trade and the clever hiding places these agents use. That is why our bug sweeping service is so in demand. There is no way you would be able to achieve a clean sweep on your own, without professional help. 

 

Let's get an operative into your place

Do you believe that you have been targeted and have microphones listening in on your discussions? We realise you will want to know for certain who put the bug or bugs there, why, how and when. 

If you make the mistake of creating a big fuss about the situation, you will only give those concerned the time and opportunity they need to hide their actions, remove their bugs or make themselves scarce. 

If you suspect your premises have been bugged, don’t delay your fight back. Pick up the phone now and give us a call – Eagle View will be delighted to step in and discreetly de-bug you.