Whether it’s a corporate sector, professional service or home, technical surveillance and eavesdropping have become a common threat to us all, whether we are company owners, handle company data, work on new products, work from home – you could be a Finance Director, a CEO, an HR Director in charge of security, or middle management given the role of IT security, Office Manager or Operations Director. All of us should keep an eye on how we can stay secure – our phones, your offices, your homes, your vehicles. Fraud is one of the UK’s biggest threats, and cybersecurity and technical surveillance have never been more prevalent, meaning that specialist TSCM Services (often known as “bug sweeping”) are a go-to for security-conscious businesses.

TSCM Service by Advanced Sweeping

As a company owner, you will hopefully be educating yourself and your colleagues of potential online and offline threats, such as eavesdropping or technical surveillance from a third party. TSCM specialists, such as Advanced Sweeping in London, and all UK major cities, work with a range of business, from corporate finance, high net worth companies, legal firms, banks, embassies and so on. Small businesses are at risk more than we like to think – SMEs tend to be less security-aware or conscious and sometimes having a thorough TSCM & digital check can save thousands.

Eavesdropping Threats

Did you know that hidden cameras in cars and commercial premises are widespread? It is so easy to access listening devices online, we can carry on about our usual day and never suspect a thing. If you have any doubt that there could be a bugging device in your home or commercial place of work, a reputable TSCM agency such as Advanced Sweeping can give you peace of mind. They have advanced electronic sweeping devices and specialists who are trained and educated in specific areas of counter-surveillance and espionage – eavesdropping is a threat and one that can be prevented.

Is my office bugged?

Digital fraud or financial fraud – both can destroy a business with devastating results. The team at Advanced Sweeping work with SMEs (sadly an easy target for digital fraud), together with many legal firms, financial institutions, embassies, government organisations amongst others. We are all at risk of fraud.

The terms “sweeping” and “TSCM” are well known by counter-surveillance specialists; sweeping meaning to sweep an area for hidden listening devices “bugs”, and TSCM being an acronym for Technical Surveillance Counter Measures.

Without a professional sweep, it can be hard to know if you are a victim of fraud. The following are examples of why companies, such as Advanced Sweeping, have been called in:

Internal HR problems, such as an ex-employee with a malicious grievance or they didn’t get the promotion or have been hooked by a competitor.

Ex-employees know inside information and can become a risk to a business. It’s relatively easy for them to install listening and bugging devices within commercial premises to get trade information (often to supply competitors with inside knowledge).

There have been various times ex-employees have hired the third party to gain entry into an office, such as a delivery person, a tradesman, a photocopier engineer. If they are in your premises and know the layout then it can be easy to bug a room or device without anyone’s knowledge.

Have you recently had a break-in at the office or home, but nothing of significance has gone? If there is any doubt in your mind, or something feels suspicious, a bug sweep is considered appropriate. We have worked not only with business and corporates because of this factor, as well as many times in the home (owing to domestic abuse and coercive behaviour).

Go with your gut, if something doesn’t feel right, it’s best to call the professionals in to sweep the premises.

Confidential data should stay confidential, whether it is business-related or personal.

If ever you have come across similarities from your competitors that are out in the marketplace that hasn’t been released formally, then it’s worth not only speaking about confidentiality agreements with your employees but bring in TSCM specialists to make sure there are no hidden listening devices on equipment anywhere that holds data.

Is there any bugging device in my home?

We touched upon domestic and personal situations above, but there are some handy ways to find if there are any hidden devices in your home if you think you may be followed, listened to or bugged in your home, basic insight listed below.

The most common places we find hidden cameras and listening devices in a home include:

Electrical outlets

Tissue boxes

Wall sockets

Desk plants

Books

Wall décor (hanging clocks, pictures…)

Air filter equipment

Pens and gifts and so on Check for small, round holes. If there are any dark, round pinholes in a room (think screw holes), check those out. Have a good hunt around.

Turn the lights off at night. Adjust your eyes in the room, are there any tiny red, green or white lights visible (either blinking or static)?

Keep safe and secure. If any of the above “tactics” give you a positive warning, it’s time to act and get in touch with a professional and trusted TSCM agency to undertake a thorough sweep.

What does a TSCM expert do?

TSCM (technical surveillance counter-measures) experts recognise the technical surveillance problems when it comes to commercial and domestic premises, together with helping facilitate counter-surveillance tactics in phones, cars, private boats, private planes, and so on. Advanced Sweeping professionals are hand-picked and all have a technical skill-set with a wealth of experience in counter-surveillance, mainly from government agencies and military backgrounds together with a range of IT/Telephone data security analysts.

The technical equipment is highly advanced, including:



Specialist GSM locating devices

Professional RF seeking location devices

Thermal imagery

Nonlinear junction detectors Professional Spectrum analysers

The equipment mentioned above can identify hidden cameras for tracking devices, under the professional eye of a trained engineer.

How to keep your data safe

Advanced Sweeping, award-winning and established bug sweeping experts, gather intelligence and insights into the performance of a company and can assess key opportunities for security improvement, and any risk of hacking or fraud which can be prevented down the line, especially in a competitive marketplace.