TSCM
Modern espionage, spying or covert surveillance has been popularised by movies like the “007” series, “Enemy of the State” and the plethora of hi-tech “chase” films. Ongoing technological developments and innovations in surveillance devices have seen these devices getting smaller, cheaper and more difficult to detect. This, coupled with advances in e-commerce and the Internet, has resulted in sophisticated electronic eavesdropping devices being made readily available to the man in the street, obviously heightening the threat to confidential business transactions and personal privacy.
While there are many legitimate reasons for using electronic eavesdropping or surveillance equipment, and a number of legitimate agencies with access to this equipment and the ability to use it effectively, there are even more illegal motivations and unscrupulous operators. Consider for a moment the number of individuals who received advanced intelligence gathering training by the Government and opposition intelligence agencies during the apartheid era, that suddenly found themselves unemployed and out in the cold with the advent of the new South Africa and its democratic government.
Anybody dealing with sensitive information (be it trade secrets or information related corporate mergers or take-overs – especially in the case of listed companies) that could be regarded as valuable to a third party, is at risk. The unfortunate reality is that very few commercial enterprises, regardless of size, fully appreciate the degree of the threat to their operations. Consequently, there are not many companies that actively protect themselves from illegal eavesdropping.
Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM), otherwise known as “debugging”, describes the methods that are used to identify or to counter any effort to obtain information, through the use of various electronic eavesdropping and other surveillance devices. This would include a methodical physical and electronic inspection of a defined area by appropriately trained and qualified persons, utilising suitable equipment and proven techniques in an attempt to uncover any covert transmitting, recording or eavesdropping devices, illegally deployed to obtain information to which the “eavesdropper” should not be entitled.
While many people claim to be “debugging” experts, it should be noted that professional TSCM services requires not only sophisticated equipment, but also specialist knowledge of electronics, security, investigations and technical expertise amongst many other skills, not to mention the legal implications!
