Electronic Counter-Surveillance Services

Bug Sweeping

Objective: Ensuring the Security of Your Information

It is not uncommon for those at the top of major organizations to experience theft of business strategies, critical corporate information, or confidential supplier or client details.

These thefts can often seem inexplicable to those affected. The solution is often hidden in plain sight: tiny, concealed devices that can only be detected with the most advanced equipment — commonly known as bugs, listening devices, wiretaps, or eavesdropping devices.

But how can you detect and remove these insidious devices?
INSIDE RISK MANAGEMENT FZCO, an investigative agency operating comprehensively in the security sector, has addressed this by organizing the Electronic Sweeping Division. Technicians from this specialized division ensure complete bug sweeping, both for corporate and private clients, using highly professional detection tools.

The Electronic Sweeping Division is capable of detecting:

• Spy software, used to monitor activities performed on computers;
• Spy phone software, used to monitor activities on mobile phones;
• Audio/video listening devices, which can be easily concealed anywhere;
• Laser microphones, which allow eavesdropping from a distance by detecting sound vibrations through glass;
• Digital audio recorders, which can be hidden anywhere, including inside a vehicle;
• GPS trackers, installed inside or outside a vehicle, capable of providing its real-time location and tracking its route, including stops;
• GPS trackers with audio listening devices, for satellite tracking and transmission of conversations inside the vehicle;
• Telephone wiretaps;
• Audio/video recorders, that can be hidden on a conversation partner.

What Exactly is a Listening Device?

A listening device, also commonly referred to as a bug or wiretap, is a small electronic device capable of capturing audio, video, and images, and in some cases, transmitting them to a specific receiver via radio waves. It may be equipped with a microphone, a camera, or even a GPS tracker, and can be activated via remote control or VOX (voice-activated).

Details of these systems include:

• Remote control: Devices that can be activated and deactivated using a remote control device.
• VOX (Voice-Activated): This system activates the listening device only in the presence of voices, sounds, or noises.
  There are many types of listening devices, and their functionalities are continually evolving due to modern technologies.

Types of Listening Devices

During bug sweeps, our agency’s technicians can detect any type of listening device. The market for spying devices features numerous types, but they can generally be grouped into four main categories:

• Audio recorders: These have very sensitive microphones for sounds and noises and a high-capacity battery that can keep the recorder active for several weeks.
• Audio/video environmental bugs: These devices transmit live via radio waves or GSM/UMTS networks. For radio transmission, a receiver is required, and the range is limited by the antenna. In the case of mobile networks, a SIM card is installed inside the device, allowing for unlimited transmission.
• Audio-video recorders: These devices have both a microphone and a camera, recording voices, sounds, noises, and images.
• GPS bugs/trackers: These devices provide location data and track movements. They may also have a microphone for audio transmission.

Where to Search for Listening Devices?

Due to their extremely small size, listening devices can be installed and hidden anywhere.
Environmental bugs and recorders can easily be attached to clothing, false ceilings, and junction boxes. Electrical outlets and USB drives can also serve as excellent hiding spots for these microscopic devices. GPS trackers are commonly installed in vehicles, allowing the spy to monitor the vehicle’s location and movements. Detecting the presence of a listening device within a company, home, or car is impossible for non-experts to do with the naked eye. This is why, when there is a suspicion of listening devices in one or more locations, it is necessary to call in INSIDE RISK MANAGEMENT FZCO‘s technicians, who are experts in detecting and managing surveillance devices.

Procedure

Bug sweeping operations are conducted in two stages. First, the external environment is inspected through a visual perimeter check and a radio frequency scan. Then, specialized investigations are carried out inside the building or vehicle, which include:

• Installing countermeasures to hinder the functioning of listening devices;
• Using a thermal camera to thoroughly examine the environment and locate surveillance devices;
• Analyzing frequencies from 10 KHz to 6 GHz;
• Using infrared devices to detect hidden cameras;
• Checking every object that appears tampered with or suspicious.

Once listening devices are identified, they are removed, and if requested by the client, environmental security seals are applied.

Upon completion of the bug sweeping operation, INSIDE RISK MANAGEMENT FZCO provides clients with detailed and meticulous reports on all activities conducted by the Electronic Sweeping Division technicians.