Technical_Surveillance_Countermeasures

THE PROBLEM:

Nearly 50% of American companies have been targets of industrial

espionage.

Approximately 3 out

of 4 businesses that have not taken steps

to reduce their

vulnerability to espionage attacks

will

out of business.

Corporations aren’t the only ones at risk. Private individuals are

frequently

targeted by

eavesdroppers for a variety of reasons. Those

going through a

divorce, are engaged in litigation,

involved in child

custody disputes,

married to

(or dating) controlling people, etc. are but a

few

targets of

eavesdroppers. Some

people are targeted by stalkers.

Others become the

victim of

nosey neighbors

or electronic, scanner or

radio hobbyists.

Someone asks Blue Heron

Investigations

for its

assistance in “bugging”

someone

else

nearly every week. We

decline

these

requests, but whom do

these people then turn to?

Thousands of bugs are sold in this country each year. Some of these are

sold as

“kits” with nothing

more needed to complete the bug than some

simple

soldering. Others are sneaked into the

country from overseas

suppliers in

complete working order. There are electronic magazines that

provide

instructions on how to build a bug, and electronic stores that sell

otherwise legal

devices

that are readily altered or modified for illegal

eavesdropping purposes.

Bugging may take place in the home, office or vehicle. It may be

accomplished

by an out of work

“spy”, or by someone with as little as

$20.00

and an interest in

snooping. While the threat of being

bugged

varies

according to occupation and

life circumstances, statistics won’t

matter

if you

are the

one being bugged.

THE SOLUTION:

Countermeasures services are provided on various levels according to

the

level

of threat, and

competence of service provider. At the extremely

low

end, you

may find an investigator offering

countermeasures services

that

knows

absolutely nothing about the field. These people will come

into

your

home or

office with a $95.00 “Bug Detector 2000", spend a half an

hour

therein, and

proclaim that home or office free of listening devices. At

the

extreme “top end”,

you will find

someone (quite often a former

government

agent) on either the east

or west coast who proclaim

that

anyone with less

that $100,000.00 worth of

equipment is inherently

incompetent and ill

equipped. At the same time, these

highly paid “TSCM

experts” will refuse

travel to this area to

conduct a sweep

for anything

less than many

thousands of dollars – leaving most clients in this

area

the mercy of

opportunists who see the profitability of “filling the void.”

It’s one thing to own countermeasures

gear

and read the operations

manual that came with it, it’s

quite another to have actual real-world

experience

on the subject of “eavesdropping”. Blue Heron

Investigations

has extensive

experience using and building electronic surveillance

equipment.

have

installed both hard wired systems and wireless

systems, have used both video

and audio,

and

have used this equipment

for

both target premises surveillance

and body worn surveillance.

Our

systems

have been used in both fixed

locations, and in mobile / field

situations.

While we have always followed state and federal law in the use of these

systems, and have used

and built these devices for legitimate purposes

unrelated to a typical eavesdropping threat that you

may encounter, the

technology remains the same. Who better to find a concealed camera than

someone who specializes in building and installing them? Who better to

look for

a wireless

transmitter than someone who has used them in the

past,

and

understands their capabilities and

limitations?

Our experience extends to vehicle security as well. Who better to look,

not

only

for the concealed

cameras and miniature microphones, but also

for the

bumper

beepers and GPS tracking devices

than someone who has

actual

real-world

experience using them? We understand how they work –

not

because we read a

manual, but because we have used them long

before

ever entered the

field of

countermeasures. We know how the

devices

work,

we know what they look like,

we know

where they’re likely to

installed, we

know what their limitations are,

and we know what they

can

do. Most

countermeasures providers are vaguely

aware of the

systems

they are

searching for. To

paraphrase one TSCM expert,

“in order

to find

these

devices, you need to think like a spy. Ask

yourself, how

would I do it

–

where would I put it?” We don’t have to think like a spy –

we’ve

been

there.

Blue Heron Investigations

has made it’s services available to private

parties

and businesses

within

the area who have threats that need to be

addressed, but

who do not wish to spend the

$10,000.00

to $20,000.00

those

on the east or west

coast may require. Our level of expenditure on

equipment,

as well as study on

the subject of techniques in

countermeasures, exceeds most in the

area that

offer such services. At

the

same time, we provide our service at a rate most

private

parties and

business owners can afford.

We search (depending on a client’s needs) for vehicle tracking devices,

hidden

microphones and

listening devices, telephone taps, both hard-

wired

and wireless

hidden video cameras, computer

spyware etc. We do

not limit

our search to

wireless devices like so many others in the area.

If you feel that you or your business are the victim of an eavesdropping

attack,

call Blue Heron

Investigations

today.

(

A recording device has been installed to the back of this computer. It would record everything

the owner of

the computer typed –

including his passwords and credit card numbers if making a

purchase while online.

Can you identify the recording device in this

picture?)

-----------------------------------------------------------

(This device operates much like a caller ID unit, but in reverse. It records the number the caller

dialed,

when

it was dialed and

even how long the call takes place. It does not require the owner

the phone to

subscribe

to caller ID, and can store thousands

of calls. The device can be

retrieved

at a later date to

identify months

worth of calls. This one was hooked up to the phone

lines

behind

the headboard of the bed.

When was the

last time you looked behind the

headboard?)

--------------------------------------------

(This little black box was placed behind the dash of an SUV and was wired to the vehicle's

electrical system

for continuous

operation. It is a GPS recorder capable of tracking the activities

the driver. It records when

the driver departs, the route the

driver took, the speed of the car,

every

stop the driver makes, the location of

that stop to within about 30 feet anywhere in the

country, how

long the driver remaines at his destination, and

when the driver leaves. It can

record weeks of

activity and can be

downloaded to a computer for later review.

Some of these

devices are a

fraction of the size of the one shown. Would you have

known what it was if you

saw

it?)

-------------------------------------------------------------

(This image actually shows a number of items, all contained within a VHS tape box. They

include

a color

video camera that

requires a lens opening no larger than the size of the head of a

pin, a

video transmitter

capable of transmitting the video up to a

quarter of a mile away, and a 9

volt

battery to power both units. This

kind of setup is most often associated with spouses and

jealous

ex spouses to monitor the others' activities.

When was the last time you looked inside the

movie

boxes on the shelf?)

------------------------------------------------------------------

(This is an image of a simple eavesdropping setup. It is nothing more than a tape recorder

stuffed

in a

couch. What makes this

such an insidious device is that it employs an external

microphone

with a built in

amplifier, and uses a recorder with a voice

activated feature to record

audio only.

Typical TSCM equipment

will not locate this device, since it doesn't emit anything to

detect.

Simple, but effective.....)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

(This is a difficult "bug" to see even when you know it's there. Hidden in a planter box, it's a

wireless room

audio bug about an

inch in size with a built in microphone and transmitter. It can

be tuned to transmit room

conversations, up to a quarter of a mile,

just outside the FM dial on

your

radio. We have receivers that will

pick up this audio; do you?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Set inside a storage box inside the engine compartment of this truck, is a GPS device capable of

pinpointing

the driver's location

to within about 30 feet anywhere within the country. Unlike the

tracking

device referenced

earlier, this one reports the driver's

location in "real time" - i.e. where

is NOW by

means of a cellular

modem within the device and the use of the Internet. By using

its

own batteries, this

device does not need to

tap into the vehicle's power supply.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

(This image shows the recording control mechanism used to activate a tape recorder to record

telephone

conversations. It was

placed inside the insulation within a wall cavity in the basement

of the home. This

device can record up to 12 hours of actual

telephone conversation using the

right equipment.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(There are many different ways to tap a telephone; this image just shows one of them. The yellow

wires

shown

on the inside cover

of this telephone plate, are part of a wireless telephone tap that's

capable of

transmitting

both sides of the conversation without

anyone being aware of it. Because

it draws its power from

the

telephone lines themselves, it does not need batteries or AC

power. In

fact, it can transmit almost

indefinitely. Notice that there is nothing attached to the telephone in

the

foreground that

would indicate that

anything's amiss.)

BLUE HERON INVESTIGATIONS

Minnesota's premier private detective agency

TECHNICAL SURVEILLANCE COUNTERMEASURES (TSCM)