Aug 2018
Detecting Hidden Listening Devices
If you run a business, then you understand how important confidentiality is to maintain. It can negatively impact your company as a whole. Many customers won’t want to do business with a company who has experienced hacks, leaks, and other security issues.
The origin of how these secrets were uncovered, however, may not be as clear. Once you have ruled out corporate spies, then you’re left with listening devices. The scary part about listening devices is that they’re actually exceptionally easy to come by these days. Practically anyone can set up some form of surveillance equipment to spy on proceedings. While some of them are easy to detect, others require special equipment that your company may not be able to readily afford or even get your hands on. In this case, a counter-surveillance security company is just what you need in order to ensure the privacy of your business or home.
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For those who are interested in attempting to uncover these potential listening devices themselves, here are a few tips on how to tell if your office is bugged.
1. Take A Simple Look Around
You’ve seen the movies. You know where some of the staple areas that listening devices can be planted. If you’re wondering how to sweep for bugs, first you just need to look. Check under desks, in false ceilings, underneath furniture and anywhere else you can think a listening device could be planted. While some are tiny, the world hasn’t quite created the nano-tech popularized in films just yet.
2. Scan
After your simple, initial, search with your eyes, it’s time to bring in some equipment. To take a closer look if your office is bugged, you will need to invest some money into the project. Make sure you turn off all wireless devices before using the equipment to scan for listening devices. Laptops, phones and even refrigerators can potentially give off a false signal. With a radiofrequency detector in hand, you can scan the area and look for any questionable signals that are detected. You can figure out how to detect listening devices or hidden cameras depending on how the detector responds. Some devices will make you aware of a nearby device by either seeing a graph or hearing a noise that will inform you if you’re drawing closer to the suspected item.
This can also be a fantastic way to check yourself and your own personal items for any form of rogue device. The detector will, essentially, be able to tell if anything emitting a radio signal is currently broadcasting. Be aware most over the counter sweep equipment will not be able to tell the difference between a friendly or corrupting device.
3. Heavy Duty Sweep
In the event that the device was turned off during the sweep with the radiofrequency detector, or if the bug was able to mix its frequency, you may want to use something called a nonlinear junction detector. This beast will search for semiconductor electronics. Beware that it can result in quite a few false positives. However, this tool will help you to sweep for bugs at the electronic level.
Still not sure if you’re completely free from listening devices or hidden cameras? Have a professional complete a bug sweep for you! Make sure to hire someone using advanced equipment with prior experience, this way you can be sure they’ll detect any hidden devices. If your business is in the New York City area, contact Silent Guardian for a professional TSCM sweep today.