NCJ Number
148028
Journal
Journal of Security Administration Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: (1993) Pages: 11-15
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article examines the status of technical surveillance countermeasures used in business security compared to the technical sophistication of electronic eavesdropping devices available.
Abstract
The development of eavesdropping devices and methods has evolved along two separate paths since the end of World War II. One of the paths was taken by commercial and law enforcement enterprises. The other was pursued by intelligence communities in their prosecution of the Cold War. In commercial and law enforcement fields, the eavesdropping devices and methods have been used against targets whose defenses have not been highly technical nor sophisticated. Consequently, the eavesdropping devices and methods used have not needed to be as sophisticated as those used by the intelligence community. Business security measures to counter electronic eavesdropping have generally assumed that any attempts at electronic eavesdropping will involve unsophisticated devices and methods. There have not been any reports of discoveries of sophisticated devices similar to those used in governmental intelligence work. The problem with this circumstance is that the security measures used to detect electronic eavesdropping are not sufficiently sophisticated to detect these devices and methods. There is a need to investigate each incident of eavesdropping to ensure that the report is factual and not merely anecdotal. The reports and expert commentary on them should be disseminated to security managers and business managers, so they may be aware of the types of devices and methods that are being detected throughout the business world and develop appropriate countermeasures. 5 footnotes