Electronic Espionage Detection and Prevention
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Electronic Espionage Detection and Prevention |
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historical info
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Bugs & Taps This page shows a variety of different types of eavesdropping devices found or available in the US. Miniature Microphones
Radio Transmitters
Telephone Taps
Digital Recorders
Devices like this show why you need to rely on the company that has the understanding of the threat, knowledge of the devices and the technology, equipment, and experience to find them.
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These are microphones we have found during
surveys. This gives a good idea of the size of some of the devices the search team
must locate. But, keep in mind, that the microphones by themselves do not
constitiute an eavesdropping device. They must be connected to something: a
tape recorder, a radio transmitter, or even an amplifier if they are monitored live.
Part of the job of the sweep team is to be aware of the types of things microphones
connect to and make a thorough effort to detect them as well. Even if the microphone
is well hidden, the physical search, if done thoroughly and properly, will find the wiring
the microphones use.
Microphones can use very small cables. We have seen them use
wiring as small as #30AWG. Each conductor of this size is about 0.03 inches in
diameter. We've seen transformer wire used, too. This type of wire in a 34
guage size is a tiny bit larger than .006 inch per conductor. 
These
two microphones are primarily intended to be used in hearing aids. But, guess
what! They make great room mikes, too, and are easily concealed. If fact, the
only part of the microphone that has to be in the target room is the tiny cylinder at the
top of the left-hand microphone and at the bottom of the right-hand one. This is the
audio path to the diaphragm and it's only about 1/16 of an inch in length and
diameter. Hard to find with the naked eye.
This
microphone is an example of current production. It's about 3 times life size.
The only part of the microphone that has to be in the target area is the small cylinder by
the blue arrow. It's less than 1/32" in diameter. Imagine how many of
these could be placed in the nooks and crannies of the tiles in a suspended ceiling!
This
microphone is an example of one developed for actual field use by an
intelligence agency. Shown in an actual installation, hidden behind a
molding on a baseboard in a conference room, these can be extremely difficult to
find. 
This
transmitter is a little less than 3 inches long and 5/8" in diameter. In the
right installation, it can transmit for a couple of hundred yards. The microphone
is the cylinder on the right-had end. Many TSCM receivers will locate this device,
but there are a number that won't, especially if the sweep is in a metropolitan area where
the ambient RF level is very high. Field tests have proved to us that the best
(and only) rf detection equipment that can be relied on are laboratory grade
spectrum analyzers. All in one packages supplied by a popular manufacturer just
don't have the senesitivty to detect these low powered transmitters for a long enough
distance to make their use practical in TSCM work.
This is
the inside of a 2.6 GHz microwave transmtter. This one can transmit audio as well as
video, so it cas be used as a room transmitter. The audio carrier is hidden by the
video modulation if a camera is connected. If the badguy is smart, he'll use video
to confuse the TSCM technician. Only a spectrum analyzer with frequency coverage of
up to 3000 megahertz will find this transmitter at a reasonable distance.
This
transmitter is voice activated. Called a VOX transmitter, it monitors the sound in
the room and begins to transmit when there is conversation, or sound levels corresponding
to those of conversation.
These
photos show different types of series transmitters. The top one is made by a
Japanese company and was commonly available from "Spy Shops" here in the US in
the mid-1990s. Sold with a matching receiver, US law enforcement agencies documented
the sale of several thousand of these in the 1990s.
The
second photo is of a transmitter built into a plug-in phone adaptor. It was sold in
kit form for "educational purposes" I'm guessing, but I don't think the
educational purpose was for technician training. The kit comes pre-assembled and all
the badguy has to do is snap the two halves of the shell together. It's frequency is
adjustable from 80-140 MHz.
Relatively new
to the market, digital recorders present quite a concern. This one, made
in Russia, measuring 1 5/8 x 1 5/16 x 1/8 inches, can record up to 74 hours of
audio. Others can store nearly 600 hours in a slightly larger
package. Very small and powered by an internal battery, these quick plant
devices are very easy to install and the audio is superb. Typically, the
recorded audio is downloaded to a computer, where digital signal processing
programs can enhance the audio in remarkable ways.