Audiotel, a leading manufacturer of technical surveillance countermeasures equipment estimates that there are 200,000 listening devices (bugs) sold in the UK each year. Corresponding figures exist for the US, where some sources put the annual number of devices sold at 1 million!
Protecting against technical eavesdropping devices requires a complex strategy of procedures, physical searches and technical measures, as outlined in the Information and IT Security Module of Security Management Stage 1 (4-15 August 2008). Some organisations are so concerned about on-site eavesdropping vulnerabilities that they take to holding sensitive meetings off site – a risk strategy according to some experts.
Others have invested in the creation of a SCIF – a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. This is a shielded, protected room which works on the principle of a Faraday Cage. The construction and shielding of the room prevents RF signals from leaking. But the capital investment in such a facility is likely to be about $200,000.
Another option to reduce overall electronic emissions, both those emanating from malicious eavesdropping devices and stray wi-fi signals, is to fit a product such as LLumar® Signal Defense SD1000 or SD1010 Security Film on windows and glass portions of the building. But experts warn that this is not a complete solution in itself, as LLumar would have you believe. Such a measure only works if deployed as part of a larger architectural shielding effort.
