Selecting the services provided by a competent, professional and trust-worthy Technical Surveillance Counter Measures or Cyber TSCM Service Provider can be a difficult decision. But, equipped with the right information, you can be assured to identify the right candidate for your assignment.

By J.D. LeaSure, CCISM, President/CEO

How can you identify the best TSCM service provider for your needs? Below you will find a few useful questions that you always need to ask, in order to make the correct decision:

  • Ask for verifiable information on the candidates’ training & experience. If you are trying to protect highly sensitive information at all costs, then you definitely need to hire a Cyber TSCM expert with years of professional experience in this field of activity, who has already verifiably demonstrated his/her skills both on a national and global level. Always ask for proof of training & experience, training certificates and references. Counterintelligence training is a definite plus, professional TSCM training at one of the very few recognized schools or institutions, for example. This will ensure you select the most skilled candidate for your needs.
  • After completing this phase, it is crucial to find out if the service provider you have chosen is both licensed & insured. Opt for a candidate who can show you his/her valid business license, and professional liability insurance. Don’t make any kind of compromises that you might end up regretting.
  • Make sure your service provider has the best and latest eavesdropping detection equipment. A TSCM expert should own all the equipment necessary to complete your task, like a OSCOR Blue or Green Spectrum Analyzer, KESTREL TSCM Pro – Signal Intelligence Support System, ORION 2.4 GHz Non-Linear Junction Detector (NLJD), TALAN DPA-7000 Telephone and Line Analyzer, etc. Also, ask for a detailed list of the tools used in the process and analyze it thoroughly.
  • An expert TSCM or Cyber TSCM service should be able to identify exploitable pathways by conducting radio frequency spectrum analysis. And, also should be able to provide a professional evaluation of your business executive offices or facility’s security posture against electronic eavesdropping and GSM / 3G / 4G and CDMA remote cellular attacks. Make comparisons by checking out the equipment used by other reputable service providers. The main goal is to verify if the equipment used in your assignment is based on highly reliable, latest-generation technology, as is used by ComSec LLC.
  • See if your favorite candidates are members of a reputable Counterintelligence, Counterespionage organization, like The Espionage Research Institute International (ERII), The Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Institute (TSCMi) or Business Espionage Countermeasures South Africa (BECSA) for instance.
Now a serious word of caution…

Unfortunately, there are also some service providers that you will find who advertise “TSCM” or “Bug Sweeps” that have neither the training nor the proper equipment to conduct a professional TSCM Survey or Cyber TSCM inspection. They will be more than happy to offer you a “great deal” of a few hundred dollars and wave their magic antenna around for an hour or so, and leave you with nothing more than a false sense of security.

Remember, a true professional TSCM or Cyber TSCM inspection is dependent upon several factors such as the size of the area, number of offices, number of phones, computers, etc.  And the service fee will be calculated in thousands, not hundreds.  Hiring a Technical Surveillance Counter Measure or Cyber TSCM expert is not unlike retaining the services of an attorney or medical specialist.

The years of training and costs associated with maintaining professional equipment and certifications are very similar. So please, if you are only quoted a few hundred dollars for a TSCM or Bug Sweep, save your money.  And be advised a P.I. or Private Investigation license on its own, does not qualify a company or individual as a skilled TSCM / Cyber TSCM professional.

You will also find some service providers advertising there services as “former agents” of or worked for “three letter government agencies”, FBI, CIA, NSA, etc. With all due respect to these organizations, having worked for or with any of them, is no assurance of professional TSCM or Cyber TSCM training or skills. The number of agents having actually having been trained in the specialties of technical surveillance and electronic countermeasures is relatively small. Remember, do your homework and ask for their recent training certificates and references. The genuine service providers will be happy to share them with you.

Caveat emptor!

Some “TSCM Specialists” service providers even have TSCM Super Powers! They claim to have found TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BUGS AND WIRETAPS!  And, claimed to have been trained by so many different government agencies we can’t even remember them all! Ask the potential service provider if TSCM is their full time business? or, are they also selling spying and bugging devices?

So, please do your homework! You might want to ask yourself how comfortable you are with inviting all these government agencies into your corporation, private residence, yacht, etc.?  Do yourself and your organization a favor, hire a professional Cyber TSCM service provider.

This information should assist you in identifying and hiring the right Technical Surveillance Counter Measures, Cyber TSCM Service Provider.

Ready to learn more? Contact ComSec LLC. Today for more details on ways of battling corporate espionage. Or, Call: +1-800-615-0392 today. We can help. ~JDL

*Cyber TSCM ™ is a trade mark of ComSec LLC
© 2015 ComSec LLC