Reasons You Need a Bug Sweep After A Breakup
Breakups are challenging. Ending an intimate personal relationship can drain you emotionally, physically and financially. And, before cellphones, smart appliances, home Wi-Fi and other modern connected devices came along, separating lives after a breakup was a whole lot easier. Now, the connected relationship becomes a complicated privacy issue after a breakup. And, a professional bug sweep becomes an urgent necessity to protect privacy and assets.
Sharing a home, mobile phone accounts, bank accounts, vehicles, utilities, and other services makes common sense when the relationship is going well. But, when one or both people in the relationship decide it is time to move on, sharing can become a liability. Unfortunately, if only one person is choosing to leave the relationship, this person may begin collecting information on the other person long before the decision to split is made official. And, the person who is left behind may have no idea that they are being collected against. Maybe the goal is to prove infidelity or that the partner should not have custody of the children? Perhaps there is a significant sum of money at stake due to a prenuptial agreement or accumulated assets? Maybe there is damaging information that may come out in a lawsuit, or loss of a job is at stake?
The consequences of being collected against by an ex, or soon to be ex, can be devastating. Your privacy can be invaded, reputation damaged, finances devastated, custody of a child/children taken away . . among other issues. And, the more assets you had going into the relationship or accumulated during the relationship, the more you have to lose when a relationship ends.
Privacy Issues to Consider After a Breakup
If you are in the process of a breakup, or your relationship has recently ended, consider the following:
Home
Surreptitious audio and/or video bugging devices can collect a significant amount of valuable or private information. In particular, Cyber TSCM bugging devices (that use a network to send information to the electronic eavesdropper) give the advantage to the eavesdropper. Why? The ex can get the information without taking the risk of coming into the home to recover the eavesdropping device and the collected information. Just because the soon to be ex no longer has physical access to the home, doesn’t mean they don’t have electronic access. A professional bug sweep will detect these electronic eavesdropping devices and help restore your privacy.
Cellphone
If you are like most people, your cellphone is usually no more than six feet away at any given time. That makes it the perfect bugging device. Spyware/malware on your cellphone provides access to text messages, emails, log in credentials, GPS coordinates, social media, camera and/or microphone access, and so on. Unfortunately, this access may include privileged correspondence with your attorney, access to new banking information, and other personal information. What could your ex do with this information?
Computers, Laptops, Tablets
Your computer, laptop and/or tablet likely holds a significant amount of stored old and more recent information. You may not regularly delete information, or may not protect the device with a password, 2FA, etc. Some of the information stored on the devices may be sensitive or private. The question is — if your ex had access to this information how much damage could he/she do with it?
Vehicle
It’s quite easy to put a GPS tracker on a vehicle. And, it’s also fairly easy to place an electronic eavesdropping device in or on a vehicle. Some GPS trackers also have video and/or audio recording capability. Vehicles are often targeted in a relationship breakup because of the information that can be collected from the vehicle. Information about locations visited, current location, private conversations, clandestine meet ups, addresses of new associates, and more can be captured. Do you really want your ex to know where you are going, where you have been, where you currently are or to have access to private conversation you have in your vehicle?
Wi-fi
Let’s just say that if your Wi-fi is compromised, then the devices connected to it can be compromised too. In some households, that can mean a lot of compromised devices and a lot of access to private information. And, if your ex provides devices to you or your children and those devices are connected to your wi-fi, this adds even more risk of access.
Smart Home & Smart Devices
If you and your ex had a smart home or random smart devices in your home, your ex could still have access to those devices and/or the stored device information. What’s the concern after the relationship has ended? Smart devices like Google Home and Alexa are always listening. And, smart devices often have associated apps that send information to connected accounts or devices. And, even if you just have a smart thermostat or a smart refrigerator, the ex may have still have the ability to control the devices.
Surreptitious Networks, Access Points & Devices
If your ex wants to be stealthy about collecting your information, he or she may set up their own router/wi-fi network or other access point in your home or other location within wi-fi range of your home. Why? Because if you don’t have the professional equipment to detect this type of exploit, the ex will likely get away with the collection for a long time. If you check you own network, then their network(s), access point(s) and device(s) won’t show up, but will still be invading your privacy.
Why You Need a Professional Bug Sweep After a Breakup
If you are going through a breakup, or your relationship has recently terminated, and you have not yet had a bug sweep, you need a professional bug sweep now. There is a high likelihood that your ex, or soon to be ex, is collecting against you intentionally. Another possibility is that you have unintentionally provided on going access due to sharing issues on networks, apps and/or devices. Restoration of privacy is important after a breakup. It’s also important to protect your home, assets, child, etc. from a spying ex. Be sure that the bug sweep company you hire is checking: your Wi-fi security, for surreptitious networks/access points, cyber TSCM devices and spyware programs on your cellphones, computers, etc. It’s imperative that you get a full scope bug sweep quickly when a relationship terminates. Your forward going privacy depends on it.
About the Author:
J.D. LeaSure, CCISM, is the President / CEO of ComSec LLC, a global provider of world class counterespionage and TSCM / Cyber TSCM™ services. www.ComSecLLc.com