Electronic surveillance and the need to protect information are undisputed facts in business and government. The fear that the security threat evokes among executives is easily exploited by counter measure products and "experts" that claim the ability to detect all taps on phones and bugs in offices.
The fact is, surveillance is extremely difficult to detect. If such an attack is suspected, or is going to be avoided, the security executive must know what steps to take and what equipment options are available and practical for him.
The initial steps a director must take in confronting a surveillance problem and protecting information begin with some fundamental concepts of security. For example, physical security of the facility, surveys of vulnerability, and the savvy to know when expert advice or counter measure equipment are needed are all paramount tactics in protecting information.
If a director suspects a surveillance threat, experts advise that a vulnerability assessment be undertaken. The director must assess who or what is the potential target of attack, how valuable that target is, who is most likely to need that information and what resources they have to launch an attack.
"When someone asks for my help," said James A. Ross, counter measures consultant, "the first question I ask is, What information do you have; what is so sensitive that some opposing force is going to the extreme risk of breaking into your communications?"
Once it is determined that a definite surveillance problem exists, or that information is so sensitive a problem is imminent, the director should know how to either impede and prevent an attack or how to detect it. He must also have the shrewdness to know when to call in an expert.
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