Bug Sweep London : What is Electronic Surveillance?

In spying and counterintelligence, electronic surveillance is the act of monitoring of behavior, activities for the use of influencing, managing, directing, or protecting people. This can include watching from a safe distance by means of electronic device (such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras) or interception of electronically transmitted information (such as Internet traffic or phone calls). Today, electronic surveillance can also refer to watching/monitoring of people via computer or mobile phone. For example, computer surveillance can include e-mail interception, internet surveillance, and remote PC surveillance.

Electronic Surveillance has its merits & demerits; if you want to keep your home safe, electronic surveillance can monitor what is happening in your home or around even while you are away. The same applies to a space of work. A combination of video and audio surveillance gives you most complete picture of what is happening around or at a specific place and time. It is a way to oversee behavior, activity, and information for the purpose of protecting, managing, or influencing a certain location. In the same manner you could be monitored without your knowledge at home or office by placing hidden cameras, audio & video capturing device. Your confidential data could get compromised at office with electronic surveillance monitoring as well. Instances of electronic surveillance include: wiretapping, bugging, recording; geo-location following, for example, by means of RFID, GPS, or cell-tracing information; data mining, social networking mapping, and the checking of information and traffic on the Internet.


Is electronic surveillance legal?

The utilization of electronic surveillance by the United Kingdom developed from the advancement of signal knowledge and spearheading code breaking amid World War II. In the post-war period, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) was shaped and took an interest in projects, for example, the Five Eyes joint effort of English-talking countries.

Surveillance of electronic communications in the United Kingdom is constrained by laws made in the UK Parliament. Specifically, access to the substance of private messages (that is, block attempt of a correspondence, for example, an email or phone call) must be approved by a warrant marked by a Secretary of State. Moreover European Union information protection law applies in UK law. The law accommodates administration and defends over the utilization of electronic surveillance.

Further oversight including a prerequisite for judges to audit warrants approved by a Secretary of State, just as new surveillance powers, were presented by the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. The lawful system in the United Kingdom for lawful interception and storage of communications information and, when a warrant exists, the substance of electronic communications depends on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and a few different bits of enactment.

Below in this video Mias TSCM Bug Sweeping team are using TSCM equipments in order to find out the Electronic Surveillance devices. In this video Mias TSCM are showing the new team member the ins and outs of the equipment that have already swept the room prior. This video being taken as apart of the training with our new team member; we stress the office had been swept beforehand.


Contact us for more information on TSCM Bug Sweep


One thought on “Bug Sweep London : What is Electronic Surveillance?

  1. Pingback: What is Bug Sweeping/TSCM? - Mias TSCM

Leave a Reply
