This week we are discussing TSCM, an important tool in protecting intellectual property. In today’s business environment, intellectual property is often the most valuable asset a company has, making it a prime target for surveillance and theft. TSCM—short for technical surveillance countermeasures—is a government term referring to methods used to safeguard against such threats, especially those that could compromise intellectual property, privacy, or sensitive communications.
According to Art Lesser, who has 25 years in the security industry and is the President of Merit Security: “TSCM entails things like de-bugging, sweeps, and looking for devices that could be eavesdropping.” TSCM investigators conduct technical audits to find hidden audio or video devices that may be surveilling you or your company. These sweeps are designed to ensure that intellectual property, trade secrets, and confidential information remain secure.
With the rise of corporate espionage and increasing cyber-physical threats, protecting intellectual property has become more urgent than ever. TSCM helps companies defend against unauthorized surveillance and data leaks that could result in the loss or theft of intellectual property. Without these countermeasures, organizations risk exposing their most critical innovations and ideas.
This is a concern in not only office buildings, where cell phones could very easily be leaking information unknowingly, devices could be planted….but also from someone’s home if that’s their new office. Working from home has increased the need to protect privacy and confidentiality because there isn’t that same level of security as the corporate environment. There are random people, cleaning and contracting, coming in and out of the house. That presents opportunities for listening devices to be easily placed throughout the home.
Lesser says there are so many things companies need to be thinking about. For example, telephone wiring could be running throughout the house that could be easily compromised. A reminder to also not forget about telephone boxes mounted outside the house. Those need to be frequently checked, as well as any other type of boxes outside.
As technology progresses, so does the opportunity for hackers to invade. With new 5G technology, there is a larger spectrum which means much higher frequencies for monitoring. There is an exponentially larger space to keep track of essentially, and with that, new and much higher costs of equipment to meet that challenge. Art gives this food for thought, if your company is trying to decide whether to outsource this kind of job. “You have not only the cost of equipment itself, which quickly becomes outdated, but you also have the costs of training someone to use it.”
Lesser gives more specific details on exactly what kind of devices his team looks for in the video link. Be sure to continue to check out our weekly video series on our website!
