Using an EMF meter to detect a bug?

[poltergeisty]

Two part question without creating another thread.

Is it viable to use an EMF meter to tack down a bug (listening device, camera, etc) at all? I know they sell some pretty expensive EMF meters so I can only imagine that if you were to run around a wall you could perhaps pick something up. But then again, yo0u'd have to contend with mains power as well.

I have to wonder if the USSS uses EMF meters?

I have this one. It apparently measures E field and H field.

Second question. I have one of those Seek thermal imagers for my smartphone. Would something like the fire department uses help in seeing if something is in fact behind the wall.I know I can see rafters and what not with mine, and it's only very basic.

 

[prcguy]

From the specs on your meter it might be able to locate a small transmitter under the right circumstances. I've been hired to sweep for RF bugs and can tell you it would be very frustrating to rely on just a meter like that. It's rated from 1 to 1999V/m and many if not most small bug transmitters don't put out enough energy to reach 1V/m intensity.

To be more effective you would use a spectrum analyzer with a number of antennas to cover the frequency range in question. You would also want a demodulator built into the spectrum analyzer or have a wide band receiver to accompany it.

When discussing the possibility of a bug on your premises, you have to ask why someone would want to bug you, if they have access to your areas to install one covertly and how it would be powered? In the few cases I helped someone with this there were reasons somebody wanted to spy on them (competitors and the Govt) but it was highly unlikely anyone could have entered their premises to plant something or power it. Still, we plodded on identifying each and every RF signal from DC to several GHz within their area until they were satisfied.

On the Govt side, phone taps will be off premises, impossible to detect and you will probably not be finding any RF bugs or cameras like on TV shows. If the Govt needs they can even tap fiber optic lines. At the very high end of Govt listening and probably only outside the US you might find LASER window vibration listeners or mm wave pulsed transmitter/gated receiver stuff that can listen into specific rooms. In this case something that could detect microwave energy in the 30 to 100+ GHz range might let you know if someone is probing your area.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

While I am sure that a bug sweep from a TSCM outfit might be reassuring to a corporate compliance officer, I really doubt their effectiveness. There are so many technologies and methods to eavesdrop and tap lines that even all the sophisticated devices in the world are going to miss some. A non-linear junction detector might be the most effective tool in finding hidden electronics (unless well shielded and fed by fiber optics).

Building a sound proof SCIF on stilts nested inside a large warehouse or otherwise apart from the main office can provide a structure that can be managed by visual inspection. Otherwise the complexities of a modern office offer too many pathways and hiding places.

If a meeting is sensitive, arrange to hold it at some random location announced only minutes ahead. Be aware of surroundings, ban electronic devices. Notes if required should be taken by one trusted employee, encrypted and saved on a computer that is air-gapped and locked in a safe.

But then, you have those damn employees, and employees love to talk shop. They love to meet for dinner at that Chinese joint down the block and talk about production quotas, new designs, gossip about the boss and clients. Look over there, did that guy really just stick a wad of gum under the table?

 

[poltergeisty]

It's rated from 1 to 1999V/m and many if not most small bug transmitters don't put out enough energy to reach 1V/m intensity.

Okay, thanks.

 

[gordonbrittas]

If you have neighbouring property with a connecting wall or attic that is usually the access point.

I won't go through all the different scenarios and methods.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

If you have neighbouring property with a connecting wall or attic that is usually the access point.

I won't go through all the different scenarios and methods.

The challenge in the old days was physical access and whether to bug a table lamp or Western Electric phone. Now the choices are many and they all are plugged in and have room for cameras.

Some perv here in FloriDuh bought some fancy CD jukeboxes and fitted them with cameras and 900 MHz transmitters. He packed them up like Christmas Gifts from "Grandpa" and dropped them off on the front porches of some "pretty girls". He will be doing a lot of time with "Bubba" instead of "Barbie" but you gotta give him credit for creativity. He must have some intelligence background.

So along those lines, who at a regional office would be suspicious if corporate headquarters shipped in a new FAX machine or Copier? What about the new employee who gifts a new coffeemaker?

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

(snip)

When discussing the possibility of a bug on your premises, you have to ask why someone would want to bug you,(snip)

For the average person that question is no longer important. With all the bugged apps and corporate grab of personal information. The answer is simple "Monetization".

The effect is the same. It may not be corporate espionage but the return is as good or bigger. Where does that information go? It is warehoused and sold to anyone who has money to spend.

One customer is insurance companies. They want to know if you search Google for disease. This is true and I have proof, - personally. I have genetic Hemochromatosis. A disease nobody has heard of, there are no fund drives, no blood drives (though I donate plenty). So imagine my great surprise when applying for private health insurance (self employed, pre ObamaCare) when two different on line applications at two different insurance companies yield the same two disqualifying questions:

1) Are you a smoker? y/n
and
2) Do you have Hemochromatosis? y/n

You cannot argue coincidence. It is a subsidiary of IBM that was involved in this.

The other customer is political parties. This is painfully obvious. I would hate to be Joe Blow running for a political position and having someone find a picture taken years before at a Halloween Party when dressed in Drag with some dark suntan oil on my face. Oh,. snap... That actually happened here in FloriDuh a week ago.

 

[prcguy]

Your escapades on the Internet is considered public and can be sold to anyone. Planting a bug in your home or on your phone line without a warrant is a crime and I can't imagine any corporate entity engaging in that.

For the average person that question is no longer important. With all the bugged apps and corporate grab of personal information. The answer is simple "Monetization".

The effect is the same. It may not be corporate espionage but the return is as good or bigger. Where does that information go? It is warehoused and sold to anyone who has money to spend.

One customer is insurance companies. They want to know if you search Google for disease. This is true and I have proof, - personally. I have genetic Hemochromatosis. A disease nobody has heard of, there are no fund drives, no blood drives (though I donate plenty). So imagine my great surprise when applying for private health insurance (self employed, pre ObamaCare) when two different on line applications at two different insurance companies yield the same two disqualifying questions:

1) Are you a smoker? y/n
and
2) Do you have Hemochromatosis? y/n

You cannot argue coincidence. It is a subsidiary of IBM that was involved in this.

The other customer is political parties. This is painfully obvious. I would hate to be Joe Blow running for a political position and having someone find a picture taken years before at a Halloween Party when dressed in Drag with some dark suntan oil on my face. Oh,. snap... That actually happened here in FloriDuh a week ago.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Your escapades on the Internet is considered public and can be sold to anyone. Planting a bug in your home or on your phone line without a warrant is a crime and I can't imagine any corporate entity engaging in that.

My private search for a medical condition is considered "Public"? I would think it would be protected by HIPPA. Maybe not, but the concept that your internet searches are being tapped and catelogued to match your ID is very Orwellian. I think society has sunk to a new low if that is acceptable behavior. And if a corporate entity physically wiretapped for the exact same purpose and information, they would likely be charged.