Keeping conversations private and information confidential requires more than electronic inspections and fortified firewalls. When conducting TSCM sweeps we regularly find vulnerabilities that allow sound to escape from meeting rooms and offices. It may be through an air duct, heating vent, or other unexpected physical attribute. Canadian officials have spent millions plugging leaks in Ottawa's renovated West Block, a heritage building that will become a temporary home for the House of Commons later this year. But no plumbers were hired for the job. Instead, acoustical experts were called in to prevent eavesdropping in the halls by pesky journalists and others eager for hot information leaks.

Magician Derek DelGaudio does a special type of show with strict policies against any type of recording in the theater, but someone in the audience was trying to steal his secrets.

Bugging device with recorder and microphone was discovered in the union staff lounge at LG Chem, South Korea's leading chemical firm. The company was in the process of negotiating salaries at the time of the discovery.

Employee guilty of eavesdropping? We are always warning our clients about this. Establish clear privacy policies, let everyone know, then check your work. With the proliferation of devices being sold, the temptation to eavesdrop is soaring (everybody wants to be a spy).

Regular proactive sweeps should be scheduled for all sensitive locations, and be wary of any suspicious activity in the workplace.

Here are accounts of two recent incidents of employee eavesdropping.

Henrietta, NY:

A Town of Henrietta employee has been accused of recording coworkers’ conversations.

Marlene Youngman, 57, of Henrietta was charged on May 3 with eavesdropping, a felony, and possession of an eavesdropping device, a misdemeanor, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Employees told Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies that when Youngman’s bag was jostled at work one day, a recording device tumbled out, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. John Helfer. The device was reportedly actively recording at the time, he said. […]

Alpha Group Investigations recently posted: Thanks to Hollywood and TV Dramas like CSI, the average citizen might imagine a private investigator has the right to legally bug and wiretap anyone’s office or home. However, that is an incorrect and morally wrong picture of a reputable investigator. The laws in each State and Country, for what accounts for legitimate electronic surveillance, vary greatly. A good Private Investigator has a responsibility to both to protect his or her client from illegal electronic countermeasures and to abide by the privacy laws of the region.