Our blog posts have been a bit scarce recently due to a fairly busy schedule. One weekend was well spent attending the 2016 conference of Espionage Research Institute International (ERII), held in yearly in the Washington, DC area.
ERII is made up of a number TSCM and other security professionals who are interested developing their craft and learning more about the threat of espionage, counterintelligence, and countermeasures against eavesdropping and other spy tactics. More information on the organization can be found at www.erii.org. J.D. Leasure and his wife Lisa did an excellent job of putting the program together.
This year’s conference included a number of valuable presentations.
An update on cellular surveillance was given by Jason Dibley, director of QCC Global, UK.
John Minor, fiber optic expert, presented a good look into threats facing fiber networks.
Retiring TSCM-er Tim Johnson gave an overview of his 45 years in the Intelligence and TSCM business and the changes and advancements in technology he has seen. He presented a display of a number of vintage items he had collected over the years, from a shoe transmitter, to Mason RF receivers, to simple Radio Shack devices.
Another good talk and discussion was presented by Aaron Williams on “Ethics in TSCM: Doing More than What You’re Paid For”. Something professional TSCM providers often have to consider. Ivy Thomas gave a report on the recent DefCon conference in Las Vegas.
Product demonstrations included presentations by Research Electronics International, Berkely Varitronics, Kestrel software by PTDG, and portable cell blocking cases (faraday cases) by Vector Technologies.
Lee Jones from Research Electronic International
PDTG Kestrel SDR Software
Berkley Varitronics
Vector Technologies
The second day was split into two tracks, one for those more interested in TSCM technology, with talks including “TSCM Examination of Infrared and Visible Light”, “Basics of Reading and Interpreting and OTDR Trace”, “Supply Chain Security” – a case study of malware infected devices, and “Wireless Cameras Not Detectible by RF or Thermal”.
The second track focused on counterintelligence with presentations on “Understanding ISIS: Where They Came From and Why They are Different” and “Cybersecurity Case Studies: Threat from Social Media” by David Major of the CI Centre, and “Deploying Cyber Counterintelligence Stratagies” by Jarrett Koltoff of SpearTip.
These are just some of the talks, presentations, and demonstrations that were given. The presenters all did an excellent job and everyone came away with a deeper understanding of both technical issues and larger espionage threats that we face today.
Anyone interested in keeping up on electronic countermeasures technology would benefit from attending future conferences. Find out more about ERII at www.erii.org.