Reports from multiple news services reveal that a bugging device with both video and audio was found installed in a Coat of Arms plaque in the office of the Ghana Lands and Natural Resources Minister.
A previous occupant of the office, Inusah Fuseini, claimed to have installed the bugging device over two years ago for his own security, but for the past two years the office was occupied by Nii Osah Mills who was unaware of the bug’s existence and expressed shock at the discovery. A new minister who took office in January, John Peter Amewu, was apparently the one who had the TSCM sweep performed by National Security personel.
Such devices are easily obtained (see below). Regular TSCM inspections are necessary to discover such security breaches. It should be considered part of general and cyber security policy to have regular sweeps performed. The office occupants now have to wonder what information may have been compromised during the past two years of the bugs’ presence.
From Ghanaweb news:
Former Lands and Natural Resources Minister in the Mahama administration, Nii Osah Mills has expressed shock that an audio-visual recording device was hidden in his office by predecessor Inusah Fuseini for over two years without being told…
Nii Osah Mills was the last minister for that portfolio in the Mahama administration before the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government came into power in January 2017.
The bug was detected by National Security personnel during a regular security sweep.
The audiovisual recording device in the office of the Lands and Natural Resources Minister could have been planted there by persons against his fight against illegal mining (galamsey), security expert Dr. Kwesi Aning has suggested.
From Ghana news site MyJoyOnline.com:
Lands and Natural Resources Minister, John Peter Amewu, says it would have been proper if Mr. Inusah Fuseini had confessed to the security agencies about his ownership of the bugging device instead of going public with the information.
“I would have preferred maybe if he had remained quiet and just inform the security that he is the one behind it and they can handle it at that level,” Mr. Amewu told Starr FM.
“I am not in a position to say whether it’s working,” he adds.
Security agencies on Monday found the audio-visual recorder in a huge Coat of Arms plaque hanging in the Minister’s office.
The espionage set up included a camera, a storage unit and another device suspected to be a transmitter. It is believed to be able to pick whisper 35-feet away.
Bugging device found in Ghana office of the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.
The photo of the device that was found shows what appears to be a battery pack (blue), a camera module in the upper left, a transmitter/processor module in the center with an antenna above it, and a microphone in the lower right.
Claims were made by the original installer that the unit was not working, therefore “there was no need to investigate”. It is likely that the battery just ran down.
Similar AV transmitter circuits available online.
Similar components are readily available online through spy shops and hobbyist sites as shown in the image above. They are often sold for use in remote controlled aircraft and drones. Some such devices use regular analog transmission while many of them use WiFi, allowing them to be monitored at greater distances over the internet. A professional TSCM sweep should always include cyber inspections particularly of WiFi signals to help recognize such devices.
Two important reasons for scheduling a sweep can be noted here. One is that the minister had recently moved into an office that was previously occupied by another politician- an appropriate time to have a sweep performed. Secondly he was actively involved with very specific communications due to his fighting against illegal mining.
If you are involved in any high level, confidential discussions or negotiations, you need to assume that your offices are a target. Your adversaries will want to know all of your communications. Also, anytime you move into a new office or even a new home, a review of who the previous occupants were may prompt the need for a sweep to insure that no spy devices were left behind.
Read more:
[myjoyonline.com 7/12/2017]
[Ghanaweb 7/10/2017]
[Ghanaweb 7/11/2017]