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Q.
Recently I sometimes hear clicks and static and other weird noises
on my phone line. Is this an indication the line is tapped?
A. No.
Unless you hear the single click at the exact time the tap is being
placed, the presence of a tap does not generate anything which will
cause noises on the line. Our national telephone network is
less than perfect and static, clicks and similar noises are not
unusual. Often these noises were always present, but were
overlooked until an event occurred which caused an increased
awareness.
Q. What is the difference
between a tap and a bug?
A. A
tap is a telephone line tap. A bug is a transmitter, although
in some cases, telephone lines may be used to transmit the audio.
Q. How frequently do you
find bugs or taps during debugging operations?
A. Very
infrequently. The loss of business secrets is generally
accomplished in other ways. In Michigan, and the surrounding
states, illegal activities like this are extremely rare, while in
other parts of the country they occur with more frequency. In
many cases where we find that no electronic eavesdropping problem
exists, we are able to determine that information is being leaked in
other ways. "Dumpster diving," for instance, is
perfectly legal throughout the U. S. and in many countries (with the
notable exception of Great Britain), and exposure can often be
eliminated by employing shredders and improving access control.
Q. What is the most common
reason you are called for electronic countermeasures quotes.?
A. The
most frequent calls we get concerning this service are from the
prospects we reject. These are disturbed folks who believe,
for instance, that during a recent dental procedure, a government
tracing device was implanted in their tooth, people concerned about
their insider's knowledge of imminent alien invasions, and others
with obvious emotional or mental problems. Sadly, many of
these people tell us they have already spent thousands on this type
of service with unethical technicians of low integrity. When
those previous tests proved negative, these disturbed people
rationalized that the technicians had been bought off by the
government spooks, aliens or the other enemies whom (we hope) exist
only in their minds.
Q. Excluding mentally
unbalanced prospects, do you usually accept assignments from most
other people requesting this service.
A. We
probably conduct these services for about one out of three people
who call to inquire about this service. This is because we try
to determine the circumstances, the reasons for concern and all the
facts before commencing such an operation. Admittedly, a few
prospects are put off by the cost of the service. However,
more often, in evaluating the circumstances we are able to provide
other explanations for the concerns, or determine that the caller
might be better off taking a different more economical course of
action. For example, in one case a caller was concerned
because a $100 mail order "home tap detector" device she
bought, indicated a problem. This device, which was little
more than a child's toy, was really only capable of showing when an
extension was lifted. Furthermore, hers was defective, always
showing red when it should have showed green. In other cases,
prospects agree with our rational that electronic sweeps would be of
little value when the suspected eavesdropper will have continuing
access to the area of concern. In other words, we talk
ourselves out of a fair amount of work. Surprisingly, many
businesspeople sound embarrassed when calling and start out by
saying they don't want us
to think they are
paranoid, but while they don't expect to find a problem, they want
to be sure--for their peace of mind.
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