This week we have had many incidents in the news that have all made us think about security and surveillance. Firstly we had the Russian Spying fiasco in the US, which culminated in the exchange between Russia and USA of each others captured spies. Then, more locally we have had the controversy in relation to the CCTV cameras being erected in a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham.

I think that many cannot believe that in this day and age we have Russians living undercover in the USA. OK, it is understood that these were not really high profile spies, but still, even though their threat to national security may have been low, the ’sending home’ exchange of each others spies sends a message to the other side that the vigilance of their own security services has not slipped. As regards the cameras in the Muslim community. I wonder if there would have been a big outcry if these cameras had been erected in a community with another predominantly religious group. It is my belief that it would probably not have been newsworthy.

Overall, there has always been a mainly subdued opposition to the introduction of ‘Spy Cameras’ and CCTV in the community. Whilst I do believe that we have to be careful not to erect CCTV and spy cameras for the sake of it; most are put in place after much consultation. Most of us do not concern ourselves with CCTV cameras in our streets or in shops and businesses, because we are law-abiding citizens and their presence does not hold any fear for us.

One final thought on this subject. If there had been far more CCTV cameras in place in Rothbury, then there is a distinct possibility that Police would have cornered Raoul Moat far earlier rather than the fiasco running on for nearly a week. I guess that hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Here at Spy Equipment UK we have in the past consistently been asked for a GPS tracking device that was small and discreet enough to place in a handbag or a piece of luggage in order to track the movements of the carrier of the bag. Now, we all know that ladies carry everything, but the kitchen sink in their handbags, so hiding a device in there should really be quite easy shouldn’t it? Maybe not, because in my experience, however disorganised, women still quite often have a system in their bags and even if they don’t, an unusual item discovered whilst rooting round in the bags for the mobile phone or keys would arouse suspicion.

Until now there wasn’t a device compact enough and powerful enough to insert in the lining of a handbag or suitcase without it intruding into the general bag space. However, now at Spy Equipment UK, we have just launched a new extremely compact GPS Logger that is about 38 mm square and thin enough to slip inside the lining of a bag with ease. The iTrail GPS Logger records up to 120 hours of data onto its internal memory that can be subsequently downloaded onto a PC at a later time to give a comprehensive map of movements of the tracker or in fact the item in which it was secreted. With battery-saving technology inside, this device will also lend itself the quick deply vehicle tracking and in some instances it may be possible to hide the device in an unused pocket of a coat.

Whatever you decide, this new compact and sophisticated device is sure to pave the way for a whole host a new applications, devised by those customers who have a need for gathering evidence in this way.

If you look back over the history of surveillance equipment you will see the amazing leaps forwards that we have enjoyed over the past 10 years. GSM bugs have gone from the size of the first mobile phones to no bigger than a car key fob, camera lens have gotten smaller and battery lives increased. This article is a brief look at the possible future for spy & surveillance equipment from Spy Equipment UK.

With the advent of ‘Smart Phones’, and a wider range of operating systems, the conventional Spy Phone software available on the market is no longer compatible. Spy Equipment UK, however, have been working away on this problem for some time and are weeks away from unveiling a new breed of software that will operate on almost all of the latest handsets available. This will allow Spy Equipment UK to offer software packages for use on Blackberries, iPones, Windows Mobile, Android, Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets to name a few.

What about evidence gathering? If something is going to be included in court then time and date stamping is crucial and if GPS location can also be incorporated to show where something was taking place, then the evidence whether video or audio will stand up for itself. In the future we are sure to see new cutting edge devices that automatically include time, date and GPS location stamping as a matter of course. Let’s see them wriggle out of that one!

Here at Spy Equipment UKwe have developed a vast wealth of knowledge on common surveillance techniques and as such a wide range of simple tips for countering these techniques. This article will help the D.I.Y. Detective in most counter surveillance situations they may find themselves in.

The most common form of surveillance is audio monitoring, usually in the form of GSM bugging with the GSM bugeither hidden or disguised as an every day object. When conducting a ‘bug sweep’ it is imperative that all plug sockets and light switches are removed from the wall. This allows for a physical check to see if an audio module has been attached to the mains at this point, light fittings are also possible places an audio unit may be connected to the mains. Ensure to check any high, out of sight or reach locations (including above ceiling tiles if possible) that could conceal and audio devices, Spy Equipment UK’s Snake Inspection Camera is perfect for this. Remember, however, to always back up a thorough physical check with a scan from a suitable bug hunter. Video units operate in a very similar way to audio units however must have the lens (however small) on show, the quickest way to pick these out is to use Spy Equipment UK’s Spy Camera Finder.

GPS Vehicle Trackers are also a common area of surveillance, with magnetically mounted units being the most popular due to their ease of deployment and removal. The two types of magnetically mounted vehicle trackers are Live GPS Trackersand Historic GPS Loggers. Both can be detected by a thorough search of the underside of the vehicle, as both types work best when parallel to the road surface it is best to check places where this would be possible first. Front or rear bumpers are also popular spots along with spare wheel compartments and boots. A GPS Loggercan only be detected by this method as they do not actually send an RF transmition and simply communicate with the mid-orbit satellites to obtain long & lat coordinates to log. A live GPS tracker, however, uses an onboard SIM card to communicate its long & lat data to a remote server meaning these is an RF transmission that could be detected but Spy Equipment UK’s Pro6000GSM Bug Hunter or higher.

In today’s technology fueled world it can be harder and harder to protect your personal details or personal property. With thieves having access to a range of high tech, covert means of gathering sensitive information about you or your possessions it can be important to be upto date with the means and availability of protection equipment, this is where Spy Equipment UK are here to help you.

The first stop is Spy Equipment UK’s Security Solutions, this section of the SEUK website is dedicated to bringing you the latest in home and personal security items from our range. In the area of personal data security there a re a few options such as the Personal Pocket Safe, a secure data storage unit with a near unbreakable 256bit encryption system. PC Shelter is also an excellent option as this software can help protect you against some of the most common data theft techniques around.  In addition to these there is also SEUK’s White Noise Generation CD, a simple way of disrupting audio monitoring in the general vicinity by filling the background with white noise, making voice detection near impossible. SEUK also offer a range of outdoor camera systems for protecting valuable property whilst you are not around along with an In-car camera and logger system and covert vehicle tracker for vehicle safety and security.

Spy Equipment UK also offer a range of Bug Hunting devices aimed at hunting out transmition type bugging devices, these can be found in our Bug Detection Section and Bug Hunters Sub-Section. These units can detect bugs ranging from 1MHz all the way up to 12GHz depending on the model you go for, however it is worth mentioning that only the highest quality bugging devices would operate near such a high frequency.

So as you can see, it isn’t too hard to keep one step ahead and protect that which is important to you with a little help from Spy Equipment UK.

Since the advent of e-mail, instant messengers and social networking websites it has become a lot easier for people to chat and stay in touch across any distance. These advances have been herald as a golden age in communication and rightly so, there are however, some down sides. If abused it allows for even greater covert communication or means for dangerous individuals to contact vulnerable people.

For the D.I.Y. Detective there are a whole host of means for PC Monitoring to combat a wide range of issues. For the most basic approach to PC Monitoring there are a range of physical, in-line Keyloggers for both USB and PS/2 keyboards. These units need to be connected to the end of the keyboard wire and then connected up to the back of the PC, the unit then records every key stroke entered into the keyboard. Once the unit has been retrieved it can be connected up to another PC and a report printed off.

Where something physical can’t be left in the PC, or its a Laptop, Keylogging software is also available loaded onto a discrete USB fash drive. Simply plug the flash drive into the PC or laptop, whilst logged in as an administrator, run the 60 second installation, remove the flash drive and walk away. The software then sits, hidden on the target’s PC recording every key stroke entered along with periodic screen shots. The information is then recovered by plugging the flash drive back into the targeted PC and downloading the data file for review in a different location.

Along with surveillance, there are also parental monitoring applications available with Software based PC Monitoring. This allows parents to monitor use of the the Internet, restrict Internet usage times, decipher instant messenger talk (lol = laugh out loud) and much more. The software is easy and simple to install and allows parents complete control and protection for their kids using the Internet.

So as you see, the D.I.Y. Detective has quite a few options at his/her fingertips for covert computer monitoring, internet protection and computer protection.

There has been a lot of press coverage recently about Local Councils conducting covert investigations into local residents in order to bring offences to court. Both Hull and East Riding councils have recently admitted carrying out the secret investigations over the past two years. These local authorities, however, rank low in the league table when compared with others councils.

Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), councils can carry out secret surveillance operations without anyone else knowing about it. Newcastle City Council topped the table with 231 secret
surveillance operations in the two year period. Hull City Council clocked up 85, while East Riding Council
carried out just 43.

The City Council’s secret surveillance operations covered issues ranging from the sale of alcohol to underage children to litter and fly-tipping through the use of publicly available Body-Worn & Out-Door camera systems. The council’s covert work also included taxi licensing, trading standards cases and anti-social behaviour through the use of various publicly available voice recorders and GSM listening devices.

In its reply, the East Riding Council gave a breakdown of the numbers of cases it had used RIPA powers. They included 17 cases involving antisocial behaviour, 12 benefit fraud investigations, two suspected thefts, one trading standards case involving the sale of meat products with false labelling and one private
hire vehicle being driven without a licence. By the City Council using the RIPA Act to deal with issues like this more time can be spared by the local Police Force to investigate more serious issues.

The new Tory-Lib Dem coalition Government has pledged to ban councils from using powers under the RIPA Act unless they are first signed off by a magistrate and are required for stopping serious crime.

Campaign group Big Brother Watch said many councils are misusing the powers to spy on residents over relatively trivial issues, including dog fouling and smoking in public places. Alex Deane, director of Big Brother Watch, said:

“Now the absurd and excessive use of RIPA surveillance has been revealed, these powers have to be taken away from councils.

“The coalition Government plan to force councils to get warrants before snooping on us is good, but doesn’t go far enough.

“If the offence is serious enough to merit covert surveillance, then it should be in the hands of the police.”

With the advent of smaller and smaller bugging devices, and a much higher rate of electronic crime, people all over the world are looking to private detectives and security organisations to help combat the growing trend. Many Private Detective companies will offer a counter-surveillance service where they will come to your premises and ’search for bugs’, usually done with a range of publicly available RF detectors, everyday tools and some common sense. This post aims to show how the D.I.Y. Detective can ensure his/her own integrity without relying on a service from others.

When it comes to Counter-Surveillance the first thing you to use would be an RF Detector but to use the RF Detector you first need to understand is the different types of RF bugs that are available. The most commonly available RF bugging device are the GSM Bugs that allows others to dial in remotely and listen to the surroundings of the device, this means it transmits audio via a radio frequency. Other commonly used RF bugging devices are UHF Bugs that transmit audio via radio frequency to a receving device that is usually connected to a recording device. Both of these types of RF bug come in two types, ‘live’ and ‘burst’. ‘Live’ means that the unit is transmitting when in use and ‘Burst’ means the unit will collect audio over a short period of time and transmit  the data every 20-30 minutes. This means ‘live’ RF bugs can be detected when they are in use (e.g. when being called into) and transmitting audio. ‘Burst’ bugs, however require an RF detector to be left in place for approx. 30 minutes, if a ‘burst’ bug is detected a physical check is the way forward.

Although an RF Detector is an essential peice of the D.I.Y. Detective’s arsenal you will also need something as simple as a standard took kit. The tool kit you will need for doing your physical checks of an area, this should include behind all power sockets and light fittings as these are good mains power access point. Another useful item for thr D.I.Y. Detective is a Snake Camera for checking the spots behind plug sockets and any tight space that would be good for concealing surveillance devices. The biggest past of the D.I.Y Detective’s arsenal, however, is common sense…look at an area and see how you would go about bugging the room and start from there.

99.9% of bug hunts will end without anything being found however it is always worth being as thourough as possible to protect against the 0.1%.

GSM Bugs have been around for a few years now. When they first hit the market they literally were adapted mainstream mobile phones, in a black box, with certain functionality disabled and certain software/hardware alterations to make them behave in the required manner. Obviously ‘back in the day’ this new type of bugging system was the answer to many prayers for those who needed the facility to listen into a given room or area from miles, hundreds of miles or even thousands of miles away. These days customers expect that much more from the technology that they are investing in and so demand for smaller and smarter GSM units is higher than ever.

In response to the demand Spy Equipment UK have been savvy enough to source some excellent new GSM units that are very compact in size, with excellent sound quality and functionality. The latest in our range of GSM units is the GSM Key Fob Bug. This device literally is designed like a smart metal/plastic modern looking key fob. It has GSM internals, a sensitive microphone and a sound activation control facility giving it excellent verstility. The unit is so innocuous that it can happily be attached to a bunch of keys and hung up, left on a desk or a pot for total discreet remote listening.

The GSM Key Fob Bug really has to be one of the smallest and smartest GSM listening devices on the market and with a very competitive price a device of this quality is easily within reach of the majority of potential customers. The race for ever more compact GSM listening technology is not over yet, so keep an eye on our website for future developments.

Spy Equipment UK are always looking to add new quality products to the range and certainly over the last six to twelve months there have been a number of bodyworn camera recording solutions that have come onto the market that provide simple and discreet recording solutions. Here at Spy Equipment UK we have been evaluating emerging product lines and as a result we have now launched a high quality simple and robust covert camera device called the USB Mini Recorder.

This device is made from high quality materials and manufactured to a superb standard. The unit can be clipped into a top pocket which is the ideal height to record a face to face meeting because it looks from the outside like the wearer is carrying a marker pen in the top pocket. The unit could also be clipped into the outside pocket of a bag and this means that the camera can face the recording subject, whilst the operator can be looking elsewhere. Of course placement of this device is not limited to these two scenarios because the device is small enough to be concealed in many everyday objects.

Built into the clip is a decent resolution CMOS camera system and an excellent microphone. There is a concealed Micro SD Card slot taking a maximum card size of 2GB. The USB Mini Recorder captures video/audio onto the inserted SD card, which can be played back and stored onto a computer. Of course not having to rely on a rewritable internal memory means that original evidence does not have to be deleted.

All in all, the USB Mini Recorder is very simple to use and will appeal to both the professional investigator or the amateur sleuth. Whatever your requirement, the USB Mini Recorder is competitively priced and is sure not to break the bank.