As rumours of “malign actors’ compromising British military payroll gather pace, one ex-army reconnaissance soldier, experienced in covert surveillance intelligence gathering, is advising UK firms to be on their guard at the risk of threats from both inside and outside their organisations.
Jack Charman’s time in the army has given him a wealth of experience and knowledge, which has equipped him to gather an outstanding team for National Private Investigators, the company he founded in March 2016.
His firm is used by private individuals seeking the truth and increasingly by large organisations requiring military-grade security and peace of mind from the threat of espionage, fraud and theft.
‘Private Investigators are often known for their work in tracking down information to confirm suspicions of infidelity or disputed fiscal matters. However, there’s no doubt that corporate espionage is on the rise,’ says Jack, whose military career also featured a spell in the elite Grenadier Guards that protect the royal household.
‘That’s why we have assembled a highly skilled team of more than 40 world-class surveillance operatives across the UK to focus on specific detection techniques such as Technical Surveillance Counter Measures (TSCMs) – think bug sweeping and covert recording.
‘What we’re seeing in the media is a lot of rumours and finger pointing but I’ve just completed a large 3 day sweep for a major firm in London which has had a data breach.
‘All their CCTV systems are HikVision (Chinese made). In fact, right now one of our main pieces of advice is to change systems because of the threat of governmental eavesdropping.
‘Indeed, the British and US government have already banned use of these systems, even at the lowest security risk and the UK now has a security standard BS EN62676 to which HikVision does not conform.’
In the meantime, firms seeking to improve their defences from espionage are advised to note the following tips from Jack:
Conduct breached data checks on key members of the business then work down. Breached data is low hanging fruit and easily accessible data for hackers.
Keep tabs on waste disposal and keep shredders up to date. More often than not, it’s not the sophisticated frequency hopping listening device which has been planted, but the outdated shredder in the directors office and the paper waste being left out on the street at the end of the day ready to be picked up by the threat actor. Simple things like this can lead to large data breaches.
Install a clear desk policy. The threat from keystroke loggers and injection payload devices such as OMG cables. OMG cables look just like your average Apple charging cable but when plugged into your computer allows hackers to remotely access your computer and infiltrate your network.
Restrict access and chaperone any contractors who have access to meeting rooms and highly sensitive areas.
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