Background
Founded in 1987 and located near Boston, Massachusettss, Granite Island Group, is THE internationally recognized leader in the field of Technical Surveillance Counter Measures (TSCM), Bug Sweeps, Wiretap Detection, Surveillance Technology, Communications Security (COMSEC), Counter-Intelligence, Technical Security, and Spy Hunting.
Mission Statement
Granite Island Group provides expert technical, analytical and research capability for the detection, nullification, and isolation of eavesdropping devices, technical surveillance penetrations, technical surveillance hazards, and physical security weaknesses... Simply put, we hunt spies, stop espionage, and plug leaks.
Granite Island Group was initially formed to provide TSCM and SIGINT training services to the Army Intelligence School located at Fort Devens, MA. Engineering, design, and related services were also provided to various research facilities and defense contractors throughout New England. These services also included product design, fully instrumented TSCM surveys, bug sweeps, wiretap detection, SCIF compliance inspections, shielding evaluations, and other engineering services related to the technical security and protection of classified information.
Design projects included the development of several briefcase and man-pack systems used for signals exploitation and surveillance, along with suites of software products used to control test instruments for automated ECM, SIGINT, Signals Analysis, TEMPEST, TSCM and related measurements.
In 1989 the services offered were expanded to include the design, installation, and maintenance of high performance computer networks used in secure facilities. This included performing TSCM, wiretap detection, and bug sweep services on desktop computers, data networks, and PBX/ESS systems to identify weaknesses which could allow technical penetrations or the compromise of classified or sensitive information. At the time there was only one company in the entire country who could do this... and we were it.
Granite Island Group currently provides TSCM, bug sweeps, wiretap detection, and communications engineering services to a wide range of clients and has become one of the most respected names in the industry.
Granite Island Group has had an Internet presence since 1987, and James Atkinson has been active on the Internet since the mid 1970's. With the growth on the Internet in the early 1990's came an FTP/UUCP library, then an IRC reflector, and a dedicated E-Mail based list for discussion and to publish and exchange files related to TSCM and ongoing projects. With the advent of "Mosaic browsers" several years later the informational files and documents were converted to HTTP (or Hypertext Documents) and placed on a dedicated domain in 1994 (
www.tscm.com)
The web site developed to over 1,950 publicly assessable documents related to TSCM, technical counter-intelligence and technical security which involves well over 78,200 printed pages. The site currently handles an average of over 4,500 visitors a day from all over the world. It is the first, the largest, and most complete site anywhere on the Internet dedicated to TSCM, Technical Counter-Intelligence, and Technical Security.
* Warning Signs That You Have Been Bugged
* What Is Bug Sweeps and Bug Detection All About?
* Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ
* What To Do If You Think You Have Been Bugged
* How To Commission Someone To Check For Bugs
* Types of Bugs and Wiretaps
* Wiretapping 101 ("Outside Plant" Devices)
* Phone Set Bugging and Modification Techniques
* Surveillance Threat Levels
* What Does a Bug Sweep Involve?
* What Does a Bug Sweep Cost?
Specialized Photographic Services
* Fine Arts Photography
* Professional Executive Portraits
* Location Photography of Work Sites or Construction Sites
* Photography or Video of Scientific Experiments or Expiditions
* Medical Photography
* Microscope Based Photography
* Legal Exhibit Photography
* Production of Court-Room Photographic Exhibits in Large Scale Formats
* Photography of Injuries and Wounds of Injured Persons
* Technical Examination of Photographs to Detect Manipulation or Forgery
* Intelligence Analysis and Interpretation of Aerial Photography
Specialized Ancillary Legal Services
Expert Review, Deconstruction, and Intelligence Analysis of:
* Forensics, Criminalistics, Crime Scene Logs or Reports
* Court Records and Case Transcripts
* Physical Evidence (where are the holes in the case)
* Medical Evidence and Records
* Electronic Records or Computer Related Evidence
Specialized Courtroom Services
* Jury Selection, and Jury or Witness Behavioral Analysis Consultant
* Contemporaneous Intelligence Analysis (provided at hearings and during trial)
* Technical Advisor, Tutoring, and Technology Coaching for Attorneys
Specialized Computer, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Forensics Services
* Computer Forensics and Expert Testimony
* Recovery of Erased or Damaged Computer Files
* Recovery of Erased or Damaged Digital Photography and Video
* iPhone, iPod, and iPad Non-Tainting Duplications (Perfect Bit-by-Bit Direct from Memory Copies)
* iPhone, iPod, and iPad Forensic Analysis
* Assistance in Crafting and Properly Issuing "Preservation Letters for Telephone, Data, ISPs Records"
* Assistance in Crafting and Properly Issuing "Subpoenas for Telephone, Data, ISPs Records"
* Converting Raw Data Obtained from Telephone, Data, and ISPs into Readable Reports
* Computer Source Code Analysis and Deconstruction
Expert Testimony and Forensics "De-Bunking" Services Regarding:
* Methods Used To Manipulate or Fabricate Electronic Evidence
* Methods Used To Manipulate or Fabricate "Forensics and Criminalistics"
* Methods Used To Manipulate or Fabricate "Fake Crime Scenes"
* Methods Used To Manipulate or Fabricate "Fake Evidence"
* Methods Used To Manipulate or Fabricate Photographs
* Methods Used To Illicit False Confessions and False Testimony
Specialized Legal Profession Bug Detection Services
* Bug Sweeps of Judges Chambers and/or Homes
* Bug Sweeps of Jury Rooms, Juror Hotel Rooms, and other placed used by Jurors
* Bug Sweeps of Attorney-Client Booths and Meeting Rooms
* Bug Sweeps of Attorney Offices and Conference Rooms
* Bug Sweeps of Attorneys Client Homes and/or Offices
O divine art of subtlety and secrecy!
Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible;
and hence hold the enemy's fate in our hands.
-- Sun Tzu, The Art of War, c. 500bc
* Granite Island Group - Who We Are, What We do
* Granite Island Group Mission Statement
* Granite Island Group Profile and Backgrounder
* Background and Qualifications - James M. Atkinson
* Questions To Ask TSCM Specialists The GOLD LIST
* Bug Sweep Equipment Methods, and Reviews
* Helpful Books to Read, and Training to Attend
* TSCM-L Archives, over 10,000 messages
TSCM 101 - The Technical "Meat and Potatoes"
The following are a series of brief entry level tutorials regarding
specific areas and topics relative to TSCM and methods used to find
bugs and other eavesdropping devices.
* Tutorial on Basic Bug Sweep Equipment Start Here If You Need Equipment
* Noise and Sensitivity
* Modeling Eavesdropping Devices
* TSCM Antenna Methods and Protocols
* Wireless Microphones Revisited
* The Wavecom Eavesdropping Threat
* Video Signal Eavesdropping Threat
* Detection, Isolation, and Evaluation of Spread Spectrum Signals
* Frequency Allocation Basics
* TEMPEST Basics
* Basic Bug Frequencies
* DTV Signals Analysis
* Tutorial on Basic Sweep Gear
No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed
from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.
-- Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, 1521
Techniques Used To Find Bugs and Other Technical Security Threats
* Spectral Analysis of RF Bugging Devices
* Common RF Bugging Frequencies
* Time Domain Reflectometry Analysis (Wiretap Locating)
* Time Domain Reflectometry Tutorial
* Fluke LANMeter (Dry TDR Methods)
* TSCM-L Technical Counterintelligence Mailing List
We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth...
For my part, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst;
and to provide for it. -- Patrick Henry
U.S. Laws Regarding Electronic Surveillance
* Executive Order 12333 - United States Intelligence Activities
* Title 50, Chapter 36 - Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
* Title 18, Chapter 119 - Oral, Wire, and Electronic Communications Interception
* Title 18, Chapter 121 - Stored Wire and Electronic Communications Records Access
* Title 18, Chapter 205 - Searches and Seizures
* Title 18, Chapter 90 - Economic Espionage Act of 1996
* Deepwater Doo Doo - U.S. Government Conned Out Of Several Tens of Billion Dollars
TSCM and Bug Detection Equipment Reviews
* Spectrum Analyzers
* Antennas and Signal Acquisition
* Vector Signal Analysers
* Demodulation and RF Intercept Equipment
* Time Domain Reflectometers
* Oscilloscopes
* Multimeters
* Craft Instruments
* TSCM Specific Instrumentation
* Non Linear Junction Detectors
* Acoustic TSCM Equipment
* Physical Search Equipment
* Photographic and Imaging Instruments
* Auxillary Instrumentation
* Ancillary Instrumentation
* Video Instrumentation
* Special Purpose Vehicle Consideration (SPV)
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free." - John 8:32 KJV
* Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Cryptographic Devices and "Scramblers"
* Tutorial on Real World Cryptographic Devices and Scrambling Equipment
TSCM Product Catalog "Bug and Wiretap Detectors"
* Tutorial on Basic Sweep Gear
Equipment Index
* Used Equipment Index
* Telephone Equipment Index
| Home | What is TSCM | Types of Bugs | Warning Signs You're Bugged |
| How To Behave if Bugged | TSCM Threat Levels | How To Engage a TSCM Firm |
| Qualifications | TSCM Protocol | Bug Frequencies | Phone Taps and Bugging |
| Signal Analysis | TDR Analysis | TDR Tutorial | Wiretapping | Training | Tools |
| Equipment | OSC-5000 | Kaiser | Riser Bond | Avcom | Search Rcvrs |
| Outside Links | Recommended TSCM Books | TSCM Reference Library |
| Recommended U.S. TSCM Firms | TSCM-L Mailing List |
For a confidential consultation please E-mail:
jmatk@tscm.com Granite Island Group
127 Eastern Avenue #291
Gloucester, MA 01930
Telephone: (978) 546-3803
International Callers: 001-978-546-3803