In our previous insight into VPNs and Virtual Machines, we discussed how we use these tools as a baseline in everything we do when it comes to conducting online investigations. Sometimes, though, there’s no substitute for getting up close and personal. Physical surveillance is often one of the most integral, yet misunderstood aspects of intelligence collection, and so in this piece we are going to outline how and why we use it, and where it helps us add value.
Given its sensitive nature, the detail of tradecraft surrounding physical surveillance cannot be discussed in any real depth when it comes to nuts and bolts. However, the principals behind it, how it integrates with our intelligence architecture, and its various uses can and should be discussed. As much as anything else, this is in order to dispel some popular myths and misconceptions surrounding physical surveillance and how it works.
Surveillance 101 – the “private investigator” does not exist! Notions of a man in a long coat watching a person or building through eyeholes in a newspaper are an anachronistic misrepresentation of a complex discipline. Surveillance sits on the HUMINT spectrum and is a collection tool that requires a great deal of patience and experience to deliver well; but done well, is an unparalleled source of unique insight into subject that cannot be replicated through other means.
Simply put, physical surveillance allows us to monitor a subject’s behaviours, movements, conversation and other activities in a fashion that allow us to collect the information we need to provide the intelligence picture our clients require. Vitally, surveillance is always used in concert with other mechanisms, and requires a backend processing (analytical) capability to fuse information gained from a surveillance team with wider context, and to feed start points for future activity back into the surveillance team. Indeed, of all the traditional collection disciplines, physical surveillance is probably the most effective intelligence functional with which to integrate.
For us, many of these integrated investigations which leverage effective surveillance are derived from initial OSINT investigations which articulate specific intelligence gaps that require us to covertly locate individuals beyond their online footprint, establish their pattern of life and identify associates to further feed the intelligence picture.
Of note, this kind of investigative physical surveillance – locating an individual and monitoring their behaviour is caried out in myriad different eventualities, including divorce, litigation, and corporate non-compete scenarios. However, all of these have one key factor in common – the requirement to locate and maintain awareness of an individual’s activities through the systematic application of surveillance and being inextricably tied to specific intelligence requirements.
It is worth highlighting at this point that there are certain key factors that crosscut the way we do any kind of surveillance – and we will shortly come on to discussing how the same tactics or similar tactics can be used for “defensive” purposes. The first may seem obvious but cannot be overstated; remaining covert (remaining undetected) to subject. The second is often overlooked; remaining covert to third party – this means remaining undetected by members of the public. These kind of 360-degree security considerations are combined with more sensitive elements of our tradecraft but are the key building blocks of ensuring that surveillance (and the surveillance team) can remain undetected.
To achieve this kind of security we use a variety of tools, but in today’s tech enabled world, this involves leveraging significant amounts of technology to minimise the exposure of the team. Whilst hugely variable elements of tradecraft allow the team to remain as well hidden as possible, it is a truism that reducing the exposure of a team on the ground drastically decreases its chances of being spotted. This integrated technical approach includes enduring online monitoring through our analytical team – fusing OSINT and surveillance into a formidable package. These are combined with a range of other techniques that are rooted in an intelligence understanding of the individual and any likely strengths and weaknesses in order to develop the best approach throughout any task.
Beyond the more “offensive” world of going out and looking for information regarding a specific individual or group of individuals, surveillance also has extensive, slightly more creative, applications in the “defensive” domain. In the past, this has included surveillance tasks providing supply chain assurance through covert escort and linking this intelligence to wider OSINT work, protective surveillance through the establishment of covert Observation Posts (OPs) and counter-surveillance designed to identify hostile surveillance targeting our clients. All of this is the kind of thing that can only be achieved through physical surveillance assets. However, in the approach we take, as with everything, this stands on the shoulders of an aggressive approach to delivering network and environment understanding that maximises the benefit that any physical activity provides.
Physical surveillance, then, is one of the most direct ways to collect information which we can then turn into intelligence, forming a key part of the ‘collection’ element of the intelligence cycle . Ultimately it allows us to get the clearest possible idea of where individuals work, live, and go – establishing both physical and digital pattern of life to generate unique insight into the nature of their existence. All of this helps us form intelligence analysis that is as accurate as possible and backed by tangible insight, rather than ethereal assessment.
Physical surveillance helps us add value in ways that other forms of intelligence gathering cannot by allowing us to work less from assumptions, predictions and forecasts, and more from things we can actually see; something that is an investigative gamechanger. For our clients, this means they are as informed as possible before making decisions – a key part of what we do. Surveillance is a way of removing as much of the doubt and risk associated with qualitative analysis as possible and delivering quantifiable insight that gives our clients the edge from the boardroom to the courtroom and everywhere in between.
