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Murray Associates Innovations
1978 - Murray Associates - the first TSCM-type firm with a published Operating Policy.1978 - Murray Associates was the first firm to annually publish a fixed Fee and Expense Schedule.
1978 - Murray Associates was the first TSCM-type firm with a polygraph policy. Upon discovery of bugging, wiretapping, or other forms of eavesdropping, clients have always had the right to verify our findings. Back in those days, the “plant a bug, grow more work” mentality was rampant. Our policy successfully countered that. We think there are fewer “planters” in the field these days. However, the policy we started never gained widespread acceptance among our competitors. So, over the years, we became the firm people called for a second opinion.
1980 - The US Government lifted sales restrictions on the MicroLab/FXR Non Linear Junction Detector. This unusual instrument detected bugs even if they were “off” or had dead batteries! Very advanced - and expensive - technology. Murray Associates was the first private sector service to buy one.
1987 - Miniature television cameras with AM microtransmitters (900 MHz frequency range) became a major threat. Murray Associates was the first countermeasures firm to purchase a spectrum analyzer (Tektronix 2710) capable of receiving and viewing these TV signals.
1988 - Laser beam eavesdropping captures the media’s attention. Our clients became concerned. Murray Associates researched the threat and found much of the information being circulated was either misleading or undocumented. To obtain accurate, first-hand information for our clients, we build a laser beam eavesdropper. Our findings were very informative and put the threat into realistic perspective.
1989 - We established a client feedback system. From this date on, every assignment included a Quality Assurance Report card for the client. You can see it here. Our average Feedback Score is 9.4 out of a possible 10.
1992 - We discover a small company selling 10 GHz transmitter kits for $29. Incredibly, the plans for adding audio capabilities and turning it into a bug cost only $2 more. In 1992, an inspection of radio frequencies above 1.8 GHz was rare. We immediately boosted our audit capabilities to 30+ GHz. Interestingly, many TSCM'ers remain blind in the 10 GHz area to this day!
1997 - Miniature television cameras with FM microtransmitters (2.4 GHz frequency range) become a major threat. Most “countermeasures” equipment couldn’t even see these signals. Some spectrum analyzers could receive the signals, but couldn’t decode them for viewing.
Murray Associates researched and solved the problem. Drawing together various technologies, we created a system that is the next step in the evolution of spectrum analysis... Radio-Reconnaissance Spectrum Analysis™. We now easily receive, view and capture wireless surveillance video signals... and immediately record them for evidentiary purposes.
1999 - New digital telephone systems are vulnerable to digital wiretaps and feature manipulation. Murray Associates develops a FFT technique to help detect these problems.
Also in 1999, Spybusters.com becomes the first Internet site to honor eavesdropping history makers. From inventors to artists to practitioners to law makers - we felt they all played important historical roles. They were not being memorialized anywhere else, so we documented their contributions - pro bono (with the assistance and blessings of family members in many cases).
2000 - We begin experimenting with infrared thermal imaging technology in April, and discovered the new lab-quality imagers can ‘see’ microminiature eavesdropping devices and video cameras hidden in ceiling tiles and behind walls. After a year of research, we purchased a $60,000. thermal imager. The Thermal Emissions Spectrum Analysis™ (TESA™) inspection technique is born. After presenting our findings at the Espionage Research Institute (ERI) annual meeting in Washington, DC, imitators quickly began using inexpensive and eBayed imagers in a effort to appear technically current.
2001 - Wireless Local Area Networks become popular in many corporations and executive homes. So does inserting rogue wireless nodes into supposedly secure hard-wired systems. The threat... wireless wiretapping. Appropriate detection instrumentation is brought on board.
2002 - VoIP telephony becomes the rage. Low cost of calls makes it irresistible to clients. Nobody told them all this comes at a price... easy wiretapping, easy denial of service attacks, and easy theft of services. We were the first in our field to research this communications “advancement,” and provide our clients with a safe migration strategy.
2003 - At our clients' request, Murray Associates established a local presence in the European Union.
2005 - A major technical advancement is made by Sony. They release the first price-practical ($6,000.) UV digital television camera. We experiment with bringing it into it to our field. Evidence of electronic eavesdropping installations are viewed and documented with reflected and absorbed ultra-violet light. R&D benefits our clients... again.
2006 - Continuing research into new sensing instrumentation, we invested approximately $40,000.00 in government-level new NLJD instrumentation for our clients. One of the most exciting capabilities of the new equipment is their ability to "hear" video cameras hidden within objects like clocks, radios, furniture, ceilings, etc.
2007 - We are the first in the private sector to invest ($109,000.00) in a Real-Time Spectrum Analysis with DPX technology for our clients. DPX makes formerly invisible bug signals visible.
2008 - A new Multifunction Digital Telephone Analyzer was released this year. We upgraded our capabilities immediately, at a cost of $19,000.00. Doing so, combined many separate instruments into one unit, thus making room for additional instrumentation in our kit. It also allows detection of digital voice leaks on phone lines; a major accomplishment.
2009 - GSM bugs (tiny eavesdropping devices which can be called via a cell phone) began flooding the Internet 'spy shops' and Ebay. Very difficult to locate as they are dormant when not actively being listened to. Sales appear to be brisk, with some models selling for as little as $25.00. Concerned clients asked for a solution. We developed the Digital Surveillance Location Analyzer™ (DSLA™). It pinpoints the location of GSM bugs on a computer map – a first-of-its-kind instrument.
The Future - We are working on it now.