NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) -- The FBI estimates corporate espionage costs U.S. companies up to $600 billion in losses, including stolen trade secrets and intellectual property.

Corporate espionage occurs across the country, including Middle Tennessee. In order to protect themselves, many companies are turning to technology experts trained to look for issues.

Jack Byrd is the CEO of Solaren Risk Management. One of the divisions of his Tennessee-based security company deals with corporate espionage through what Byrd called technical surveillance countermeasures.

News 2 spoke with Byrd in California, where with his team of four was going through a 10,000-square-foot office complex that houses a tech company.

Byrd said he often does preventative checks for his corporate clients, but in this case, the California company detected irregularities and data breaches and called in his special techs. Byrd's crew came in with boxes of sophisticated equipment that test for transmission anomalies and irregular signals that could be a sign of espionage.

In the California case, Byrd's group found several bugs hidden throughout the building. According to Byrd, the person who placed the bugs has yet to be identified, but there is a connection to a foreign actor.

Byrd said some bugs can listen to and record conversations, others take video, and some steal data. He added that his team goes room to room and looks for anything that could be compromise an organization's security.

"They didn't just end up here," Byrd said. "I mean, it doesn't necessarily mean it's the work force, but it could absolutely be part of them, it could be the cleaning crew, it could be security, it could be another contractor."

Byrd sent News 2 footage showing his team finding abnormal readings in white board erasers. In the video, you can see a device sweeping over the seemingly innocuous office products before emitting a tone.

"They should not be emitting a frequency," Byrd said, adding that the erasers contained a recording device and a self-contained battery pack.

Byrd's team also checked a printer cable that was transmitting on a 2.4 gigahertz frequency. Byrd said that was very suspicious, so his team isolated the plug, opened it up to inspect more closely, and discovered what appeared to be a SIM card.

In addition, Byrd's team found yet another bug to steal corporate secrets under a desk.

"We were looking because the table shouldn't be emitting a frequency," Byrd said.

After documenting their process and sealing all evidence in transmission-proof Faraday bags, Byrd's team will turn all findings over to the company and possibly the U.S. Department of Justice for further investigation.

"Eighty-five to 95% of all of these acts transpire from an insider of the organization...We have reason to believe that it is an actor from another country with an operation inside of the United States," Byrd said.

Byrd told News 2 that many of his Nashville clients have experienced similar situations.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-security-firm-working-to-combat-corporate-espionage/