Detection Section (TSCM)
Security Measures for Sensitive Meeting Rooms
The Moment When Information Is Most Valuable
Some meetings pack a great deal of value into just a few hours: negotiating an acquisition, strategic decision-making by a board of directors, mediating a high-stakes dispute, or a discussion among attorneys regarding a litigation case. It is precisely at these moments that recording a conversation becomes most lucrative for anyone seeking to learn your position, your bottom line, or your strategy.
A reserved meeting room off-site, a coworking space, a hotel room for a seminar: these are all venues where you don’t know the history, and where equipment may have been left behind by a previous occupant or set up in preparation for your visit.
The vulnerability stems from the one-time nature of the event. We’re happy to secure a permanent office, but we often forget to check the room where a major decision will be made over the course of a morning. A preemptive audit eliminates this blind spot and allows us to approach the discussion with peace of mind.
Imagine a business sale being negotiated in a room rented for the day. If the other party knows your reserve price in advance, the balance of the negotiation is upset before it even begins. Just a few hours of listening can thus have a significant impact on the amounts involved: it is precisely this imbalance that a pre-transaction audit is designed to prevent.
What Is Included in a Pre-Meeting Room Audit
Our detection service—TSCM, which stands for Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures—is suitable for any room used for sensitive discussions: boardrooms, negotiation rooms, off-site rental spaces, seminar rooms, or event venues.
We are looking for GSM and Wi-Fi microphones, hidden microphones, pinhole and IP cameras, as well as any recording devices left on the premises. This list is not exhaustive.
The audit employs professional equipment equivalent to that used by government agencies: spectrum analyzers, nonlinear junction detectors (NLJD), thermal imaging, camera detectors, and analysis of wireless networks in the room and its immediate surroundings. The inspection pays particular attention to meeting room furniture, videoconferencing equipment, electrical outlets, and light fixtures—the locations most commonly used to hide a device.
Our clients—lawyers and legal advisors—regularly use this service, as do senior executives before a crucial meeting.
Auditing a meeting room follows a different approach than inspecting a permanent office: it focuses on a specific moment in time. That is why we prioritize conducting the audit as close as possible to the meeting and, when the stakes are high, ensuring the integrity of the room is maintained until the discussion begins. For the most sensitive cases, the audit can be part of a recurring protocol, repeated at every strategic meeting.
At the end of the process, you will receive an audit report. Confidentiality is strictly maintained: the results are shared only with you and are not disclosed to anyone else.
Step-by-Step Guide to a Typical Intervention
Ideally, this should be done just before the meeting to ensure the room is secure at the critical moment. After discussing the time and location, our team conducts a thorough inspection: a physical search, a radio frequency sweep, an NLJD scan of the furniture and equipment, a thermal scan, and a network analysis. The room is then deemed “clear” for the duration of the meeting. When the situation warrants it, surveillance of the surrounding area or an exit check can be added to the security measures. We provide you with an audit report. If you wish, we can remain available during the meeting to intervene in case of any concerns, and conduct a new inspection if the session runs long or if the room is left unattended between work sessions.
Why Choose the Aquila Group
The Aquila Group is a private detective agency licensed by the CNAPS. Securing a room before negotiations or a dispute-related meeting requires quick thinking and a systematic approach: our Detection Division, led by Igor Defosse—the firm’s TSCM technical advisor since 2021 and an IFAR graduate—is highly experienced in this area. Discover our full range of detection expertise on our website.
Beyond this service, the Aquila Group is a well-structured firm, organized into several areas of expertise and with a network of offices throughout France. This structure allows us to respond quickly, no matter where your meeting is held, while maintaining the same high standards of professionalism from one assignment to the next. Our staff uses professional equipment that is regularly updated, in strict compliance with the legal framework governing our profession.
For us, discretion is not a selling point, but a prerequisite for effectiveness: an audit that becomes public knowledge loses all value. That is why we organize every engagement so that it remains unnoticed—even by the meeting participants—and why our communications remain strictly confidential from the initial contact through the delivery of the report.
We operate throughout France, with high demand in the Paris region. We are committed to responsiveness, discretion, and absolute confidentiality. To arrange security for your next meeting, contact our teams.
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Meeting Room, Frequently Asked Questions
As close to the meeting as possible—ideally just before it—to ensure the venue remains intact at the crucial moment. We’ll work around your schedule.
Yes. The procedure is handled discreetly, and the results are kept confidential. Confidentiality is guaranteed from the very first contact.
Microphones, hidden cameras, and recording devices left on site, whether they are recording continuously, intermittently, or are in standby mode.
We will notify you immediately, document the discovery, and advise you on how to proceed, including whether to proceed with or postpone the exchange.
Yes, at a location that you have the right to use or occupy for the event. The possession of detection equipment is governed by Article R226-7 of the Penal Code, in accordance with the Internal Security Code.
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