Countersurveillance refers to measures undertaken to prevent
surveillance, including
covert surveillance. Countersurveillance may include electronic methods such as
bug sweeping, the process of detecting
surveillance devices, including
covert listening devices, visual surveillance devices as well as Countersurveillance software to thwart unwanted attempts by cyber crooks to access computing and mobile devices for various nefarious reasons (e.g. theft of financial, personal or corporate data). More often than not, countersurveillance will employ a set of actions (countermeasures) that, when followed, reduce the risk of surveillance. Countersurveillance should not be confused with
sousveillance (inverse surveillance) as the latter does not necessarily aim to prevent or reduce surveillance.