Advances in technology have resulted in very small bugs and covert recorders that are both cheap and easy to obtain. Spy devices can now be installed into a number of common office items -- including electrical outlets, power strips, lamps and smoke detectors.
The threat of cyberattacks has garnered a lot of publicity in recent years — and rightfully so, as such hacks provide hostile actors with a powerful and convenient intelligence tool. Cyberattacks can be conducted from the relative safety of an offshore platform without having to place valuable assets in jeopardy of being discovered and arrested, and provide actors with some degree of plausible deniability as well. However, if a capable actor — such as an intelligence service, advanced criminal group or a well-funded corporate competitive operation — really wants to get its hands on a specific piece of information, there is a host of other espionage tools at its disposal that it can (and many still do) deploy in addition to cyberattacks.
