countersurveillance

noun

coun·​ter·​sur·​veil·​lance ˌkau̇n-tər-sər-ˈvā-lən(t)s 

 also  -ˈvāl-yən(t)s,

 or  -ˈvā-ən(t)s

variants or counter-surveillance

: methods and devices used for detecting or thwarting surveillance

agents trained in countersurveillance

When countersurveillance is employed by seasoned practitioners, it is used to identify the vehicles and individuals conducting the surveillance … This information is then used by the individual to thwart the hostile surveillance.

—Glenn McGovern

—often used before another noun

countersurveillance cameras

a counter-surveillance specialist

Examples of countersurveillance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Most notoriously, an ambitious young senator, Sam Dastyari, was exposed for parroting Communist Party talking points and giving countersurveillance advice to a Chinese political donor before being hounded into premature retirement. —John Garnaut, Foreign Affairs, 9 Mar. 2018

Murphy suspected that another diner—a man, sitting alone—was running countersurveillance. —Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2023

Tannehill says that countersurveillance measures for spy balloons would typically include physically moving equipment or personnel out of sight, rearranging equipment, and if possible, jamming the balloon's sensors. —WIRED, 3 Feb. 2023

That day, Rhodes attracted the attention of a US Capitol Police special agent who was doing countersurveillance monitoring and had recently read a news article about the group. —Lindsay Whitehurst, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Oct. 2022

One, an orthopedist who asked me not to use his name, had taken 15 Dorenbush classes spanning everything from countersurveillance to close-quarters combat. —Rachel Monroe, Wired, 15 Jan. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above