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 nounGlenn McGoverncountersurveillance cameras
a counter-surveillance specialist
Examples of countersurveillance in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Keenly aware of the capability difference, Altman at one point secretly commissioned an electronic countersurveillance audit in an attempt to scan the office for any bugs that Musk may have left to spy on OpenAI.
—Karen Hao, Wired News, 21 May 2025
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
In 2018, after media accounts revealed one such donor’s under-the-table contributions to an Australian senator—who then provided countersurveillance advice to the Chinese donor—the senator was forced to resign his seat.
—Philip Zelikow, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020
And in 2014, the broadcaster Alan Pearce released a Kindle book called Deep Web for Journalists, with the aim of showing reporters how to keep themselves and their sources safe on the Internet by using the techniques of countersurveillance, including secure communications and online anonymity.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Sep. 2017
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Karen Hao, Wired News, 21 May 2025
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
In 2018, after media accounts revealed one such donor’s under-the-table contributions to an Australian senator—who then provided countersurveillance advice to the Chinese donor—the senator was forced to resign his seat.
—Philip Zelikow, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020
And in 2014, the broadcaster Alan Pearce released a Kindle book called Deep Web for Journalists, with the aim of showing reporters how to keep themselves and their sources safe on the Internet by using the techniques of countersurveillance, including secure communications and online anonymity.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Sep. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Countersurveillance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countersurveillance. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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