Verrimus stands over findings on Garda Ombudsman bugging

The UK-based security company which carried out the original sweep for the Garda Ombudsman Commission (GSOC)offices said last night it stood over its original findings.

In a statement issues after it had studied the Cooke report issued by Mr Justice Cooke on whether there was evidence that GSOC offices were bugged the company, Verrimus, said it stood over its original findings, that the three technical anomalies it identified were “indicative of methods that can be used by person(s) outside an organisation to a gather critical information” from within.

The vulnerabilities to bugging uncovered at the offices of GSOC could only have been proven or disproven to have arisen from illegal spying if the evidence had been analysed quickly by experts in surveillance , Verrimus said.

The company added it had never even been asked by GSOC to establish and uncover the source of any possible surveillance.

Verrimus, whose report was leaked to The Sunday Times in February causing a major State security controversy and serious dispute between the Garda and GSOC, said in last night’s staement that its work had stood up to peer review quoted in the report into the controversy published on Tuesday night.

Its statement represented its first response to the report by Mr Justice John Cooke who was charged with investigating if Gsoc’s offices had been bugged as described by The Sunday Times.

The inquiry found no evidence of “actual surveillance” but said given the sophistication of the technology used in the surveillance field it could not completely rule out the possibility that some form of bugging had taken place; a finding Verrimus has echoed.

While welcoming some of the findings of the Cooke inquiry and refraining from criticising the probe, some of the comment by Verrimus raised questions aboaut shortcomings with the Cooke in quiry process.

For example, it noted the inquiry had been conducted within the boundaries of the inquiry’s “risk appetite”.

“Investigations to prove or disprove whether (surveillance) vulnerabilities are associated with a criminal act can only effectively be carried out by properly qualified and experienced counter intelligence investigators in a timely response to presented evidence,” it said.

It was reassured by the Cooke recommendation that Gsoc should improve its security, carry out regular security sweeps and remedy the vulnerabilities identified by its investigations last year, saying it had made the same recommendations in its report for the watchdog.