Satyr brings us back to the future

Pictured above, 'the seal’ containing the device, also known as Satyr.

The World’s most famous bug.

SATYR, once a highly classified name, was finally released in1987 by Peter Wright. His infamous book ‘Spy Catcher’ is unique in the annals of technical espionage, brought Satyr to the world’s attention.

‍What is Satyr?‍

It was a covert Russian listening device, embedded in a woodcarving of the Great American Seal, presented to the American Ambassador in Moscow 1945.

How ‘The Thing’ was introduced

In 1945 at the end of World War II and in front of gathered Moscow media, the U.S. Ambassador, Averell Harriman, was presented with a gift.The large carved wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States was a gesture of friendship between wartime allies. It had been allegedly produced by the School Children of Moscow.

The wooden plaque was hung in Harriman’s study at Spaso House. What he wasn’t aware of was that the plaque contained a ground-breaking listening device to eavesdrop on his conversations. Used covertly by the Soviet Union, the plaque hung undetected in the ambassador’s study for an incredible 7 years before being discovered in1952. It was known colloquially as "The Thing."

The brainchild of Léon Theremin

The device was the brainchild of the Russian inventor Léon Theremin.Theremin's hidden bug wasn't connected to a battery or power supply and incredibly had no electronic components. The device only worked when a radio signal of the correct frequency was sent to the device from an external transmitter. This signal activated ‘The Thing’ and allowed the Soviets to eavesdrop, via a radio receiver, on unwittingly broadcasted conversations from within the Spaso House study.

The beauty of the device is that is has no electronic components, no battery and is powered remotely. To this day it is still a masterpiece of surveillance technology.

A British discovery

It was the British who first noticed something in 1951. A radio operator in the Air Attaché’s office in the British embassy was monitoring Soviet air force radio traffic, when he recognised the voice of the British Air Attaché. In 1952, pending the forth coming visit of high-ranking American officials, a routine Sweep was carried out of U.S. ambassador George F. Kennan’s residence. The device was discovered. It was not understood andhence it was referred to as the “The Thing”.

U.S. secrets

The U.S. kept the discovery secret from the media for several years. When, on 1st May 1960, the Soviets shot down an American U2 spy plane. They subsequently called a meeting with the United Nations Security Council, calling the U.S. espionage an act of aggression. The U.S. brought out ‘The Thing’ to prove that spying went both ways between the countries and had done for years.

The Satyr is born

By then the device was well-known to British and American espionage agencies. After examining the bug's technology, the British were able to improve upon it and develop a listening device code named ‘SATYR’. This was utilised by the British, American, Canadian, and Australian militaries throughout the 1950s.

Full working replica

I have been transfixed by this technology, ever since I was introduced to it while on a Radio Monitoring training course in 1975. I studied the Satyr and its incredible technology in detail over the past 45 years and have finally completed the construction of a complete and fully working replica.Unlike the original purpose of the Satyr, TSCM Consulting use it as a key aspect of the Awareness Training delivered to organisations and sweep teams. It offers fascinating and still acutely relevant attack technology. It brilliantly demonstrates the evolution of technical attack, and in this case the staggering diversity of the technology. When my organisation, TSCM Consulting, presents the information the reaction is still one of awe and wonder.

A masterpiece of surveillance technology.

The beauty of the device is that is has no electronic components, no battery and it is powered remotely. To this day it is still a masterpiece of surveillance technology.