André de Ruyter’s car bugged with ‘highly sophisticated device’

A “sophisticated bug” was discovered in Eskom CEO André de Ruyter's car last week.

A preliminary investigation by a forensic company found the device is “typically used by law enforcement and intelligence agencies” and investigators say it is “not commercially available on the open market”.

De Ruyter said he discovered the bug under the driver's seat when he was cleaning his vehicle on Friday last week.

“I was in the back of my Volvo when I saw something strange on the floor underneath the driver’s seat,” he told the Sunday Times. “The device — a motherboard filled with microchips — immediately looked out of place. I assume it was stuck to the bottom of the seat and must have shaken loose.”

He contacted retired police commissioner George Fivaz, whose company — George Fivaz Forensic & Risk — specialises in forensic investigations.

“I sent him a photo of the device and asked him if I needed to be worried. He immediately replied that ‘at first glance it looks like a piece of equipment that can be used to intercept communications or transmit location’. They are still analysing the device to find out more about its capabilities,” De Ruyter said.

The incident comes as he faces unprecedented pressure and calls to be axed after debilitating load-shedding over the past three weeks and as Eskom battles to root out syndicates involved in corruption and sabotage at the power utility.

The preliminary report, which the Sunday Times has seen, says the device is “a transceiver, highly efficient in design”.

“More analysis is needed. It is still unclear exactly what it was used for but the device can be used in tracking devices, listening devices, smart RFID [radio-frequency identification] devices, metering applications, keys, IoT [internet of things] devices and telemetry devices, and can send data up to a rate of 1.25MBb/s.”

“It also has a signal range of about 5km.”

Fivaz said the investigation was ongoing.

“This [the bugging device] is not something ordinary private detectives use and it is not available on the open market. We are talking about a sophisticated National Security Agency [NSA]-level device, typically used by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, that can send and receive signals,” he said.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we are talking about a clandestine device normally used on a nation state level. Few people in the world, never mind SA, have the skills and equipment to produce a device like this.

“We have removed the battery and it will be tested for fingerprints.

“We know the motherboard was made in Texas, but we are trying to trace the other components.

“We are going to recommend that an investigation is done into the environments of all the senior Eskom role players as well as the ministers involved in trying to clean up the electricity supplier,” said Fivaz

De Ruyter said he would not let the incident distract him. “I refuse to lose sleep over something like this. I am constantly threatened on Twitter. I cannot let these things influence my attention.

“This was not totally unexpected. I know correlation does not necessarily mean causation, but there are a lot of agendas at play.

“It just saddens me that at a time when I have often said I need support from law enforcement and the intelligence circles in combating the widespread corruption in and around our structures, something like this device is found in my car.”

Asked why he did not immediately register a criminal case with the police, De Ruyter said he would do so once he knew conclusively what the device was.

“I was immediately suspicious, but I needed to first find out what it was before taking the next step. As you can understand, there is a lot of pressure on me at the moment and I had to find someone outside my normal circles I can trust. Someone without a horse in the race.”

I refuse to lose sleep over something like this. I am constantly threatened on Twitter. I cannot let these things influence my attention

Willem Els, an analyst at the Institute for Security Studies, said he was not surprised De Ruyter had been targeted for surveillance.

“The security cluster knows this is possible, no, probable, and for many years have been putting counter measures in place,” he said.

But a net does miss some fish, he added. “When high-ranking politicians or public sector figures go somewhere, the area is swept for radio frequencies and explosives. That is standard operating procedure. You must remember, the easiest way to get ahead in the intelligence game is by listening to your opponent when he is unaware you are listening.”

Els said the De Ruyter bug could be the work of a variety of suspects, but one stands out.

“Criminal syndicates and Eskom are not new. And syndicates are on record as using electronic eavesdropping and tracking apparatus,” he said.

“Look at the assassination of [Western Cape detective] Col Charl Kinnear. They pinged his phone to ascertain his whereabouts so he could be taken out.”

He said he found the placement of the device interesting.

“In these times of load-shedding, who hasn’t used his or her car as an alternative office. I can imagine what kind of intelligence could be gained by listening in on conversations in his car.”