Operational (External) Surveillance in the Period of State Security – Case Study

Abstract

This case study examines one important covert intelligence gathering method used by state security services, external surveillance, through the case of an Austrian trader. After the counterintelligence service recognised the Austrian man’s suspicious behaviour, it launched a secret investigation against him in 1975. The aim of the
covert investigation was to confirm or exclude suspicions of espionage. In order to do this, the Hungarian state security service used a number of means of covert investigation, including operational (external) surveillance. The author has elaborated the case using contemporary documents, namely the documents and reports of the state security service on the case. This gives the reader an accurate picture of how the secret service once operated and of the application and results of one of its working methods.