De Ruyter ‘bug’ could be device fitted for Volvo by tracking company

The nature of an alleged tracking device found in Eskom CEO André de Ruyter’s car may not be as sinister as previously thought.

Tech publication MyBroadband received comment from a Volvo spokesperson, who said the photos indicated the circuit board could be an older device fitted to Volvos years ago by Tracker.

Preliminary ‘report’

Sunday Times reported, last week, the “bug” was found under the driver’s seat of his car when he was cleaning it.

“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 told Sunday Times.

De Ruyter then reportedly contacted retired police commissioner George Fivaz, from George Fivaz Forensic & Risk.

ALSO READ: Eskom confirms de Ruyter’s car was bugged

After sending Fivaz photos, De Ruyter said he was told the device could be one used to intercept communications or track locations.

Sunday Times said a preliminary report assessed the device as a “highly efficient” transreceiver.

It also read the circuit board contained technology beyond South Africa’s capabilities.

Fivaz told MyBroadband, however, that his preliminary report had not yet been released, and could not verify the one Sunday Times quoted him from.

He told defenceWeb the alleged bugging device was designed to hack electronic systems such as a car, and that De Ruyter’s Volvo could have been taken over.

ALSO READ: De Ruyter’s bug looks more like a gate remote

Not so sophisticated

Security researcher Daniel Cuthbert told MyBroadband the device contained too many identifying markers for it to have been a sophisticated bug, and resembled a gate remote more than a hacking device.

Cuthbert’s analysis revealed the device used a CR2032 lithium coin battery, which does not have the capability to power GPS tracking.

He also said chips on the board were made up of cheap components readily available in South Africa.

A MyBroadbank reader went so far as to identify one of the very affordable chips, and another hardware security researcher said the second chip was a Texas Instruments CC1200/1201.

A fellow Volvo driver also sent MyBroadbank photos of the circuit board of his 2016 XC90 vehicle’s panic button – a device courtesy of a partnership with Tracker and Volvo established years ago.

ALSO READ: LISTEN: Who is spying on André de Ruyter?

De Ruyter concerned

De Ruyter told Moneyweb in an interview this week, that the device can “eavesdrop and pinpoint one’s location”, and that those doubting its capabilities “make me smile”.

“It is rather concerning when something like that happens, and it’s also concerning that someone thought it’s a good idea to follow me and listen to what I say. But I suppose that comes with the job and we have to continue doing what we do.

“Clever people, who can look at a photo without examining the apparatus itself and without knowing what the microchip can do, make me smile.

“They have a right to make such intelligent comments without examining it themselves [but] I put my faith in people I trust and who I believe have the necessary expertise.”

NOW READ: Experts fear De Ruyter has become the target of criminal networks

Compiled by Nica Richards.