Breaking into physical premises or files to obtain company information is another form of industrial espionage.
These items may be stolen by outsider perpetrators or foreign governments, or by employee insiders who are disgruntled or see a way to get hired or compensated by a competitor for the theft. For example, it can be a theft of engineering designs from an automobile or aerospace company a formula for a new drug from a pharmaceutical company a recipe from a food and beverage or vitamin supplement company new robotic manufacturing processes from a high-tech manufacturer or even pricing sheets and customer lists. This type of espionage comes in many different forms.
The following are examples of some common types of industrial espionage. Some espionage is conducted through legal channels and some is conducted illegally. Industrial espionage and corporate spying are conducted through a variety of channels and for various purposes. Although cyberespionage often involves IP or trade secrets, it can also come in the form of economic espionage that gives a nation access to a foreign power, so it can obtain sensitive economic information from a company or government. This espionage can come from domestic or foreign companies, because the world of corporate espionage is both varied and widespread. Employee risks are significant because many industrial espionage and spying acts are perpetrated by disgruntled or opportunistic employees who commit theft of trade secrets or valuable information to use on their next jobs or to take to the open market for sale.Ĭompanies with loose security controls and checkpoints over their IP and digital assets also are susceptible to a cyber attack or cyberespionage from an outside bad actor who has penetrated their network to steal information and gather intelligence. The companies most vulnerable to industrial espionage are those that fail to carefully screen new employees, as well as the ones that use only minimal security on premises and over intellectual property (IP) and trade secrets that may be in their digital assets. Each of these industries spends a considerable amount on R&D and all experience immense pressures to get products to market quickly. Key technology industries that are often targeted include computer, semiconductor, electronics, automotive, aerospace, biotechnology, energy, pharmaceutical and high-tech manufacturing. However, technology is one of the most targeted industries. Industrial espionage and spying can occur in any industry - from food and beverage to fashion and entertainment. Collectively, these elements incent individuals and companies in technology fields to spy on each other and, if need be, to obtain information illegally in order to achieve competitive advantage. This makes time-to-market for new products critical. At the same time, technology moves rapidly in active markets. Industrial espionage is most often found in technology-focused companies, in part because of the considerable expense of technology research and development (R&D). Recording devices also may be secreted in a variety of items including eyeglasses, pens and USB sticks. The capacity of cell phones to record and transmit can also be exploited by leaving a phone in a boardroom, for example, and monitoring a meeting remotely. Typically, a targeted attack is conducted to gain initial network access and then an advanced persistent threat is carried out for continued data theft. Increasingly, the intrusion is through the corporate network.
In that case, they might search wastebaskets or copy files or hard drives of unattended computers.
Spies sometimes physically breach the target organization and investigate the premises. Spies may also infiltrate through social engineering tactics, for example, by tricking an employee into divulging privileged information. In many cases, industrial spies are simply seeking data their organization can exploit to its advantage.Īn industrial spy may be an insider threat, such as an individual who has gained employment with the company for the purpose of spying or a disgruntled employee who trades information for personal gain or revenge. The target of an investigation might be a trade secret, such as a proprietary product specification or formula, or information about business plans. Industrial espionage is the covert, and sometimes illegal, practice of investigating competitors to gain a business advantage.
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