#GOVERNMENT ESPIONAGE DEFINITION HOW TO#

Various industrial espionage methods to breach your security and illegally obtain data can be performed by spies in the following ways:Ĭyber attacks are hostile attempts to steal, compromise, change, or destroy information by gaining unauthorized access to an organization’s computer systems.

#GOVERNMENT ESPIONAGE DEFINITION HOW TO#

Read also: 5 Industries Most at Risk of Data Breaches Methods of industrial espionageīefore discussing how to prevent corporate espionage, let’s find out how it’s performed. With this information, competitors can prepare a timely answer for your marketing campaigns and make them ineffective. Financial information about your company can be used to offer better deals to your clients and partners, win bids, and even make better offers to your valuable employees.Another possible scenario is leaking illegally acquired data to damage your company’s reputation. Data about your clients, including their financial information, can be exploited to steal your business. This information may help your rivals get a competitive advantage. A trade secret generally means sensitive information about existing products or products under development. Pay special attention to protecting the following data in your organization: Industrial espionage is also common among the retail, financial, and public sectors, as they have high competition and often suffer from a lack of investment in cybersecurity. R&D often involves innovative solutions and technologies that are costly to develop, making them a desirable target for spies. Industries that heavily rely on research and development (R&D) – including the computer hardware manufacturing, IT, automotive, energy, aerospace, and chemical sectors – should be extra cautious. Learn more about using Ekran System for Insider Threat Prevention Targets of industrial espionage Now, let’s see who’s most at risk of becoming a target for industrial spies. Consequently, we will be using 'industrial espionage' as a generic term in this article unless we want to stress the specifics of economic espionage. The interests of governments and companies frequently overlap, making it hard to distinguish between these two types of espionage. While industrial espionage is controlled by and benefits private companies, economic espionage is governed by foreign states. The main difference lies in who’s the coordinator. Wagner distinguishes two: industrial espionage itself (which can also be referred to as corporate and commercial espionage) and economic espionage.

There is some ambiguity around types of industrial espionage.

It involves compromise of trade secrets and intellectual property theft. Unlike competitive intelligence, industrial espionage embraces illegal and unethical methods of collecting corporate data to gain a competitive advantage. The financial consequences of industrial espionage are significant:Īccording to Mike Orlando, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the annual cost of solely Chinese espionage in the United States is estimated at approximately $600 billion. According to NBC News, “The FBI opens a new China-related counterintelligence investigation every 12 hours on average.” Intelligence on competitors gathered in a legal way can give you a leg up in the fight for market share.īut sometimes, companies and governments want more.Ĭompetitors and governments send agents to spy on critical information more often than you might think. You will learn what measures to take to keep your business secrets safe and sound. In this article, we explain (with real-life examples) how corporate spies attack and discuss how to prevent industrial espionage. That’s why it’s important to ensure that your organization’s data is well-protected. Information about your company, its products and services, finances, sales, and marketing strategy is a weapon of modern economic warfare.

Especially in the hands of your competitors.

Government espionage definition