Introduction
Corporate espionage (also called industrial espionage) is the act of illegal data collection against a corporation. These illegal data collection methods can range from computer hacking, theft, intimidation, dumpster diving or personnel impersonations.What data are they collecting?
- Corporate intellectual property
- Patents in progress
- Customer information
- Pricing strategies
- Source code
- Unique manufacturing and technological operations
- Latest research and development
- Future plans and markets
Does this ever happen in the real world?
“In 1999, Fortune 1000 companies lost more than $45 billion from the theft of trade secrets, according to a survey by the American Society for Industrial Security and Price Waterhouse Coopers.” - Ouch!
After the HP internal spying case news broke Business Week ran a story called “Corporate Snoops” which is a good look at the mindset and gadgets using corporate espionage.
The San Francisco Chronicle in 2005 reported about a case they called “The spies in the next cube”. It was about an employee who said they were leaving to return to their home country to get married without any job. The FBI found later he was leaving will all the corporate secrets to the new job.
So the answer is … YES, it really happens.
What can you do to protect your company from being a victim of corporation espionage?
1. Culture of Security
Have the employees appreciate the need to understand and follow the corporate security policies. This needs to be done in a manner so the employees understand the importance and embrace the policies, not just hit them over the head with a rule book.2. Social Engineering Awareness
Have the employees made aware of social engineering ploys and have an escalation plan for the employees to follow when they think they are a target of a social engineering attack.3. Floor Marshall
Have a floor marshal program in effect so when employees thinks a person is out of place, they know what to do and know who to tell.4. Dumper Diving Protection
There are simple things you can do to eliminate the bad guys from dumpster diving and stop them finding items of interest in your trash.5. Physical Building Security
The office building is what hosts the employees, files, and servers. If your doors are never locked, there are no gatekeepers, and no one looks at the video surveillance cameras then you are susceptible.6. Security Guards
More people traffic in and out of your building adds to the value of the business operations and assets inside your building increases security guards may be required to keep everything safe. A secure building coupled with adept security guards creates a secure perimeter for your building.7. Background Checks
This cannot be stressed enough. If you have employees that can access your crown jewels you need to make sure they can be trusted. A quick background and reference check can also be helpful in employee selection process.8. Security Software
Many corporate spooks have gone digital. These spooks use Trojan horse (malicious / nasty software) to relay data from your computer system to their offshore data collection servers. Keep the latest security software on your desktops and servers.9. Assessments and Security Audits
Tests, assessments and audits determine how the security polices, processes, technology hold up if you really are targeted by a bad guy. A third party assessment will gauge how easy it would be for an intruder to walk in your front door and leave with all your company assets. Physical security audits are as important of digital security assessments.10. Security Mindedness
This is the same of the first point. People may say that security is not their job. It is everyone’s job! You do not need to be a security professional to be security minded.Conclusion
The SANS institute has a good article called “CORPORATE ESPIONAGE 101.” It is a great read to familiarize yourself with corporate espionage and what these thugs are looking for.For the non-security professionals just remember; keep your eyes and ears open to things that are out of place. If your “Spidey Sense” goes off or you feel a disturbance in the Force, it probably is for a good reason!
