Conducting of spying activities is called espionage. When efforts are made to obtain confidential information, usually about a company, its products, research and findings, then the practice is termed as industrial espionage. It is done with stealth, without the knowledge or permission from the company or person to whom the information belongs.
Industrial espionage is generally referred to the efforts of a country or a corporation trying to gain information regarding their adversaries or competitors. It often relates to gaining information with the help of people who are confidants of the other group and have access to the relevant information.
Industrial Espionage
When espionage is conducted by a corporation or a company to gain financial benefits, it is called industrial espionage. It may be called corporate espionage also. This is vastly different from the spying conducted by governments and their departments for military or political purposes.
Industrial espionage can involve a number of subterfuge practices. It may be as blatant as outright theft of information or involve more subtle forms such as blackmail or bribery to get the sought pieces of information. This kind of industrial espionage can involve the government bodies also. If an organisation tries to obtain secret information regarding a government contract or tender, then too, it is called industrial espionage.
Reasons for Espionage
One does not need to go too far to identify the reasons behind industrial espionage. It is a very basic and simple thing to comprehend. In today’s world of cut throat competition, information can make all the difference. It might be the new designs or prototype of a car being developed by a company or the tender bids of a competitor. Having access to relevant information can turn the tables and change the very arithmetic of the playing field.
Having access to direct information of the key clients of a competitor and their terms and conditions can help in changing the loyalties of the said clients, with ease, by way of offering them more lucrative propositions. The same is true if one were to get hold of the terms and conditions for the supply of any items to a given concern. Similarly, competitors laying hands on important research and development projects can also cause a loss to a company, owning the same.
Recent Developments
In recent times, the term industrial espionage has become more ominous. Nowadays, it is not simply about stealing information surreptitiously but could operate with an intent to sabotage the very functioning or even the existence of a competing enterprise.
Nowadays industrial espionage has expanded into introduction of malicious and hostile software into the computer systems of the competitor. This can have a highly destructive effect as all data is generally stored in a digital format on the computers. Introduction of malicious software can play havoc with the data and cause irreparable damage to the operations of a company.
Not only are those competitors known to have introduced computer software that is malicious in nature, there have been instances of computer software being installed into the systems of other companies that collect requisite information in a concealed and underhand way. By doing this the installer of the software can gain not only sensitive information but even limited control over the computer system.
Both espionage and sabotage have become interlinked. Nowadays measures to counter industrial espionage also keep sabotage in mind and try to deal with both malicious operations simultaneously. This is of vital importance as the competition in the market place is growing tougher by the day.
Tools of Espionage
Confidential data can be stolen with relative ease if one company is able to either bribe its way or arm-twist a reliable worker who may have access to important data. Such a worker can easily make copies of all information using something as innocuous as a universal serial bus flash drive or a digital camera.
Both the objects are so small that they can be carried without any difficulty into restricted areas. If the individual conducting the espionage is of a high position then the amount and quality of data that can be compromised can be of dangerous levels for a company.
Digital Forensics (also known as Computer Forensics)
Digital forensics is becoming increasingly important owing to the large scale industrial espionage activities. The experts in digital forensics are able to pin point the exact source of digital espionage; they can preserve all evidence in this regard and help in analysing all data collected to detect espionage and present it in the format required to bring the guilty to book.