In business, not everyone plays fair and may thus want to gain information that is reserved exclusively for employees of a particular company. The options available for stealing business data are plentiful, from hacking attacks to the installation of eavesdropping devices.
This type of situation, however, does not belong only to the world of movies, but is a real problem that businesses have to face.
In legal terms, it's a rather slippery slope, as economic espionage has not been clearly defined, but as far as surveillance is concerned, any form of it is prohibited, without the prior consent and knowledge of the person to be affected. At the same time, it should be added that obtaining such information secretly is an illegal undertaking. Economic crimes can even be punishable by imprisonment.
What kind of data do spies want to acquire?
Among the information that is particularly useful for competing companies, we can include, for example, production plans, technology used in the company, financial data, customer data, planned marketing actions, sources of supply. Thus, one should be careful what information is included in job advertisements or passed on at conferences.
How can someone steal our company's data and how can we guard against it?
Surveillance activities can be carried out by employees who have been bribed by competitors. Therefore, top-level information should be shared only with trusted employees in whom we have full confidence.
Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and specialized. At a time when almost every company is available online, it follows that attempts to steal data have been transferred to this arena. Such attacks can leak projects, intellectual property and customer data. This is why proper training in cyber security principles should be so important in every company. All confidential messages should be encrypted, and email inboxes should be doubly secured. With the consent of employees, software can also be installed to track their activities and thus reduce the risk of sending confidential data to people unrelated to the company.
Traditional wiretapping is still present, unfortunately. Bugs are placed in strategic locations that can collect data and eavesdrop on conversations taking place at the highest level. The information collected in this way can be used to the detriment of the company. That is why it is so important to report to a proven detective agency in case of any suspicions. In the case of wiretaps, detecting spying devices on your own is incredibly difficult. Usually, these devices are very small in size, which can fit into various items used in the office, and can be installed in invisible places. That is why it is so important to apply to a professional detective bureau. Private detectives have specialized equipment that is used to detect and neutralize such threats.
Business interviews should be conducted in special rooms that have been thoroughly checked for the presence of potential special-purpose devices. It would also be a good idea for it to be adequately soundproofed so that information does not get to the wrong people, so before any important business meeting, it is a good idea to check the room where it will be held to avoid information leakage, we offer such services.
Economic espionage and business intelligence, how do they differ?
You may be surprised to learn that some detective agencies, including ours, offer a business intelligence service. It should be noted here that this term is not the same as economic espionage! In the case of espionage, the information obtained is by illegal means and involves data that the company does not want to publish. Business intelligence, on the other hand, is finding and compiling all the information about a company that can be obtained in a legal way.
So, if you want to protect yourself from leaking company data, you should enlist the help of qualified investigators. Not only will they take care of tracking down and neutralizing eavesdropping devices, but they will also show you how to properly secure sensitive information from theft.
