11 Nov Economic Espionage: How to protect your company

The business world is more competitive than ever, and to gain an edge, companies often gather information on competitors’ offerings, sales, finances, and marketing strategies. While some information is legally obtained by closely monitoring market trends and public channels, not all companies are satisfied with the intelligence gained in this manner. Some turn to questionable tactics to get an advantage over the competition. Economic espionage is more common than one might think, and business owners can learn more about it in the guide below.

Also interesting: how a secure dataroom helps to protect business transactions.

Economic Espionage Targets

Why Isn’t Industrial Espionage More Widely Reported?

While economic espionage is technically illegal, it is very common. No matter a company’s size, if it’s in business long enough, it will be affected. Despite its widespread nature, it’s rarely reported, perhaps for the below reasons:
• It’s difficult to prove. Corporate spying is often done by insiders who are privy to sensitive information. It’s almost indistinguishable from these individuals’ daily activities; therefore, it’s almost impossible to prove.
• It’s hard to hold suspects accountable. Because laws on economic espionage and trade secrets vary so widely, it may be hard to hold foreign corporations responsible. Even in domestic cases, large companies can delay court proceedings to the point that it makes no sense to continue the case.
All of these reasons encourage companies not to publicly disclose economic espionage. Although it’s each company’s responsibility to set identification and response protocols, prevention is the most effective way to handle these situations.

How It’s Done

To understand how to prevent corporate spying, it’s important to learn how it’s done. Online systems can be breached in many ways, such as malware, known exploits, and specialized software. In inter-corporate espionage, however, it’s more common to use a malicious insider. A competitor may plant a mole inside a company, who will act as a regular worker while gathering intelligence for the other company. Employees can inadvertently perform espionage tasks by clicking on odd email links or using unauthorized devices. Finally, terminated employees pose a significant risk. A disgruntled worker or a once-trusted employee can easily take important information with them on the way out.

Best Practices for the Prevention of Economic Espionage

As employees are responsible for most cases, preventing espionage is more involved than simply upgrading malware protection. It’s important for companies to strengthen their security positions and pay particular attention to the detection and prevention of insider threats. Follow these tips to lessen the incidence and severity of corporate spying.
• Conduct a risk assessment. To establish protection, the company must identify all potential targets. Companies have to know which secrets and information are most valuable to their competitors. This information can be gathered by comparing trade secrets with already-available products and known competitive assets.
• Establish a security policy. All rules should be included in a written policy that’s effectively enforced. These policies should include rules meant to prevent spying and reduce insider threats, such as banning of personal devices and password sharing. All employees should be made ware, and the policy should be fairly enforced.
• Maintain a streamlined access policy. In many cases, access to sensitive data is only expressly prohibited when there’s an evident risk. While default policies are often more convenient, they’re not very safe. By limiting access to critical data, companies can reduce the number of ways competitors can obtain it.
• Secure the corporate infrastructure. It’s vital to set a perimeter around the corporate network. Conventional security software is the first defense, and the second is to separate sensitive data from the rest of the network. Building a layered, secure perimeter is an effective way to prevent malware- and hacking-based economic espionage.
• Mandate employee education. To prevent accidental espionage, company owners must educate employees about potential threats. Inform them of the role they play in corporate security, and show them easy practices that can be used on a daily basis. When employees know why the security policy is in place, they’re more likely to follow it.
• Do background screenings. This general practice can help business owners assess a potential employee’s risk before hiring them. However, it can also help companies prevent espionage by allowing owners to point out potential spies. It’s also beneficial to occasionally check the backgrounds of current employees, especially those with access to sensitive information.
• Set termination protocols. In many instances, economic espionage is committed during an employee’s last few days. Some employees keep their credentials active after they’re fired, which allows them to access important data after the fact. Proper procedures can protect companies from potential spying by former employees.
• Monitor employees’ activity. Malicious activities can be hard to detect, especially among users with high privilege levels, like upper managers and system administrators. These employees can easily gather information during the course of a normal work day, and they can explain abnormal behaviors as honest mistakes. Without the right tools in place, it can be nearly impossible to detect an attack from the inside. Monitoring is the most effective way to detect and prevent employee spying, because it makes their actions visible and allows the company to pinpoint and prevent data theft.

Conclusion

Economic espionage can cause severe damage to a company’s reputation and prevent it from taking advantage of growth opportunities. By following the best practices mentioned above and by using the right user monitoring tools, company owners can prevent corporate spying and protect the business from internal and external threats.