A Growing Problem..

Industrial espionage or corporate espionage is espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of national security purposes.

The term is distinct from legal and ethical activities such as examining corporate publications, websites, patent filings, and the like to determine the activities of a corporation (this is normally referred to as competitive intelligence). Theoretically the difference between espionage and legal information gathering is clear. In practice, it is quite difficult to sometimes tell the difference between legal and illegal methods. Especially if one starts to consider the ethical side of information gathering, the border becomes even more blurred and elusive of definition.

Industrial espionage describes activities such as theft of trade secrets, bribery, blackmail, and technological surveillance. As well as spying on commercial organizations, governments can also be targets of commercial espionage—for example, to determine the terms of a tender for a government contract so that another tenderer can underbid.

Industrial espionage is most commonly associated with technology-heavy industries, particularly the computer and automobile sectors.

Espionage takes place in many forms. In short, the purpose of espionage is to gather knowledge about (an) organization(s). A spy may be hired, or may work for oneself.

 

 

Electronic Surveillance

Electronic surveillance is used to observe or listen to persons, places or activities, usually in a secretive or obtrusive manner and with the aid of electronic devices such as cameras, microphones, tape recorders, eavesdropping transmitters, or wire taps. The object of electronic surveillance when used in law enforcement is to gather evidence of a crime or to accumulate intelligence about suspected criminal activity. Corporations use electronic surveillance to maintain the security of their buildings and grounds. Some companies use Electronic Surveillance or to gather information about competitors.

There are probably hundreds of books on electronic surveillance and eavesdropping, but few are written by industry professionals who understand the creative but complex nature of eavesdropping. It is certainly understandable why a reputably successful eavesdropper who has spent years breaking the laws would not want to write about it. It is also understandable why law enforcement would not write a book explaining how they performed electronic surveillance operations.

For a complete glossary of terms relevant to electronic surveillance please click here.