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.

 

 

Think your cell phone calls and text messages are safe? Think again.

Think your cell phone calls and text messages are safe? Think again.

More programs are cropping up that allow people to spy on you. They can tap in and listen to your conversations or read your text messages. Geeksaresexy.com also reports that a service called World Tracker lets you use data from cell phone towers and GPS systems to pinpoint your location. Another program called Flexispy can bug a phone and allow people to listen in on your conversation, even if you're not talking on the phone. The mic will turn on and you won't even know your cell phone is on.

Experts say cell phones just don't offer much protection. "Cell phones are not like computers," security consultant Michael Fjetland told MyFoxDetroit. "There's no firewall, there's very little in the way of anti-virus software so once they make that connection, basically, it's an open door."

The spyware programs are inexpensive, but they require someone to physically access your phone in order to install the program. Oftentimes spouses, lovers, parents and co-workers are the victims. James Atkinson, a spy-phone expert at Granite Island Group, a security consultancy in Gloucester, Mass., estimates the number of tapped phones in the U.S. is 3 percent.

How do you know if you're being spied on? MyFoxDetroit said these are signs your cell phone might be bugged with spyware:

5) Phone is unusually warm even though you haven't been using it-- could indicate unauthorized transmissions.

4) Battery life drops dramatically, for no reason-- could indicate surreptitious communication.

3) Screen flashes on and off, without cause-- could indicate an incoming spy call.

2) Monthly bill shows an unwarranted spike in SMS or data transmission activity-- could indicate your phone is being accessed without your knowledge.

1) Phone receives nonsensical text messages (for example, <*#62><123456789>)-- could indicate botched attempts to send system commands.

By LILY FU (MYFOX NATIONAL) --