Corporate Espionage: How to Identify & Stop It?

In today’s highly competitive business world, corporate espionage cases​ are quite common. The reason behind this is quite simple. There is fierce competition among companies for even a single business opportunity. So, they all want to sell more products and services to the maximum number of customers as soon as possible. It helps them to earn more revenue and capture a bigger market share.

Remember, every company has valuable information that may be of interest to competitors or other interested parties. It includes a VIP client base, a successful business strategy, financial information, etc.

Getting such valuable information through corporate espionage helps business organizations to gain unfair competitive advantages. And the victim suffers tremendous losses. If left unchecked, it can destroy a company completely. So let’s discuss some important ways to identify corporate espionage and fix the problem immediately. 

In simple words, corporate espionage (also known as industrial espionage) is an illegal act of stealing valuable information from a company to gain competitive advantages. Usually, employees, competitors, foreign entities, third parties, hackers, etc, perform such tasks. 

To steal valuable information and destroy the competitor entirely, companies usually-

• Hack the computer systems of their rivals.
• Plant spies (as employees) in organizations.
• Keep a close eye on communications.
• Offer financial temptation to spies
• Launch cyberattacks, etc.

Verify All Your Employees Before Recruitment
Undoubtedly, highly educated and experienced employees are an asset to a business organization. They help the company to conduct everyday business activities smoothly and attract more customers. But remember, a competitor might implant its spy as an employee in your organization. He/she may steal valuable information without getting noticed and transfer it to the rival company. This situation is quite detrimental to your organization. You can lose your valuable information and lots of business opportunities.

So, verify all your employees before you hire. Conduct background checks to know essential red flags, such as past criminal activity, falsified credentials, relationships with competitors, and foreign entities. Access their employment history, references, education, and organization as far as possible. It will enable you to stop the hiring of individuals with hidden agendas & reduce the possibility of industrial espionage. 

Supervise Employees Activities
The threat of industrial espionage does not end after the successful verification and hiring of employees. Even the most trusted professionals of an organization may be a “double agent” without your knowledge. 

They might be leaking your company’s secret information. So you should keep a close eye on the activities of all employees at the workplace. Take your business to the cloud platform and create login credentials for everyone.

Ask them to log in to their e-accounts on the work floor. This will enable you to keep a close eye on all their activities. Take preventive steps if someone is involved in cyber espionage. 

Unusual data access, unauthorized sharing of files with strangers, violation of policies, unusually affluent living standards are some red flags. They might indicate that a particular employee or a group in your company is involved in cyber espionage. 

Protect Your Business Data
For an organization, losing access to available data is the most unfortunate thing. It hampers its progress and cripples business activities. Define the roles and responsibilities of everyone in your organization. 

Determine how much data they can access for everyday business activities. Never allow anyone to access all important business data that is not meant for them. Collect and store data in at least two different places (one on a cloud server and the second on secure personal hardware). Be alert if someone tries to access sensitive business data without your prior knowledge. 

Conduct Surprise Audits
In simple words, surprise audits are unannounced inspections by a company’s internal or external auditors. Conduct it unexpectedly as per your wish. Check computers, laptops, Internet-enabled mobile handsets, messengers, incoming and outgoing email communications, etc. It will help catch irregularities at the workplace and eliminate scams before they can cause large-scale damage. 

Use Non-disclosure Agreements
Ask all stakeholders of your company to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). It will compel them to maintain the confidentiality of the sensitive business information. When NDAs are in place, unauthorized sharing of sensitive information leads to legal investigation and prosecution. Don’t hesitate to take legal action if policies are violated. It will work as an effective tool against industrial espionage within the organization.

Encourage Employees To Report Fraud
It’s not easy for a business person to analyze the behaviour of all employees every day and take preventive actions in case of fraud. Therefore, they must encourage professionals to secretly report fraudulent activities to the higher authorities of the organization as soon as possible. 

If you suspect that an employee is involved in cyber espionage, conduct an internal investigation to find out the truth. Take appropriate action as per the findings. Prompt action will limit the damage to your organization.

Cyber espionage can be extremely damaging to your business organization and lead to its downfall if you don’t act fast. Seek help from Sky Recoup to address the problem. We have comprehensive experience in digital fraud analysis, investigation, and money recovery. Our experts will analyze both internal and external links to your organization and may uncover several cases of industrial espionage. It will help you to protect your organization from fraud, prevent financial losses, and operate your business in a safe environment.

Corporate espionage is a threat to all business organizations. It targets sensitive business data and trade secrets and gives unfair advantages to rival companies. In today’s highly competitive business world, the risk of industrial espionage is all time high. Follow the above-mentioned recommendations to detect and stop espionage attempts early. Feel free to contact Sky Recoup for reliable protection against this rapidly increasing problem. We investigate fraud cases and eliminate scams. Our help ensures your company’s survival in a competitive market and long-term success.