Industrial espionage – Get advice from experienced detectives
As a business detective agency, we offer an all-round carefree package for all the requirements that companies can place on us. Our detectives are on duty for you throughout Germany and, of course, worldwide. Whether it is about protection against industrial espionage or sabotage by competitors or evidence in case of fraud is needed, here our detectives can be infiltrated into your company to provide reliable evidence. Due to the proximity to your employees, you can find out in the shortest possible time whether your case really involves industrial espionage. In this way, especially cases of sabotage and fraud can be solved quickly and reliably. Our detectives are able to infiltrate any area of the company and know how to find their way in any environment without attracting negative attention or suspicion.
The risk of industrial espionage is exacerbated by the fact that those responsible are often not even aware of industrial espionage. Data theft and theft of ideas are among the most common economic crimes worldwide. In such cases, we will carefully investigate and prevent any possible damage to you as the affected company. Many attacks on large companies are actually carried out through suppliers and cooperation partners. Most of them are small and medium-sized companies that are unprotected from industrial espionage. With advanced technology and expertise regarding cybercrime, we uncover all vulnerabilities of potential attackers and help close security gaps before they become problems. This is how we at PRIMECHECK help you detect attackers and prove data espionage.
Industrial espionage in the digital space
Industrial espionage is increasingly taking place in the digital world. This includes your computer or laptop. And this device, which you trust the most, can be abused with the right means to turn against you. All it takes here is clicking on an otherwise harmless link in an email or website. Even if nothing obvious happens, malware can install itself on a computer unnoticed at that moment. Modern malware is very versatile. So, spyware can not only steal data, but also activate microphones or cameras. Confidential conversations in the office can become public faster than one would like. Despite the possibility of digital communication, traditional bugs and cameras are still used for industrial espionage. Due to their small size, they are almost impossible to find without expensive equipment. The “bug finder” available in the store at the lowest price is hardly suitable for this purpose. Only a few detective agencies have the necessary equipment, especially the necessary expertise. PRIMECHECK uses the latest technology for this and has many years of well-founded expertise.
Industrial espionage – Cybercrime
Despite the high level of disruption, the threat of industrial espionage is still often underestimated. Preventive measures must be based not only on stronger protection of IT and telecommunications systems, but also on greater concern for users. However, prevention within companies should place more emphasis on raising awareness and supporting employees to understand digital processes than on controls and comprehensive monitoring measures. Illustrate the challenge again with examples and figures. In the past, simple forms of industrial espionage were enough to send company employees promotional emails with Trojan horses attached. Malware spreads first on employees’ computers and then throughout the corporate network.
Today, modern IT systems and firewalls are so good that they detect them in time and block attacks in most cases. In addition, most employees know that they should no longer click on every poorly designed email attachment without hesitation, but that is precisely the problem. Today’s perpetrators are much more targeted. While it used to be possible to steal as much information and data as possible, criminals are now very interested in individual companies or specific technologies. If an attack method such as a Trojan horse in an email attachment doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean the hackers will give up. Modern attack toolkits for intelligence agencies, industrial espionage and organized crime offer multiple ways to gain access to corporate networks or specific computers. In this context, one speaks of persistent and persistent attacks, so-called APT attacks (Advanced Persistent Threats). To do this, perpetrators often spend weeks researching exact contacts, their hobbies, friends, former employers or common phrases in the company.
Industrial espionage – A view into the future
In order to meet the challenges of the future, preventive measures must be coordinated with current attacks and many areas of the company must work together. In order to develop regulations for controlling IT equipment, compliance must be involved in addition to IT and HR, but on the other hand, care must be taken to ensure that such controls are implemented with a sense of proportion. Management should also focus on this issue. First, top management is largely the target of such attacks. Second, budgets for strengthening the IT infrastructure and raising employee awareness are only released when management recognizes the importance of these measures. Especially when implementing employee awareness measures, it is important that management leads by example and supports all measures. This is the only way to effectively protect against industrial espionage.
