Investigation into industrial espionage and leaks

Investigation into industrial espionage and leaks

Industrial espionage is a form of espionage conducted for the purpose of gaining information on a company or on the company’s activities. Other companies or corporations will advance their own interest from this information.

Industrial espionage can take place in a number of ways, ranging from personal infiltration to advanced electronic devices. For instance:

A company’s employee can be bribed by a competitor into handing over confidential information. Or a competitor may “hire” a job-applicant beforehand.

Another, more modern, approach is to infiltrate via the competitor’s computer network. A ‘Trojan horse’ is often employed, which is a piece of software specifically designed to obtain information covertly.

We would advise to include a non-competition clause in your employment contract. This implies that a former employee may not start to work for a company operating in the same branch within a certain amount of time after termination of his or her contract. This can help prevent knowledge or expertise from vanishing and ending up at your competitor’s desk.

Industrial espionage can occur in the commercial sector, but also in the non-commercial sector, sports sector and semi-governmental organizations.

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