A company's assets go far beyond the items that are used and stored by it. The methods, strategies and knowledge used to ensure its continuity must be protected, just like any type of property within a business. For this reason, it is very important that companies protect their intellectual property against industrial espionage.
Industrial espionage is nothing more than obtaining confidential data or information from companies, with the aim of obtaining advantages or carrying out any type of scam. Theft of this type of information can cause countless losses for businesses, and may even result in the company having to close its activities.
But how can a company deal with this problem and ensure the protection of all its intellectual property? Understand how industrial espionage works and protect yourself from this dangerous threat.
Do you know what industrial espionage is?
Evidently, industrial espionage is a practice carried out clandestinely. When this type of problem happens, it is difficult for managers to realize that information is being stolen , and in most cases, the company only realizes that it has suffered from this type of threat when the consequences begin to appear.
This type of practice can be done in different ways, making this threat a major risk for business. For many years, industrial espionage took place in person, that is: criminals or competing companies sent people to obtain information illicitly, and used this data to guarantee their advantages.
This means that, to obtain this information, criminals sent service providers to the establishment or enlisted the business's own employees. For this reason, noticing this type of problem has always been extremely difficult .
With the advancement of technology, industrial espionage has reached an even more dangerous level, and can be carried out through malicious applications and software. Below are some forms of industrial espionage that are widely used today:
Image capture
In this case, the spy sent accesses the company and is able to view documents, files and information, photographing and capturing images of them. To do this, he can count on the help of employees to gain access to information and steal data , such as strategies, accounting information, customer data, and much more.
Cyber espionage
Through this strategy, industrial espionage takes place in the digital environment. Cybercriminals can install malicious software or invade a company's systems to access its most precious data and pass this information on to interested parties.
Espionage through bugging
In this case, the objective is to record conversations and discover strategies implemented by a business through listening. To do this, he needs to have access to the company and install devices or use software on the company's computers and smartphones to capture audio data.
We know that discovering whether any employee is helping or colluding with any type of threat is practically impossible. For this reason, it is very important that the company uses security tools that help keep its devices protected and avoid contamination by malicious software, such as spyware.
How could this leak harm your business?
The main problem caused by industrial espionage is related to the loss of customers and suppliers. A very famous case of industrial espionage hit one of the largest multinationals on the planet, Coca-Cola. In the 90s, the market giant was the victim of an industrial espionage attempt by a competing company, Pepsi.
Pepsi's objective was to increase its size and reach an even larger share of the drinks and soft drinks market. As it captured a very small share of the market, approximately 6% (while Coca-Cola dominated half of the market), it used this strategy to try to obtain important data from the company.
However, his espionage plan was discovered by a sound technician who reported the approach and forwarded the information to a Coca-Cola partner in São Paulo. Thanks to quick action, Coca-Cola managed to avoid the loss of its information and avoid the main consequences that could have been caused by the competitor company's action.
The result of this is that Pepsi had a considerable drop in the market and ended up being sold. See other cases of industrial espionage that have become well known in recent years.
This type of example demonstrates how important it is for the company to have an action protocol and strategies for document management. Many companies depend on this type of data to stay active and ensure their growth and competitive advantage.
For a company, losing information due to industrial espionage, in addition to harming its growth and development, can also have a very negative impact on its image in the market and consumers .
Is it possible to protect my data?
Cybersecurity has become a priority for companies of all sizes and segments. There are many threats that can impact the continuity of a business and cause a company to suffer numerous losses in the market. Increased competitiveness has also brought with it a large increase in victims of industrial espionage, causing loss of valuable data for maintaining a business.
A successful company needed a long journey to achieve its space in the market , developing quality products, building a large chain of suppliers and establishing strategies that help it stay at the top. Leaking this type of information to competing companies causes extremely negative impacts.
With this, we can understand the importance of establishing strategies to protect your data and avoid this approach. Here are some tips we have prepared for you to protect your business:
Invest in training your employees
As we have seen, industrial espionage can be favored by the connivance of employees of the company itself. To avoid this type of problem, it is essential that the company builds a culture of knowledge and appreciation so that employees understand the importance of industrial property and how it is responsible for the development and growth of a business.
Your employees need to understand that company data is extremely important and must be protected just like any other type of asset. There are some precautions that must be taken on a daily basis to avoid creating points of vulnerability in a company's networks and devices. And the more prepared your team is, the lower the chances of oversights happening.
Invest in digital security
There are several resources and tools that can be used to increase digital security within your business. In addition to having protection tools such as antivirus and firewall, it is also important to implement an internet access blocking and control feature .
This tool is very necessary as most cyber threats are planted as a trap on various websites and platforms. Scams such as phishing , ransomware and spyware can reach your company due to reckless behavior by employees.
Store your data in a secure environment
Cloud technology has brought countless benefits to our reality. Through it, we can run programs and applications in a virtual environment, without the need to install files on the computer, ensuring easy and simplified access for all employees.
This technology also allowed data to be stored in this environment, bringing more security and practicality to the organization's day-to-day operations. However, even though it is a very efficient technology, it is necessary to have protection tools to keep this data away from access by unauthorized people.
Technology to your advantage in data security
We know that the digital environment is full of threats that can harm your business continuity and expose valuable information. Industrial espionage is a very present reality, and your company needs to have the most efficient resources and tools on the market to ensure that your company protects itself.
Your defense strategy must rely on the best technologies to ensure that confidential information is protected in the best way. In addition to having security resources to block threats of this type, it is also essential to adopt strategies to avoid the creation of points of vulnerability.
Since it is practically impossible to predict the behavior of your employees within the digital environment, using an access control tool and blocking certain pages and resources on the internet is essential. This way, you will be able to keep your company safer and prevent your business's most valuable data from being exposed to competitors or cybercriminals.
Lumiun Internet Security has great tools on the market to help you avoid unwanted access and ensure greater protection of your company's intellectual property. With our solution, you can minimize the risks of industrial espionage in a simplified and intelligent way.
Discover our options: Lumiun DNS , Lumiun BOX and Lumiun ISP .
