Every business is competing with one another to get the most market share and, therefore, increased profits. To get a competitive advantage, most corporations use ethical strategies like assessing a competitor’s website or observing their marketing techniques. However, if a company uses illegal methods to spy on its competitor to extract information related to its goods and services, sales, finances, or marketing strategies, it becomes “corporate espionage”. With valid evidence, you can even sue that person or brand. Professional investigators can help you investigate a corporate fraud, so you can present facts in the court and recover any loss. However, it is always best to prevent any industrial espionage from happening in the first place, and the risk becomes even minimal when a company is able to detect it ahead of time.
How to Detect Corporate Espionage?
Perpetrators use different methods of corporate or industrial espionage such as IP theft, cyber-attacks, hiring employees in the company, or wiretapping. Although it’s difficult to detect this kind of threat due to its nature, businesses can conduct a risk assessment on a continuous basis.
You should identify the possible threats your company faces in regard to valuable data and trade secrets. Your company should also monitor potential targets closely i.e., who possesses greater risk, which is usually the competitor. This will allow you to detect any kind of vulnerability in your system and take action before any adverse events.
Ways to Prevent Corporate Espionage
A company should also implement the following ways to prevent corporate espionage and, therefore, the loss of billions of dollars.
Minimize the Use of Physical Documents
Although the majority of businesses have been using digital methods of saving and processing information which is safer than the physical methods, still there are many of them who use physical documents, flash drives, or disks.
As the chances of theft are more with physical documentation, therefore, it carries a lot of risks. It’s always recommended to shred the paper properly before disposing of any sensitive piece of information that may otherwise end up in the hands of a perpetrator.
Implement the Use of Employee Monitoring Software
You never know when your most trusted employee may turn against you in the future and without the use of employee monitoring software, it may be hard for you to detect the mole in your company.
An employee monitoring software allows a company to keep an eye on its employees’ digital activities as well as record them that can be used as proof in court. It can monitor activities like app usage, browser history, file downloads, emails, and more.
This software can also detect any suspicious activity to warn you ahead of time so you can take an effective course of action. For instance, if your employee never sent an email to your competitor and they do so all of a sudden, you will get a notification.
Ensure Physical Security
In order to deter your own employees from giving confidential information to your competitors, it’s ideal to implement physical security like installing CCTV, alarm systems, and identification systems. You can also use a private detective as physical security.
Only the authorized personnel should be allowed to enter sensitive points i.e., where confidential information is stored. In addition to this, keeping important documents secure in a locker will also put off thieves from taking action against the company.
Develop Policies for the Flow of Information
A company should prepare a manual that states how a critical piece of information should be stored, processed, and disseminated in and outside the company. It should also mention the ways to keep the information protected and what possible actions to take in case of breach of security.
The employees should also be given proper training relating to how information should be handled and how to overcome a potential risk. Additionally, they should be trained for accurately disposing of any sensitive information or hardware.
Conduct Background Checks
It’s essential to conduct a background check before hiring an employee and keep doing so from time to time to prevent the risk of corporate espionage. A thorough background check can help to figure out if the potential employee has true intentions for the company or not.
Employees that directly deal with sensitive information should be monitored even more closely and minor workers like janitors and caterers should never be overlooked. A good private investigator will be able to monitor your employees for you.
Establish Proper Termination Procedures
To minimize the risk of corporate espionage, it’s always better to mention the policies and procedures in detail in the non-disclosure agreement and remind the leaving employee once again of all the procedures.
Usually, most of the companies’ sensitive information is disclosed by employees in the last working month, therefore, it’s important that the termination procedure is carried out smoothly. It should also be considered by the company when it will cut off the employee’s access to sensitive information and how it will obtain its laptop or smartphone. A Sydney private investigator, can be retained at a low price to monitor your staff and help you determine if the employee should be terminated or not.