Counterespionage: Protecting Your Company from Corporate Espionage

Counterespionage

Any business can be the target of covert eavesdropping; however, some are under greater risk than others i.e.; software development companies, high tech startups, defense contractors, companies awarded GSA or GPO contracts, or any highly competitive industry. What is the potential effect on you or your business if sensitive information is intercepted by an eavesdropper?

No business in today's highly competitive marketplace is safe from the threat of corporate, economic or industrial espionage. Imagine the financial and strategic damage to your company should confidential plans, trade secrets or competition sensitive information is leaked... If the company's security, trade secrets or confidential information is being breached by an insider who happens to be working for someone else, not only the top executives, but everyone in the company is at risk of having their livelihood taken away. In any given corporation, there could be hundreds or even thousands of employees that depend on that company for their income and security. How can you protect yourself? What signs should you be on the lookout for?

When possible, eavesdroppers or spies take the easiest route to a target or company's assets. In those situations, for example, a spy may gain authorized access as an employee. In other cases, a spy might enter your home or organization as a member of the cleaning crew or gather information from employees by posing as a vendor, potential client, or headhunter. However, when these avenues have been compromised, spies will turn to electronic surveillance technology. Electronic bugging devices are freely available over the web, through retail outlets and mail-order houses. They are used by competitors, disgruntled employees, professional investigators, journalists, or anyone with a reason for obtaining information about you or your company’s plans. The deployment of such equipment takes only seconds and they can be easily concealed. And, as electronic surveillance technology improves and becomes more readily available, executives, security professionals and private individuals must educate themselves about what counter surveillance methods and tools they can use to see that their interests remain safe.

A Counter Surveillance Sweep, or Technical Surveillance Countermeasure (TSCM) “Bug Sweep”, is one of the most effective means of protecting your valuable information. These highly specialized Counter Surveillance Specialist conduct sweeps or surveys that have become more effective in recent years as the counter surveillance technology used to find microphones, transmitters, and other eavesdropping devices has caught up to the sophistication level of covert surveillance equipment. The TSCM or “Bug Sweep” is designed to detect the presence of technical surveillance devices. It should also identify security hazards or weaknesses that could leave you or your company vulnerable to corporate, economic or industrial espionage.


What can you do to protect your Business from Electronic Espionage: 7 steps
1. Recognize the signs and that there is a real threat.
2. Identify and valuate trade secrets.
3. Implement a definable plan for safeguarding your assets.
4. Secure physical trade secrets and limit access.
5. Confine intellectual knowledge.
6. Provide ongoing security training to employees.
7. Contact a professional Counter Surveillance Specialist Today!

JDL
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