Corporate espionage is a crime that involves companies spying on each other or, more dramatically, foreign governments spying on domestic companies. There are different forms of corporate espionage, and they can involve complex and technical plots that span borders and various industries.
Types of corporate espionage
There are two main styles of corporate espionage, and they depend on what is being stolen. The first is when the target of the theft is intellectual property. This includes strategies, processes, techniques and so on. Companies possess important information that is likely to be stolen by competitors. This kind of information can help competitors outmaneuver their rivals if they are able to secure it ahead of when it will become public.
The other type is when the goal of the corporate espionage is to spy and steal trade secrets using social engineering, surveillance, blackmail and other means. This is something that is more common with government spying because foreign governments want to take technology and other secret information from the companies that control it. This is a powerful way to leap ahead in terms of tech, particularly in sensitive industries like rocketry, chip design or communications.
Involving corporate law
There is a lot of legal complexity to corporate espionage cases, and if the matter has to involve international law, then determining the jurisdiction and other key aspects can be very difficult. It may also be a challenge to prove that the espionage took place. Successfully navigating a corporate espionage case can take a lot of time and effort, but it is important for ensuring that trade secrets remain secret and that foreign governments do not steal any important or sensitive technology.