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FBI Announces Public Service Announcement On ‘Corporate Espionage’

The Federal Bureau of Investigations announced a public service campaign today to bring attention to the $13 billion dollars in lost trade secrets to U.S. businesses by way of state-sponsored organizations and organized-criminal elements.  In February, 2012, five companies and individuals were charged with economic espionage and theft of trade secrets for their role in trying to obtain information on a chemical known as chloride-route titanium (TiO2).  TiO2 is a commercially valuable white pigment with numerous uses, including coloring paints, plastics, and paper. DuPont, a company based in Wilmington, Delaware, invented the chloride-route process for manufacturing TiO2 and invested heavily in research and development to improve the process over the years. In 2011, the company reported that its TiO2 trade secrets had been stolen.  A federal indictment disclosed that the People’s Republic of China was interested in learning more about the chemicals capabilities.

Locked doors

On their website, the FBI identifies ways for a company to spot if an employee may be spying and trying to steal corporate trade secrets.  As a courtesy, I am posting the list here: 

  • They work odd hours without authorization.
  • Without need or authorization, they take proprietary or other information home in hard copy form and/or on thumb drives, computer disks, or e-mail.
  • They unnecessarily copy material, especially if it’s proprietary or classified.
  • They disregard company policies about installing personal software or hardware, accessing restricted websites, conducting unauthorized searches, or downloading confidential material.
  • They take short trips to foreign countries for unexplained reasons.
  • They engage in suspicious personal contacts with competitors, business partners, or other unauthorized individuals.
  • They buy things they can’t afford.
  • They are overwhelmed by life crises or career disappointments.
  • They are concerned about being investigated, leaving traps to detect searches of their home or office or looking for listening devices or cameras.

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