industrial espionage
Stealing trade secrets
Industrial espionage is the covert gathering of trade secrets, proprietary information, or confidential business data from a competitor or foreign company.
Methods range from bribing employees to hacking computer systems to planting operatives.
Unlike competitive intelligence, which uses legal research, industrial espionage involves theft or deception: The company accused its rival of industrial espionage after blueprints appeared in a knockoff product.
Protected commercial knowledge
- data breachUnauthorized access to protected information
- hackersUnauthorized computer system intruders
- cybercrimeIllegal digital conduct
- intellectual propertyLegal rights over inventions
patent infringement · manufacturing processes · photography · copying
Ongoing contest between opponents
- market sharePercentage of sector sales
- competitorsThose seeking same goal
- competitive advantageFactor enabling market outperformance
- trade secretsProtected commercial knowledge
patents · market leader · benchmarking · reverse engineering · bid rigging · price fixing · unfair advantage · market manipulation
Secretly observing others
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- counterintelligenceDefense against enemy espionage
- infiltrationCovert entry into organization
- cyberespionageComputer-based intelligence gathering
reconnaissance · eavesdropping · clandestine · moles · wiretapping · covert · undercover · disinformation
Protection of digital systems
- encryptionConverting data into code
- confidentialityQuality of protecting secrets
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
- intrusion detectionSpotting unauthorized access attempts
access control · monitoring · protocols · safeguards · biometrics · firewall · antivirus · malware
trade secrets
Protected commercial knowledge
- data breachUnauthorized access to protected information
- hackersUnauthorized computer system intruders
- cybercrimeIllegal digital conduct
intellectual property · patent infringement · manufacturing processes · photography · copying
rivalry
Ongoing contest between opponents
- market sharePercentage of sector sales
- competitorsThose seeking same goal
- competitive advantageFactor enabling market outperformance
trade secrets · patents · market leader · benchmarking · reverse engineering · bid rigging · price fixing · unfair advantage · market manipulation · economic warfare
spying
Secretly observing others
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- counterintelligenceDefense against enemy espionage
- infiltrationCovert entry into organization
cyberespionage · reconnaissance · eavesdropping · clandestine · moles · wiretapping · covert · undercover · disinformation · countermeasures
cybersecurity
Protection of digital systems
- encryptionConverting data into code
- confidentialityQuality of protecting secrets
- authenticationConfirming genuine identity
intrusion detection · access control · monitoring · protocols · safeguards · biometrics · firewall · antivirus · malware · spyware
- business wrongsunfair competition, passing off, predatory pricing, price fixing, bid rigging
- industrializationfactory, factories, manufacturing, urbanisation, assembly lines
- securitysecurity guard, security cameras, alarm system, security system, lock
- Auto Industryrecalls, dealerships, supply chain, emissions standards, safety ratings
- Cold War economicsMarshall Plan, containment policy, economic sanctions, trade embargo, arms race
- cotton textilescotton, cotton gin, cotton mills, cotton yarn, cotton cloth
industrial espionagepublic disclosure
Revealing information openly
due diligence · customer surveys · fair dealing · published research · trade publications
industrial espionageknowledge sharing
Transferring expertise between people
collaborative research · joint venture · academic publishing · cross-licensing · public disclosure
industrial espionageinformation security
Protecting data from threats
counterintelligence · corporate security · data protection · patent protection · cybersecurity
industry, industrial, industrious, espionage, industriousness, industrially, preindustrial, industrials, intelligencer