Industrial Espionage in Asia-Middle East-Europe

The galloping pace of new technology is making espionage, such as eavesdropping or theft, an ever more potential problem for companies today.
Mobile phones and the internet now provide a number of additional ways for people to get at a company's information.
This is helped by an ever more sophisticated and easily obtainable array of gadgets and tools with which to carry out this kind of dirty work.
For example, an electronic bug can be enclosed in an apparently normal mobile phone battery, creating a listening device that is forever powered and able to transmit the user's

most private conversations.
And bugs, of course, can not only be placed in mobile phones; they can be found in a wide array of different places from pens to buttons. It may all sound a little James Bond, but the truth is it is a very real threat for businesses today.
The economic damage caused by this kind of industrial espionage is tremendous; however, companies rarely ask the help of police for fear of damaged reputations or becoming even more of a target.
This is where people like Frank Heyde come in. His company, Manager SOS, offers companies a vast array of anti industrial espionage measures.
People like Heyde often come from national secret services and use the same tools as the spies themselves. Heyde himself worked for well known security agency before starting his own business.
Manager SOS comprises of a European wide network of security experts, IT specialists, crisis managers and solicitors all aimed at helping a company combat any attacks it may face, or find the `safety gaps' that exist in its current set up.
The vast range of situations that Manager SOS says it can help companies deal with demonstrates the wide scope of what can fall under the term of industrial espionage.
To name but a few, the company can help tackle sabotage attempts, fraud, character assassinations, threats against personnel, and the handling of co-workers/business partners.
It can come into your office to track down bugs, to fingerprint if a crime has been carried out or provide a bodyguard for your key personnel.
It also offers companies specifically guided seminars on how to deal with a number of different situations such as bad behaviour on business trips, handling competitors and enemies, as well as the protection of business and private activities.
If this all still sounds a little extreme, then you would be wise to consider a survey by the UK's Institute of Directors (IoD), which found that some 60% of its members have suffered from theft - be it electronic or of the more traditional form - while 14% have reported internet crime in one form or another.
According to industry estimates, more than £10m of bugging devices have now been sold in the UK. Considering some bugs cost as little as £40 each, that could be an awful lot of bugs; meaning the possibility of one being placed at your business could be a lot smaller than you imagine.