Foreign Intelligence Services Spy on German Companies

Whether it’s research results, strategies for development, product information, client data or budget plans — business secrets of successful companies are increasingly becoming coveted by industrious spies.

 

The spies, said Elmar Remberg, deputy chief of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Germany’s domestic intelligence agency), come from the former republics of the Soviet Union, but primarily, from China.

 

“China is intensively collecting information around the world — political, military and scientific data, and company strategies in order close the gap in their technology developments as quickly as possible,” Remberg said.

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And there are other weak points, said Michael Hange, deputy chief of the German Federal Office for Information Security. “W-Lan and mobile communication are popular points of assault,” he said.

 

A company in Thailand, for instance, offers monitoring services of cell phone conversations.

 

“You only have to get a hold of your parnter’s cell phone and type in a few commands and then you can monitor all the calls,” Hange said.

 

Experts say, however, that there is no way to protect against industrial espionage one hundred percent. They recommend that companies have a good IT security plan and stress that managers of companies must be more aware of the dangers. Employees must also be trained, even if they are trusted.

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