Germany is the land of ideas and innovations. Yet it is not only business competitors who may try to gain secret access to German expertise, it is also foreign intelligence services that are spying 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.
Andreas Blume, who is responsible for protecting new scientific findings at the chemicals company Evonik-Degussa, said small and mid-sized companies that are leaders in their field are especially at risk.
...some of the tricks the intelligence services use: supposed document shredders that are actually equipped with internal shredders and UMTS transmitters, beamers that record presentations and USB sticks with so-called Trojan Horse programs that allow hackers to spy on computers. ... A company in Thailand, for instance, offers monitoring of cell phone conversations. (more)
We hear this complaint from corporations in other countries, as well.
