He also indicates that while the sectors struggling with industrial espionage are traditionally high-tech start-ups, banks and pharmaceuticals, there is a massive increase of such cases in the legal sector. “It is about protecting the conversations between clients and their lawyers, which may have a great deal of value for the third party, and we are seeing an immense growth in this sector”, says Mr Sturrock.
Daily Business states that although corporate espionage has become increasingly common, companies tend to forget that simple old-fashioned eavesdropping and bugging are still the most popular ways to gather confidential information. Mr Sturrock explains that spying equipment has become much cheaper, more accessible and easier to deploy. “In the UK, a small GSM bug can cost only GBP150 and it works incredibly well. Most companies spend a lot of money on IT systems and firewalls to protect themselves against corporate espionage, where as they spend very little money protecting their key conversations,” says the founder of a company that counters unauthorized surveillance, information leaks and other forms of commercial espionage.
BBC World Service interviewed Crispin Sturrock, the Founder and CEO of WhiteRock, for the Daily Business program. (audio interview available until 1/1/11)
