Law firms major targets of corporate spies – IBA

Detailed findings of the investigation will not be released until November, but a Business Times report says early indications are that SA companies are being hit by industrial espionage on a large scale. The biggest targets locally are multinationals, banks and financial institutions, law firms and technology-dependent industries. Spies are being hired or planted in companies to steal trade secrets, strategies, research and development processes, production methods, client lists, business plans, marketing plans and sensitive information relating to deals. ‘The problem is very serious. I can’t name cases right now, but corporate leaders are increasingly becoming victims of industrial spying,’ Valentina Zoghbi, a lawyer involved in the IBA investigation, is quoted as saying. Tim Jackson, an information security expert, said: ‘There has been a steady increase of industrial espionage in SA. ‘It has been kept under wraps for a long time, but with the galloping pace of technology these days, it has now hit the country with a force. ‘It is happening across the board – from listed to medium and small companies. Full Business Times report More on the IBA site