Thought Apple was the only company that had its precious intellectual property compromised by competitors like Samsung? Think again.
According to Automotive News, industrial espionage in the United States has been steadily rising in multiple sectors. In fact, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) have opened 1,212 intellectual property rights cases for the 2011 fiscal year. Compared to 2009, cases have increased by nearly 66 percent.
Given the high-octane environment that is the auto industry, cloak and dagger activities are especially prevalent. In particular, auto giants including GM, Ford and Toyota have endured stolen intellectual property more than most.
Last month, an IT contractor for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc. was accused of hacking into the company's database, taking ahold of extremely sensitive trade secrets.
What's more, GM and Ford were victims of theft from their own employees as well when internal information found its way to foreign competitiors.
Expressing the severity of the rising threat and the challenging conditions, U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole said during a Michigan keynote, "A well-placed rogue employee can capture a company's highly proteted crown jewels, things on which profits and jobs depend on."
Highlighting a rather high-profile incident of espionage, Assistant U.S. attorney Cathleen Corken brought attention to a case regarding a Ford employee that has stolen thousands of secrets in order to secure a job with another competitor.
Ford product engineer Xiang Dong Yu, or Mike Yu, served as a FoMoCo employee from 1997 to 2007. On July 2005, Yu traveled to China under the false alibi that he had to return to tend to his sick mother. The real reason for Yu's trip to China was an interview for a job for a Chinese auto company. Throughout his many interviews, Yu had disclosed a significant amount of Ford trade secrets to the Chinese companies.
After a brief stint working his new job in China, Yu decided that he favored his old position at Ford instead. However, by December 2006, Yu accepted a job in China once again, this time at Foxconn. This time, before departing from Ford for good, Yu had copied nearly 4,000 Ford documents, including proprietary engine, transmission, and electrical system information.
By the time the FBI caught Yu, agents discovered 41 Ford system design documents saved in his laptop. All files were accessed later during his time working for Beijing Automotive Group in 2009.
According to Ford, losses related to the theft are estimated to be as high as $100 million in labor costs.
Addressing a need to prevent acts of espionage to continue, the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive declared that countermeasures must be put in place due to the exponentially growing proliferation of smartphones and various mobile devices.
In order to minimize the possibilities of theft, companies are advised to be thorough during exit interviews, safeguarding its property from any potential of theft. For example, Cathleen Corken advises companies to preserve e-mails after an employee leaves. Companies must also ensure all sensitive documents and provided electronic devices are returned the the company prior to the employee's departure.
That said, only 4 percent of data breaches originate from employees. Hacking still remains a primary concern over company losses.
