"LA Times": Israel Among Leaders of Industrial Espionage in US

The damage caused by industrial espionage is estimated at $300 billion per year.

The governments of at least 23 countries, including Israel, Germany, Russia, China and France, have expanded their economic espionage against companies operating in the US. This was reported today (Monday) by the "Los Angeles Times", which quoted FBI sources.

The paper said that from results of a survey conducted by the US Industrial Security Association it appears that the loss of proprietary rights income caused by local and international espionage is estimated at some $300 billion in 1997 alone.

Large companies reported to the survey over a thousand documented incidents of industrial espionage, with some 550 more possible instances. The paper said that the periodical survey made by the association was the only indication of the probably economic damage caused by industrial espionage that the authorities received.

The 1997 survey shows that high-tech companies, especially in Silicon Valley, California, were the favoured targets for foreign espionage, followed by manufacturing industries and services. The spies look mainly for information connected with research and development strategies, production and marketing plans, and client lists.

The "Los Angeles Times" states that the FBI did not reveal the names of the governments under whose protection industrial espionage was carried out. However, in an article published in an academic journal, an FBI agent mentioned the names of a number of countries, including also France, Germany, Israel, China, Russia and South Korea, as the main ones involved in industrial espionage.

Published by Israel's Business Arena January 12, 1998

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018