Data theft: industrial espionage in the home office

How well is the German economy protected against espionage and data theft? This is a question that the Corona pandemic raises in a new way. Companies have become more vulnerable.

Internet access, Wi-Fi, many connected devices - standard in most private households. In the Corona pandemic, however, smartphones, computers and TV sets are used to access more than just movies, music or cooking recipes. While parents are connected to businesses via their laptops, children are being taught digitally. Data flows in parallel via a shared home network.

This poses considerable risks, warns Roland Feil, managing director of Munich-based security company Dallmeier Systems. "You might have two or three kids on the Internet with their devices, and each device provides a gateway." A gateway all the way into a company's core systems. At the beginning of the pandemic, many companies still completely underestimated this, he said. "People simply accepted it in order to be able to continue working," says Feil. "But we still see the situation critically in many cases even now."

Data leakage alarms

Accessing sensitive data from the home office offers corporate spies new opportunities to obtain trade secrets. However, the old familiar ways, i.e. on-site access, still play a major role. More and more information is being stored digitally. Securing the relevant systems must therefore be a top priority, says Volker Wagner, who is responsible for corporate security at chemical giant BASF and heads the Alliance for Security in Business association.

For example, via tools that automatically detect data leaks. "Figuratively speaking, there are intelligent alarm systems to detect anomalies in data traffic." The security kicks in when very large amounts of data are loaded or when research databases are accessed too often and at unusual times.

100 billion euros in damage per year

For Wagner, the spies focus on three areas: Research and development, as it is complex and expensive and it is worthwhile for thieves to find a "shortcut" for their own product development. Also in demand are product compositions and recipes that only a few companies have. "I'll just cite the current Corona vaccines as an example." German companies' skills in manufacturing and production are also of interest to spies.

According to figures from the digital association Bitkom, espionage, data theft and sabotage cause more than 100 billion euros in damage to the German economy every year. While large corporations are generally well secured, medium-sized businesses and startups are particularly lacking. "The weaker a company is economically, the smaller the scope for technical defense and the greater the probability that it will be successfully attacked," notes Michael Kilchling of the Freiburg-based Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law.

The intern can be a spy

According to Kilchling, industrial espionage has many actors: they are sent from competing companies, are employees who are being blackmailed or former employees who want revenge. They are interns in research, alleged journalists and visitors at trade fairs.

Increasingly, foreign intelligence services are behind the spies. "But it's by no means just the usual suspects, i.e. China, Russia and North Korea," Kichling qualifies. "You have to broaden your view. U.S. Customs also checks laptops on entry, and I always look with fascination to France, which maintains an École de guerre économique, or school for economic warfare, where government officials are trained accordingly."

Cold technology war

According to Thomas Haldenwang, president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, industrial espionage is becoming an ever greater challenge for the German economy. "We know that numerous states are using their intelligence services to actively achieve growth targets in selected industries." He said this is less about infiltrating agents and more about recruiting employees in Germany for their own purposes.

More than ever, he said, cutting-edge technology and economic performance are keys to economic strength, sovereignty and dominance of states. "The picture of a cold technology war is emerging, with fault lines running along technological spheres of influence," Haldenwang said. The discussion about the expansion of the 5G network and the role of the Chinese Huawei Group is only a small part of the picture, he said.

Currently, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has its eyes particularly on companies, research institutions and authorities involved in the fight against the COVID 19 pandemic. They are a sought-after target, as the cyberattack on the systems of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in December, which Russian hackers are said to have been behind, showed.

Few file charges

The state protectors describe it as their "core competence" to prevent industrial espionage in advance by raising awareness and providing advice. But they are also on standby when a company is attacked. However, the majority of victims are hesitant and prefer to keep attacks to themselves, says Michael Kilchling, a researcher in criminalistics. Often for fear of reputational damage.

"What is at stake here is the image of a company that has not been able to ensure its security and could therefore lose reputation among customers," analyzes Kilchling. But many companies are also afraid that operations could be disrupted by the investigation, he adds. "Who would like to have the state security in the company, where it is assumed that the best thing they can do is still pack up all the computers."