If industrial secrets or commercial secrets were disclosed by an employee who had access to information in the course of service or in the course of performing work duties, the penalties become more severe:
increasing the fine to 1 million rubles or two years’ earnings (other income);
deprivation of the right to hold leadership positions or perform certain types of activities for a period of up to three years;
increasing the term of correctional, forced labor or imprisonment to three years.
If the criminal actions have truemoney data package resulted in large-scale damage, the penalties are even more severe:
a fine of 1.5 million rubles or in the amount of earnings for a three-year period;
disqualification for up to three years;
forced labor or imprisonment for up to five years.
serious consequences, the term of imprisonment may be up to seven years.
These penalties are aimed at preventing and punishing cases of industrial espionage and disclosure of trade secrets in order to protect the interests of companies and ensure compliance with the law.
Frequently Asked Questions About Industrial Espionage
Frequently Asked Questions About Industrial Espionage
Which companies are at risk?
Small businesses can also become victims of industrial espionage, just like large ones. It is important to understand that small companies may have limited security capabilities due to budget constraints. In addition, the ease of obtaining confidential information may encourage attackers to use the most vile methods to ruin small competitors.
What is the difference between industrial espionage and competitive intelligence?
Industrial espionage should be clearly distinguished from competitive intelligence. The latter, also known as corporate intelligence, is the lawful collection and examination of publicly available information, such as corporate publications, websites, and patent applications, in order to learn about a corporation's activities.
Unlike industrial espionage, competitive intelligence is an ethical practice in which information can be gathered from one or more accessible sources. It helps corporations better understand the competitive environment and identify potential problems.
What is the company's most vulnerable point?
The most vulnerable point of a company is often an insider – an employee who has access to confidential data and can pass it on to competitors. This can be either an embedded agent or a recruited employee. Often, attackers try to bribe employees with a good reputation and experience in the company, since such employees may have valuable information.
In conclusion, it should be noted that nowadays almost any company can face industrial espionage. However, not every one of them can recognize in time that their information has fallen into the hands of strangers. Given the development of digital technologies, industrial espionage has moved into the digital sphere and has become less noticeable.
Therefore, companies need to actively control modern data leakage channels and motivate their employees both financially and morally so that they are not tempted to sell confidential documents or information about the company. Attention to information security issues is an important part of modern business, and this should not be underestimated.