NCJ Number
138861
Journal
Security Management Volume: 36 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1992) Pages: 38- 42
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Many Fortune 500 corporations as well as smaller companies have established some form of competitive intelligence (CI) program. CI activities are differentiated from corporate espionage in that CI practitioners have formed a professional association and created a code of ethics; in reality, however, the lines separating the two spheres are blurred.
Abstract
Favorite CI targets include research and development, marketing, manufacturing and production, and human resources. In general, CI agents aim for those in the corporation who have extensive interactions with outside parties. CI professionals gather information by entering an organization through several key access pointstelephone surveys, job interviews, facility tours, organizational publications, and conversations with business associates. Each company should have a qualified team of managers and staff from various departments identify components that give the company its competitive edge and design measures to protect that information. An effective information security program would maintain staff participation on a continuous basis, emphasize telephone safety, classify documents and nondocumentary communications, review written materials, and require employee nondisclosure agreements.