| The world of business is cutthroat and | | | | sometimes this data can be stolen by an |
| everybody vies to be the best. The money | | | | employee, it does not always have to be an |
| involved runs into millions of dollars so the | | | | inside job. |
| stakes are high. Just as some companies | | | | |
| invest a lot of money in Research and | | | | Cyber Crime |
| Development, some companies invest in staying | | | | |
| ahead of the competition through industrial | | | | Cyber Crime is the new age version of crime. |
| espionage. | | | | Since it happens in a virtual world, it is |
| | | | difficult to trace and prevent. Cyber |
| Industrial Espionage in the Age of Digital | | | | criminals are experts who use their knowledge |
| Data | | | | of computers and information technology to |
| | | | steal data. They use different ways to steal |
| Just as every aspect of our lives keeps up | | | | this data and can do so without being at the |
| with current trends, industrial espionage too | | | | location of the crime. These computer |
| has utilized digital technology to its | | | | criminals are clever and becoming |
| advantage. The risk of cyber theft is | | | | increasingly more sophisticated in their |
| constant and every company has to guard | | | | attacks. They use customised programs like |
| against this. Digital data is easy to steal | | | | "remote access Trojans" or RATs to lurk in |
| when one knows how to do it. Since cyber | | | | virtual territory. These programs are |
| space is such a vast universe, it is hard to | | | | specially designed to latch on to a web |
| secure every bit of data that is created and | | | | user's credentials and gain insider |
| stored. While there are professionals who | | | | information. |
| create this valuable data there are equally | | | | |
| trained experts lurking around to get hold of | | | | These cyber criminals are always one step |
| this data. | | | | ahead of the security measures adopted by |
| | | | companies. For every encryption code that is |
| Global economies constantly need to share and | | | | developed, there is someone hired to decode |
| exchange data. This data is transferred using | | | | it. "Pharming" is a cyber tactic that is used |
| the advantages that the Internet has to | | | | to intercept communication between online |
| offer. Between the person sending the data | | | | shoppers and an enterprise. This data is then |
| and the person receiving it, there is a case | | | | used by cyber criminals to their advantage. |
| of industrial espionage waiting to happen. | | | | |
| The reason why companies are willing to pay | | | | Digital Forensics |
| so much to have access to this data is | | | | |
| because it gives them an insight into what | | | | Digital forensics is the science which |
| the competition is up to. Also, unlike | | | | investigators use to unravel cyber crimes. |
| before, digital data can be stolen from a | | | | Forensic experts investigate files and data |
| remote location and does not always need a | | | | stored on the computer belonging to a |
| person to be physically present. | | | | suspect. Even when data is erased it can be |
| | | | recovered and this can help police solve a |
| Valuable Data | | | | case. Forensic investigators examine three |
| | | | basic kinds of data. The data that they look |
| The data that cyber criminals are after can | | | | at are -- saved data, meta data and deleted |
| vary in content. There are some hackers who | | | | data. The data that is normally accessible on |
| are paid to steal any kind of data that they | | | | a hard drive is known as saved data. Images, |
| can gain access to. Since data carries the | | | | Internet Logs, Documents and Program Files |
| clues about how a company is functioning, it | | | | all comprise saved data. |
| helps a competitor get an insight. However, | | | | |
| there are also some cyber crimes that are | | | | Meta data is the data that defines the saved |
| very specific and require a great deal of | | | | data giving clues about when a file was |
| expertise. When a company is in the research | | | | created, when it was last accessed and |
| and development stage of a breakthrough | | | | modified etc. Deleted data includes those |
| product, there could be a lot of rivals | | | | files that have been deleted from a computer. |
| wanting access to this data. | | | | In reality, these files still exist on the |
| | | | hard drive and only have been removed from |
| When cyber crime is specific, it involves | | | | the Master Index Record. Experts can recover |
| highly skilled and trained cyber criminals. | | | | this data and trace the path of the cyber |
| These people are usually professionals and | | | | crime. |
| very intelligent. They have probably given up | | | | |
| lucrative careers for an even more lucrative | | | | Digital forensics is a highly specialised and |
| option. The kind of data these professional | | | | technology-dependent, investigative process. |
| hackers are after could be strategy paper, | | | | This process is a very necessary part of the |
| engineering designs, blueprints of new | | | | world of Information Technology. Industrial |
| products, financial information, bids and | | | | espionage in the digital age can only be |
| mergers, future strategies etc. While | | | | countered by digital forensics. |