Industrial espionage in a hi-tech world

Abstract

Dr Andrew Jones, Head of Security Technology Research, BT Security Research Centre, Adjunct, Edith Cowan University Dr Andy Jones looks at how espionage has never been easier. In the wake of UK intelligence services reportedly warning major British companies of Chinese sponsored spying, Computer Fraud & Security looks at the epidemic of electronic espionage. This month's issue features a six-page report on who the spies are, why they steal electronic data and what techniques they use. Dr Andy Jones, head of security technology research at BT, also speculates on what the potential costs of espionage could be to nations. Dr Jones predicts that nations that were once allies could turn into enemies because of electronic spying. China and the UK have publicly amiable relations, but this didn't stop MI5 from warning companies and government departments that Chinese spies may target them. According to a report in The Times, Jonathan Evans, the Director-General of MI5, sent a letter to 300 chief executives and security experts in firms alerting them to the dangers of electronic espionage. It is thought spies are seeking commercially sensitive data. The Chinese embassy in London denied the allegations. The US is also thought to have suffered cyber attacks originating from China. In September 2007 the Chinese military were blamed for a cyber attack, which targeted a Pentagon computer system serving the office of US defence secretary Robert Gates. Last month, Computer Fraud & Security reported that the US China Economic and Security Review Commission warned that China is likely planning cyber attacks against the US. It said that attacks on the US financial, economic, energy and communications infrastructure were possible. Dr Andy Jones warns that the long-term effects of economic espionage could be crippling. “The effects will not only be seen in terms of the migration of jobs from one region to another, but also in terms of lost corporate and tax revenues,” he says. “This, if it occurs on a large scale, has the potential to adversely affect a government's ability to maintain its spending programmes that may include the maintenance of military capability, social benefit or healthcare.”