Growing Prevalence of Industrial Espionage Threaten Automakers

iMotorTimes - Growing Prevalence of Industrial Espionage Threaten Automakers - iMotor Times

Espionage is still the fastest way to play catch up, from when a US agent stole the secret to machine weaving  from the English to catch up on the fabric market, to the Japanese sending over tourists with near photographic memory to tour our steel mills.

Russia took the Concorde specifications to make their own supersonic transport plane, China went thru Israel to get the Silk Worm missile the US had designed.  Catch up is always involved with espionage, and the more competition heats up, the more value to the target info.

Now it is cars, and fighter jets, but add to that software for specialty manufacturing like one hour optometrists to finished eye wear companies.  The machines are pretty much the same for all the competitors  the products are pretty much the same, so the edge is in the software process of getting from eye exam to finished product.

Just finding out who is going to come out with the next product is a great espionage task.  If store x is going to bet heavy on pink purses this year, store y wants to know, so it can get orders in before they are all gone.  Even who is going to run a series of ad's on some product is great espionage fodder, if you know Z is going to advertise a product or certain strengths of a product, then company W is going to want to cash in on the advertising blitz with their own version of the product.

So all this means the Counter Espionage business is starting to grow again.  CTI started in the mid 80's doing counter espionage work all over the world, hence our full name Counter Technology Inc.  Our Government had me teaching counter espionage agents from selected countries that we knew had been targeted by other not so friendly countries.

Russia was the biggest espionage group out there, but followed quickly by France, Germany, (both of them), Israel, Japan, all had programs that not only helped the Governments, but also select corporations in the country.

Everything is up for grabs, in the late 80's early 90's CTI would work against other teams, who where hired by takeover specialists to get inside information on what companies where ripe for the pickings.  I think we worked almost every major corporate takeover back then.

Two things are making this time different from the others, one is computers are the main thrust of all espionage attacks, and two with the national boarders graying due to globalization often recruiting insiders is all to easy.  Although I must say on the corporate take overs, we almost always found an insider helping the opposition.

Law's are stricter in some cases, and jail time is a real possibility for insiders, which never used to be the case, back in the 80's, but the rewards are huge next to what it used to be.

I do not see Espionage dying down anytime soon, and there is a curious trend developing, more voice and telephone tapping are being done.  It seems we have come full circle, many attackers want to hear what the other is doing instead of just stealing the data.  I am not sure it will continue, everyone still likes the smoking gun effect of a PDF file (in the old days it was a Fax copy) that has the letter head and signature of the guy you are attacking.

I remember having the eves-dropping transmitter in my hands, with quite possibly the attackers fingerprints on it, and not being able to get the Law Enforcement of any level, Federal, State, or Local to prosecute  even to take the evidence.  Now days, just the hint can get some attention, it still has to be big enough to draw the press, but it is a lot easier, ,,, I understand.

Things change but Espionage is still a big factor, someone somewhere wants to know what you know, and will pay someone to get it.

Benghazi Attack , some thoughts, may not go over very well

State Department Throws Hillary And Obama Under The Bus, Denies Ever Concluding Movie Protest Led To Benghazi Attack « Pat Dollard

I understand it is fashionable for republicans like me to move the Benghazi Attack into a Political Event.

First may I point out some folks, very good folks, lost their lives that night, and that is something that I and I hope you mourn as a great loss to all of us and our country and the families and friends of the people that died.

Second, we do not know all the facts about this incident yet, and may I say, some very good people are making some assumptions that, while possibly true, may not reflect the way things happen.  If it went as I think it possibly did, then the lives of the two former Seal's rest on the actions of a Diplomat that was doing what he thought was right, and bet wrong.  The two Seal's may have come into a situation that was out of control before they could ever act.  If that happen then the weight of the souls of those two men, probably weighs very heavy on the soul of the diplomat.

From my limited, very limited experience, I have been in situations that were against all US security regulations as set by State SY.  I was a civilian working for an NGO under a US Aid contract.  I first went into the situation with a full contingent of local security in two pickup trucks leading and following our car.  This is some 10 men with AK-47's bouncing around some rough roads, with at least 4 in each truck hanging on to a metal frame in the back of little Datsun Pickup trucks.

It drew a lot of attention, many of whom where not supporters of my security team, making me more of a target than I felt I may have been with out them.

I avoided my security team, from then on when in the situation, and moved in a more low profile mode, relying on my sponsors to keep us out of trouble, which for the most part they did.

So I guess the first comment is the Ambassador may have opted to be a little lower key, and felt the risk was lower with a lower profile.

My second comment is that if local security is the option, you have to worry about their training, you have to worry about the people local who do not like the team that is your security.  In Benghazi right now, picking the right side is very difficult, so the Ambassador may have decided to once again think he was better off with a lower profile.

Going further as my situation got worse, I was advised to not to go into it, and finally a deal was reached for me to enter via another route, but with the stipulation that I wear a armored vest.  I had to call into the area, and ask if it was going to be a problem for me to wear a vest into the compound.  I was told yes, as long as I did not feel I had to wear it when there, an agreement was reached.

I say all this for my final comment on this issue for now, when you are in an area that you are out numbered by a group that is perhaps on your side at the moment, but could be against you in a second, and worse, the group on your side, is much smaller than the group that has said they want to kill you if you get out of line.  In situations like this, security is great, but in the end it is up to the people around you if you live or not.  Those people are not US security they are the people of the area, so anyone with me would have been in as much danger or even more than I.  Hence, it was my call, if it was a bad call, your only hope is no one is hurt trying to protect you in a situation like that.

Which is why I started this out with if the two former Seal's came into a situation like this because a decision the Ambassador made, his soul is probably weighed down by the lives of the brave men that came in to save him.

Ambassadors, and other State Department people make calls like this every day in this world.  Yes there are rules that they are supposed to follow, but at times they may feel the risk, is worth the effort to keep the USA the positive power in the world it is.  We all owe them a lot, and my prayers are for the 4 brave souls that died in this incident.

But remember I could be all wrong here, the investigation will have to continue, and books on the subject will have to be written.

Rich