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EXPLORING 21st CENTURY SKILLS and ISSUES
How do industrial spies steal trade secrets? The foreign government “plants” a spy inside a U.S. company in a position to gain access to sensitive information. Spies obtain trade secrets by any and all means, from outright stealing of files, to copying, downloading, hacking, planting malware, drawing pictures, taking photographs, uploading, eavesdropping, and converting information. Another popular means of obtaining information is by elicitation . What is elicitation?
Elicitation is a technique used to discreetly gather information. It is a conversation with a specific purpose: to collect information that is not readily available, without raising suspicion . Elicitation can occur anywhere – at social gatherings, conferences, over the phone, on the street, and through email. Let’s catch a spy! Consider whether the following scenarios pose a risk of elicitation of trade secret information: 1. You are an electrical engineer working on cutting edge battery design for a large solar energy company. A hot new employee approaches you and says “I’m new here, but have read about your work for years. I would be so proud to have a chance to work with you. May I drop by your lab later to watch the master at work?” Should you suspect a spy? Yes ____ No ____ 2. You work in the materials sector, specifically in the chemicals industry. You are an expert in biodegradable plastics. You strike up a friendship a guy who works in your lab. One day at lunch he’s talking about his girlfriend who works for a competitor. He says she told him “off the record” that her company’s biodegradable chemicals division is losing money because they can’t get a plastics formula right in R&D. He asks you to “keep it to yourself”, so he doesn’t wind up in trouble with his girlfriend. He then begins discussing their formula problems with you. Should you suspect a spy? Yes ____ No ____ 3. You work for an investment bank that represents corporate clients, mainly in the telecommunications industry. You have access to sensitive financial information about clients. A sympathetic friend knows you have been having a lot of personal problems lately which have caused you to fall behind at work. She’s offered to come in to work with you on a Saturday to help you get your desk organized and catch up on emails. You are so grateful! Security in your office building can be pretty tight. The two of you make a plan to sneak her into your building without being stopped by those pesky security guards. Should you suspect a spy? Yes ____ No ____ PRODUCT PREVIEW
207 THE 21st CENTURY STUDENT’S GUIDE TO FINANCIAL LITERACY
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