Economic and industrial espionage matter; they are causing billions of pounds of economic damage. While figures on the costs vary, it is clear the losses are staggering and, in the US alone, figures have ranged from $2 billion to $400 billion a year. So says the University of Portsmouth’s Centre for Counter Fraud Studies, that will host the Economic and Industrial Espionage Conference (EIEC 2018) with Esoteric Ltd, the UK counter espionage and electronic sweeping company.
The Monday, June 25 conference will bring together academics, practitioners and government officials to bring inter-disciplinary perspectives to the problem. The extent of the problem, however, is difficult to gauge, as event organisers point out; as many feel reluctant to reveal cases or not knowing if and how they have experienced any loss. Academic research has also been limited with very few studies conducted on the subject. Mny attacks are perpetrated by a mix of cyber-espionage, corrupt insiders and failures in socio-technical systems.
Speakers are invited from government bodies such as the UK official Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), UK National Authority Counter Eavesdropping (UK NACE) and Intellectual Property Office; besides corporate bodies talking about their experience and how best to counter it. The conference will also bring academics from Austria, Sweden, Germany and South Korea.
Prof Mark Button, from the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies, pictured, said: “Industrial espionage is a huge problem in the global economy. This conference has been organised to bring greater attention to this issue, to encourage greater research and most importantly identify ways for organisations to better protect themselves from this risk.”
And Esoteric’s Managing Director, Emma Shaw, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the University of Portsmouth for this conference. Given the continued threat of espionage activity in its many forms, this an unmissable opportunity where educators, government and industry will come together, learn and share best practice.”
For more details and to book a place at the conference, visit http://www.port.ac.uk/centre-for-counter-fraud-studies/security-conference/.
