Recession exposes companies to illegal activities

The world of Polish business is entering a difficult and dangerous path marked by rapidly declining economic growth, high inflation and a significant reduction in consumer spending. Such instability goes hand-in-hand with illegal activities, to which companies are becoming increasingly exposed, especially in case of rivalling businesses.

Poor economic stability always encourages illegal activities, example of which could be, for instance – acquisition of company secrets. These could be recipes, technology, development strategies, and especially important during these difficult times – quite simply short-term business plans.

Social Media and Wiretapping

Acts of economic espionage are easier than ever before. A source of many secrets, for example, is social media – where employees often post information, factory photos or leak business meetings. There are also employees of the PR departments, who when publishing articles and publications, could reveal valuable information to our competitors. And if that won’t be enough, then there is of course, easily available spying equipment. Professional wiretapping equipment is reliably cheap, accessible, easy to plant and download on the internet. And then considering the quality in which modern smartphones can be used to record, now comparable to that of secret service equipment of the previous decade -  it is not even entirely necessary to go for such lengths.

Employee verification

In this situation, Polish companies should take security measures as soon as possible in order to protect themselves from such leaks. A good recommendation would be to acquire services of an professionally prepared, highly experienced detective company.

Unfortunately, Polish business still has a rather carefree approach to economic intelligence. Wiesław Modrakowski, representative of the Expertus (Law Office & Investigators) and honorary president of the Polish Federation of Detectives, explains it on the example of the early 1990s, back when detective agencies were not employed as often by Polish businesses, and information was running rampant in the public space. Later, the entry of foreign companies into Poland has slightly improved this situation, and only then Polish businessmen finally understood the importance of professional  internal security. But even if acknowledged, the situation could still be much better, as even now there are companies that have lost billions due to internal leaks.

For a company to protect itself from leaks, it is crucial to verify employees and deploy wiretapping equipment detection. Another matter lies in thefts committed by employees, which is a real menace not exclusive to Poland, but the entire world. According to recently published study conducted in 42 countries, the annual value lost as a result of employee theft in trading companies alone exceeded $107 billion.

Protecting your company from this is essential. And remember, that there is nothing more damaging than an employee selling the secrets of your business to the competition.