Industrial espionage is the covert and sometimes illegal practice of investigating competitors to gain a business advantage. The target of investigation might be a trade secret such as a proprietary product specification or formula, or information about business plans.
industrial espionage
n
1. (Commerce) attempting to obtain trade secrets by dishonest means, as by telephone- or computer-tapping, infiltration of a competitor's workforce, etc
Earlier this week while at the press days at the Frankfurt Auto Show(
IAA) I was really astounded by how brazen and openly to corporate spies were operating at every manufacture's booth/display! I've seen it before in past years at the IAA... but this year it seemed like the flood gates were open. It was really amazing how many "spies" were out and about.
Most of the German car makers just turned a blind eye to it. But I remember at Ford(and at some other booths) the staff would ask to see your press credentials and IF you could not provide them... you could not look at their cars or sit inside of them. I remember talking to a few sales people from the different manufacturers... and I was like... this is a PRESS DAY... so how do these people get in here? They said that ANY manufacturer can put people they want on a List... and that is how they get into the show.
I even saw some people with really young kids on the Press Days at the IAA. That really blew my mind. So unprofessional IF you ask me.
Here are a few pics of the kinds of spies I saw. This is just a few. I think at almost every car maker's display area... I saw "spies" taking pics. Closeups or pics with small rulers for scale. It was just unreal.
Dackel
