'Undercover agent' to check 'corporate espionage'

New Delhi, May 11, 2008 (PTI) The next time you share office
information with others, watch out!
With an increase in cases of employees sharing office or
client secrets with outsiders unlawfully, corporates
particularly export houses, BPOs and FMCG firms are now
employing 'undercover agents' to nab such dishonest employees.
"Industrial houses have seen a surge in the cases of
corporate espionage. More than 500 companies request us for
assistance every year," says Kunwar Vikram Singh, Chairman of
Association of Private Detective Body of India, which provides
undercover agents to nab such employees.
Industry experts point out that there have been many
reported cases of sharing personal information of a client for
fraudulent purposes.
"Employees without realising the harm, share people's
personal information," says an industry expert.
"There are lobbies working in the US and European
countries that seek people's personal information to cheat
them. They allure youngsters employed with private banks, BPOs
and other MNCs by offering them hefty sum of money," says
Singh.
"It is no wonder that industries today are vulnerable to
such harmful attempts by people unlawfully accessing and
sharing personal information.
"It is very difficult to check such activities by the
employers. As monitoring employee round the clock is virtually
impossible. Hence, they are compelled to take professionals
help," says Singh.
Reports suggest that illegal sharing of client
information is rampant in Indian industries. NASSCOM has also
shown its concern for the matter and has approved the idea of
employing undercover agents to put a tab on it.
"The association had a meeting with top brass at NASSCOM
and discussed the way to overcome this emerging threat.
Officials there mutually agreed to employ detectives in the
guise of employees to catch the ones who share organisational
information with outsiders," says Singh, who is also the
Chairman of Central Association of Private Security Guards
Organisation.
"We have been giving these services to many firms,
including some known industry giants. The business is simply
inflating day by day," Sanjay Kumar Singh, CEO of Indian
Detective Agency says.
He adds, "Industry experts have begun to address the
threat arising out of corporate espionage. That is the reason
behind growing demands of 'spy' related services," he said.
To meet the demands of 'undercover agents' in the
sectors, detective agencies are gearing up to train manpower
and to counter future challenges.
"We employ young professionals to tackle the cases of
illegal data sharing. It requires great endeavour to find and
then fine tune them to meet the needs," Singh says.
"Today youngsters crave for wealthy lifestyle, and when
that desire overpowers their conscience they fall prey to
foreign men and agencies who coerce them into this organised
modern crimes," says Singh.
"It is simply harming our image as a destination for
outsourcing. If we don't check this activities, we may lose
our earnings through outsourcing to some other countries,"
Singh says.