Falling Prey to Cybercrime: Implications for Business and the Economy

Espionage, "the practice of spying or using spies to obtain information about the plans and activities especially of a foreign government or a competing company"¹ is pervasive in the United States. Foreign governments and criminal networks are stealing our ideas, counterfeiting our goods, and putting our future economic wellbeing at risk. The number of businesses falling victim to these crimes increases daily, and no sector is without compromise. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke recently stated that, "every year, American companies in fields as diverse as energy, technology, entertainment and pharmaceuticals lose between $200–$250 billion to counterfeiting and piracy."² But it is not just about counterfeiting and piracy; companies and governments regularly face attempts by others to gain unauthorized access through the Internet to their data and information technology systems by, for example, masquerading as authorized users or through the surreptitious introduction of malicious software....

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¹ Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, 11th ed.

² Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (Remarks at the Washington International Trade Association, Washington, D.C., July 22, 2009).