aUTHORED BY dR. tOM gROOMS
“Whisper Intelligence” Part III of V
To
communicate very softly, quietly and cautiously a secret or confidentiality
undetected is to “whisper intelligence”.
The CEO
wonders how they never knew about a rogue division or the falsification of
documents and reports which were camouflaged until they read about it in the
press. CEOs, senior executives and agency officials often wonder how
information leaks. Apathy or naiveté may eventually result in a disclosure.
Often the victim is not aware of the loss; in fact, they may never learn how
the competitor or journalist learned of the information displayed. Unauthorized
disclosure of sensitive information may occur through: carelessness;
penetration by competitors, their agents and business reporters; employee
disloyalty; and observation of movement, just to mention a few. Typical instances
of disclosure due to carelessness might include: inadvertently saying the wrong
thing to the wrong person or in close proximity to the wrong person; leaving
documents open to view or removal; sending an email or fax to the wrong
destination through a transmission error; or allowing a technical paper to be
published without a thorough review to delete proprietary information. Once
released, even unintentionally, the information moves from proprietary to the
public domain, where it can be used freely and legally; though information
illegally gained may be recaptured and censored.
From an external threat, agents of competitors, foreign intelligence agents,
and business reporters may penetrate an organization by: entering facilities as
authorized visitors, inspectors, service persons, contract security guards, or
cleaning people; posing as employees or academic researchers on the telephone
(thus, this should not prevent the participation in legitimate scholarly work
that the source has been verified for this is important to advance new
knowledge); going through the trash; posing as a naive but interested friend at
bars, health clubs, and country clubs. Finally, there is the disloyal employee
or consultant who is either paid for information by a competitor (either
directly or often indirectly), seeks to become a competitor, or seeks revenge
for a real or imagined grievance.
Then there
is the internal threat where senior executives might choose to falsify data or
documents in order to keep their employment or that of their division. The
point is that the greatest threat may exist internally on occasion, in contrast
to externally. The greatest strength to protect the organization may be the CEO
market intelligence program in just the right place at just the right time.
Copyright: This
is intended solely for the viewer or entity to which is seen and contains
confidential and privileged information. Any review, dissemination, copying,
printing or editing are encouraged by the author only with full
credit and citation attached. All ideas, concepts, data, information,
procedures, and techniques, and all rights thereto, are strictly reserved.
Disclaimer of Liability: Information and research provided herein is believed
to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The author is not
responsible for actions taken based on the information provided. The
information does not purport to be complete; therefore, consult with expert
legal, tax, business, and financial counsel before taking any action. The Latin
maxim "caveat emptor" applies.