Information Leak Testing

Information leaks have long been the bane of companies, particularly for hi-tech and consumer products. Indeed, one only has to look at some high profile product releases to see how profitable the business of leaking information can be, as people scramble to obtain any kind of leaked info to blog about.

In addition to the geek tech bloggers though, are the competitors who are keenly listening to hints about a competitors upcoming product releases and strategic outlooks so as to take mitigating measures or find a way to fast track development of their own products.

These leaks occur in a number of ways, and unfortunately, exist largely outside of the context of your normal security plan for your business. Enthusiastic product fans, paid informants and accidental reveals of information which can be assembled to discover the intent of a company, bypassing all active measures to cloak activity through security programs.

The most effective way to deal with information leaks is to set up a strong information management program. this will enable a company to track sources of leaks if they do occur, but also allow for the careful release of information to only those who need it.

When leaks do occur, particularly in large companies with massive manufacturing and distribution channels, a penetration test can be performed to assess where leaks are coming from and indicate where future measures should be focussed to minimize the leak in the future. This can help indicate if it is a bad employee, evidence of infiltration by a corporate spy or poor resource management or press release activity which is allowing competitors from accessing your secrets.

While penetration tests are well understood for IT departments, they tend to be overlooked in the physical world, where leaks are far more common, damaging and more difficult to locate.

A skilled private investigator can help determine where the leaks are coming from and help develop a strategy for dealing with these leaks, allowing for future mitigation and cessation of leaks from a given area.

Blog post is courtesy Elemental Investigations: Private Investigator Edmonton, an Edmonton, Canada based private investigator agency. They can be found online at www.elementalpi.ca