A former employee at DuPont has been found guilty of intellectual property theft worth 400 million USD, which the insider intended to pass to a competitor, Victrex. The court sentenced the accused to 10 years behind bars and imposed a fine of 250,000 USD. DuPont had called in the FBI to investigate the source of the leak. But, as InfoWatch experts note, it all could have been so much simpler: Control over network channels and workstations allows companies to catch insiders red-handed and prove their guilt.
Gary Min, a former scientist at DuPont, has been found guilty of intellectual property theft worth 400 million USD, with the intention of passing it to a competitor. Between August and December 2005, Min got hold of 16,700 confidential documents and 22,000 scientific abstracts all of which he intended to pass to DuPont's competitor, Victrex. The scientist's generosity is not hard to understand: After 10 years at DuPont, Min had decided to change jobs and had already accepted an offer to work at Victrex. But before telling his current employer about the move, he started copying DuPont's development information. It was impossible not to suspect something since the number of times he accessed the company's electronic library exceeded those of his colleagues many times over, in addition to which, the majority of the documents he accessed bore no relation to his work whatsoever. The court calculated that the total value of the documents Min took was over 400 million USD.
When the scientist informed the management of his decision to leave, DuPont began looking into the reasons behind his frequent accessing of confidential documents, turning for assistance to the FBI. At that time - the first days of February, 2006 - Min was busy finishing copying documents onto a laptop Victrex had given him. InfoWatch experts note that the insider operated openly and without visible compunction. But what is more surprising is the behavior of DuPont. How could such a major company allow an employee to come to work with a competitor's laptop and copy secret development details? The question is especially pertinent given that DuPont's entire business is based on the protection of intellectual property!
The FBI talked to the management of Victrex. The company agreed to cooperate and handed over Min's computer to the law-enforcement agencies. Later, FBI agents conducted a search of Min's home and found the remains of burnt and shredded documents from DuPont. This fact formed the basis of proof of confidential information theft. The US Secret Service has reported that in 75% of cases of intellectual property theft, it is insiders who are guilty.
Denis Zenkin, InfoWatch's Marketing Director said, 'A commonplace leak has turned into something of a detective novel with the FBI here, house searches there, and every possible means of destruction of evidence. The law-enforcement agencies and DuPont itself have invested masses amounts of time and energy. This was justified, of course, since they got their man in the end and the 'spy ring' has, in all likelihood, been smashed. But it could all have been so much simpler! All they needed to do was install a system which protects against leaks. With that in place, it is possible not only to track leak sources and prevent the theft from occurring in the first place, but also to prove the offender's guilt. And all without having to even leave your desk.'
Source: SC Magazine
