Michael D. Moberly – Business Intangible Asset Strategist and Risk Mitigator – November 7, 2023

Insider theft and espionage remain a timely, relevant, and obligatory issues which business leaders and research administers should hold familiarity.

Insider theft and espionage vulnerability (probability, criticality) should not be conceived, framed, nor addressed as mere opinion, nor a perspective, viewpoint, hunch, or suspicion.

Insider theft and espionage mitigation encompasses myriad studies and findings which warrant thoughtful and consistent consideration relative to research administration, development, expansion, sustainability, and launch.

Insider theft and espionage exercises I initiated several years ago have elevated in relevance, significance, and consequence. Present day globally aggressive, predatorial, and competitive research development and business transaction environments routinely translate as variations of getting their first and winner-take-all.

Insider theft and espionage studies paint unambiguous portraits of business and R&D vulnerability, probability, and criticality of being targeted.  The PERSEREC study cited here, includes descriptors, circumstances, events, and motives about who, what, which, when, where, and how, along with motives, influences, timelines, and outcomes.

Insider theft and espionage awareness is a ‘fiduciary responsibility’ for business leadership, management teams, boards, and investors in R&D, in the sense of being obliged to…

• duly consider and act in the interests of the ‘mission essential’ intangible assets in play, at stake, and probably, at risk.

Fiduciary responsibility extends to differentiating, safeguarding, and mitigating risk to the various forms, contexts, and applications of ‘mission essential’ intellectual capital (knowledge, knowhow) structural capital (processes, procedures), and relationship capital (associations, alliances), etc., because today, and for the foreseeable future…

• businesses are increasingly intangible asset intensive, dependent, and reliant.
• 80+/-% of most business’s valuation, competitiveness, sustainability, and revenue generation potential lie in – emerge directly from business things intangible, irrespective of sector, size, sales, standing, location, product, or service.

Insider theft and espionage was the focus of a (2005) PERSEREC study titled ‘Technological, Social, and Economic Trends That Are Increasing U.S. Vulnerability to Insider Espionage’ (Department of Defense, Personnel Security Research Center)

 Exercises I initiated with (private sector) colleagues and this study’s principal investigators at PERSERC, focused on…

the various transactions – interactions likely to be necessary relative to safeguarding ‘mission – outcome essential’ IP and other intangible assets which are in play and designing – executing policies, procedures, and practices in concert with the study’s findings without disrupting business operation, R&D, and value chains.

Insider theft – espionage indicators addressed in this study ‘paint various risk portraits’ which business leaders, management teams, boards, as well as investors, are (fiduciarily) obliged to consider relevant to achieving desired-projected outcomes, and ROI’s.

Described in this PERSEREC study, are various and evolving national – international trends, circumstances, inclinations, interests, and perspectives which can variously influence business – research vulnerability – receptivity to, and probability – criticality of insider theft and (economic) espionage.

Leaders and administrators of R&D projects are obliged to be mindful of the circumstances conveyed below (which I have compressed from PERSEREC’s findings). We all should anticipate and factor, relative to conventional – traditional R&D safeguards, i.e., issuance of IP, and other convention-laden presumptions, practices, procedures, etc., warrant review and monitoring, e.g., individuals…

• receptivity to viewing society as an evolving system of variously interdependent people and groups.
• familiarity with distinguishing the value, competitiveness, and revenue generation potential of intangible assets, irrespective of their proprietary status.
• inclination to view theft – espionage less as wrong and more as justifiable when sharing the fruits of either can benefit a global community, and/or deter armed conflict.
• disposition to be less deterred by a conventional sense of loyalty to an employer.
• receptivity to regard unauthorized/illegal transfer of proprietary information assets and technology as a business matter, rather than a violation of law.
• acceptance of a global community, which may include national values.
• interest in exploiting.

Each post @ ‘Business Intangible Asset Blog’ is experientially researched, authored, and produced by Michael D. Moberly, principle-founder of kpstrat, to provide readers with reliable perspectives and nuanced insights to business things intangible as a business intangible asset strategist and risk mitigator.