Competitors of U.S. Companies Captured $133 Billion of Proprietary Information in 2004 (News Release)   5/23/2005 - 748 views,

MERIDIAN, Idaho, May 23 /PRNewswire/ — U.S. companies lost sensitive,
confidential information to competitors who use deceptive research practices,
according to a study released by Provizio.

“Employees usually do not know competitors are probing them for valuable
information,” Dr. Timothy Rhodes, Provizio’s CEO said adding, “because they
often employ deceptive techniques.”

The report, Counter-Intelligence for Today’s Fortune-1000 Company, shows
that U.S. companies lost more than $133 billion of proprietary information in
2004 from “exploitive social engineering.” This is a dramatic increase from
the $59 billion U.S. companies lost only two years earlier.

“What makes these numbers more shocking is that they are related only to
information companies discovered they leaked and could actually quantify,”
said Dr. Timothy Rhodes, Provizio’s foremost expert in information security
and counter-intelligence.

Exploitive social engineering is the process of using deceptive
interactions with a company’s employees to gain non-public information that
oftentimes is confidential and proprietary. Examples of information commonly
sought could include product strategies, sales and marketing plans, mergers
and acquisition strategies, and human capital planning and resource
strategies.

“There is no limit to the range of areas within a company that are
targeted,” said Rhodes. “Most areas of a company inherently present
vulnerabilities that domestic and foreign competitors can exploit.”

The study was based upon recent vulnerability assessments Provizio
conducted. Information collected in those assessments contained strategic and
tactical data related to pricing, customers, mergers and acquisitions, and
products. Especially vulnerable areas included information technology (IT),
public relations, sales and marketing, and senior executives.

U.S. companies typically focus their counter-intelligence efforts on
traditional IT programs to protect their confidential information. Yet,
Provizio’s study shows most information is lost through employees.

“Companies are dedicating tremendous resources to protect IT systems,”
said Provizio’s CEO. “This is akin to building better mouse traps, while
leaving the refrigerator door open.”

Provizio’s free report can be downloaded from the company’s website at:
http://www.provizio.com/reports