Global articles on espionage, spying, bugs, and other interesting topics.

Business Espionage – Bratz v. Barbie

Mattel Inc will answer accusations it spied on rival toymakers by infiltrating their private showrooms around the globe, after a U.S. court denied its motion to dismiss claims filed by rival MGA.

In an escalation of a long-running battle over MGA’s popular “Bratz” dolls, MGA Entertainment Inc accused Mattel of gaining entry to toy fairs with false credentials to steal trade secrets. It says Mattel then concealed evidence about these activities, according to court filings.

MGA has accused Mattel employees of gaining access to private showrooms of toy makers — including Hasbro Inc, Lego and Sony Corp — armed with fake business cards and spy cameras, to steal price lists and other sensitive information. (more)

Business Espionage – This Zeus is no Cretan

The Zeus banking Trojan could be a useful tool in corporate espionage…

Zeus typically steals online banking credentials and then uses that information to move money out of internet accounts. In the past year, however, Gary Warner, director of research in computer forensics with the University of Alabama, who has been closely monitoring the various criminal groups that use Zeus, has seen some hackers also try to figure out what companies their victims work for…

“They want to know where you work,” he said. “Your computer may be worth exploring more deeply because it may provide a gateway to the organisation.”

That’s worrying because Zeus could be a very powerful tool for stealing corporate secrets. It lets the criminals remotely control their victims’ computers, scanning files and logging passwords and keystrokes. With Zeus, hackers can even tunnel through their victim’s computer to break into corporate systems. (more)