industrial espionage

American  

noun

1. the stealing of technological or commercial research data, blueprints, plans, etc., as by a person in the hire of a competing company.

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industrial espionage British  

noun

1. attempting to obtain trade secrets by dishonest means, as by telephone- or computer-tapping, infiltration of a competitor's workforce, etc

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Etymology

Origin of industrial espionage

First recorded in 1960–65

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

industrial espionage

Pangaea Policy’s Haines also said the talk about Chinese hacking “won’t surprise anyone in markets who follows China industrial espionage issues.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

Thanks to some daring industrial espionage, the steam engine finally got into American hands, and offered investors opportunities in mills, foundries, canals, and especially railroads.

From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026

The report even suggests a unique identifier could be added to each chip to prevent industrial espionage and "chip smuggling."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2024

He is the first person to be charged under federal laws created in 2018 that ban covert foreign interference in domestic politics and make industrial espionage for a foreign power a crime.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2023

The Bureau takes an interest in high-profile intellectual-property theft cases, industrial espionage and theft of trade secrets.

From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Bruce Sterling

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