Industrial espionage can be categorized into various types based on the methods employed ¹:

• Physical espionage: This involves physical activities such as break-ins, theft, or unauthorized access to facilities or files.
• Human intelligence: In this type, individuals within the targeted organization are recruited or coerced into leaking valuable information.
• Cyber espionage: With the increasing digitalization of valuable data, cyber espionage has become a prominent method.

LegalMatch outlines a number of techniques that fall under the umbrella of industrial espionage ²:

1. Trespassing onto a competitor’s property or accessing their files without permission
2. Posing as a competitor’s employee in order to learn company trade secrets or other confidential information
3. Wiretapping a competitor
4. Hacking into a competitor’s computers
5. Attacking a competitor’s website with malware