"In an era of increased awareness of the need for information security, the security of information contained in 'conventional' areas, such as conversations and hard copy documents, is often neglected. The worldwide financial crisis has created a greater need for companies to be aware of the risks and methods used in economic espionage activities, particularly in the case of tenders, mergers or restructuring. This article covers issues relating to intellectual property loss through internal theft and sponsored economic espionage."