Kislenko A. G., Rieznik M. A.

Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University, Ukraine

Industrial espionage and benchmarking in banking market

Industrial (economic) espionage is a kind of unfair competition, such as illegal acquisition, use, disclosure of information that contains commercial, official or other secret protected by law in order to obtain benefits for a business or financial gains [1]. It is one of the oldest methods of unfair competition.

However, it should be noted that industrial espionage also performs a useful social function, helping to give the society new production technologies and materials. In addition, the stolen know-how is an effective tool in the fight against monopolies, undermining the dominant position of the individual producer of goods or services.

Industrial espionage is used both at the international level and by competing individuals and businesses.

In order to obtain confidential information about the bank-competitor or illegally borrow an innovative idea relating to a banking policy, strategy, marketing, banking services and products, similar activities are carried out in the banking sector as in other sectors [2, p. 116-118].

Experience shows that each bank faces information espionage, although not all of them can find out promptly that their long-term development or business plans, as well as the personal data of their customers are passed to the third parties.

Among a wide variety of methods of industrial espionage in the banking sector the most widely used are the following ones:

- stealing banking schemes, drawings and know-how;

- listening for the conversations of top managers of the bank and other affiliated persons and their tampering;

- headhunting employees of competing banks that possess confidential information [3].

In this regard, benchmarking is of interest as a method of obtaining relevant information.

Benchmarking is the art of finding and identifying what others are doing the best that results in the study, improvement and application of the methods of work of others [4].

Benchmarking is based on the concept of continuous improvement, which involves a continuous cycle of planning, coordination, motivation and evaluation of some actions for the sustainable improvement of the organization.

Today, benchmarking is a necessary component of success of any organization, especially the bank, given that nowadays Ukraine's banking sector is in the state of reorganization and faces tough competition.

The typical steps in a benchmarking process are as follows:

– Scope definition;

– Choice of benchmarking partners;

– Determination of measurement methods, units, indicators and data collection methods;

– Data collection;

– Analysis or the discrepancies;

– Presenting the results and discussing implications;

– Making up improvement plans or new procedures;

– Monitoring progress and planning ongoing benchmarking.

The concepts of industrial espionage and benchmarking are on the opposite side of the law and have a clear line that the competing banks often cross to achieve their goals.

Industrial espionage is a serious threat for the banks as lenders have certain resources and assets, and the leak of information could result in a loss of competitive advantage, or directly to an outflow of clients, loss of reputation, reduction in profitability and, ultimately, to the revocation of the license [1].

There are some ways to deal with the banks that use industrial espionage, such as the following:

– use and improvement of DLP-systems;

– use of IPC in protection against leakage;

– use of moral and financial incentives for bank employees so that they do not have any desire to sell confidential information;

– control of potential data leakage channels.

Industrial espionage and benchmarking are very developed both overseas and in Ukraine and both are on the opposite side of the law. The reason why industrial espionage and benchmarking are used is, ultimately, always the same – to defeat the competitor.

List of references:

1. Галкин В. В. Промышленный шпионаж в системе недобросовестной экономики [Електронний ресурс] / В. В. Галкин. – Режим доступу : http://vadim-galkin.ru/business-basics/unfair-competition/spying

2. Зубок М. И. Безпека банківської діяльності / М. И. Зубок, С. М. Яременко. – К. : КНЕУ, 2012. – С. 116–118.

3. Combating industrial espionage: what threatens the illegal competition and theft of information [Електронний ресурс] // Human Resources Director. – 2015. – № 9. – Режим доступу : http://www.hr-director.ru/article/65692-qqq-15-m9-protivodeystvie-promyshlennomu-shpionaju

4. Воеводина Н. А. Бенчмаркинг – это инструмент конкурентного преимущества / Н. А. Воеводина. – K., 2010. – С. 6–7, 61–63.