Employee A works as a developer for a software company.

Industrial espionage refers to the unauthorized theft or copying of trade secrets, proprietary information, or intellectual property from one company to another, often for competitive advantage.

Why is this Industrial Espionage?

The sibling stole proprietary source code from Employee A’s unattended laptop.

This act provides unfair competitive advantage to the sibling’s company.

Unauthorized access to trade secrets is illegal under the Economic Espionage Act (1996).

A. Nepotism – Favoring family members in hiring or promotions, but this case involves theft of intellectual property.

B. Conflict of Interest – Would apply if Employee A voluntarily shared information, but here, it was stolen.

D. Corruption – Involves bribery or unethical business practices, but this is corporate theft.

Why Not the Other Options?Thus, the correct answer is C. Industrial Espionage, as it involves theft of confidential trade secrets.

Economic Espionage Act (1996), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1831-1839.

OECD Guidelines on Corporate Ethics and Intellectual Property Protection.

References in Ethics in Technology: