Does trash/garbage have value to your company or you personally?

Does trash/garbage have value to your company or you personally?

Christmas is around the corner and no doubt most of us are looking forward to relaxing with family and friends but most of us are not looking at all the aspects of what and who has access to company IP, data and information. Who is watching the watchers?

Gaining and keeping a competitive edge is a constant process, a bit like an endless war. It is hard to win the war if you do not identify and respond to threats by utilising competitive business intelligence methods and tools: human intelligence.

Human Intelligence is an information collection discipline that, contrary to common belief, does not involve clandestine operations. This article is a must, particularly for those who desire to know how human intelligence works and why HI is the most reliable and effective asset for decision makers.

Below is the article for your consideration. Please remember, while trash has no value for most, valuable intel for your competitors, intelligence analysts and operatives can lie in your garbage.

Trash Intelligence

Trash can be a valuable source of intelligence but how can it be of value and what are the dangers people and businesses need to watch out for? In this article, we look at how to structure the management of intelligence and what you need to know about Trash intelligence.

In today’s business and government environment, using intelligence is vital to make plans for the future and to predict, understand and spot/isolate threats. Intelligence consists of information, both tangible or intangible. These can be anything from blueprints, product information and client details to pricing and even ideas.

A vast amount of money is understandably poured into the IT sector in order safeguard intellectual property and other information. Often there is also an extensive effort directed to social media monitoring to learn who is who, who says what and to whom.

Despite the fact most information resides on clouds, servers and other forms of digital storage, we still print, make notes, and send messages, be it electronically or via paper.

What most companies and other sectors disregard is the Human Intelligence factor which also play a very crucial role in the society we live. One reason for this our focus on digital threats and ignorance about garbage. Garbage can be a very valuable source to people seeking intelligence.

So, what defines this garbage or trash? By trash we mean:

• rubbish or waste, especially domestic refuse
• seemingly worthless or meaningless material or ideas
• unwanted data in a computer’s memory

This comes into play during the collection point of the Intelligence Management Cycle.

A method often overlooked, and one of the most inexpensive forms of intelligence gathering, is trash intelligence, or as we call it “TrashInt”. This is intelligence collection through searching someone else’s garbage or waste.

Most people will see garbage as having no value, hence it being considered trash.

There is a surprising range of things that end up in the trash, including tax file details, invoices, receipts, work documents, blueprints and digital storage devices.

Trash intelligence includes digital items too. More than likely, we have all replaced our computer, phone or tablet. All digital devices contain data and this frequently remains on hard drives and devices.

Research I carried out a few years ago found 15 out of 52 second-hand hard drives purchased on the open market contained highly sensitive personal data including bank account details, medical information and home addresses.

Trash Intelligence doesn’t only assist intelligence and law enforcement agencies in the profiling of suspects, but it can give criminals a considerable about of very personal or sensitive business data.

Legality of Trash Intelligence

In case you were wondering whether it is legal to search someone’s trash, if the bins are on a private/business premises then it is illegal without a search warrant. This is also true of secure, locked bins. However, once garbage is on a street or in a public premise, it is not illegal.

Conclusion

The most common approach in the protection of information, intellectual property and blueprints etc is through digital security. Clearly this is important, but we must not forget what the weakest link is, this often being humans and what they leave unprotected.

Do not forget the human aspect. Understanding the way intelligence is gathered and used can assist in finding information or keeping it hidden. Not paying attention to your trash can make you extremely vulnerable to criminal activity that could easily find some of your most personal information and use it against you.

If you would like to know more about data and information protection or applying Counterintelligence methods feel free to contact me.