Corporate spying, also known as industrial espionage, refers to the act of obtaining confidential information about a business or organization for the purpose of gaining a competitive advantage. This can be done through a variety of methods, including computer hacking, physical theft of documents, wiretapping, and infiltrating the organization with undercover agents.

One common technique used in corporate spying is social engineering, which involves manipulating individuals into divulging sensitive information. This can be done through phishing scams, pretexting (creating a false identity or pretext in order to obtain sensitive information), or baiting (offering something desirable in exchange for information).

Robert Kerbeck, the founder of the Malibu Writers and a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, joins us on the Greatness Machine to look back at how his career shifted from acting on theater stages to doing his apprenticeship as a corporate spy.

In this episode, Darius and Robert dive deep into the world of corporate spying and the most common techniques used in industrial espionage. They also talk about the effects of ransomware attacks on businesses and how these can be prevented.

Topics include:

How Robert stumbled into a spying job while working as an actor
Robert shares important advice for job seekers
The most efficient method for extracting data
The most elaborate ruse Robert has ever conducted
How do corporate spies get paid
The legality of corporate espionage
Robert talks about writing his book Ruse: Lying the American Dream from Hollywood to Wall Street
How ransomware is a big problem for businesses
Ways to protect businesses from ransomware attacks
And other topics…