The tech-decoupling driven by geopolitical factors, economic weakness within the country, and efforts to enhance China’s international competitiveness will lead to an increase in Chinese industrial espionage against Western companies and scientific institutions – particularly in Germany. China feels compelled to move up the value chain, create new growth drivers through innovation, and achieve technological independence. However, the country lacks the necessary resources for this. While China is already partially autonomous technologically, it still relies on Western expertise in many areas – especially in science and industrial R&D. This situation is somewhat reminiscent of the “Cold War,” during which espionage was rampant. From a Chinese perspective, the “New Cold War” will once again lead to a surge in espionage activities.

Companies now need to focus more than ever on protecting their data, information, and know-how. They require robust strategies, efficient methods, and effective counter-espionage tools. The focus here is on detecting and defending against Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) – sophisticated, prolonged cyberattacks that are hidden, long-term, complex, multi-stage, and highly skilled. Attackers using APTs aim to remain unnoticed within systems for as long as possible to siphon off know-how. They now target not only large corporations but also small, specialized companies, their technology, suppliers, and organization.

In Chinese branches, industrial espionage by individuals remains a major concern, potentially involving employees. This can be combated through a synergistic combination of measures, where selected technical, organizational, and personnel measures are combined in a way that they complement and reinforce each other. When building a sustainably effective counter-espionage strategy, it is recommended to build on an Information Security Management System (ISMS) required by the new EU Directive NIS-2 and to expand this system with components of data protection and know-how protection. Practical details are demonstrated in our webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyEBASSDUm4.

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