More companies will be victims of industrial espionage...spying by competitors for inside dope on product development, bidding, etc., as a way of gaining advantage in business negotiations, contract pricing.

Top targets: High tech, biotech, defense and telecommunications.

Much of the snooping is legal...sleuths chatting up technicians at trade shows, befriending disgruntled workers, sifting through garbage.

Businesses will fight back by hiring counterespionage specialists to spot leaks, train staff, set up barriers and do some snooping back. Companies should also ban sending sensitive information via e-mail. Shredding documents helps, but they can sometimes be put back together.