Budget cuts to the left of us- layoffs to the right. Who- and what- is left to protect the intellectual property? The cost to conduct business espionage is decreasing while the cost of containment is rising. With all these constraints- to do more with less- we need to readdress the issues in our current security compliance posture to refocus our capabilities.Espionage at its root is a security concern and espionage is a reality that every organization faces whether they are a business or government agency. The attack principals are utilized to gain knowledge that can be used for business leverage- identity theft- or financial theft. Consider how many of your competitors are using your knowledge to cut their costs? Economic espionage includes a multitude of tactics used to gain your trade secrets- competitive knowledge- sources- and more. As with any security issue the key aspect of security being a success or failure is in our human assets. In order to secure our systems we must train and secure our personnel. We will explore the issue from both the insider and outsider perspectives and review what steps can be taken to better protect against this continuing threat.