ABSTRACT
The cases from the beginnings of economic espionage handed down and documented are characterised by the fact that the spying was narrowly targeted. At any rate, this early case of spying on the competition shows not only a considerable investment of time but also immense personal risks. From a contemporary point of view, it was hardly worth it for Europe in the case of silk: the most important production centres today are Brazil, China, Thailand, India, and Japan. Ulman Stromer's role in the spread of paper clearly shows that the successful spying out of know-how can change the course of the world. Spies are attracted by typical business secrets such as production methods or calculation schemes. Technical developments have always led to the development of technical spying measures. The most common were and are: software attacks on telecommunications equipment, especially telephone systems, the analysis of monitor radiation and other technical devices, and the use of structure-borne sound transmitters.
