industrial espionage
Noun
Meaning
The use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage.
Spying by an employer on labor union activities of employees and on labor unions. [ca. 1920—1960]
Spying on industrial activities for military advantage. [from c 1935]
Source: en.wiktionary.orgSynonyms
Examples
We have some material on spying by a major government on the tech industry. Industrial espionage.
Mainly, when I go see a show, unfortunately it's more industrial espionage than it is going to actually enjoy a show.
June 2015 - WikiLeaks : Industrial espionage In June 2015, Wikileaks published documents, which showed that NSA spied on French companies.
Industrial espionage is the covert and sometimes illegal practice of investigating competitors to gain a business advantage.