According to ENN, security company, RITS, is claiming that Irish-based companies are hiring IT security specialists with the intention of gaining access to the information of competitors.
OK … I’m not a fan of "WATCH OUT FOR THE BOOGEY MAN, BEHIND YOU!!!!!" security "experts". They’ll sell you crap from all over and make your business unworkable, given the chance. I’ve no personal experience of RITS so I can’t say anything about them … but I’m wary of companies that are security specialists. Here’s a good thing to watch out for … if a consultant comes in quoting check boxes and forms from SANS then kick them out. They’re doing this by rote and probably don’t understand what they are doing.
What I will say, though, is that commercial "hacking" is more prevalent than the sort of international espionage rubbish we see on TV. I recently attended a presentation by Steve Riley and he talked about a survey of attacks. There were no recorded instances of international terror hacking or the such. It was either commercial, theft, "adventure" or vandalism.
So you must think that if you do have data worth stealing then it is worth securing. Just don’t go mad unless you have to. Remember that security is the polar opposite of usability, you must find the right balance and one size does not fit all.