SLA Competitive Intelligence Division Blog

Harry Markopolos to Speak at SCIP Boston Meeting on February 9

Bernie Madoff was the mastermind behind what is widely described as the largest Ponzi scheme in history. How was he uncovered? Did you know that CI techniques played a role? Join the SCIP Massachusetts/Boston Chapter for this unique event, as Harry Markopolos, “the Madoff Whistleblower,” details for the first time how he uncovered Madoff’s scheme using CI techniques and how CI techniques continue to help him in his current cases. Don’t miss your chance to hear first-hand about this tale of rare, high-profile CI intrigue!

SLA CI Division members will remember Harry Markopolos from the 2008 SLA Annual Conference in Seattle, WA, where he and Kevin Desouza spoke on the topic "Can You Keep a Secret? How to Keep Your Competitors from Learning What You Know."

SCIP Massachusetts/Boston Chapter Presents:
Harry Markopolos, “The Madoff Whistleblower”
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 5:00PM – 8:30PM
Hult International Business School

Speaker
Harry Markopolos, CFA, CFE, is an independent financial fraud investigator who brings fraud cases to the US Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service and various State Attorney Generals under existing whistleblower programs. He has been featured in the leading business media, including Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Bloomberg, and he has provided testimony before the United States Congress.

The Madoff investigation was his first financial fraud case, which he started in early 2000. He’s been hooked ever since. Mr. Markopolos is co-author of the best selling book “No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller” published by Wiley & Sons, Inc.; March 2010. The film documentary about his Madoff investigative team, “The Foxhounds: The Pursuit of Bernie Madoff” premiered in November 2010 at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.

Program
In 2000, Harry Markopolos recruited and led a four-man team of industry experts to track Bernie Madoff's $65 billion feeder fund network across two continents. This team's eight-and-one-half year long investigation identified dozens of Madoff feeder funds which were delivering a steady stream of new victims to Madoff's doorstep on a daily basis. Most of their intelligence was gathered in person at industry events, conferences, and during meetings. (In fact, very little of their investigation took place on the internet and there was a reason for that – Madoff was so secretive that he made sure that none of these feeder funds was mentioning him by name in their marketing efforts.) Mr. Markopolos will speak about the case from an intelligence gathering standpoint and take your questions.

Mr. Markopolos will also sign your copy of his book, "No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller," detailing his investigation. There will be no books for purchase.

Location
Hult International Business School
EF Education First Boston Headquarters
1 Education St.
Cambridge, MA 02141

Registration
Includes dinner and soft drinks. Cash bar available. SCIP Member $35.00 Non-Member $45.00.

For details and registration, go to www.scip.org. Please note: This will be a popular event – register early!

The Intel thanks Parmelee Eastman at Knowledge is Power for alerting us to this exciting event!

Inside Jobs

On the heels of my last post on CI teachable moments come developments from another case frought with lessons. The alleged theft of Goldman Sachs proprietary trading code by their former programmer shines the spotlight once again on organizations' internal intelligence defense. (See an article at: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090810/FREE/908109981.) Cases like this and, famously, that of theft of a Coca-Cola's formula in 2006 (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-05-23-coke-sentencing_N.htm), highlight the need for awareness of internal intelligence risks as well as for clear and consistent training on employee do's and don'ts. While we don't have complete details regarding the Goldman case, my experience working with various firms has taught me that, more often than not, employees are under-educated about ethical and lawful conduct. While awareness and training will not inform and deter everyone, these measures can help prevent misconduct and breaches of non-disclosure or non-compete agreements by those who are ignorant or claim ignorance of policies, ethical behavior, or the law.

What do you think? Are awareness and training worthwhile? If so, how and for whom?

Have you encountered situations that involve internal breaches? What were the outcomes and did the organization apply any new measures?

Cheers,
Cynthia Cheng Correia

CI Teachable Moments

Once in awhile, the darker side of corporate intel makes the news and this recent article in USA Today, "Tech Gadgets Help Corporate Spying Surge in Tough Times," is among the compelling ones. It raises some great (and perennial) points: That...

• Many organizations' staff know little about formal CI and ethical or legal practices. (And, if they do, they understand little about how to protect themselves.)

• Corporate espionage continues to tarnish ethical CI.

• CI and intelligence defense is constant and evolving.

• Desperate times can lead to desperate (and unethical/illegal) methods. (Although temptation and one's own misdirected cleverness can be ever-present.)

• One can't ever use enough common sense, combined with forethought and technical & physical security, to protect oneself and one's organization.

• We need to understand the technology we use not only functionally, but from a security standpoint. (And creativity can be used for defense.)

• Solid CIKM (CI knowledge management) remains vital.

What does this mean to the CI pro?

1. It's imperative that we stay on top of techniques (ethical/unethical and legal/illegal) in order to achieve and maintain solid CI and defensive intelligence practices.

2. Teachable moments and opportunities for internal training remain constant, as long as technology evolves, practices become more sophisticated and global, and organizations seek to achieve competitive advantages.

3. We can never leave our guard down, and we should encourage our colleagues to do the same.

Tales like the ones in this article are valuable lessons for us and our organizations, and it's up to us to share the cautionary tales with our colleagues and sustain the case for good intel and defense.

Cynthia Cheng Correia