DEFENCE AGAINST ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE 

With the increase in international terrorism, governments and corporations are becoming more concerned about security. Considerable effort is being made to provide layers of defense against such attacks.

In the field of commercial espionage the defence is, in many ways, more difficult. If you are hit by a terrorist bomb you know it and can measure your losses. In well carried out commercial 'spying' you may not know what hit you -- until you're broke.

It works both ways. If you are not aware of what is happening in your industry or even coming from another field that could radically alter your business, your not going to be around very long either. Not these days. Not when developments like ceramic homes, that are built in 40 minutes and erected in two hours, are being produced by turn-key plants that each make 20,000 annually. Not when genetic alterations to the scrub Loblolly pine can produce pulp at half the price of current products. These are but a couple of samples. But back to basic security.

Many buildings, construction sites, research laboratories or even CBC studios have security checks. Usually these consist of a commissioner who has you sign a book, list who you are going to see and then issues you a lapel badge with a number on it. The idea being that you really do sign your real name and do have a legitimate purpose in entering their quarters. You are also not supposed to walk out without turning your badge back in at the front desk. You may not. To avoid this not infrequent occurence, a new type of timelimited self-destructing "smart" badge has been produced. It can be "set" for a four or eight hour life. From the moment you receive it is silently (and chemically) 'ticking' away.

This process continues as you spend time inside the building. The badge gradually darkens and when your time is up your name, fixed on issue, on the badge is obliterated. By then you better have turned it in or you're in trouble. It also has another feature. Suppose you sneak out with the badge, pass it to an accomplice who puts it on outside then brazenly walks into the building. Trouble. The badge reacts instantly to outside light (but not if inside where the outside natural light passes through glass thus filtering out the ultra-violet rays) and will turn dark in a few minutes. It is possible to even tell weather and geographical conditions at the exposure site (The badge will go dark after 35 seconds outside on a summer day at 2 PM in Venezuela). The price is cheap. About thirty cents each in small quantities. An even less expensive model available for use in museums, or by tour operators costs only a couple of cents in quantity. A long-term type also exists. A different class is available for high-security areas. More information: Dave Campbell, Photo Ident. Laminating, 3640 Vanness Ave., Vancouver, BC V5R 5A9 Phone: (604) 434-1321. Elsewhere contact: Dr. David J. Haas, TEMPbadge Systems Inc., P.O. Box 59, Ramsey, New Jersey 07446. Phone: (201) 666-1010.

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