Date Approved

12-2014

Graduate Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Criminal Justice (M.S.)

Degree Program

School of Criminal Justice

First Advisor

Brian Johnson

Second Advisor

Carly Hilinski-Rosick

Third Advisor

Brian Kingshott

Abstract

It is estimated that the United States alone loses $300 billion annually to economic espionage. The purpose of the paper is to understand the occurrence and defining characteristics of economic espionage. This is accomplished through the series of proposed research questions related to the Economic Espionage Act of 1996. These questions include: occurrence rates, offender demographics, victim demographics, and victim-offender relationship. Archival data analysis of all 18 USC §1832 prosecutions from 1996-2011, will answer each proposed research question. The results will provide worldwide corporations with statistical support to help combat economic espionage. Specifically, descriptive statistics, such as mean, median, and mode, will be used to explain the nature and extent of economic espionage as defined under 18 USC §1832. Ultimately, this study found that economic espionage is a major problem for the United States, affecting a variety of classifications of companies.

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