Case Studies in Physical Breaches

Real incidents provide valuable lessons:

The Coca-Cola Recipe Attempt (2006): An employee and accomplices attempted to steal trade secrets by physically accessing documents and product samples. They approached competitors trying to sell the information. The scheme failed when PepsiCo reported the approach to authorities.

Lessons: Even trusted insiders can become threats. Competitive intelligence gathering often involves physical theft. Ethical competitors will report approaches.

The Sumitomo Bank Heist Attempt (2005): Criminals gained physical access to Sumitomo Mitsui Bank's London offices by posing as cleaning staff. They installed keyloggers to capture credentials for a planned £220 million theft. Security staff noticed the devices before the theft occurred.

Takeaways: Service staff access requires special attention. Physical access enables technical attacks. Regular security sweeps can detect anomalies.