A senior engineer resigns on a Friday and joins a competitor on Monday. Three months later, the competitor launches a product with features your team spent two years building. Around the same time, an investor is about to fund a promising startup whose founder describes an exit that never happened, and a reseller in another region is quietly selling cracked licences of your software.
Technology companies build value in people, code and ideas, all of which can walk out of the door or be misrepresented to the market. Our technology sector investigation services help software firms, hardware makers, telecom and IT service providers, and the investors who back them protect intellectual property, verify people and partners, and respond to insider threats. As an international investigation firm headquartered in Dubai and backed by the 30+ years of GREVESGROUP®, we support technology clients in more than 100 countries.
Investigation Challenges in Technology
- Trade secret and source code theft by departing employees, contractors or partners
- Insider threats, including data leaks, sabotage and staff secretly working for competitors
- Founder and management misrepresentation in fundraising and M&A
- Software piracy and unlicensed use by resellers and business customers
- Channel fraud, where resellers and distributors misuse discounts, divert hardware or misreport sales
- Counterfeit hardware and components entering supply chains
- Brand impersonation, including fake apps, cloned websites and scam support services
Our Investigation Services for Technology
IP Investigation
Our IP theft investigations for technology companies establish what was taken, how it was taken and where it is being used. We investigate competing products, new companies set up by former staff, and contractors reusing your code or designs. We also run software piracy investigations to identify unlicensed use and illegal distribution, and investigate patent and design infringement by hardware copiers.
Due Diligence
Investors and acquirers use our founder due diligence and startup due diligence to verify founders' claims about education, previous ventures, exits and funding, and to uncover litigation, disputes with co-founders and reputational issues. For larger deals, we investigate the target's management, shareholders and key customers. We also check resellers, distributors and technology partners before appointment.
Corporate Investigation
When an insider threat investigation is needed, we work with your legal, HR and security teams to establish the facts of data leaks, conflicts of interest, moonlighting and fraud, using lawful methods and careful documentation. We also investigate reseller fraud, including misuse of partner discounts, deal registration abuse and fake end customers.
Background Check
Our tech company background checks verify candidates for engineering, leadership, finance and security roles, including education, employment, directorships and potential conflicts with competitors. Remote hiring across borders makes independent verification more important than ever.
Brand Protection
We identify fake apps, cloned websites, phishing domains and scam technical support services using your brand, trace the operators and support removal and enforcement. We also monitor marketplaces for counterfeit hardware and accessories.
Private Investigation
Our investigators conduct lawful enquiries to verify whether former employees are breaching non-compete, non-solicit or confidentiality obligations, and whether competitors are approaching your clients or staff using your information.
Claim Investigation
We support insurers and technology firms on equipment loss, theft in transit, fire and business interruption claims, verifying the facts and the value of the loss.
Process Service
Disputes with former employees, licensees and infringers often cross borders. We serve claims, injunctions and court orders internationally by personal service or through the Hague Convention.
Protecting Code and Know-How After Staff Departures
The period around a key employee's departure carries the most risk. Before any investigation, we recommend preserving devices, access logs and emails through your own IT team or a qualified forensic provider, because that internal evidence often proves what was taken. Our role is the external investigation: establishing whether the individual or their new employer is using your information, who else is involved and what can be proven lawfully in court. Together, internal and external evidence give your lawyers the strongest basis for injunctions and damages claims.
Due Diligence for Tech Investors
Venture and growth investors often move fast on limited information. Founder claims about past exits, patents, partnerships and customers are rarely checked independently before a term sheet is signed. A short, focused due diligence exercise can confirm the claims that matter, identify undisclosed disputes or regulatory problems, and give investment committees confidence that they are backing who they think they are backing.
Hardware and Supply Chain Integrity
For hardware makers, network equipment vendors and IT distributors, counterfeit and refurbished components passed off as new create quality failures, warranty losses and security risks. Grey market devices also bypass authorised channels and support. Our investigators trace suspect components and devices through brokers and distributors, carry out test purchases, and verify suppliers before they enter your approved vendor list. Where needed, we work with technical experts who can examine and authenticate the items we obtain.
Technology Sectors We Support
Our clients include software and SaaS companies, IT services and outsourcing firms, telecom operators, hardware and electronics manufacturers, fintech and platform businesses, cybersecurity firms and the venture capital and private equity investors who fund them.
Typical Engagements
The scenarios below are illustrative examples of the kind of work we carry out in this sector.
Departed engineer
A software company suspects a former lead engineer took proprietary code to a new venture. Our investigation identifies the new company, its funding and product, and gathers evidence of the similarities, supporting an injunction.
Founder verification
A fund is about to lead a funding round. Our checks confirm most of the founder's claims but show that a previous "successful exit" was a distressed sale with unpaid creditors, which the fund raises before investing.
Unlicensed software
A software vendor suspects a regional reseller is selling unlicensed copies. Test purchases and enquiries confirm the practice and identify the business customers involved.
Counterfeit network equipment
An equipment vendor receives warranty claims for devices it never sold in a particular region. We trace the devices to a broker supplying relabelled units to system integrators, and support legal action against the broker.
What You Receive
Reports with verified findings, evidence of use or infringement, profiles of individuals and companies, and recommended legal or commercial next steps.
Why Technology Companies Choose Risk Investigators
IP focus
GREVESGROUP® has more than 30 years of experience investigating IP infringement and theft.
Lawful evidence
Methods that protect admissibility and your reputation.
Global reach
Investigators in more than 100 countries, where your staff, partners and infringers operate.
Investor-ready reporting
Clear findings for boards and investment committees.
Discreet handling
Sensitive departures and insider cases handled without alerting the people involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you investigate source code theft by a former employee?
Yes. We investigate whether confidential code or know-how is being used by the former employee or their new employer, and gather lawful evidence for your lawyers. Internal device forensics should be handled by your IT team or a forensic specialist.
What is founder due diligence?
Founder due diligence verifies a founder's education, career, previous ventures and exits, and checks for litigation, disputes, regulatory issues and reputational concerns before an investment.
Do you investigate software piracy?
Yes. We identify unlicensed use and illegal distribution of software, including by resellers and business customers, through test purchases and investigative enquiries.
Can you help with insider threat cases?
Yes. We investigate data leaks, conflicts of interest and staff working for competitors, working alongside your legal, HR and security teams.
Do you investigate reseller and channel fraud?
Yes. We investigate misuse of partner discounts, fake end customers, diverted hardware and misreported sales.
Do you remove fake apps and phishing sites?
We identify fake apps, cloned sites and phishing domains, trace the operators and support your takedown requests and legal action.
Do you verify remote hires in other countries?
Yes. We verify identity, education and employment history for remote candidates in more than 100 countries, directly with institutions and former employers.
Can you check a technology partner before a joint venture or acquisition?
Yes. We investigate the partner's ownership, management, funding, litigation, reputation and IP disputes, and verify key claims about customers and technology before you commit.