Text 3 Employees are often said to be a company's biggest resource.It is equally true that they are its biggest liability.Scarcely a week goes by without a company falling victim to employees-turned-cnemies-or-embarrassments.The most familiar type of enemy within is the fraudster.The Economist Intelligence Unit conducts a regular poll of senior executives on the subject of fraud committed by insiders.Two year ago the poll discovered that about 70%of companies had suffered from at least one instance of fraud,up from 61%in the previous survey.Fraud is often petty.But fraud can also be more harmful:think of former employees setting up rivals using stolen technology and purloined client lists.Even more dangerous is the vandal.Thieves at least have a rational motive.Vandals are driven by a desire for revenge that can know no limit.A company that specialises in corporate investigation gives a detailed account of the story of a British manufacturing company that was under restructuring.A member of the infonnation technology department discovered that his name was on the list of people whose services would no longer be required.He built a"backdoor"into the company's IT system from his home computer and set about causing damage.What can companies do to reduce the threat from these wolves in sheep's clothing?A lot depends on which particular sorts ofwolves you are dealing with.Yet three principles are always worth bearing in mind.The first is that firms need to focus on the people who have the greatest capacity to do harm-those who control the money and information.The more complicated companies become,the harder it is to identify where power really lies.But one thing is clear.The more dependent on information firms get,the more IT specialists can compromise the whole business.The least companies can do is to keep a careful watch on the IT department.The second is that the human touch is still invaluable.Companies can certainly strengthen their hand by installing software that can identify unusual behaviour or monitor e-mail,or by employing professionals to double-check the accounts.The best way to avoid these problems is to treat our employees with respect.The biggest problem with trying to do more with less is that you can end up tuming your biggest resources into your biggest liabilities. The study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit informs us that_____