Israeli police are investigating industrial espionage involving leading companies and have detained 18 people, including company executives and private detectives.
The probe, started by the Tel Aviv fraud squad began several months ago, had found evidence that Trojan horses had been planted in computers of some of the country"s top companies an Israeli police representative said Sunday.
The police are investigating firms including Israel"s top mobile phone operator, Cellcom, and two subsidiaries of dominant phone company Bezeq Israel Telecom, mobile phone operator Pelephone and the satellite television provider Yes.
All three companies issued statements saying that they are cooperating with the police and had done nothing illegal.
A total of 18 people have been detained for questioning, including the security managers at Pelephone and Cellcom, (who have since been released) and several private detectives suspected of planting the viruses the police representative said.
No charges have been filed.