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Data theft affair: Schenker Storen under suspicion!
After a data theft affair in Cologne-Ossendorf, the public prosecutor's office is investigating former Weinor employees.
Data theft affair: Schenker Storen under suspicion!
A high-profile case of data theft and unfair competition is currently causing a stir in Cologne. The Solothurn newspaper reports that the Griesser Group accuses Schenker Storen AG of using legally questionable methods to poach employees of a subsidiary. The allegations were vehemently rejected by Schenker Storen, citing its own legal practices.
The details of the affair are shocking: In December 2024, a series of unauthorized data copies began on the premises of Weinor GmbH, a major provider of sun and weather protection systems. These activities were driven by the use of private SDHC cards as USB storage devices were blocked within the company. The “data copiers” communicated via Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp, often at times when the office was sparsely occupied.
Investigations and searches
The incident escalated during the Cologne Carnival on February 28, 2025, when the systems triggered an alarm and numerous devices were blocked. Weinor then hired an external company to conduct an IT forensic report and filed a criminal complaint. This ultimately led to an investigation by the Cologne public prosecutor's office, which carried out house searches on five people and at a business address in Cologne on July 31, 2025. Data carriers, laptops, cell phones and comprehensive documents were seized.
The accused former employees, who are between 36 and 59 years old, are accused of unauthorized copying of more than 1.3 million files, mainly related to product development. Weinor's managing director, Tim Füldner, was concerned and said that the company's security mechanisms had apparently been circumvented. Weinor itself remained unaffected by the house searches, but the company's business operations remain stable.
Headhunting and the development of a competitive company
At the center of the allegations is the allegation that Schenker Storen specifically poached employees from Weinor's development department. This poaching apparently did not happen without devious intentions, as it is believed that the copied data was used to found a competing company, Schenker Innovation GmbH, which opened its doors in Cologne in April 2025.
It is known that Schenker Storen hired seven employees from Weinor. A crucial meeting between the CEO of Schenker Storen and the poached employees took place on December 17, 2024, which further substantiates the allegations of targeted poaching. According to the Press release from Weinor This poaching resulted in legally questionable practices that the Griesser Group considers to be unfair.
The investigations by the Cologne public prosecutor's office, which are currently directed exclusively against the five people mentioned and not against Schenker Storen, are ongoing. The situation raises questions about the protection of internal data in companies and what legal limits must be observed in such poaching campaigns. IT forensics could play an important role here in finding the right approaches to clarifying and legally prosecuting the suspects.
While the events continue to cause speculation and discussion, the question remains as to how companies can improve their data and competition protection in the future. Clarifying this affair could provide crucial insights.