If your information has a dollar value, or power value, it's a target. Eventually, someone will try to take it. The cold war was political. World War III is an economic war. Information is where the money is.
Information theft is easy, safe, and lucrative.
Eavesdropping laws are difficult to enforce. Advancements in electronics and optoelectronics have made communications interception easy and cheap. Competition is now global. There are more competitors than ever before. Business ethics are not what they used to be.