Corporate Trade Secrets and Espionage – Keeping that Digital Information Safe
Wherever there are great ideas and profitable businesses there will inevitably be copy-cat businesses trying to do the same thing at a competitive price. Having a great idea isn’t such an uncommon event but making that great idea into a lucrative and successful business is quite another matter. Many businesses are built on hard work and great ideas that also create more growth for that business.
There’s nothing wrong with a little competition, after all, competition keeps us on our toes and working hard. The problem comes when businesses start to “borrow” ideas from competitors. Even among smaller businesses trade secrets and espionage are a problem; and no one wants their ideas stolen.
For employees with great ideas: guard them!
On the most basic level, corporate stealing starts with disgruntled or lazy employees that want to look efficient. They may take memo’s and present them as their own or even undermine projects so theirs will look better. Employees need to take precautions against this. Not printing up confidential documents, locking down laptop access with frequently changed passwords and shredding any printed documents once they are no longer needed will help cut down on inter-office espionage.
Disgruntled employees may have a reason to steal.
Dealing with disgruntled employees is never fun, but an angry employee has a reason to steal secrets and Intellectual ideas and sell them. Sure, there are always confidentiality-clauses, but then, you have to catch these crooks in the act. If an employee is suspected of espionage, management will have to work fast to stop the information leak.
Getting a hold of that laptop isn’t enough.
In a perfect world, stopping angry employees from selling trade secrets would be as simple as taking the laptop and giving it to the IT department to work their magic. However, this isn’t always the case because companies do not have the forensic expertise in collecting and analyzing digital evidence.
A forensic data recovery company like Guardian-Forensics.com is the best way to discover how much digital information was exfiltrated and where it’s being moved to a USB or into an unauthorized cloud account. Once the information is found, it also becomes evident in a potential future criminal investigation.
The key is not to be afraid. Business owners should never bow to corporate espionage or let it stop them from growing and thriving. If an employee is taking secrets, act fast, get the right help and repair the damage. Remember, avoid using your IT staff to handle evidence and retain the experts at Guardian Forensics.