The accelerated shift to remote workforces resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated the challenge of protecting corporate data and intellectual capital.
It has never been easier for employees to compromise their employers' systems. Absent protocols designed for remote workforces, many companies are scrambling to keep tabs on the whereabouts of their property and IP.
The cookie-cutter protections that are typically in place don't safeguard against data theft nearly as much as companies think they do. As a result, employees are departing one employer for another with intellectual capital and trade secrets in tow and undetected.
Free and open-source network file transfer apps have made it easy for sophisticated engineers to compromise their employers' systems. Consider the widespread use of PuTTY, a program that establishes an encrypted secured shell (SSH) tunnel from a work computer that can export its entire contents to any device of choice. All done without leaving a traditional forensic trace.
But it's not just potential IP theft that should alarm companies. Significant legal exposure exists when onboarding new employees who may bring IP with them. Even if a new employer is unaware of a transgression, it could prove costly. Juries and judges of trade secret cases consistently yield some of the highest verdict awards imaginable.
How can companies better protect themselves? Here are the five steps to take right now.
Hiring Process ReviewSet the expectation from the start that the company takes confidential information seriously. In all cases, but especially when recruiting talent from competitors, be able to demons ..
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