Keep your intellectual property Safe

Companies should be proud of their intellectual property, most of them don’t value the significance of these assets. These are some of the things that help you grow and increase the value of intellectual capital. But on the other hand, the risk of cyber criminals lurks large as they target these property assets. Most companies are not taking it seriously the issue of IP capital.

Most companies the contemporary steps to protect their intellectual property, which is familiar to most people and cyber criminals as well. For instance, they sign a non-disclosure document with their partners or associates to maintain confidentiality, to prevent their copyrighted subject matter. Apart from this there are many other ways for the companies to deal with their property, and these methods are not insubstantial, but they require investment and time, and it is designed in a way to protect the overall value. Unfortunately, all this effort goes in vain unless you decide to protect your property from cyber criminals, and then blame it on the technology.

The way technology has evolved over the years from the slower computers of the 1980s with the introduction of internet in the 1990s and today, with Hi-speed network communication, there is a much better way to leverage the technology. But the advance technology has only helped the criminals to put up an equally fast way to hack the information. This makes it easy for criminals to get rid of your IP with ease. Most companies have their assets locked physically with a strong password, but what if that information and credential are accessible to your employee remotely. This way the company facilitates a channel for a third party to come into the system, and laid his hands.

Most companies are finding it hard to have a budget that will allow them to protect their IP, and even if they have they don’t bother to do so. So, in this case, what should most companies do to protect their Intellectual Property from cyber criminals. Here are the few things they need to do.

Segment your IP – Know your priority, if your IP is a bunch of know-how information or some highly sensitive data which can be of immense value for the company and the society at large. It is then recommended that you don’t keep it under the vault of a strong password protection, thinking that it is safe and nobody can take it. But segmenting the sensitive information into other compartments will make it difficult for criminals to snoop into your network. Segmenting your IP will make it hard for the hackers.

Companies that have a significant data footprint must have their information security program, but they may not address them separately. Any WISP should account, at a minimum, for highly sensitive, confidential information as well as specific development, data related to any products and services that require IP protection. If you don’t know whether the information does, confer with qualified IP counsel to help identify it, and have them coordinate with the appropriate information security representative so that the WISP addresses steps to protect against cyber attack. In fact, the WISP should incorporate many more levels of intrusion detection and prevention so as to make the “crown jewels” of IP as difficult to access and as possible.

Be Very, Very Careful With IP in the Cloud. The cost savings presented by software-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service can be significant, but so can the liabilities. I like the “cloud” and what it has to offer, but at this juncture, I cannot recommend that companies place a highly sensitive intellectual property in the “cloud” unless it is encrypted and the security keys are monitored. Most state data breach notification laws provide for an encryption “safe harbor,” and when it comes to cloud-based services and your IP, encryption is critical. Although many cloud providers are offering increased security and even encryption, precious few of them are willing to shoulder the risk of a breach that results in IP theft. Don’t risk it — and if you have to — make sure you take appropriate steps to encrypt highly sensitive data and limit access to it.

Whether you like it or not the company will get hit by cyber attack if there happens to be a vulnerability, this is the reality. Most hackers are looking for an easy target and strong security measure will deter them. You have worked hard for your IP, so why let it go loose and fall into the hands of those who are going to make merry of it. Protect it the way it should be. Call a professional and know how that can be done.