Steps for Protecting Trade Secrets from Untrustworthy Insiders

How secure is your business’s network? This is an important question, but it must be asked in relation to external and internal threats. Not only should you take measures to protect your private data from outside computer hackers, but you should also safeguard your trade secrets from threats that may be on the inside. More specifically, an inside threat is a current or former employee, vendor or other party that has (or had) authorized access to your network and intentionally misuses that access to damage your business.

• Identify your most valuable trade secrets or proprietary information and secure it on a segregated network with limited access and maximum security. In fact, you should consider using tracking technology that can assist you with proving the data was both confidential and protected.
• Limit access rights to networks as much as possible. Many companies provide administrative rights to everyone on their IT staff as well employees in management positions. However, these types of rights should be issued sparingly. In fact, no single individual should have access to the entire system.
• Train your employees regarding the importance of protecting trade secrets. This includes having a protocol for protecting private data when an employee is terminated. It includes implementing policies regarding storage on laptops and the use of public devices to access the company network.
• Have your employees sign non-competition contracts and keep them updated. If any employee is promoted and given more access to confidential data, you must review their non-competition agreement to ensure it is enforceable.