Internal attacks on your business

Why it is important to protect your data assets?

The point made in the following articles is—are you willing to let outsiders have your trade secrets to use against you? Would you give your financial data, marketing plans, CAD drawings, or CNC machining codes to a competitor to use or bid against you with your vendors? What are you doing to protect these assets from theft? Do you actively monitor that protection to see if it is working?

ACTForensic.com, Inc. is your best solution for data security. We will design and implement a computer usage policy and security systems to protect your valuable data. We constantly monitor your computer systems for internal misuse, try to establish their origin, and provide ways to block future threats. We assist your legal department and Law Enforcement by providing forensically sound evidence to help in civil litigation and criminal prosecutions.

Is your company large enough to devote full time, separate resources to Security? If not, ACTForensic.com, Inc. is a cost effective alternative.

Your IT department is not the place to have security monitored any more than you would have the person who writes checks also sign them with no oversight.

Here are a few examples of Internal Data Theft:

From National Public Radio Soft

Drink Rivals Cooperate in Theft Case

Morning Edition, July 6, 2006 · Three people were charged Wednesday with trying to sell confidential information from The Coca-Cola Co., including a sample of a new drink, to its rival, Pepsi. John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, talks with Lynn Neary about they case.

From Business Week JULY 31, 2006:
Heading Off Trade Secret Theft

Stealing is not just about paper clips. Trade secrets that make it into the wrong hands can seriously damage your bottom line

A recent survey showed that 58% of office workers have taken office supplies for their personal use. The survey, done by Harris Interactive and lawyers.com, revealed that, along with staplers and paper clips, employees admitted to stealing things that could drastically affect a company's future success, such as classified information. Companies with fewer than 100 employees suffered the greatest losses, the survey showed.

From The Diggnation Podcast:

Three people have been arrested and charged with stealing confidential information from The Coca-Cola and trying to sell it to rival Pepsi. The suspects include an executive administrative assistant, Joya Williams, who is accused of rifling through corporate files and stuffing documents and a new Coca-Cola product into a personal bag.

From Law-Center.com Condensed and paraphrased:

PROTECTING YOUR INVESTMENTS IN TRADE SECRETS

Intellectual property law protects your company's trade secrets, business name, trademarks, publications and inventions as well as its "know-how" and customer lists. There are many traps for the uninformed in the laws governing intellectual property. The best way to lose a prosecution for theft of intellectual property is to not have a good computer usage policy.

Private information that gives your company an advantage over its competitors is called a trade secret. For example, customer lists, formulas, manufacturing processes, cost information, sources of supply, market studies, and compilations of financial data may be trade secrets. Allowing employees uncontrolled access to this information is like leaving a plate of candy on the table and telling your child not to touch and then you leave the house.

Take several steps to protect your company's trade secrets. Require employees to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The best time to obtain such agreements is at hiring, although they can be enforceable if required at and enforce it. Control access to documents containing trade secrets to prevent "leaks".