How Business Should Protect Intellectual Property

The age of technology and exchange of information in the digital domain have made our daily lives easier, but also brought numerous new challenges that were unknown before. Among them are cyber espionage and security concerns in terms of data protection and the exchange of vulnerable information. Large enterprises, artists, politicians, students or even average people want to know how to protect intellectual property and do it the right way. A common mistake these days is believing that any information posted online or shared via social media keeps one’s ownership rights protected. The practice shows that most cases of industrial espionage or collection of data without user consent happen due to user security ignorance. Although there are many ways how an operating company may appear in danger, there are several tools and corporate rules, laws that help to avoid dangers related to intellectual property theft.

Intellectual Property In The Digital Society

Most businesses these days employ various technical safeguards online or even use complex hardware solutions with closed-circuit servers that provide them with a corporate security level. However, such an approach only works in those cases where a company implements strict user policies creating environments where most emergency situations can be addressed. The same relates to university students who constantly face plagiarism issues or accusations of intellectual theft. Speaking of the ways how a business can protect corporate property, addressing the following aspects proves to be essential:

Data Usage & Internet Access Policies. Every reliable security implementation for business purposes starts with the rules of Internet access and a set of restrictions that limit user permissions. In practice, security personnel must start with the evaluation and analysis of potential unauthorized IP and data system access sources. Once the risks are identified, cybersecurity specialists should proceed with the development of appropriate protocols to protect critical systems, cloud services, physical storage mediums, and mobile information carriers including portable electronic devices. Speaking of how to protect intellectual property online, Internet access rules must be made available to all employees or guest visitors regardless of privileges.

Creation of Access Groups. The golden rule of a successful business security model is knowing who accesses what. It means that a clever distribution of the access groups helps to track down the logs of every employee in the company and see who has edited or exchanged information online or inside the corporate network. Such a security model shows that the importance of intellectual property is understood right, allowing security audit specialists to identify existing risks and implement required modifications without further delays.

Social Media and Plagiarism. It is a security factor that is often ignored by both businesses and college students alike. They sincerely believe that parts of their assignments shared online on Facebook or university scans posted via Instagram do not pose a problem, but it not only reveals their personality and academic credentials but also poses a serious risk of intellectual property theft. The same relates to plagiarism issues, therefore, it is better to be safe and use tool provided by Edubirdie team as a way to ensure that every quote is properly referenced in your research paper. Allowing experts to check the structure and content relevancy, one receives academic safety and a paper that is free from plagiarism. 

Data Backup & Storage. According to a research study on corporate cybersecurity, most business enterprises ignore the importance of backing up crucial data and storing it in a secure place. While cloud computing is rather popular these days, such a method is prone to cyber espionage issues and involvement of international legislation once data is stored beyond the country of the company’s registration. Therefore, security specialists that work in the field of intellectual property protection recommend storing sensitive information in a physical storage system without online or wireless access. Such an approach combined with the installation of surveillance cameras is a safe way to ensure that business records are kept safe.

Corporate Security Education. The talk is not only about following security rules presented by the company but more within the lines of special training sessions and seminars that break down popular cyber risks cliches. As the research report reveals, most business employees believe that intellectual property dangers come from hackers and do not realize that more than half of them unintentionally participate in social engineering scams online. While it is not possible to predict all the dangers, one can educate the personnel by providing practical examples and allowing each person to be in charge of business security.

Reporting The Attack Rules

Unfortunately, most businesses realize why is intellectual property important only when crucial data is stolen or lost. Even when misfortune strikes, people usually do not know how or when to report a problem. The legal advisors recommend following SEC for international issues or local IPO for the UK-based legal matters. If there is a corporate firewall installed, one should turn to the company in question since they do carry legal responsibility if the software has malfunctioned. Receiving detailed reports from the registered security company is essential for any court hearings or lengthy insurance disputes.

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References

Badway, E. (2012). Protecting Companies’ Intellectual Property From Cyber Crime. New York Law Journal. Retrieved from https://www.foxrothschild.com/publications/protecting-companies-intellectual-property-from-cyber-crime/

How to Protect Your Writing Intellectual Property from Cyber-espionage. (2019). Retrieved from
https://ourcodeworld.com/articles/read/1014/how-to-protect-your-writing-intellectual-Property-from-cyber-espionage

Hurley, J. (2016). Intellectual Property Is Valuable. How To Protect It In The Digital Society?. Retrieved from https://www.itspmagazine.com/from-the-newsroom/intellectual-property-is-valuable
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Scanlon, P. (2003). Student Online Plagiarism: How Do We Respond? College Teaching, 51(4), 161-165. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/27559159

Villasenor, J. (2015). Corporate Cybersecurity Realism: Managing Trade Secrets in a World Where Breaches Occur. American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal, 43(2/3). Retrieved from https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/corporatecybersecurityrealism.pdf

Yoo, C. (2011). Cloud Computing: Architectural and Policy Implications. Review of Industrial Organization, 38(4), 405-421. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/23884986