Padgett-Beale Inc. - Intellectual Property Theft
Intro
Intellectual Property or IP (not related to internet protocol) can relate
to digital technologies or internet file-sharing networks. Padgett-
Beale's IP can be gathered information such as guest information that
is stored on the company's software, or processes used to facilitate
provided services. Intellectual property theft (IP theft) refers to "the
robbing of people or companies of their ideas, inventions, and creative
expressions (i.e., their IP)" (FBI, 2016). The sensitive information
contained within the resort should be protected not only by external
threats but internal as well. Many employees may not understand or
fail to realize the concept of protecting Intellectual Property such as
files and documentation when they leave. When an employer leaves
with this type of information, it can expose confidential data to not
only competitors but to the possible public. Padgett-Beale would have
no control over this. The following recommendations are focused to
mitigate the biggest concern for Padgett-Beale Inc. and any company
with concerns of insider threats.
Analysis
There are major impacts of intellectual property theft on a business
that can include "loss of a competitive edge, reputational damage, a
slowdown in business growth, and loss of customer trust" (Ekran,
2022). In order to reduce the risks, understanding how the IP threats
may happen is necessary.
• Hacking - Spear phishing, a technique hackers use to "inject"
themselves into company networks and retain information from
employees.
• Human Error - If a company device is lost or stolen containing
work-related files, this can inadvertently share confidential data
with unauthorized parties.
• Privilege Abuse - The higher the access rights for the user, the
higher the risks of IP theft.
Cybersecurity breaches allow the theft of data, similarly to IP theft,
which may "cause an organization to face compliance and legal issues
since that breach may affect other sensitive data of customers,
employees, and partners" (Ekran, 2022). In order to prevent any legal
issues and have not only PBI but other corporations best protected
from IP theft, best practices PBI can implement to ensure no
unauthorized access is permitted to their intellectual property are
provided below
• Identify the most valuable data - understanding what exactly
needs to be protected and from whom?
• Review user access - By reviewing and limiting users' access to
critical data and resources to information they need helps reduce
the risk of security breaches.
• Find security gaps and weak spots - Test the systems and "think
like an attacker". Assuming the hacker's viewpoint can point out
additional security needs.
• Establish data security policy - NDA (Non-disclosure agreement)
is a confidential agreement/ contract regarding sensitive
information obtained, may not be available to others.
• Monitor employee activity - Deploy DLP (Data loss prevention) a
set of tools/processes used to ensure sensitive data is not lost,
misused, or accessed without authorization.
• Educate - Continuous training from onboarding onward focusing
on different policies and why cybersecurity is important.
(Awake Security, n.d.)
Closing
Once control of information is lost by a person or organization, it
becomes almost impossible to recover it. d Implementing the mentioned
recommendations will help mitigate IP threats, one of the main
sources of data loss. While there are steps to safeguard information
from external threats, those within the company can do the most
damage.
References:
FBI. (2016, May 3). Intellectual property theft/piracy. FBI. Retrieved
April 21, 2022, from https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-
crime/piracy-ip-theft
Intellectual property (IP) theft definition & examples
. Awake Security.
(2021, May 12). Retrieved April 21, 2022, from
https://awakesecurity.com/glossary/intellectual-property-
theft/#:~:text=Intellectual%20property%20theft%20
7 best practices to prevent intellectual property theft
. What is
Intellectual Property Theft and How to Prevent It | Ekran System.
(2022, January 19). Retrieved April 21, 2022, from
https://www.ekransystem.com/en/blog/best-practices-to-prevent-
intellectual-property-theft
