Intellectual property protection cases highlight shortfalls in risk management.
The global financial downturn has made companies less willing to deal with intellectual property leaks. But how do you deal with the inevitable issues of handing IP to clients and customers? Last week’s Internal Auditors’ Peer Group members mulled the question. The general answer: IP processes have to evolve with the business model.
The main prescription is to reach out to vendors and partners. Thought leaders say annual security training is critical. The problem is: the tighter you crack down, the bigger the incentive for errant employees to try to unravel the code. Even those without a fraudulent incentive may gum up the works—rather than work through a security-infested server, they may try to just work off their hard drives, creating a whole additional layer of problems.
The other issue is the need to get a handle on widespread data. Some members worried about company-related data with third parties that they felt they needed to control. Others developed new operations within the company – i.e., a new medical clinic that now needed to have a patient privacy-protection mechanism or proprietary company information that other partner companies needed to manufacture products. Whatever the solution, dealing with IP is becoming an increasingly important priority.