Intellectual property theft is a threat to businesses in every industry. One of the most requested services we are asked to perform is forensic analysis of a former employees devices they utilized for the term of their employment to look for theft or misuse the organizations digital assets. As all organizations already know, their intellectual property such as customer lists, contacts, pricing and proprietary information, is extremely valuable and if an employee takes that information to a competitor, or to compete solely, it could have a huge impact on the bottom line and affect profits.
The days of printing or copying lists and documents is long gone and can easily go unnoticed without analyzing the user’s activities. Even the smallest devices like thumb drives have a high capacity which allows a person to easily carry large amounts of data discretely. With increased internet speeds and multiple options for cloud services, such as Drobox and Google Drive, copying or removing large amounts of data is a much more simple and discreet process. In addition, because of work demands, employees are sometimes allowed to bring their mobile devices home with them, such as laptops, tablets or cell phones. A user with limited technical knowledge can easily connect the device to a home network or USB drive and transfer the data in the comfort of their own home. Because the organizational data is so important for an employee to adequately perform their duties, access to the data is normally available to them all the time. Even if there are safeguards to the above listed scenarios, something such as remote access to a shared server can off an employee all the opportunity they need.
There are many ways organizations can fall victim to this type data theft that even if there is a small doubt that a current or former employee may have stolen intellectual property the situation should be taken seriously. DTI has the tools and experience to build a timeline of the user’s activities and determine how, when, and what may have happened with data during their term of employment.
Copyright/Patent Infringement Analysis
DTI specialist have experience in dealing with copyright and patent infringement which could be a major issue when dealing with a new technology or process that gives your organization a competitive edge in the field. In many cases theft of this type of technology is not always as noticeable as you may think. It could be a page of code embedded in software that ties everything together or a design of a product that gives it superior quality. The smallest pieces affect the final outcome and organizations need to protect their concepts and designs. DTI has performed everything from code review to CAD analysis for comparisons and design. Forensically analyzing and comparing the data gives us a complete picture of what has occurred based on the findings of the analysis.
If you believe your organization may have fallen victim to theft of intellectual property by an employee or competitor contact us to see how we can assist you in protecting your digital assets.
