In Seyfarth's fourth installment in its 2018 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, Seyfarth attorneys Robert Milligan and Scott Atkinson, along with Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade CEO Pamela Passman, focused on identifying the greatest threats to trade secrets, implementing an effective trade secret protection program, and enacting effective risk reduction processes across an organization.
As a conclusion to this well-received webinar, we compiled a summary of takeaways:
- Building a culture of trade secret protection is essential for protecting against cyber threats. Simply having policies is not enough; companies need to follow up with training, acknowledgements/record keeping, and engaged leaders who lead by example.
- One key part of an effective trade secret protection plan is having an effective onboarding and off-boarding process, including exit interviews. Exit interviews should typically be conducted, and employees should be reminded of their continuing confidentiality and other obligations to the company. Don't forget to ask for any passwords to any company-owned mobile devices.
- As companies build internal capabilities to protect trade secrets and ensure robust cybersecurity, those capabilities should be required of key supply chain partners or vendors that have access to trade secrets and should be measured and monitored to ensure they are effective.
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