How are trade secrets protected?

According to the National Law Review, trade secrets are extremely valuable to so many businesses. That is why business owners must protect them at all costs.  

Trade secrets typically have a few important elements. They are not known or accessible by others, they have commercial value, and the business that owns them makes an effort to maintain their confidentiality. Fortunately, there are a few effective ways to do just that, as explained here.  

Physical security

One of the best ways to enact physical protections around trade secrets is to limit who has access to them. That is why many business owners enact access control within their buildings, which limits who can access which rooms, areas, or computing equipment. Access control also creates a log of who accesses which areas when, which means it is possible to track breaches and find out who is responsible.  

Digital security

Much like access control, digital security restricts access to computer networks and servers holding sensitive information. This is possible through robust password practices, which prevents unauthorized people from gaining access. Encryption is another method of securing digital information. Encryption scrambles data and makes it unreadable unless a person has authorization to access a file or collection of data. 

Legal protections

Many employers enact non-disclosure agreement and similar legal contractors to prevent staff from taking trade secrets with them when they go. These agreements provide legal recourse in the event unauthorized parties access a trade secret. Employers are also encouraged to make it abundantly clear to new employees that they prohibit the sharing of sensitive data with others. 

While it is often challenging to protect essential information, it is well worth it. Doing so prevents competitors from taking information and capitalizing on it, which will have a detrimental effect on your business.