Minimizing IP Theft and Insider Threats During Times of Layoffs

Minimizing IP Theft and Insider Threats During Times of Layoffs

In 2022, the tech industry experienced a 649% increase in layoffs. Even before the close of the first quarter of 2023, more than 100,000 employees at US technology companies have been let go. If layoffs persist, particularly in the tech sector, organizations could be at an increased risk of theft of intellectual property (IP).

Employees that perpetrate these risks can have a range of motivations, including a feeling of specific ownership over a piece of IP they worked on and wanting to keep it for their files to replicate at a future job, revenge, or financial motives such as selling the IP to rival companies or foreign countries.

In addition to serious financial repercussions, misappropriation of an organization's work can lead to reputational damage, loss of competitive edge, and business disruption. Furthermore, during heightened geopolitical disarray, the ability of a group or individual to acquire intellectual property and trade secrets can have ramifications on the economy and potentially national security.

With the current uncertainty of the future economic outlook, it's worth discussing ways companies can minimize insider threat risks.

Involving Security Teams Early

Proactivity is key. Workforce reductions don't happen in a vacuum. While they may seem sudden, they are often the result of lengthy planning processes among stakeholder groups from across the organization. Security teams should be included in these discussions from the beginning. Still, security teams are often not included or brought into the conversation so late that they cannot help with mitigation strategies. Involving security in preliminary plans allows them to monitor for behavior that may not raise alarms during "normal" times but may be unusual in the context of job cuts.

Earlier discussions with a security element also allow for proactive planning, data-sharing, strategy creation, and investigations, if necessary, to mitigate threats proactively. Collaboration between critical departments like security and HR is vital to producing a thorough plan which will ultimately help teams to see around corners and address any blind spots.

Physical security teams might need to be more familiar with particularly sensitive projects that other groups have insight into. IP theft mitigation should involve identifying information vital to the enterprise's future and pre-planning exercises on what happens if it is stolen or misappropriated.

Connecting Cyber and Physical Teams

When we think of traditional physical security, we usually think of the 3Gs: guns, gates, and guards. In protecting against IP theft, security professionals must shift their mindset to the organization's current needs and consider the 4th G: Gigabytes.

IP theft is traditionally considered a "cyber" issue. However, data sharing and collaboration between physical and cyber teams can provide critical intel into potential IP theft and help proactively identify signals. With the sophistication of today's threat actors, companies can't only defend with a "cyber only" approach. In a recent report, 35% of respondents said because of an inability to successfully collect, collate and share information across physical security, human resources, cybersecurity, IT, and legal and compliance departments, insider abuse authorized cyber access led to property theft or supply chain damage.

Building out cross-functional collaboration between cyber and physical security teams will create a more unified approach, where a common language is established to better understand each department's key priorities and processes. Doing so ensures there is collective monitoring of identified risk groups or individuals. It also ensures that any information is shared across security departments, ultimately assisting in communicating any threats or risks promptly and consistently. During times of turmoil at a company, such as when a layoff occurs, the ability to act proactively and collaboratively is more crucial than ever.

The Protection of Culture

As you know, collaborative, proactive cultures that foster close working relationships between departments are essential to managing a company during times of uncertainty. But those relationships must be built before storm clouds form on the horizon.

Security teams can have a role to play in developing company culture by creating and fostering a proactive mindset that safeguards people, company data, and assets. They can be advocates for robust services that ensure a soft landing for impacted employees.

But a robust protection culture can, and should, be further leveraged with technology that organizes data from across the institution, creating a shared understanding of risks. From logging incidents and tracking cases to researching threats, a technology-enhanced risk strategy will create an 'always on' intelligence mantra that supports identifying insider threats and IP thefts.

During times of uncertainty, enacting proper security measures to identify risks proactively can help to minimize the number of incidents of IP theft and insider threats.

Featured

  • Mall of America Deploys AI-Powered Analytics to Enhance Parking Intelligence

    Mall of America®, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America, announced an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Axis Communications to deploy cutting-edge car-counting video analytics across more than a dozen locations. With this expansion, Mall of America (MOA) has boosted operational efficiency, improved safety and security, and enabled more informed decision-making around employee scheduling and streamlining transportation for large events. Read Now

  • Security Industry Association Launches New “askSIA” AI Tool

    The Security Industry Association (SIA) has unveiled a brand-new SIA member benefit – askSIA, a conversational AI agent designed to help users get the most out of their SIA membership, easily access SIA resources and find the latest information on SIA’s training and courses, reports and publications, events, certification offerings and more. SIA members can easily find askSIA by visiting the SIA homepage or looking for the askSIA icon in the top left of webpages. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Industry Embraces Mobile Access, Biometrics and AI

    A combination of evolving workplace dynamics, technology innovation and new user expectations is changing how people enter and interact with physical spaces. Access control is at the heart of these changes. Combined with biometrics and AI, mobile access control has become increasingly crucial for deploying entry solutions that are seamless, secure and adaptive to user needs. Read Now

  • Sustainable Video Solution Delivered for Landmark City of London Office Development

    An advanced, end-to-end video solution from IDIS, with a focus on reducing waste and costs, has helped a major office development in the City of London align its security with sustainability objectives. Read Now

  • DHS to End ‘Shoes-Off’ Travel Policy

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a new policy today which will allow passengers traveling through domestic airports to keep their shoes on while passing through security screening at TSA checkpoints. Read Now

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.