Protecting your brand for the future economy

Just like your business' physical assets, intangible intellectual property assets need to be carefully utilised and protected. Do you know the right steps to safeguard your IP?

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Protecting your brand for the future economy

"Protecting these digital assets is critical, as much of an enterprise’s brand is tied to the intangible assets it possesses."

As digital transformation takes hold and businesses modernise into 21st-century corporate entities, a large part of their portfolio of assets belongs to the digital domain and is no longer in the physical space.

Protecting these digital assets is critical, as much of an enterprise’s brand is tied to the intangible assets it possesses. These assets may be exposed to hackers — and even state-sponsored cyber armies — over non-secure Internet connections, and are much more vulnerable to physical assets towards theft, interference, tampering, and malfeasance.

Cybersecurity breaches have great consequences on the value of a brand and how it is perceived by the public. By 2021, it is estimated that the world’s annual cost of cybercrime will be $6 trillion1, collectively — a large part of this being crashes in stock value of companies that have experienced cyber breaches.

Shoring up IP

While organisations often have world-class physical security in place to protect, many ignore or are lax on the IP that rests in employee devices and emails/chats. Technology and research-centred companies, such as in the biological sciences, entirely depend on their trade secrets for revenue, and are especially vulnerable to data leaks.

An end-to-end IP management system that puts the digital business at the forefront is critical in this aspect. Internal collaboration tools — the lifeblood of any modern enterprise that spreads across campuses and borders — need to be highly secure to ensure that data is protected while at rest and on the move. Cloud security and mobile device management are important pieces of the jigsaw that keep IP visible and within the confines of the enterprise, with information being channeled to the right person at the right time according to robust and granular layers of access levels.

The digital supply chain

The modern, digitally interconnected organisation has many points of contact with the outside world — whether through APIs, network connections or even manual exchange of data. While enterprises often secure their own IT infrastructure with strict protocols and appropriate investment in software, they leave their supply chains open to attacks through third party software or APIs.

Onboarding new business partners needs to be a regulated process with a strict standard operating procedure; a security checklist helps ensure that a weak security posture or compliance oversights are protected against. Vendor APIs need to be thoroughly examined and validated for coding practices; confidentiality and authentication should be according to established standards.

Zero trust and a culture of innovation

All connections to and from a company are increasingly being examined through the “zero trust” lens — no connection is permitted, and no access is granted without the verification of identity. The digital workflows of today have many stakeholders, and it is of supreme importance that software, powered by automation and orchestration capabilities, channels the right information to the right person at the right time.

The idea of a “zero trust” environment combined with the freedom of information within an organisation to collaborate and innovate requires a nuanced and sophisticated data sharing workflow. Companies invest billions into making their employees more efficient and productive by the smallest of margins; the source and time of inspiration behind a particularly profitable piece of IP can be difficult to predict but end up delivering massive profits and competitive advantage.

In such an environment, the digital workflows adopted among specific job functions need to be unified and standardised to ensure that compliance is in place, but data is easily accessible without too much red tape. IP protection needs to be delicately balanced between permitting free and convenient flow of information and ensuring that the “zero trust” model engenders a strong culture of verification.

Building a recognisable, trusted brand requires a culture of relentless digital innovation and a strong regard for the IP generated by thousands of contributors. It is incumbent upon an enterprise to pay close attention to the way its IP is handled within the organisation, which in turn helps build a globally reputed brand.

 

Speak to us to learn more.

 

1 Protecting Your Reputation From Cyberattacks Isn't Impossible If You Do These 3 Things, Forbes, Nov 2019

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