Tuesday, 22 April 2008

In an increasingly digital world the Intellectual Property (IP) of most organisations now exists in digital form, but that increases their vulnerability to IP theft, Andy Clark, Head of Forensics, Detica, will tell technology companies in a seminar on 29 April 2008 on information forensics organised by DMH Stallard in conjunction with BDO Stoy Hayward.

The presentation forms part of a series of seminars for technology companies and key professionals acting for large organisations and drivers of the economy and is the second to DMH Stallard and BDO Stoy Hayward this month.

“Even a decade ago 90% of all new information generated was in digital format – and today virtually all significant IP information is stored in soft format,” explained Clark. “That leaves organisations of all sizes vulnerable to an insidious form of theft that takes the simple form of copying – it’s less risky than physical theft, but every bit as valuable to the thief.”

As an everyday business operation, copying has become a trivial task among networks, PCs, laptops and handheld devices – aided by synchronisation software. However, the consequences of unauthorised copying – or theft – can have devastating consequences that can remain unobserved for long periods.

Clark will discuss how progressive organisations defend against such vulnerability with controls and countermeasures: “Audit and anticipation are essential for optimum protection. Controls are necessary, but it’s naïve not to expect staff to circumvent them – a balanced business-driven approach combined with continual auditing are essential. And a Digital Incident Response must be ready. It is usually too late to be looking in Yellow Pages after an incident has been discovered.”