Experts say there are no guaranteed ways to protect yourself or your company. Take preventive steps. But the steps could be as low tech and employee-relevant as shredding printed email memos or locking office doors to keep a culprit from either going through the garbage or getting on the hardware at 3 a.m. Review and retention of computer media tied to exiting employees is another. He says a handshake agreement could set you up for potential misuse of intellectual property.
Investigators can uncover digital theft, too.
In one event, a client called with a concern about a number of senior employees who had quit the firm and started a competing venture. Even though several of the former employees deleted files and reformatted hard drives, we were able to recover a long list of items they reviewed prior to leaving the firm. We also recovered a number of business-planning documents for their new company that were developed using the client's systems. Even if they don't leave electronic footprints, idea stealers often make flat-out missteps that forensic experts sleuth out and present in court. Anderson's computer forensics company investigated on behalf of a client to determine whether a competitor had essentially stolen the client's brand name and product.