UPDATING YOUR POLICIES CAN HELP TO PROTECT YOUR TRADE SECRETS

Businesses frequently face threats to valuable trade secrets and other important business information.  However, there are steps that employers can take to protect this information.  One of the first steps an employer should take is to develop and implement appropriate policies and procedures to help prevent company data theft or disclosure and to protect the employer’s electronic resources.

An employer can begin this process by reviewing existing policies and procedures and making sure that they are up to date, not only with the law, but with technology.  Increasingly, employees may access personal email accounts via company information systems.  Absent a specific policy which puts an employee on notice that personal emails may be accessed or read by the employer if sent via employer computer system, an employer may be treading on dangerous ground reviewing personal emails sent over their information systems.   A well written policy which clearly puts employees on notice that they should have no expectation of privacy regarding any information sent or received over employer technology can be an essential tool in monitoring the disclosure of protected employer information.