Whether it's protected by patents or closely guarded as trade secrets, the theft of your technology, unique processes or customer information can be devastating. In fact, you might not even realize the theft occurred until months or even years later. But by then your competitor may have forced a decline in your market share, the erosion of your margins, or worse caused a fire sale or business failure. And it all started with the theft of your business information.
When did the theft occur, and more importantly, by whom?
The loss of confidential business information usually occurs within weeks of an at-risk event. Often the at-risk event is the departure of a key employee. All too often we see the critical data, or crown jewels, being wrongfully copied to a USB drive, a personal NAS device at their home, attached to an email, sent to personal account in the cloud or in some instances, hidden in an image using steganography.
Consider this - more than 60% of departing employees take business data prior to their exit. And, we find it usually comes down to a couple of motives:
"I worked on this, so I deserve to keep a copy.”
or
"I'm taking this to compete with you."
The first motive puts your data at risk but the intent was not necessarily to commercialize. Regardless, you should take a measured approach to ensure your confidential information remains protected. It's the second motive which should get your full attention.
Swailes IP Protection was created to:
• Provide IP theft victims world-class investigative and digital forensic solutions.
• Leverage our unique expertise in developing holistic IP Protection and Insider Threat programs.
• Assist innovative organizations with identifying, prioritizing and protecting their trade secrets.
Who should not use Swailes IP Protection?
If your business does not have highly differentiated products, services or technology, we are probably not the best fit.
You should consider using Swailes IP Protection, if:
•You have unique products, service offerings, or market leading technologies
•You have concerns about departing employees or emerging competitors poaching your key personnel.
•You need to protect your confidential business information
•You believe you've been targeted for the theft of your IP by 3rd parties or nation-state actors.
Meet our Founder
Kevin C. Swailes
Prior to founding Swailes IP Protection in 2019, Kevin Swailes was an Executive with General Electric Co. leading a global Center of Excellence in IP Protection. Although, that's not how it started.
Shortly after joining GE as Global Investigations Leader, Kevin was asked by GE senior leadership to create a holistic IP protection program to work horizontally across functions and business segments. The ultimate goal? Identify and protect GE's unique products, services and processes ranging from initial R&D to market maturity.
Kevin stood-up a first-of-its-kind function in GE's 125 year history, recruiting subject matter experts in digital forensics, trade-secret theft investigations, computer security and process engineering.
As a result, GE significantly reduced its risks and quickly became a recognized leader and sought-after expert in IP Protection.
In 2019, Kevin established Swailes IP Protection to leverage this knowledge in helping other companies protect their crown jewels and critical business information.
For additional information or to discuss your specific needs, contact us at 713-977-7600 or via email.