Employers should be aware that “Assessing any Loss of Value to the Business” is one of the first and crucial things that they should do following a trade secret data breach in their business. Assessing any loss of value to a business is paramount because, in addition to the risk of the business being shuttered altogether, some of the most significant repercussions of trade secret misappropriation include, but are not limited to, harm to business reputation and customer goodwill, and loss of the value of the business. In light of this matter, this blog post and Part XV of the series is a discussion of “Identifying Who Caused or Was Involved with the Breach,” as the second thing an employer should do when a trade secret data breach occurs in their business.
Identifying Who Caused or Was Involved With the Breach
It is obvious that identifying any actors behind a trade secret data breach should be a primary intent for every employer. As you would expect, a former employee or a current one may cause or be involved with a trade secret data breach. However, it is sometimes very difficult, if not impossible, to identify a perpetrator, especially when the cause of a data breach is a cyber-criminal or some other unauthorized entity rather than an employee. It, therefore, goes without saying that in order to go on the offensive and seek injunctive relief in a court, an employer should know the identity of the perpetrator(s) behind the trade secret data breach.
When the identity of the perpetrator(s) is unknown, employers have no option but to remain in a litigation limbo where they have to wait for lawsuits from individuals whose confidential information (e.g., personally identifying information (PII) was compromised during the trade secret data breach, since they cannot sue themselves. This issue underscores why implementing reasonable cybersecurity measures and monitoring computer and network systems is crucial for all employers so as to increase the likelihood that anyone who, whether former employees, current employees, and/or third parties, causes or gets involved with trade secret data breach is identified.
In Part XVI, we shall move the discussion forward by hammering on “Identifying the Lost, Stolen, and/or Misappropriated Trade Secrets” in our blog post titled “Employer Must Dos Following a Trade Secret Data Breach, III.”
Until then, stay tuned for more legal guidance, training, and education. In the interim, if there are any questions or comments, please let us know at the Contact Us page!
Always rising above the bar,
Isaac T.,
Legal Writer, Author, & Publisher.