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Protecting Corporate Secrets an Afterthought for Many European Firms
LONDON, June 8, 2012/PRNewswire/ --
Less than half of mid-sized businesses across Europe (41 per cent) have plans in place
to protect intellectual property (IP) and corporate secrets, according to recent research
from global information management
[http://www.ironmountain.co.uk/whatwedo/document-storage-solutions ] company Iron Mountain
and PwC. More than half (54 per cent) believe that protecting intellectual property and
corporate secrets is less important than safeguarding customer, employee, business and
financial information.
Information held in trust, such as customer and employee records, is subject to strict
compliance laws and is, therefore, important to protect. However, with the global IP
market now worth an estimated $180 billion a year, and studies showing that proprietary
information and trade secrets represent two thirds of an organisation's value, such an
apparently casual attitude to the management of Intellectual Property and other corporate
secrets not subject to external law could be leaving firms exposed to industrial espionage
and theft.
Of the four industry sectors analysed, the IP-intensive pharmaceutical sector
performed the worst, with less than a third (30 per cent) including intellectual property
and corporate secrets in their information risk management and data protection
[http://www.ironmountain.co.uk/whatwedo/remote-data-protection ] plans. The financial
services (35 per cent), legal (38 per cent), manufacturing (49 per cent) and insurance (57
per cent) sectors performed only slightly better.
"Companies quite rightly pay attention to preventing the inadvertent disclosure of
sensitive customer or employee information," said Christian Toon, head of information risk
at Iron Mountain Europe. "It is concerning, however, that so few companies implement an
integrated approach to information and records management
[http://www.ironmountain.co.uk/whatwedo/document-storage-solutions ] across the business.
Just imagine what could happen if valuable company secrets such as patents, product
designs, or go-to-market strategies fell into the hands of a rival."
For Toon the research results underline a need for companies to develop a culture of
Corporate Information Responsibility (CIR): "A cultural shift is needed to engage all
employees in the protection of the organisation's information assets."
About Iron Mountain:
Iron Mountain [http://www.ironmountain.co.uk ] provides information management
services that help organisations look after their information at every stage of the
lifecycle. Iron Mountain offers records management and archive storage, digitising and
scanning services, off-site data protection and disaster recovery, as well as secure
shredding of confidential waste.
Source: Iron Mountain
For further information contact: Phil Riley, T: +32(0)470 901-952, E: publicrelations@emea.ironmountain.com; Or Lauren Wood, T: +44118-909-0909, E: publicrelations@emea.ironmountain.com
Protecting Corporate Secrets an Afterthought for Many European Firms
LONDON, June 8, 2012/PRNewswire/ --
Less than half of mid-sized businesses across Europe (41 per cent) have plans in place
to protect intellectual property (IP) and corporate secrets, according to recent research
from global information management
[http://www.ironmountain.co.uk/whatwedo/document-storage-solutions ] company Iron Mountain
and PwC. More than half (54 per cent) believe that protecting intellectual property and
corporate secrets is less important than safeguarding customer, employee, business and
financial information.
Information held in trust, such as customer and employee records, is subject to strict
compliance laws and is, therefore, important to protect. However, with the global IP
market now worth an estimated $180 billion a year, and studies showing that proprietary
information and trade secrets represent two thirds of an organisation's value, such an
apparently casual attitude to the management of Intellectual Property and other corporate
secrets not subject to external law could be leaving firms exposed to industrial espionage
and theft.
Of the four industry sectors analysed, the IP-intensive pharmaceutical sector
performed the worst, with less than a third (30 per cent) including intellectual property
and corporate secrets in their information risk management and data protection
[http://www.ironmountain.co.uk/whatwedo/remote-data-protection ] plans. The financial
services (35 per cent), legal (38 per cent), manufacturing (49 per cent) and insurance (57
per cent) sectors performed only slightly better.
"Companies quite rightly pay attention to preventing the inadvertent disclosure of
sensitive customer or employee information," said Christian Toon, head of information risk
at Iron Mountain Europe. "It is concerning, however, that so few companies implement an
integrated approach to information and records management
[http://www.ironmountain.co.uk/whatwedo/document-storage-solutions ] across the business.
Just imagine what could happen if valuable company secrets such as patents, product
designs, or go-to-market strategies fell into the hands of a rival."
For Toon the research results underline a need for companies to develop a culture of
Corporate Information Responsibility (CIR): "A cultural shift is needed to engage all
employees in the protection of the organisation's information assets."
About Iron Mountain:
Iron Mountain [http://www.ironmountain.co.uk ] provides information management
services that help organisations look after their information at every stage of the
lifecycle. Iron Mountain offers records management and archive storage, digitising and
scanning services, off-site data protection and disaster recovery, as well as secure
shredding of confidential waste.
Source: Iron Mountain
For further information contact: Phil Riley, T: +32(0)470 901-952, E: publicrelations@emea.ironmountain.com; Or Lauren Wood, T: +44118-909-0909, E: publicrelations@emea.ironmountain.com