The mission to protect intellectual property is beginning to go beyond trademarks and copyrights.

Report: Businesses face more than 100 cyber attacks per day

March 7, 2014 1:20 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Companies have been so concerned about other enterprises violating their copyright, trademark and intellectual property that some of them have neglected to identify an even larger threat: cyber attacks.

Because more tasks are completed on computers, tablets and mobile devices, these intellectual assets have become more vulnerable than ever. Research from FireEye, a network security firm, found that more than 100 cyber attacks happen every 1.5 seconds, which means there are more than 100,000 attempts to steal an organization's intellectual property every year.

Unsurprisingly, the United States was last year's biggest target of advanced persistent threats (APT). The challenge with cyber attacks is that anyone could be the one responsible for installing malware or phishing tools, whether that be a rogue individual, crime organization or another country.

The U.S. government has taken initiatives to promote cyber security protections, but when the processing power of computers double every 18 to 24 months, it is hard to keep up with the pace, Washington Times contributor Ed Feulner explained.

Last month, President Barack Obama provided objectives that businesses should keep this in mind when completing tasks on computers, data centers and the cloud, but the challenge is, many business owners don't know where to start.

Neglecting to take action to increase cyber security comes with a great cost. The Heritage Foundation said that about $250 billion worth of intellectual property is lost every year. This loss doesn't come from legal battles with competitors or a race to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, just cyber attacks.

"Whether [attackers] act on their own or use hired guns to do their dirty work, their weapon of choice is a virtual one," Feulner wrote. "Ones and zeros trump an AK-47."

Business owners who have not taken the steps to increase cyber security measures should consider such as soon as possible. Business attorneys are aware of such risks, so they can provide legal advice that will lead your company to make smart decisions on safeguarding trade secrets and intellectual assets. 

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