Don’t Leave Common Sense at the Office or Secrets in Your Car

Last week, a Secret Service laptop and other materials (e.g., a personal identity verification (PIV) card with access codes) were stolen from an agent’s vehicle parked in front of a New York residence.  (www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/17/secret-service-laptop-stolen-in-new-york.html.)  There are several valuable takeaways – literally and figuratively – from that incident.       

Let’s focus on one takeaway: common sense as a fundamental protective measure (PM) for trade secrets.

Sophisticated and organized PMs often are important for certain agencies or companies and their assets.  But, those PMs can be unduly stressed or to some extent rendered irrelevant if common sense is lacking.  

All of that bring us to the laptop, which reportedly has in place security features designed to prevent access to the laptop’s confidential contents. 

For any company whose employees travel — locally, domestically or internationally — consider these periodic, common-sense reminders to employees: (1) have possession or control of all devices that contain confidential information or trade secrets, (2) take on any trip only those devices necessary to the task at hand and (3) include on those devices only the confidential information or trade secrets necessary to the task at hand.  

Perfection is not realistic or required.  But, many agencies and companies can and should travel lighter.