Intellectual Capital at Risk:

Security and the Printed Document

by Tom Haapanen

Protection of intellectual property is no longer simply a matter of storing important papers in a lockable filing cabinet or hiring a guard to patrol your company’s corridors. The proliferation of computer technology – and computer networks in particular – has made searching for and accessing information a much simpler task than was the case just a few years ago.

Stories about highly-skilled computer "hackers" gaining access to sensitive material via the Internet are common. But while data encryption "firewall" technologies have been developed to prevent intellectual capital from falling victim to high-tech corporate espionage, a simpler means of access has been forgotten: the network printer.

Harmless as they may seem, network printers bring new security challenges to the workplace, and the pharmaceuticals industry is one where this danger is most real.

The simple condition of physical separation between desktop and printer can result in highly sensitive material languishing in a printer tray, vulnerable to curious eyes or sinister hands. Many documents are carried away every day unknowingly by co-workers. Most of the information contained on those documents is harmless, but there is no reason to believe strategic business intelligence or confidential employee records might not also be erroneously distributed in like manner.

Overly cautious? Consider that thousands of work hours and millions of dollars can be spent on a major research and development project. Competitive strategies are planned and business objectives are built around such endeavors and the resulting intellectual capital.

The outcome of one product initiative can mean the difference between profit and loss, success and failure, favorable or unfavorable competitive positioning. Surrendering even a portion of information related to a critical undertaking and key market timing may be forfeited.

My experience working with pharmaceutical companies tells me that there is an overwhelmingly compelling need to institute security measures at every level of vulnerability and to treat the protection of vital business intelligence with grave urgency. Yet the network printer is often neglected.

More than simply providing the potential for sloppy document handling, the networked printing environment presents other challenges – and solutions.

The potential that a trusted employee may also be a disgruntled employee, or that an individual critically involved in the research and development process is double-dealing, cannot be overstated. Such individuals may spend time printing and collecting reams of information, or tampering with electronic files.

Where underhanded activity is suspected, confrontation may jeopardize security and the legitimate labors of entire teams of people, but by having the means to track document access and alteration an organization has an extra level of preparedness.

Consider the following: Company A, faring only modestly in a highly competitive market segment, musters a team of top corporate talent to plan a product and business strategy with hopes of boosting profit and morale. Unbeknownst to Company A, Smithers, a key product manager, has been recruited by the Competition. To help move the strategy process along, Smithers begins keeping long hours – everyone supposes. In fact Smithers’ overtime is spent poring over planning and research, assembling a package of competitive intelligence to take with him.

With the proper systems in place, this threat can be minimized. Further, document activity can be tracked to determine who has accessed and/or printed a document at any time, providing a means of checking on suspect employees or simply a precautionary measure in the development of sensitive material.

Exactly how is this accomplished? "Document fingerprinting" technology may be used to establish origin and evolution of a particular file, embedding the print stream with a unique matrix code that allows for tracking a document back to its user at any iteration. If the document is printed, a scannable pattern of dots, effectively invisible to the naked eye, is embedded on the hardcopy making it possible to determine when, where, and who printed the information.

This not only allows for document tracking, but also helps to prevent possible tampering or counterfeiting of electronic files.

Always assume that the person who has a desire to get his or her hands on your valuable business intelligence has thought of every possible means of gaining access to that information. Simple matters of security should not be neglected by anyone. The security of your company’s intellectual capital depends on it.

Tom Haapanen is founder and president of Software Metrics, Inc., of Waterloo, Ontario. Software Metrics is a world-leader in providing software-based solutions for security and management of networked printing environments. Software Metrics can be contacted via e-mail at info@metrics.com, or by phone at (519) 885-2458.