What Can Sausage Teach Us About Protecting Intellectual Property?

Last night a story caught my attention out of the food industry;  it drew me in as both a former Minnesota resident and a security professional.   Hormel Foods has filed a lawsuit alleging that some of their proprietary sausage recipes may have been misappropriated by a former employee who joined a competitor.  I can hear the echos of discussions at backyard grilling sessions across Minnesota and Wisconsin as the debate over Hormel VS Johnsonville rages on with this new information adding a twist.  Impacting the public’s opinion of both companies in the wake of what may turn out to be a sad example of criminal damage to both their brands.

 

You can read the story here: Big Sausage Trade Secret Lawsuit : StarTribune.Com

 

Now I definitely don’t know the details of Hormel’s internal controls, and I’m not making any assumptions about what security measures were or weren't in place, but what I do know is this: intellectual property is one of the most valuable and most targeted assets in any organization, and this is a strong reminder that data protection isn’t just about technology or regulated data, it’s really about protecting the core knowledge and processes that define your competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

 

It doesn’t matter if it’s software source code, your manufacturing processes, formulas for pharmaceuticals, or as in this case, sausage recipes.

 

In any environment where you are developing, reviewing, sharing, and utilizing high-value information your organization should have a shared understanding and culture that promotes security and protection of these resources.  The security professionals will tell you that you should be not just considering, but living strategies like:

 

These are universal challenges in business, and definitely not unique to any particular industry.  Striking a balance between enabling innovation and efficient workflows that rely on this critical information while tightly controlling access to what matters most is no small task.

 

Are you part of your organisation's security, IT, legal, or Operations team?  If so, it’s worth asking yourself:  What is our “sausage recipe” and how are we protecting it?