If you’ve recently started a job with a new employer, one of the first things they have you do is security awareness training, including topics on password management, phishing attacks, and ransomware, etc. A cyberattack occurs on average every 39 seconds, with over 99.9% of incidents stopped before they breach the system. Of those that occur, the average global cost of a cybersecurity incident, which includes intellectual property (IP) loss, is $4.88M per breach so you can understand that it makes sense to start off with strong prevention. Cybercrime will cost the world $10.5T this year (2025).
Manufacturing companies often hold highly valuable trade secrets within their chemical formulas and manufacturing processes, making them prime targets for IP theft. The estimated risk of a data theft incident, including intellectual property stands at 81%. The competitive nature of the industry and its integrated supply chain of international partners or suppliers can invite insider threats, cyber espionage, industrial espionage (physical theft of prototypes or blueprints), and unauthorized access to sensitive data. Stolen IP can significantly harm a manufacturing company by allowing competitors to quickly replicate innovative products, leading to loss of market share, decreased revenue, and damage to their competitive advantage.
The IP contained in your engineering documents is considered to be the “company jewels” that differentiate the organization and give it a competitive edge. With hundreds or thousands of users accessing files directly across a company network, it’s essential to ensure document security, granular control over access rights and deep traceability. As the industry increasingly digitalizes its operations, cyberattacks are a major pathway for IP theft, allowing hackers to access sensitive data like plant designs and research findings.
Companies go to great lengths to protect their intellectual property (IP) by actively filing patents/trademarks, etc., implementing strict confidentiality agreements, closely monitoring potential infringements, and using security measures to safeguard sensitive information, including trade secrets, within their systems. They typically employ access controls that limit access to sensitive data based on employee roles and permissions. Data encryption can protect confidential information from unauthorized access if leaked. Other tools like regular security audits can help identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
Adept manages billions of dollars of digital assets containing priceless Dow intellectual property, with thousands of users across several dozen global sites. Adept is the cornerstone of our digital transformation strategy,
—Teresa Yang, Product Manager, Document Management, Dow
Unlike other solutions, Adept secures your documents and the IP they contain without sacrificing the intelligence of your folder structure and filenames. Its vaulting system preserves the intelligence you’ve built and maintained over years. Whether you have thousands or millions of documents, your digital assets are an investment worth protecting. With Adept, you can expect:
- Enhanced security and traceability. Enjoy greater confidence in the availability, integrity and confidentiality of your data—while meeting compliance requirements. Track and alarm alerting can tell you who looked at what and if documents were downloaded, copied, or altered. See real customer value at right.
Intellectual property security is absolutely critical. Adept allows us—especially through this digitization effort—to go to all these different places and collect all the intellectual property and store it, organize it, and actually find that information when you need it.
—Dustin Weir, Mechanical Engineering Manager, GEC
- Secure everything important to you: Adept secures your engineering documents, CAD drawings, and IP via smart vaulting, intelligent file management, and audited workflows.
Have you considered what your engineering documents are really worth to your manufacturing?
