Protecting Your Data When an Employee Leaves the Company

Key Learning Points

• Understand that one of the biggest threats to intellectual property is when an employee, especially an executive, exits the company.
• Learn best practices for dealing with employee exits
• How to deal with employees from a personnel perspective
• What technologies to use to ensure that your data is protected
• Understand the roles of both HR and IT in the employee exit process

Level Intermediate

What is the biggest insider threat to your company? Many experts believe it is during that critical period when an employee decides to leave. Two high profile cases at Lyft and Chesapeake Energy have shown the severity of damage that could happen when you don’t have policies in place to protect your intellectual property when an employee leaves, especially an executive. Most companies have developed rigorous policies and procedures to interview and screen potential employees they are going to hire, but many companies neglect the second half of the equation. What do you do when an employee leaves? Do you exercise the same rigor in protecting your company’s sensitive data during the exit period?

 Protecting your valuable intellectual property during the exit process includes three important parts. First, a process to review the Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Agreements with the departing employee in advance of departure and require a certification that all confidential information in the employee’s possession has been returned and/or destroyed. Second, conduct a thorough review of the employee’s online activity during the 30-day period preceding notice of resignation or termination. Third, provide counsel to the departing employee that reinforces the ramifications of sharing unauthorized information or access to computers, user fields, or mobile devices.

 This session will discuss the risk associated with departing employees, including those who leave voluntarily or are fired. Attendees will learn what policies need to be in place to ensure proper protection of your intellectual property. What technologies are needed to document what actions employees have taken before they leave, and how you can ensure that your company data has been protected—or hasn’t been compromised. Finally, this session will include a discussion of the roles of both HR and IT in the employee exit process.