Published:  17-Jun- 2011  | Product Category:  Risk Consulting | Comments: 0         

While technological innovations such as cloud computing, social networking, and mobile platforms have revolutionized the way companies do business, such technologies have significantly increased intellectual property (IP) and critical information risk.

While there are numerous technology solutions for securing information as well as legal protections such as contracts and patents, such safeguards are often insufficient to protect IP and critical information in today’s business environment. IT-based security is clearly essential, but is far more effective when combined with process controls and used with optimal efficiency.

To optimize IP and information security, organizations must have absolute knowledge of the processes by which information moves—from origination, to transfer, to usage, and finally to destruction. They must also establish specific controls for the state of information, whether physical, electronic, or intellectual.

The Marsh Risk Consulting Approach to Critical Information and IP Protection

Marsh Risk Consulting (MRC) has developed a comprehensive methodology to help organizations protect their IP and critical information.

MRC understands the complexity and challenges of the information supply chain and offers the resources necessary to execute tailored IP and information security solutions, allowing organizations to concentrate on their core business functions. By using process, qualitative, and quantitative analyses, MRC helps organizations to identify, value, prioritize, label, and secure their intellectual property and critical information.

MRC’s replicable strategy and approach can apply to a business, division, or process. Our six-step approach allows us to quickly identify, value, prioritize, and secure an organization’s IP and critical information:

1. Identify and Define IP and Critical Information – We help define the scope of critical information and intellectual property.

2. Identify Macro Processes – We map key processes for a product, service, department, or across the enterprise in order to inventory and understand the flow of information (from origination through destruction) in all forms (physical, electronic, intellectual).

3. Map Key Resources to Processes – We identify and map key resources (people, technology, physical assets, relationships) to the processes in order to determine how this information is used and manipulated, who has access to it, and what controls are currently in place.

4. Value IP and Critical Information Assets – Our team of valuation experts qualifies and quantifies the value of IP and critical information assets to support risk decisions and to justify control solutions.

5. Assess Risk and Analyze Controls – We create a risk index for critical information and IP and analyze existing controls against the value of information and IP. We also conduct a gap analysis to highlight any gaps in existing controls.

6. Determine Risk Mitigation and/or Transfer Solutions – We identify specific solutions necessary to close the gaps and may include process, technology, or insurance solutions.

The Benefits of the MRC Approach

Our unique framework and our integrated team of business risk and resiliency specialists can deliver numerous benefits for clients’ critical information and IP protection programs.

MRC can provide:

• A process for identifying the sensitivity of specific information based on an organization’s specific internal and external information protection drivers (e.g. competitors’ requirements, business requirements, industry standards and best practices, client requirements, internal/external audit requirements, regulatory and contractual requirements, internal security/quality/IP and privacy policies)

• A sustainable process that provides for control solutions commensurate with the sensitivity of the information and provides for effective and efficient management of security risk, especially as change occurs to business operations and/or technology platforms
  
  

• Enhanced information protection policies and standards to provide greater guidance on how to achieve the desired level of assurance

• Solutions that can be easily associated to policy requirements

MRC’s team includes industry, information and IP, privacy, valuation, and insurance experts who develop tailored solutions for each client. No other firm brings together the level of expertise of our integrated team.

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