Companies and their workforces across the globe have been impacted by COVID-19 in ways that threaten critical trade secrets and other IP assets, and that require greater vigilance to protect them. The massive increase in the world’s remote workforce, as well as numerous terminations and furloughs, create a heightened risk of theft or inadvertent disclosure of key company assets. The crisis will bring out nefarious actors ranging from disgruntled employees to sophisticated hackers to foreign governmental entities looking to exploit systemic soft spots.

 With companies adjusting to a new normal of indefinite duration, it is critical that they adapt, implement, and enforce their trade secret and IP protection policies to address the realities of the COVID-19 business environment. We address specific risks attendant to conducting business through remote workforces in this alert.