Failure to safeguard your IT infrastructure exposes your organisation to all kinds of internal and external threats. As highlighted in a recent high-profile case involving Google, these threats include data breaches and intellectual property theft.   On March 5, 2024, the United States Department of Justice charged a Chinese national with stealing artificial intelligence trade secret from Google while secretly working for two technology companies based in mainland China.   A federal grand jury indicted Linwei Ding (also known as Leon Ding) with four counts of theft of trade secrets. If convicted, Ding faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.   “The Justice Department will not tolerate the theft of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies that could put our national security at risk,” said Attorney General Garland. “In this case, we allege the defendant stole artificial intelligence-related trade secrets from Google while secretly working for two companies based in China.”   Over the course of one year, beginning in 2022, Ding is alleged to have copied more than 500 confidential files from Google into his own personal account. The confidential files included technology involved in the building blocks of Google’s advanced supercomputing data centres.   “High-profile cybercrime cases like these, some involving tech giants like Google, highlight the importance of maintaining a secure IT infrastructure and robust data protection policies. These are vital to safeguarding your organisation’s sensitive information, shielding it from unauthorised access, corruption, or loss,” notes James Dwyer, COO at Velocity.   “Data policies and controls are imperative to have in place for all companies. It’s not worth the risk, high cost, and protracted legal action to recover lost data or leaked trade secrets.”   In order to safeguard your IT infrastructure – as well as your sensitive data, trade secrets, and commercially valuable information – James recommends the following:   1. Adopting Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), such as FenixPyre 2. Using Microsoft Intune 3. Partnering with a reputable fully managed IT service (like Velocity Technology)   “Zero Trust Architecture is a security concept and framework that operates on the principle of ‘never trust, always verify’. In traditional network security models, once users and devices are inside the corporate network, they’re often granted extensive trust and access privileges,” James said.   “ZTA addresses these challenges by assuming that threats could be both external and internal, and it implements strict access controls and verification mechanisms regardless of the user’s location or the network’s location.”   Data security platforms like FenixPyre take zero trust principles to the next level by implementing persistent and transparent encryption to data. “This means that data is automatically rendered in ciphertext to unauthorised users whether the files are copied, at rest, in transit, or in use,” James said.   “Microsoft Intune further bolsters this IT security framework by managing users’ access to organisational resources. Intune simplifies app and device management, ensuring that all authorised devices are securely accessing and connecting to organisational resources.”   To optimise your IT security framework, consider partnering with Velocity Technology.   We offer organisations Fully Managed IT Services. Our services include 24/7 monitoring and proactive maintenance of computer and network systems, managing your antivirus and anti-malware, as well as comprehensive Office 365 support and management.   To learn more about our IT services, get in touch for a free consultation.