Case Study

Protecting Joe's Office

Joe's got a billion-dollar secret. How can he keep it safe from thieves, turncoats and spies? Click on the diagram to see some of his security measures.

July 21, 2008 —

Joe has a secret. He's the founder and principal research scientist at a pharmaceutical company. He's working on a potential multibillion-dollar breakthrough that lots of competitors would like to grab.

How will Joe keep his work safe? Fortunately he's got a bit of a James Bond streak (and a good bit of coin to indulge it). The diagram above indicates some—but not all!—of the defensive measures at Joe's office.

Mouse over a number or click on it to read about how Joe aims to protect his company's intellectual property. Some measures are simple but important to not overlook (see Joe's fence). Others are slightly more outlandish (see his briefcase)....

Editor's note: Joe's Office was written by Stacy Collett, Michael Fitzgerald and Derek Slater. Suggest improvements or new ideas in the comments below. If you write or find an extensive commentary elsewhere, let us know and we may link to it. - Derek Slater, dslater@cxo.com