Corporate information leakage, is our company safe?
How should we respond when a company's sensitive information is leaked?
Last summer, Company V, a listed company in the IT industry, experienced an unfortunate incident in which an internal employee leaked the company's confidential information.
The disgraceful incident of leaking internal corporate secrets may seem like a story from another company, but in fact, it is an incident that occurs frequently around us.
Let's look at effective crisis response strategies through actual cases, from malicious information leaks by retirees to the resolution process.
🔓 Information leakage by retired employees, what are the types and routes?
How does internal information leakage of retirees usually occur?
Company V’s corporate leak information, what kind of information was exposed?
- Unauthorized disclosure of board resolutions to the shareholder community
- Financial information leaked before disclosure on online bulletin board
- Exposure of confidential information such as management personnel information
- Posting distorted facts in the name of “whistle-blowing”
- Accompanying malicious comments to executives, employees, and shareholders
Company V's leaked information was more extensive than expected.
📋 equivalent to management secretsUndisclosed Board of Directors resolutionsAnd 🔓The new business strategy was exposed as is.This included a restructuring scenario that had not yet been confirmed, raising the risk that competitors could copy it and creating great anxiety among internal employees.
What's more serious is that financial information, such as quarterly performance data and sales forecasts before the announcement, was also leaked.
This was a serious violation of the Capital Markets Act and dealt a direct blow to V's credibility as a listed company.
It also included sensitive personnel information such as executives’ annual salaries, performance bonus details, and personnel transfer plans.
The most malicious part was that it packaged management status that was different from the facts as if it were the truth and even added slanderous content targeting specific executives and employees.
Because of thisCompany V's external image declined,Confusion aggravated as it became difficult to distinguish between truth and lies.
Corporate information leaker, is the culprit a former employee who has already left the company?
Results of internal investigation, 👤The leaker is Mr. Kang, a mid-level manager who left the company six months before the incident.It was confirmed.
I left the company because I was dissatisfied with being left out of the promotion review, and I took advantage of a security loophole that allowed me to access some systems even after leaving the company.
Mr. Kang strategically utilized shareholder communities and online bulletin boards.
Although it was disguised as ‘internal reporting’ and disguised as ‘public purpose’,In reality, it could only be seen as a retaliatory attack motivated by personal grudges.
In the end, Mr. Kang was sentenced to a fine in a criminal trial and was also liable for civil damages.
Immediate damage to Company V due to leak of corporate secrets
Immediately after the incident, Company V's stock price plummeted by 8%, and approximately KRW 50 billion in market capitalization evaporated.
Trading volume soared to three times the usual amount, clearly showing the anxiety in the market.
In addition to this, the blow to business was also significant. In progress ⏸️3 major contracts on holdIt was almost finished ⏸️Negotiations to attract investment were also halted.
The trust relationships we had built over a long period of time with our partners began to show cracks, and there was considerable confusion within the organization.
As suspicions spread that key talent who felt insecure were leaving or that there was ‘another whistleblower facilitator’, collaboration between departments also slowed down.
this situationEmployees spreading the word on another Internet community without mentioning company Valso existed.
🔓Corporate information leak recovery process
Company V's corporate information leak recovery process with White Me
[Week 1] Strategies to block online spread
The first thing the White Me team did ✅Preventing further spread of posts about Company VIt was.
We immediately requested temporary measures for communities/posts based on Article 44-2 of the Information and Communications Network Act, and simultaneously requested deletion on 15 platforms.
What is especially noteworthy is that they not only simply deleted the post, but also ‘deleted the search results’ to prevent the content from being exposed in search results on portal sites.
At the end of week 1,100% of original posts or posts mentioning information leaks will be deletedwas copied and spreadDeleting more than 80% of secondary postssucceeded.
[Weeks 2-4] Elimination of the root cause through legal action
After preventing the spread, legal measures were taken to prevent recurrence.
Legal provisions violated when internal company information is leaked
- Violation of the Trade Secret Protection Act(Imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 50 million won)
- Defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act(Imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won)
- Obstruction of business(Imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 15 million won)
With these three bills, criminal charges were filed, and civil lawsuits were also filed in parallel.
We filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for actual damages and mental damage, and also applied for a ‘provisional injunction’ to prevent similar posts from being posted in the future.
Deletion of defamatory posts and provisional injunction for infringement
Article 300 of the Civil Execution Act (Purpose of provisional disposition)
- “Provisional injunctions are divided into provisional injunctions regarding the subject of dispute and provisional injunctions to determine a temporary status.”
- The ban on posting corresponds to a “provisional injunction to establish a temporary status.”
Civil Code Articles 750 and 751
- Basis for damages for illegal acts and infringement of personal rights
- Basis for claiming injunction in case of violation of personal rights such as defamation
The legal response was coordinated by V Company's internal legal team and the White Me team. 🤝As in the case of Company V, legal support is also an area where cooperation is possible if there is a legal team that was previously entrusted with the work.no see.
[Weeks 5-7] Corporate reputation restoration strategy
Once the legal issues were somewhat resolved, we focused on restoring the company's damaged image.
Company V held a special briefing session for investors to clarify the facts and explain measures to prevent recurrence.
In addition, we regained trust with partner companies through individual meetings and held several townhome meetings for internal employees.
The ‘reoccurrence prevention measures’ mentioned in the special briefing session for investors included several response methods, the most important of which was ✅If corporate information is leaked, the aim is to quickly identify the damage through AI monitoring.It was.
As a result of these efforts, the stock price recovered to 95% of the pre-incident level in the 7th week, and all contracts were resumed, allowing employees' trust to return to normal levels.
How to prevent internal corporate information leakage
How can internal corporate information leaks be prevented?
Process for blocking access to information of retired employees
The most important thing in managing employees who leave the company is timing. On the day you leave your company, you should immediately deactivate all system accounts and block access to email and the cloud.
You must revoke your VPN privileges and return the security token.
Within one week after leaving the company, you must carefully review the employee's public folder access history and carefully check which files have been downloaded and which emails have been sent externally.Even after leaving the company, double security is applied to the system to continuously check whether access is being attempted.is also important.
One month after leaving the company, compliance with the security pledge is checked.Additionally, monitor whether information about the company has been posted online.This is good.
Internal information leak monitoring system
Effective monitoring for internal corporate information leaksTo do this, you need a system that tracks company names and key keywords 24 hours a day.
Set up to receive notifications immediately when abnormalities are detected, and major communities should be inspected daily.
Also, regular inspection is essential. It is also a good idea to check the status of search engine exposure every week and conduct a quarterly diagnosis of information security vulnerabilities before developing countermeasures.
White Me: One-stop solution for response and recovery from corporate information leaks
‘Corporate information leak prevention’ service provided by White Me
Corporate monitoring-deposit-delete 3-step integrated management service
White Me’s service consists of three stages: prevention, response, and recovery.
- Preventive monitoring steps
In the prevention phase 🔁Detects risk factors early through real-time monitoring 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.An AI-based anomaly detection system sends real-time notifications when it detects potential threats and checks your overall online reputation through periodic reports.
- response steps
If a crisis occurs at this time ⚙️The White Me team will provide legal and technical solutions simultaneously within 72 hours.
We respond simultaneously on platforms such as portal sites and communities and report progress in real time.
If a post needs to be deleted, we will quickly request a report, and in unusual situations, we will share a strategic response plan for post deletion.
- recovery stage
In case of need 💼We may be able to assist you in linking with a law firm you are cooperating with or collecting complaint materials.there is.
Because it is realistically difficult to manage company-related posts through such a professional process within a company, White Me provides an ‘information leak prevention’ service for companies in order to reduce internal manpower and enable faster and smarter responses.
🔓 Diagnose corporate information leaks for free
The case of Company V is in a digital environment.How quickly a company's reputation can be damaged, whether voluntarily or unintentionally, and how important it is to respond systematically.It's showing.
Just as it takes decades to build a company's reputation, just one day is enough to destroy it.
Online posts that are harassing our company can now be resolved with White Me! White Me is waiting for your inquiry.
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