Legal protection of trade secrets under both the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) and the federal Defense of Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) depends on whether a company has taken "reasonable measures" to safeguard the secrecy of the information. Many companies satisfy this obligation by implementing policies that control access to the systems where sensitive information is used and stored, and by initiating IT security measures.

With millions of American workers hastily shifting to a remote-work arrangement during the Covid-19 pandemic, employers must be mindful of the risks to proprietary information presented by this changed work environment. They can take several steps to safeguard their data:

Revisit policies.  Policies and protocols that were drafted premised on restricted use of trade secret information on the employer's premises will need to be reviewed and revised. Without revisions, an employer could be perceived to be negligent or selective in its enforcement of safeguards.