International Web Patrolling (6 Keys to Success)

Protecting Your Intellectual Property

Regardless of the industry you work in, you know that if you create valuable, proprietary material, you risk it getting stolen and misused on the internet.

Protecting your proprietary intellectual property (IP) online is an essential prong of any business model. It has become a top-tier priority for media outlets, Hollywood production companies, musicians, and publishers alike. Unfortunately, for multinational organizations and those that operate internationally, ensuring your intellectual property’s security is dang difficult to do.

Global Strategy for Testing Organizations

When an organization is global, it must apply a global strategy.

This includes testing programs that administer tests internationally. As the scope of your exam reach expands, so do the risks. The question every testing program should be asking themselves if they test internationally—or if they are considering expanding to an international audience—is this: “If the risks of content theft are greater when testing internationally, how do I know if my content has been exposed?”

Well, you go looking for it. Which is certainly easier said than done. How do you know if your content has been stolen and shared online? How do you know where to look in the vast online ecosystem to discover this information? Which search engines should you be monitoring? Do you speak the language? Do you know the social media sites and braindump watering holes specific to every region where your test is administered?

To be successful, you need to set up a comprehensive, proficient, and in-depth international web patrolling strategy.

International Web Patrolling Strategy

What does an International Web Patrolling Strategy entail? Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Alter your thinking: Like Cary Grant in the classic film “To Catch a Thief,” it sometimes takes thinking like a thief to catch one. You need to make sure that you are scouring the web for proprietary content, not just from the perspective of the organization, but also from the perspective of those who might be interested in illegally obtaining and sharing that content. These perspectives will often change from region to region.
   
   
2. Start regionally: Although we might not always think of it this way, the digital landscape, like the geopolitical landscape, has its own defined regions (of sorts). The internet of the United States is not, for example, the internet of China, South Korea, Turkey, or even of Europe. Crossing these regional boundaries of the internet—like crossing into foreign territory—will reveal foreign hotspots of online activity, foreign information-sharing models, and consumer behavior and etiquette. In Korea and China, people are familiar with the national web platform Naver; it is an integral aspect of their online experience. But how familiar are you with Naver? What blind spots might these international differences create? Make sure your web patrollers are familiar with the online ecosystems of the regions you would like to web patrol. (Keep in mind, this includes language expertise. Whether Chinese, Tagalog, French, or Arabic, you need to be prepared to search regional hotspots in the local language.)
   
   
3. Then move global: Unlike a “regional” approach, which focuses on only one language and regional “area” of the web, global web patrolling ensures maximum security for an organization. We live in the era of globalization, and it is important to note that borders and boundaries do not limit information sharing. Your web patrolling shouldn’t be limited by borders, either. Beware that restricting the scope of your patrolling can promote a false sense of security, and your institution may have unexplored vulnerabilities that are yet to be uncovered. A global scope and strategy will expose security weaknesses in areas that can often fly under the radar.

Keys to International Web Patrolling Success

If you are already testing internationally, or if you are considering expanding to new markets, it is vital to establish an international web patrolling program. An international program will help uncover whether your exams are being stolen, exposed, and shared online. To be successful, make sure to isolate your regional priorities and that you employ experienced web patrollers trained to navigate these specific regions of the web. In addition to the three keys mentioned above, you need to:

1. Make sure your web patrollers are familiar with the culture and languages of your target regions
   
   
2. Employ the necessary training to ensure your web patrollers’ searches are both effective and comprehensive
   
   
3. Expand the scope of your web patrolling program to make sure you haven’t missed any potential security vulnerabilities that may be lurking in un-searched corners of the web.

With a comprehensive, global approach to web security, international testing organizations can ensure that their content is protected—worldwide.