A Software Engineer, Gabriel Duke says inventions which are Intellectual Property (IP) impact everyday life and protecting the rights of the inventions is very vital.

Duke, the Chief Executive Officer of Duke Spaces, whose IT firm specialises in developing softwares on internet security, made this known on Monday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

He said Intellectual Property comprises trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights and patents.

Duke said Nigeria, companies and individuals should place much attention on the legal and security aspects of their inventions.

“ Protecting these in an ultra-competitive digital world should be imperative, irrespective of if you are a multinational organisation or a start-up, just getting off the ground.

“This is not limited to any specific industry or sector. The importance of manufacturing in Nigeria or Africa as a whole puts the pressure on businesses to ensure their secrets are safe from malicious users, ‘’ Duke said.

“Research shows that 21 per cent of manufacturers globally have suffered a loss of IP to security breaches.

“Malware is the most common cause of data loss but theft of mobile devices and software vulnerabilities that were exploited, contributed to this as well.

“Cyber security is no longer just about anti-virus and firewalls. Instead, it encompasses an eco-system that must protect all entry points into an organisation, business by safeguarding the most fundamental thing needed for success, especially data loss.

“Data has been cited as one of the most valuable resources today as it enables a company to drive growth and differentiate itself,’’ says Duke.

Duke noted that part of the data is IP because it also provides a business with its competitive advantage.

“To protect data (and IP) requires cyber security solutions. This is especially the case, with the ubiquity of mobile devices on the continent.

“The risk of lost or stolen devices providing an easy point of access to sensitive data must be mitigated with an internet security approach,’’ he said.

He also noted that IP protection must be proactive as companies could not afford to have their data compromised.

“A cyber security solution needs to provide automatic protection against known and unknown threats. It must scan each programme, device and other bits of information trying to access the network and assess its threat risk.

“By having this round-the-clock monitoring, a business (or entrepreneur) can have the peace of mind that all the necessary steps have been taken to protect IP,” Duke said.

(NAN)