It can happen to all of us. A disloyal employee decides to take a job with a competitor or start his or her own business. What makes them disloyal is that they download and take with them your customer and confidential information. This is internal theft. What can you do? I most cases it depends on your states law. However, there is also the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
But you must first take preventive actions. The internal theft of your information should be prohibited in your employee handbook that the employee signs when they come to work for you. Their access to your data is only for the furtherance of your business only and ends when they terminate. Even if you forget to remove them from your computer systems.
Next make sure that you retrieve laptop computers and immediately delete their access to your building, alarm system, remote access passwords. The courts cannot help you unless you first help yourself prevent internal theft.
