Protection of intellectual property in the aerospace and defense industries
Theft of intellectual property (IP) is one of the biggest and potentially dangerous risks for modern business, both for a private entrepreneur opening a car repair workshop and for a multi-billion dollar aircraft manufacturer. This is a risk for which most companies are very poorly prepared. Intellectual property is most often stolen, made available to competitors, and can be compromised in one of two ways:
• Open technology theft by unscrupulous employees
• “Leaks” arising from unintentional disclosure of information and occurring in the process of interaction between people from different departments or external partners from number of suppliers
Regardless of what causes the loss of IP, it carries a devastating effect on the company. IP theft often leads to fake products on the black market. Using a stolen design, attackers make products that copy original goods up to the logo, and thereby mislead consumers.
According to a report by the US Department of Commerce published in January 2010, between 2005 and 2008, the number of counterfeit electronic goods in the defense industry more than doubled. When it comes to protecting intellectual property in the aerospace and defense industries, general contractors have to deal with particular risks.
The need to reduce the time and cost of creating complex products, such as aircraft and weapons systems, forces companies to give more and more responsibility for the development and integration of the main subsystems to their contractors. At the same time, contractors get access to valuable data that should not fall into the hands of competitors. And one of the main priorities for companies in the aerospace and defense industries are national security considerations and, accordingly, information protection.
Currently, most companies seeking to protect intellectual property use one of two approaches:
• The so-called "manual method" - which implies the development of special procedures, the execution of which is monitored by a small group of people, united in a document control department. The tasks of this group include tracking and controlling the process of moving and using data.
• Automated method, requiring the separation of data in several systems at their location, and providing access only to persons belonging to these systems.
Both approaches have significant drawbacks. The first does not offer any real IP protection, as manual methods are easily circumvented. The second approach, in essence, transfers control responsibility to the company's IT personnel, who are responsible for controlling access to IP, which ultimately complicates access to the necessary information, inhibits cooperation between stakeholders and leads to unnecessary IT costs.
Currently, a more convenient approach is available for manufacturers, which makes it easy to find a reasonable balance between the needs for close cooperation and constant control over intellectual property.
This approach focuses on deploying a new generation of product lifecycle management (PLM) systems. The PLM platform allows you to combine data from several management systems and create a central repository of information for all projects. Thus, the PLM platform fulfills the task of monitoring product development and protecting intellectual property.
When applying PLM solutions, all requests for access to intellectual property within any project are managed by a single system that is able to determine in real time the user's right of access to the requested information, based on his authority and physical location. Thanks to the use of PLM solutions, the international teams of all the participating countries of the project can work together more efficiently, following the rules of export control (ITAR and EAR), as well as intellectual property laws. The risk of theft of intellectual property is a big problem for companies, but it can be solved with a competent approach to the organization of all technical processes. With the correct construction of a system of interaction and management on the ground, manufacturers can conduct business without fear that their most valuable asset is know-how,
Dassault Systemes PLM systems not only provide complete control and easy management of all process information related to product design, development and maintenance, but also reliably protect all process information. They are used in the defense and aerospace industries of many countries of the world. Dassault Systemes collaborates with such aircraft manufacturers as Boeing, Airbus, Kamov Design Bureau, and Antonov Antonov Aviation Transport Company.
• Open technology theft by unscrupulous employees
• “Leaks” arising from unintentional disclosure of information and occurring in the process of interaction between people from different departments or external partners from number of suppliers
Regardless of what causes the loss of IP, it carries a devastating effect on the company. IP theft often leads to fake products on the black market. Using a stolen design, attackers make products that copy original goods up to the logo, and thereby mislead consumers.
According to a report by the US Department of Commerce published in January 2010, between 2005 and 2008, the number of counterfeit electronic goods in the defense industry more than doubled. When it comes to protecting intellectual property in the aerospace and defense industries, general contractors have to deal with particular risks.
The need to reduce the time and cost of creating complex products, such as aircraft and weapons systems, forces companies to give more and more responsibility for the development and integration of the main subsystems to their contractors. At the same time, contractors get access to valuable data that should not fall into the hands of competitors. And one of the main priorities for companies in the aerospace and defense industries are national security considerations and, accordingly, information protection.
Currently, most companies seeking to protect intellectual property use one of two approaches:
• The so-called "manual method" - which implies the development of special procedures, the execution of which is monitored by a small group of people, united in a document control department. The tasks of this group include tracking and controlling the process of moving and using data.
• Automated method, requiring the separation of data in several systems at their location, and providing access only to persons belonging to these systems.
Both approaches have significant drawbacks. The first does not offer any real IP protection, as manual methods are easily circumvented. The second approach, in essence, transfers control responsibility to the company's IT personnel, who are responsible for controlling access to IP, which ultimately complicates access to the necessary information, inhibits cooperation between stakeholders and leads to unnecessary IT costs.
Currently, a more convenient approach is available for manufacturers, which makes it easy to find a reasonable balance between the needs for close cooperation and constant control over intellectual property.
This approach focuses on deploying a new generation of product lifecycle management (PLM) systems. The PLM platform allows you to combine data from several management systems and create a central repository of information for all projects. Thus, the PLM platform fulfills the task of monitoring product development and protecting intellectual property.
When applying PLM solutions, all requests for access to intellectual property within any project are managed by a single system that is able to determine in real time the user's right of access to the requested information, based on his authority and physical location. Thanks to the use of PLM solutions, the international teams of all the participating countries of the project can work together more efficiently, following the rules of export control (ITAR and EAR), as well as intellectual property laws. The risk of theft of intellectual property is a big problem for companies, but it can be solved with a competent approach to the organization of all technical processes. With the correct construction of a system of interaction and management on the ground, manufacturers can conduct business without fear that their most valuable asset is know-how,
Dassault Systemes PLM systems not only provide complete control and easy management of all process information related to product design, development and maintenance, but also reliably protect all process information. They are used in the defense and aerospace industries of many countries of the world. Dassault Systemes collaborates with such aircraft manufacturers as Boeing, Airbus, Kamov Design Bureau, and Antonov Antonov Aviation Transport Company.