Cyber-Attacks And Business Secrets - Protection Under Criminal Law

Business secrets are essential assets of companies, and are often the reason for a company having a competitive lead in a market. Thus, they constantly seek to develop new technologies, algorithms or software to create such intangible assets.

Due to their significant economic value, companies try to protect their business secrets from unintended disclosure, or leaks through ever increasing cyber-attacks. In this article we explain some aspects of legal protection available under Austrian law.

1. Protection under criminal law

When it comes to cyber-attacks and the protection of business secrets, most people think of "compliance" with its various facets such as internal guidelines, technical security systems, staff training or – in the aftermath of an attack – internal investigations. However, the Austrian Criminal Code ("ACC") also provides for various protective provisions: