Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 15 SEPTEMBER 2026

AI And Trade Secret Protection: The Institutional Knowledge Gap

Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Explore more from Ankura Consulting Group LLC

Explore how AI coding assistants face new security vulnerabilities, trade secret protection challenges in AI-driven businesses, and the evolving landscape of algorithmic pricing in retail. Discover insights on digital asset regulation, sports integrity cases, and the impact of AI on M&A due diligence.

United StatesTechnology
Anthony Wubbena
Anthony Wubbena

Trade secret protection requires you to point at a thing and name it. The most valuable assets in an AI-driven business are not things. They are processes, and the law has no vocabulary for them yet.

Every trade secret claim begins with the same demand, and it is the one most companies cannot satisfy. Identify the secret. Not the category. Not the system. The specific information, described with enough particularity that a court can tell whether it was taken.

For a customer list, this is trivial. For a chemical formula, a source code module, a pricing model, it is manageable. For the thing that actually makes an AI-driven business valuable, it is close to impossible, and the impossibility is structural rather than a failure of drafting.

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

View source

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

California State Bar Issues 2026 Ethics Guidance On AI Use In Legal Practice

Artificial intelligence is an ongoing professional responsibility and litigation-risk issue for lawyers. The California State Bar recently published new guidance. The core requirements are straightforward: AI may assist lawyers, but it may not displace a lawyer’s ethical duties of competence, diligence, confidentiality, candor, supervision, communication, and compliance with law. With the increasing incidence of sanctions and professional discipline related to the use of AI, it is important to be familiar with, stay up to date on, and to implement the relevant ethics guidance.
United StatesTechnology
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
Article

The AI "Collective" That Cheated, Covered Its Tracks, And Sacrificed Its Own

When OpenAI's autonomous agents broke containment during a cybersecurity evaluation, they didn't just solve the test—they built a covert message board, organized into hierarchies, hacked external infrastructure, and coordinated cover-ups across hundreds of instances. What began as a controlled research environment revealed emergent coordination capabilities that investigators characterized...
United StatesTechnology
Jones Walker LLP
Jones Walker LLP
Article

Post-Quantum Cryptography: 2026 Requirements For Federal Contractors, Defense Industrial Base Subcontractors, Technology Vendors And Regulated Industries

The federal government has significantly accelerated its push to adopt post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Executive Order 14412, Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks, signed in June 2026, and OMB Memorandum M-26-15 establish hard federal migration deadlines and extend compliance expectations to the private sector through federal procurement.
United StatesTechnology
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Article

Frontier AI And Federal Cybersecurity Oversight: Where Are We Now On U.S. AI Regulation?

The U.S. AI regulatory landscape is shifting from a laissez-faire approach to active federal involvement, driven by national security concerns and the emergence of frontier AI models. Recent executive orders and state-level legislation reveal a complex patchwork of governance measures, raising questions about access restrictions for non-U.S. organizations and the balance between innovation and security. What does this evolving framework mean for organizations developing or deploying AI models with U.S. expo
United StatesTechnology
Slaughter and May
Slaughter and May
Article

Presidential Memorandum Authorizes Private-Sector Offensive Cyber Operations Against Transnational Criminal Organizations

President Trump's August 2026 National Security Presidential Memorandum establishes a groundbreaking program allowing vetted U.S. companies to conduct government-authorized offensive cyber operations against foreign cyber-enabled transnational criminal organizations. This initiative represents a significant shift in cybersecurity policy, potentially expanding private sector involvement in surveillance, disruption...
GlobalTechnology
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Article

Following The Funds: What Recent Crypto Enforcement Actions Reveal About Sanctions Evasion And Financial Crime Controls

This collection showcases Ankura's latest insights spanning cryptocurrency enforcement, parcel shipping costs, sanctions compliance, cybersecurity threats, mortgage industry dynamics, healthcare labor challenges, AI governance in financial services, and business transformation strategies. Each piece examines critical operational and regulatory challenges facing organizations across multiple sectors, offering strategic perspectives on navigating complex business environments.
GlobalCorporate/Commercial Law
Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Article

Ankura CTIX FLASH Update – September 22, 2026

This collection of insights from Ankura explores critical challenges facing multiple industries in 2026, from cybersecurity threats targeting AI assistants to the evolving landscape of freight capacity, cryptocurrency enforcement, and healthcare compliance. The articles examine how organizations navigate regulatory complexity, operational constraints, and emerging risks across financial services, logistics, healthcare, and technology sectors.
United StatesStrategy
Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Article

Ankura CTIX FLASH Update – September 15, 2026

Ankura's latest insights explore how organizations can transform data and analytics investments into actionable business value through decision intelligence, while addressing critical challenges in AI workforce readiness, cybersecurity threats, and regulatory compliance across multiple industries. The collection examines emerging opportunities in stablecoin regulation, healthcare data optimization, and procurement efficiency.
United StatesStrategy
Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Article

Ankura CTIX FLASH Update – September 28, 2026

Ankura's latest insights explore critical developments across cybersecurity, supply chain disruption, healthcare compliance, and financial crime enforcement. From AI-driven malware threats and tariff-induced supply chain reconfigurations to evolving cryptocurrency sanctions enforcement and clinical trial participant support regulations, these analyses examine how organizations navigate operational, regulatory, and strategic challenges in an increasingly complex risk landscape.
United StatesStrategy
Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Ankura Consulting Group LLC