What steps can I take to protect my company's proprietary information from being stolen or leaked?

As a lawyer, I would advise taking the following steps to protect your company's proprietary information:

1. Define and identify your proprietary information: Start by identifying what information is proprietary to your company. This can include confidential business plans, financial information, trade secrets, customer lists, and intellectual property.
2. Develop a comprehensive confidentiality policy: Create a confidentiality policy that clearly outlines what information is confidential, who has access to it, and how it should be protected. This policy should be communicated to all employees, contractors, and third-party service providers who have access to the information.
3. Use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs): A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal agreement between parties that outlines confidential material that one or both parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes. Have every employee, contractor, or third-party service provider sign an NDA before they access your company's proprietary information.
4. Restrict access to proprietary information: Limit access to proprietary information strictly to those who need to know it. Implement password-protected systems, restricted user access and controls, network and internet access controls, and employee training on the sensitivity of proprietary information.
5. Monitor access to and use of proprietary information: Consider using monitoring systems to detect any unauthorized access or use of your company's proprietary information.
6. Secure physical documents and digital systems: Implement secure storage for physical documents containing proprietary information and encryption for digital data. Physical storage areas should be locked and restricted to authorized personnel. Digital systems should have multiple layers of physical and logical security.
7. Enforce your policies: When employees or contractors violate your confidentiality policy, enforce the consequences as outlined in your NDA, confidentiality policy, or other relevant laws impacting your proprietary information.

Limitations and exceptions may include trade secrets laws, which may require a more careful approach to disclosing and sharing certain types of confidential information. Federal and state law may also offer additional protections for specific types of intellectual property. It is strongly advised you consult a licensed attorney for specific legal advice pertaining to trade secrets laws and other intellectual property protections.

In addition to the steps above, It is important to conduct regular risk assessments, audit current privacy policies and procedures, and continually train employees and authorized parties on the importance of confidentiality policies and the consequences of policy violations.