A departing employee copies work.
Credentialed access to a connected repository makes exfiltration ordinary rather than exceptional.
Insider riskOffline Secure Storage® (#OSS) for intellectual property
Offline Secure Storage for intellectual property. The work nobody can recreate.
Source code, designs, formulations, research data, models and trade secrets. The value of intellectual property depends on exclusivity, so the master copy should not sit permanently reachable on a connected network.
Offline Secure StorageExclusivity protectionControlled sharingProvenance evidence
What creators protect
The work that cannot be recreated.
EngineeringSource and builds
DesignDesigns and creative
ResearchResearch data
SecretsTrade secrets
LegalIP registrations
ProvenanceCreation evidence
StorageDedicated hardware
AccessControlled by you
When closedNo standing network path
A simple ownership question
If your intellectual property were copied tonight, would you know, and could you prove it was yours?
Intellectual property rarely disappears. It is duplicated, and its value falls the moment somebody else holds it.
A supplier is compromised.
Design files shared for manufacture or development are exposed through somebody else's estate.
Supply chainResearch is exposed early.
Publication, funding or filing advantage is lost because material leaked before it was protected.
Competitive lossProvenance is disputed.
You created it first, but the evidence of when and by whom is scattered across systems.
Legal riskThe Firevault principle
The problem is not only theft. It is that your most valuable work is permanently reachable.
Designs, source code, formulations and research usually live where collaboration is easiest. That convenience is also the route an attacker, a departing employee or a supplier can follow.
If the master copies of your intellectual property sit physically outside the estate, theft requires physical access rather than a credential.
Select → Secure → Disconnect → Access when requiredA path that does not exist cannot be used
No repository, no sync client and no share leads to the master copy while the vault is offline.
Detection is not prevention
Monitoring tells you that files moved. Disconnection means there was nothing to move.
Version masters deserve a different state
Working copies can stay online. The definitive record of what you created does not have to.
Proof of possession matters later
Recorded retrieval and dated custody support disputes, filings and due diligence.
The intellectual property checklist
Identify the work that carries the value.
Not every file is intellectual property. Start with the material that would cost the most to lose exclusively.
Your IP inventory
Six areas most organisations already hold.
Use this as a first-pass inventory before deciding which Firevault product fits.
Engineering → Design → Research → Secrets → Legal → ProvenanceEngineering
- ✓Master source repositories
- ✓Build artefacts
- ✓Architecture documents
- ✓Toolchains
- ✓Technical specifications
Design
- ✓Master design files
- ✓CAD and production files
- ✓Brand and creative masters
- ✓Prototype records
- ✓Supplier drawings
Research
- ✓Experimental data
- ✓Models and training data
- ✓Laboratory records
- ✓Results and analysis
- ✓Unpublished findings
Trade secrets
- ✓Formulations
- ✓Processes and methods
- ✓Pricing algorithms
- ✓Know-how documentation
- ✓Competitive analysis
Legal
- ✓Patent filings
- ✓Trade mark records
- ✓Assignments
- ✓Licence agreements
- ✓Confidentiality agreements
Provenance
- ✓Creation timestamps
- ✓Contributor records
- ✓Version history
- ✓Approval evidence
- ✓Chain of custody
The Firevault difference
Collaboration is not the same as custody.
Teams have to work together on live material. Firevault holds the master copies and evidence where continuous reachability creates unnecessary risk.
Keep collaboration where it helps.
Connected tools are right for active development and iteration.
- •Active repositories and branches
- •Work in progress designs
- •Shared project material
- •Everyday review and comment
- •Live team collaboration
Give exclusivity a different state.
Master copies and evidence can be available when required without remaining permanently reachable.
- ✓Master source and builds
- ✓Design and production masters
- ✓Unpublished research
- ✓Trade secret documentation
- ✓Provenance and filing evidence
Access controls limit who may read intellectual property online. Firevault removes the path to the master copy entirely.Online when you need it. Offline when you do not.
Custody, sharing and evidence
Control who can reach the master copy.
Intellectual property protection has to survive staff changes, partners and disputes. Custody, controlled sharing and provenance are separate problems.
VERIFIED
OWNER
PROJECT
LEAD
LEGAL OR
PARTNER
SUCCESSION
ROUTE
The owner holds custody. Selected files can be released to a partner or legal adviser without exposing the whole vault.
No standing repository access
Custody, sharing and provenance are different things.
Firevault separates them so protecting the master copy does not slow the team working on the live one.
One vault per userCustody is linked to a verified individual rather than a team credential.
Release, do not exposeShare a specific design, dataset or document with a named recipient.
Recorded historyRetrievals and access windows are logged, supporting provenance and dispute evidence.
This is not only about theft
Useful across the lifecycle of the work.
Filing, funding, manufacture and litigation all depend on holding the definitive copy and proving it is yours.
Hold the definitive record.
Creation evidence and drafts retained beyond the working environment.
LegalShare drawings without losing control.
Suppliers receive what they need, not the master archive.
Supply chainEvidence what you own.
Registrations, assignments and provenance available for diligence.
GrowthSurvive departures.
Custody does not leave with the person who held the credentials.
Insider riskProve first creation.
Version history and access records support the claim.
DisputePreserve retired work.
Completed projects retained without staying permanently reachable.
RetentionEvidence and guidance
Trade secret protection depends on the measures you can demonstrate.
Legal protection for confidential information is tied to reasonable steps taken to keep it secret, and national guidance points to separation.
Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018
Protection applies to information subject to reasonable steps by the holder to keep it secret.
Read the source NCSCNCSC guidance recommends holding critical copies offline and separate from the connected estate.
Read the source NPSAThe National Protective Security Authority advises protecting high-value research and design assets with physical as well as digital controls.
Read the sourceWho this applies to
Where intellectual property exposure appears most often.
Concise routes into the industry and audience pages where this need appears most often.
The Firevault response
Offline Secure Storage®, then the product that fits the volume.
This page is about the exposure. Capacities, access models, specifications and pricing sit on the product pages so you can choose once the requirement is clear.
Offline Secure Storage®
Offline Secure Storage holds master copies of your intellectual property on dedicated hardware that is physically disconnected until you ask for it.
Why Offline Secure StorageVault
On-demand access to a digital safe deposit box for design libraries, code archives and research datasets.
LUV
A low use vault for formulations, filings and definitive master copies, reached on a nominated access day.
Storage
Scalable offline capacity from 20TB upwards, designed with the solutions team around your requirement.
Why Firevault
Access control on top. Physical separation underneath.
Exclusivity is the value. Physical disconnection protects it directly.
Physical storage
Offline Secure Storage instances are held on dedicated physical hard drives, not in S3 cloud buckets, shared storage pools or multi-tenant infrastructure. Your selected data is assigned to real hardware, with dedicated RAID 1 drives providing resilience.
Physical ownership
Each Offline Secure Storage instance is allocated to a specific customer, with dedicated physical capacity and clearly defined ownership. Your data is not pooled, commingled or held within a shared storage estate.
Physical control
Access begins outside the normal network path. An authorised out-of-band command, such as SMS, controls the physical Layer 1 connection to your #OSS instance. When access is not required, that network path is physically disconnected.
Physical security
Your #OSS hardware is housed in carefully selected, professionally managed data centres with layered physical security, resilient power and environmental controls. Access is tightly controlled using three-factor authentication, including biometric identification, supported by 24/7 monitoring, restricted access zones and a complete audit trail. Firevault Bunkers provide jurisdictional physical resilience across our international infrastructure.
Questions technical teams ask
Before you move master copies offline.
The goal is protected custody without blocking the work.
No. Active repositories stay where they are. Firevault holds master copies, releases and evidence rather than the working branch.
Protect the work that carries the value
Start with the master copies that would be most damaging to lose exclusively.
Offline Secure Storage from Firevault. Online when you need it. Offline when you do not.