Cannabis Industry - Your Board Needs Security Advisors

The growing legalized marijuana market is going to launch fortunes for some and bring ruin to others but you can't deny the impressive potential of this new and exciting industry.  According to a report from the ArcView Group (http://arcviewgroup.com) the marijuana industry will see a 27% CAGR from 2016 to 2021 resulting in a 22 billion dollar market.
This new market opportunity has been compared with the California Gold Rush, the end of Prohibition, and the Dot Com explosion.  I personally suspect we are witnessing a convergence of opportunity and growth with the potential to far exceed market analyst expectations.  

Companies and inventors are busy developing new THC delivery devices, conducting pharmaceutical research, and creating myriad new products.  There are approximately 12,000 patents registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization related to the cannabis industry.  We can expect a surge in innovation from highly structured research facilities to old school cannabis disciples.  The potential exists for us to witness important technical advances aimed at improving efficiencies of growing facilities, lighting, air circulation, and hydroponic/aeroponic methods.  Scientists and enthusiasts are developing new cannabis strains to improve pain management, enhance the recreational consumer's experience, and refine flavor for edibles.  Significant contributions are expected in pharmaceutical research.  There's a rare opportunity here to witness the possibilities that arise when the efforts of experts and laymen alike will benefit the community as a whole.  The enthusiasm of this new breed of entrepreneur joined with the discipline and rigor of laboratory processes could set off a renaissance of discovery and change our cultural landscape forever.  A possible consequence of an increase in innovative activity would be the adaptation of technical advances in the cannabis industry for other market segments.  

Then there's the matter of security.  Nothing this lucrative can escape the attention of the criminal elements.  Larger companies have the resources to protect their intellectual property.  Regrettably, they also could use those same resources to acquire technology belonging to smaller start ups.  It's unfortunate that during the very stage when a company is most vulnerable to pilfering of their work processes, methodologies, and trade secrets, they can little afford to staff a security team. Cyber crime will be a problem for the less sophisticated startups and smaller companies.  Just a few areas to consider are:

• Insider threats (physical and cyber)
• Network breaches and data exfiltration
• Poorly secured cloud services 
• Lack of training, personnel, tools
• Sabotage
• Fraud
• Theft of edible recipes
• Risk from third party/supply chain

My recommendation is that smaller companies give serious thought to inviting an experienced security executive to join their Board of Directors.  Companies without a formal Board of Directors should at a minimum create an advisory board and seek out a professional from the security industry or identify a qualified security executive from a non-competing company to help guide the company leadership in seeking cost effective controls and countermeasures.  

Aside from the obvious value proposition of not losing intellectual property to potential competitors, having a mature information security program, will demonstrate to potential investors that company management recognizes the value of their intellectual property and is safeguarding both tangible and intangible company assets.