Setting the Stage:
It’s a sunlit Sunday afternoon in New York City. The house hums with laughter and the joyful chaos of family—children darting through hallways, voices mingling. In the heart of it all, two cherished sisters, Nonnas, Rosa and Maria, are in the kitchen, stirring pots and sharing family secrets as they prepare their legendary pasta sauce. The aroma is so intoxicating that even the neighbors might be tempted to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Nonna Rosa brandishes her wooden spoon like a gavel, proclaiming, “Maria, you can’t just share our family recipe like it’s candy at Halloween! This is how family legacies crumble!” Maria counters, “For fifty years, I’ve safeguarded this recipe with two things: my trusty spoon and a glare that could curdle milk from across the room.” But there’s a bigger challenge lurking in the kitchen, one that neither Nonna anticipates: their grandkids, those seemingly innocent helpers who can wreak havoc on the family secret.
The Real Risk: Grandkids and Employees
Just as the Nonnas have their grandkids in the kitchen, corporate executives have employees, and they should be considered direct parallels. They may be your most trusted allies, but their access to confidential trade secrets also makes them one of a company’s biggest risks when it comes to leaks—more so than any rival company. It’s easy to overlook this risk, much as the Nonnas might entrust their grandkids with the family recipe, believing their intentions are pure and relying fully on their discretion. However, those “angelic” faces can easily become the unwitting source of trade secret exposure. Kids who grow up in the kitchen eventually share snippets of knowledge—mimicking their beloved grandmothers without recognizing the potential risks involved.
The Ingredients of a Trade Secret
To become legally recognized, a trade secret must meet three criteria (discussed in our previous blog here): it must be kept confidential (a secret), it must have economic value because it’s not publicly known, and the owner must take reasonable steps to protect its secrecy. Nonna’s prized sauce recipe fits this description perfectly. For years, the Nonnas have protected their legendary pasta sauce recipe with little more than a wooden spoon and a steely glare—enough to keep curious neighbors, ambitious cousins, and even the most determined in-laws at bay, and ensure that the that the secret recipe for their legendary pasta sauce stays safely within the family.
Yet, as we step into 2026, traditional safeguards above are no longer sufficient. The kitchen is no longer the sole domain where “reasonable steps” must be taken. In today’s hyper-connected world—where a recipe can be captured, shared, and stolen in mere seconds—even the most vigilant Nonnas require more than just wooden spoons and glares that can curdle cheese. To truly protect their prized trade secrets, it’s time for the Nonnas to swap out the spoon for digital defenses: password-protected files, encrypted recipe storage, and comprehensive digital security education. After all, keeping the family’s secret sauce safe demands modern solutions for modern challenges. Businesses, in turn, must strengthen their protection of trade secrets—particularly against employees who may not fully appreciate the weight of the trust placed in them.
Beyond Tradition: A New Era of Protection
Reliance on wooden spoons and stern looks, or their equivalents, won’t cut it anymore. Today’s employees, like Nonna’s grandkids, have unprecedented access to technology and information-sharing platforms. What constitutes “reasonable measures” in protecting trade secrets is now a complex landscape that varies by industry and specific circumstances.
To effectively safeguard their secrets, companies should implement “reasonable measures” such as comprehensive robust employee onboarding training and periodic re-training, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), strict access controls, advanced cybersecurity protocols, employee exit interviews and data analysis, and routine auditing and updating of a company’s security policies and how they are implemented.
The Nonnas, meanwhile, could use a “sauce secret policy” that restricts access to their prized recipe and keep it securely stored—just as businesses safeguard their trade secrets. This policy might address social media and technology use in the kitchen, adding extra layers of protection to the current techniques. After all, Nonna’s grandkids love snapping selfies and posting them online, while the Nonnas are cooking, sometimes revealing more than they realize in the background.
Learning from the Leaks
Real-world cases highlight that legal agreements alone are not enough to protect trade secrets. For example, in DM Trans, LLC v. Scott (7th Cir. 2022), employees signed comprehensive confidentiality agreements, but the court found the company failed to protect its information because employees could use personal devices without oversight. Similarly, in Yellowfin Yachts, Inc. v. Barker Boatworks, LLC (11th Cir. 2018), the court emphasized that restricting access to confidential information is critical for effective protection. Likewise, in Negative, Inc. v. McNamara (E.D.N.Y 2025), the court found that even robust technical safeguards—such as multi-factor authentication and “need-to-know” file restrictions—were not enough. Because the contractor was never informed that the information was confidential and did not sign an NDA, the company’s trade secret protection failed.
These cases make clear that both legal agreements and technical controls (policy) must be coupled with clear communication and oversight (implementation) to truly protect sensitive information—and satisfy the “reasonable steps” requirement for litigation. Just as the Nonnas must ensure their secret sauce recipe stays confined to the family by monitoring their grandkids, companies must actively monitor access to trade secrets. What exactly this entails is likely to vary depending on the situation, and the rules may need to change. Conducting regular audits of trade secret protections can help identify vulnerabilities and guide the development of strengthened safeguards.
Takeaway: A Recipe for Success
In the end, whether in the warm embrace of a family kitchen or the bustling corridors of a corporation, recognize that those who are helpful may also pose the greatest risk to your secrets. Protecting your trade secrets requires a pound of vigilance, a slice of ingenuity, and perhaps a little more than just a wooden spoon. By taking proactive measures to secure your intellectual treasures, you can ensure that both the Nonnas’ sauce recipe and your company’s trade secrets remain well-guarded for generations to come.