It is no secret that modern technology-enabled firms go to great lengths to protect their proprietary information. Nor is it a secret why. The "formula for Coke" is the quintessential trade secret, but these days a proprietary algorithm for targeted advertising or a "black box" trading strategy that provides an actual or perceived edge over the market can be far more valuable—and its secrecy more central to a company's ultimate survival—than even that venerable recipe.