So, here's the deal, I've got an idea, and I want to protect it. By that, I am not talking about piracy protection, more like content protection.

Say there's a hypothetical scenario, a fiend hacks into my files and steals that which I plan to put into development, and that thing finds its way into big bucks publishing house and they end up hoarding million for something whose concept I conceived... how can I protect myself from such a scenario outside of making a patent, it being under lock and key?

So, here's the deal, I've got an idea, and I want to protect it. By that, I am not talking about piracy protection, more like content protection.

'Content' is what is created from ideas. 'Content' is protected by copyrights.

Say there's a hypothetical scenario, a fiend hacks into my files and steals that which I plan to put into development, and that thing finds its way into big bucks publishing house and they end up hoarding million for something whose concept I conceived... how can I protect myself from such a scenario outside of making a patent, it being under lock and key?

You can't patent, trademark, or copyright ideas. Ideas can't be owned.

Only your specific implementation or design of that idea can be protected.

If your implementation or design gets stolen, and you can prove it through your documentation, then sue the crap out of that company. But if it's under lock and key, you won't be able to prove that your idea was created beforehand.

Apart from that, keep your idea to yourself, and if you must talk to someone else (say an investor), make them sign an NDA. If they violate the NDA, sue them.

Ofcourse, if your idea is generic enough, chances are other people also have the same idea, and someone might get around to making it before you. Or even after you. When this occurs, don't assume that they stole "your" idea. Many people come out of the woodwork and start suing big successes like Star Wars and Harry Potter and Twilight and Facebook and whatever else, claiming (and even proving) that they had the "idea" first, or even wrote and published a book or game that's similar. Doesn't matter. If one human can have an idea, hundreds of other humans might get the same idea independently. "Boy goes to magic school" (Harry Potter) isn't owned by anyone. "Boy is chosen one" (Harry Potter and Star Wars and a bajillion others) isn't owned by anyone. Only the execution/implementation of the idea is owned.

Same with names. If someone else happened to use the name "Harry Potter" in a book before JK Rowling did, that doesn't mean JK Rowling stole the name. Heck, there are more than one real life people with the name Harry Potter. That doesn't mean JK Rowling stole their birth name either.

I wouldn't worry about it for a couple reasons:

1) Ideas by themselves aren't worth much. It's the execution of the idea that matters most. You can have the most unoriginal idea in the world, but if you do it better than everyone else, you'll more than likely be successful.

2) Chances are someone else has already thought of it anyway. And if it's a good idea, someone else is probably already developing it.

Apart from that, keep your idea to yourself, and if you must talk to someone else (say an investor), make them sign an NDA. If they violate the NDA, sue them.

This is precisely why a lot of potential investors won't sign an NDA. For just pitching an idea and showing off a prototype, I'd skip the NDA personally.

As Mr. "Servant of the Lord" pointed out, one can sue the crap out of that company, that particular fact I am already familiar with, but how do I secure the data itself to make it admissible in court? Time stamps can be easily falsified and it can be difficult prove the "me first" claim!

You see, that's why I was asking a general question about options in this case, it is difficult in my country to get digital data to become admissible.

If you are seriously concerned about the security of your information (e.g., being hacked), your best bet is consulting an Information Security Service to help you keep your information secure.

Crisis prevention should come before crisis management. A good InfoSec service would also ensure you have the necessary legal means to sue if your information was stolen, not just by proving that this information is yours, but with evidence that your security has been breeched.