View the original article here

Q & A Protect your valuable Data

Q: Data security is of crucial importance to my company, so how I can ensure I’ve got maximum protection?

A: Firstly, you must ensure that you’ve got the very best firewall, central virus scanner and other intrusion detection system protecting your network, and this is what your IT manager or service provider will constantly review.

However, the biggest threat to theft of your organisation’s data may come not from hackers and criminal gangs, but from disgruntled employees.

That’s the view of many IT security specialists, and it has been reported that well over half of British workers would consider taking confidential information with them in the case of redundancy or dismissal.

So data theft from within is a major threat to business – especially at a time when firms are laying off staff. And stealing data is an easy thing to do in many organisations, thanks to a combination of lax security procedures and the availability of mass storage devices like USB memory sticks.

Just think what that loss can mean for your organisation. A database that you’ve taken years to create can be copied by an employee, and he or she may take it to a competitor when looking for a new job. Other sensitive information can also be taken and put in the public domain, causing embarrassment and bad publicity.

This isn’t just another IT security scare. There’s been a steady increase in legal cases involving companies taking former employees to court for stealing data, with most settled out of court. And that’s likely to be the tip of the iceberg. Data theft is a risk employers face at all times, but is likely to be even worse at times of economic uncertainty.

So how can you keep your data safe?

First of all you need a company internet and security policy that suits your business needs, and which you make known to the workforce. It is only fair that your staff know what is and isn’t allowed.

You may wish to include computer level tools that provide administrative control over the use of memory devices. Controlling the use of memory sticks, SD cards and other types of memory devices can reduce the risk of people introducing viruses to your network. But these devices are often tiny – and there can be no guarantee that people aren’t using them. Removing USB slots on PCs is the only sure way of stopping their use.

A quick test is to take one of these small in size (yet big in memory) storage devices to a client workstation on your network and see what kind of information an employee could access and copy. If you are at risk, it’s time for a thorough review of your internal security system.