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Data at risk in the office, how to protect confidential information
Date: 03/06/2008
Office computer networks today have become increasingly available with more staff accessing more applications, files and databases. Access to files remotely has also increased largely and problems are arising as a result.
The data at risk
Any confidential data held on a network is at risk and should have security levels and be protected in and outside the office. Confidential data can be exposed outside the office by staff or another high risk area comes from remote hardware such as USB’s and PDA’s. There are always companies at risk from hackers wanting to use information such as financial details to carry out crimes. Electronic archiving can be a secure method as aopposed to paparr files providing access is relevant to the right staff.
Current protection is not enough
Firewalls and access controls are often used as protection against unwanted viewers but if staff are using computers outside the office to communicate in, then they may not have a firewalls or it has not been updated. Some companies rely on single passwords which is now recognised as being inadequate. There are more sophisticated methods now such as strong two factor authentication, biometrics, smart cards, virtual tokens and mainframe systems.
High risk outlets
Email – Unencrypted emails are like sending postcards by ordinary mail, one solution is to send them as encrypted PDF’s readable by the recipient using a password. It is always a good idea to encrypt confidential emails at least.
Remote and laptop use – Security is always a risk when staff are working outside of the office using remote access. It is a good idea to encrypt data on any outside laptops incase of theft. Using an encrypted VPN is a good idea when communicating using wireless connections or connecting to head offices.
Securing data in the organisation
Encryption is always a safe option to use, although it can be used mainly for confidential information rather than on everything. Unified encryption management (UEM) is a comprehensive approach revolutionising encryption which takes care of a whole network and is often reducing in overall costs. But generally company wide policies are most likely to reduce the threats of security if they are adhered to correctly.
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