Theft of company data and how organisations can guard against it

Posted by Karen on Oct 10, 2013 12:00:00 AM
Employee data theft is on the rise. Reports last month, based on EMV research, tell us the number of thefts of confidential information cases heard at the high court has risen by 58% in the last year and by a staggering 5,000% since 2006.

The adoption of cloud computing technologies within work places, in tandem with a rise in BYOD and home working, provide us potential answers as to why employees are finding it easier to steal company data. Organisations who are unable to afford expensive security systems and who work in industries where employees are financially incentivised to move between competitors (finance and recruitment for example) are most at risk.

So what can businesses do? Building a true private network with BYOD in mind from the outset helps to secure not only the data but also the device being used. Clever use of 3G sims for example to not only deliver a static IP to each device out in the field but also a private IP controlled by the corporate firewall which can control its access to the internet. Also by hosting core applications at the centre of this private network can ensure that Layer 2 and Layer 3 security protocols are used, so that the parts that don’t need to be so secure are more widely available, and the rest remains invisible to those who shouldn't have access.

With communications constantly improving it is becoming easier to ensure that data always remains in the core of the network, rather than on the individual device. This surely should always be the preference for any IT Manager as killing access can be quickly actioned and data is less likely to be leaked.

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