Shield private data from prying eyes
- By Samuel Sinn
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Shanghai Daily, February 4, 2013
![[By Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20130204/001ec949c22b12796f4e16.jpg "[By Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn]") |
|
[By Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn] |
The global nature of business has made companies more vulnerable to data and identity theft, since the sharing of information with business partners and third parties has increased opportunities for loss, misuse or compromise.
Furthermore, many people want to access work files from the same mobile device they use to update their status on Facebook or Weibo, and WeChat or Whatsapp their families and friends.
The portability and accessibility of information are crucial components of a collaborative, interconnected business world. However, the problem with sharing information is that it can get shared with the wrong people.
Whenever highly sensitive or regulated information is lost, misused or compromised, it falls under the banner of data and identity theft. Intellectual property, trade secrets, employee and customer data, payment card data and personally identifiable information such as birth dates, identification card numbers and addresses are all examples of sensitive or regulated information.
Data losses can be devastating. Besides potential fines and lawsuits, security breaches can have a long-term impact on a company's brand and reputation. Having strong data safeguards in place can help secure a company's reputation, competitiveness and financial well-being.
Portable data
The traditional view is that information is confined within a company and that securing your firewall and perimeter can provide all the necessary protection. That has changed.
Data are portable and can be easily transferred and replicated. Though data centers and servers can provide a higher level of information protection, the preponderance of mobile devices - such as laptops, tablet computers, smart phones, and plug-in drives - is less secure and increases the risk of theft.
Once data are distributed, all devices that access the data are potential breach points. Also, business partners who do not have adequate information-protection standards in place make data more vulnerable because your data often become their data.
According to PwC's 2013 Global State of Information Security Study - a worldwide survey of more than 9,300 IT and information security professionals conducted with CIO and CSO magazines - 76 percent of respondents stated that their organizations do not maintain an accurate inventory of where high-value data are stored. Only about 60 percent said that their company security policies address the protection, disclosure and destruction of data.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)