Keeping your companys data secure

If you bank with Nationwide it is possible that your banking details have been stolen. A report in the Sunday Times has revealed that up to 11 million customer account details may be in the hands of the criminal community after a laptop belonging to one of the building society's employees was stolen in August.

One worrying aspect is that the theft of the customer data was reported to the Financial Services Authority in September but the news of the security risk has only recently been made public. Today (18 November 2006) a feature appeared on BBC1 Television News.

Nationwide customers are not the only ones who are running the risk of losing money. The adverse customer reaction to this news is certain to lead to crippling losses for the building society.

What can you do to protect your company's information? Could this disaster happen to your business?

Here are some things that you should think about if you are worried about the security of your company's data:

1. Why does data need to leave your company's offices? Why isn't it possible for your staff to complete their work during office hours - understaffing, inefficient working or lack of training?
2. If your staff need to do statistical analysis of the company's data, why aren't they given a copy of the data without any identifying information?
3. Is it possible to set up summary reports so that your company's employees don't need to access personal data?
4. What data security guarantees have you got from external companies which service your computers?
5. If you really must put information on a laptop (unlikely) have you made sure that the laptop is password protected and that the data is encrypted?

There are a lot more issues to consider about the safe use and storage of customer information. The main thing to bear in mind is that people are almost always the weakest link in any security system. It doesn't matter how many security safeguards are in place: if employees (and directors) don't follow security guidelines, then your company's information could run the risk of being stolen and being put to nefarious use.

Frazer Melton - 18 November 2006

About the author. Frazer Melton has worked in the database industry since the late 1980s for clients including city of London merchant banks and now works as an independent data analyst based in North Lincolnshire. If you would like to arrange an impartial assessment of your company's data security with recommendations for more secure procedures call 01652 650 772 or 07762 268 290.