The threat of economic espionage has never been greater, warns Guardsmark's Lipman Report. The global economy has brought more organisations into direct competition and advancements in technology have quickened the pace of business, increasing the pressure to innovate before the competition. The report offers a number of baseline security measures for the protection of information:1. Background Screening – the primary threat to sensitive information comes from within.
2. Employee Awareness Training – Many agents obtain valuable proprietary data simply by asking!
3. Information Security Policy – Access to confidential information should be on a need-to-know basis. PCs containing top secret information need to be stand-alone, not connected to the network.
4. Restricted Physical Access – Companies should limit employee access to sensitive areas of the facility.
5. Post-Employment Restrictions – As a precaution against unscrupulous competitors who may try to lure away key employees.
6. Proper Information Disposal – Comprehensive shredding policy to thwart bin raiders.
7. Password Protection on Computers – Even better, biometrics and encryption, since most passwords can be broken in under 24 hours.
8. Laptop Security – Organisations loosing laptops containing sensitive personal information may, in future, face criminal proceedings.
9. Malware Protection – This is not just an issue of viruses taking down your system. Some Trojan Horse programmes can sniff out passwords and send them to would-be blackmailers and extortionists. Think of the liability issues if it happened to you!
10. Network Filtering – Content filters, to help prevent the transmission of confidential information.
For more information on Information Security training and consultancy contact David.
