Avoid business data disasters

Lose critical data in a fire, theft or IT failure and you’re in serious trouble. Here’s how you can avoid business data disasters. By David Aitken, managing director of Greenworld Electronics.

Take Personal Rsponsibility

• Take personal responsibility for addressing data security issues.

• As the company grows, ensure that data security remains a top level responsibility.

Companies of all Sizes

• Don’t think you’re too small to run the risk of a data disaster.

• The negative commercial impact of a data catastrophe on a start up could be more damaging to the future of that business than a public outcry affecting a High Street name.

• Don’t feel tempted to take shortcuts in data security, to save time or money as your business is still growing.

• The IT security protocol for your business needs to be fit for purpose.

The perils of ignoring disposal standards

• Whatever the size or nature of your company, its IT equipment needs to be disposed of to the specified security standards.

• Failure to do so has serious legal as well as commercial implications.

• Check out your obligations in the face of the recent WEEE and hazardous waste legislation.

• This applies to the environmentally sound disposal for all end-of-life electronic equipment, not just computers.

Addressing the basics

• Commonsense says we need to destroy data, but it’s astounding that old business computers can be found for sale on the net or at auction – complete with old data.

…. this is a commercial time-bomb waiting to go off!

Onsite vs Offsite

• It pays to invest in on-site data destruction, to strict government standards.

• Off site destruction runs a huge risk of data loss in transit.

Moving Data

• Once data is physically moved around, it is a potential risk. The level of security has to fit the value of the data being transited.

• Don’t move data from one location to another if it has to leave the organisation’s premises.

• On-site destruction of data is imperative before transiting, if the item is end of life, as the risk of loss in transit is too great.

• For internal transfer of data, use a proven, secure, internal IT network.

• Electronic transfer of data to an external network should be done via a proven, secure, encryption methodology.

• If it’s essential to physically transfer a data asset externally, then it’s important to encrypt the data and ensure appropriate security provision.

Methods of Data Destruction

• The actual method of data destruction is extremely important.

• Destroying data by crushing electronic equipment can still leave businesses exposed to fraud.

• An incredible 300 pages of potentially sensitive data can be retrieved from just one inch of hard drive.

• Commonly employed data removal techniques such as deleting or overwriting files, magnetising the hard drive, smashing the hard drive or drilling holes in it, will not destroy all data!

Corrupt Hard Disk Drive

• If the hard disk drive is corrupt, it will fail software based destruction techniques.

• In such cases there are only two formally recognised methods of data destruction:

Degaussing and Disintegration.

• GreenWorld provides both services on site for clients and uses unique, secure disk drive disintegrators that can reduce hard drives to components no bigger than 2mm, from which it is impossible to retrieve data.

Get Good Advice

• As with all areas of business it’s important to seek sound advice on data management, security and disposal cycle.

• Review your policies so that your systems remain fit for purpose…or it could have a devastating effect on your business.

www.greenworld.eu.com

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By David Aitken  on   Jul 01,2008

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Keywords

data managment    data disposal    business continuity    moving data   

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