Data Security

Procedures to protect data

First, know the value of your data

Know the threats your data faces and what you can do about them

• Viruses
• Hackers
• Equipment failure
• Fire
• Incompetent or disgruntled employees
• Falling elephants

Prevent Negligent data loss

• Staff need training to avoid errors that could damage or lose data
• Don’t give everyone access to all data – the “need to know” principle means that only the people who need access to certain data are given access to it. This helps prevent fraud and accidental data loss by incompetent people playing around where they shouldn't be.
  

Prevent Accidental data loss

• Protect the premises against fire
• Use reliable hardware to minimise risk of failure
• Use redundancy e.g. RAID 5, disk mirroring
  

Prevent Deliberate data loss

• Use passwords (but don't believe they're foolproof security by themselves!)
• Use biometric identification
• Use firewalls and encryption to deter hackers or spies
• Don’t let disgruntled employees near data
• Keep virus & trojan scanners current - and actually have them running!
• Use physical security such as lock and key, security passes
  

Be able to recover from data loss

• Set up and rigidly follow a backup scheme, e.g. Grandfather-Father-Son, Tower of Hanoi
• Use good backup equipment and quality backup media.
• Store backups off site
• Do a test restore so you know backups are valid
• Have a valid and tested data disaster recovery plan

Also read up on NETWORK SECURITY

ARTICLES

Uh, Folks, Your Data Was Swiped 

04:53 PM May. 23, 2005 PT

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- More than 100,000 customers of Wachovia and Bank of America have been notified that their financial records may have been stolen by bank employees and sold to collection agencies. In all, nearly 700,000 customers of four banks may be affected, according to police in Hackensack, New Jersey, where the investigation was centered.... Read more at http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,67616,00.html

Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,67613,00.html

10:40 AM May. 23, 2005 PT

A laptop computer containing the names and Social Security numbers of about 16,500 current and former employees of MCI was stolen last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The computer was stolen from a car that was parked in the garage at the home of an MCI financial analyst in Colorado, the report said.

The long-distance carrier said there was no indication so far that any information has been sold or used for identity theft. The company also said that it notified local law-enforcement immediately and has sent letters to all the people whose information was on the stolen computer.