The Information Security Forum (ISF) has outlined the challenging new world in which data protection must function as part of a study which identified that end user environments are becoming ever more labyrinthine and disparate.
Although there is a general move towards greater understanding of technology amidst staff within both the public and private sectors, the ISF believes that there is still no base standard by which actions can be measured and thus it can be difficult to account for all eventualities in a given security system.
The ISF believes that the only way in which to tackle the issue is to give employees a greater sense of responsibility over any data which comes into their care, which should help to keep private information and intellectual property secure and uncompromised by data loss.
The management of data security within a given business can often encompass multiple platforms and dramatically different operational environments and the risks need to be thoroughly examined.
The ISF points to the increasing prevalence of smartpones and PDAs which are issued by businesses or used as the personal property of employees to access business networks. It believes that the distinction between private and corporate data is become less clear and that this is leading to serious data protection issues.
The ISF’s Mark Chaplin said that security was being weakened because of devices which combine connectivity with computing for business and personal use, with social networking sites, the cause of greatest concern for most IT professionals charged with protecting data.
Mr Chaplin said it was far too easy for employees to distribute private data via such devices in a way that can prove damaging to the business as a whole.
Mr Chaplin believes that the only way to confront this issue is to broaden the horizon of data security and consider all eventualities across the multiple platforms that have access to information.
Businesses should thus take a positive approach to data security which involves education and training as well as innovation, according to the ISF.
