Serial: Security mistakes which will cost your company a lot, part II

We are introducing the second chapter of a serial about mistakes which can deprive you of confidential data and cause you a financial loss, no matter if you are a sole trader, small company or a large corporation.

2.  Manager: Our employees do not steal or cheat and behave securely

Do you have reliable and loyal people around you? Due to the crisis, many companies must dismiss even long-term employees. These often defend themselves by copying key data and using them to blackmail current management or imrpoving their chances with new employers. The effort to get a job and secure the family often precedes moral principles.

It is not always bad intention which is a threat of corporate data – the laptop can be stolen from your employees or they can also leave it somewhere. The data stored on the laptop is often more valuable than the computer itself.

In a corporate environment it is more important than anywhere else to follow the saying “trust but verify”. The computer will not change its mind about cooperation over night. However, the employee can. Therefore, it is appropriate to monitor the employees’ work with sensitive information.

3. I have perfect knowledge of the corporate data flow

The data flow monitoring is usually the last thing to be thought about, especially in small and beginning companies. It is often supposed that the leading worker has the knowledge of everything his subordinates do. In time of the Internet, e-mails and fast communication it is impossible to personally control all staff activities. The employees can use the freedom not only for fun Web surfing and watching videos but also for copying important information on portable media or sending data by e-mail straight from the computer in a corporate office.

With all the modern technologies around us it is impossible for humans to watch even a few employees’ work without a monitoring system which provides synoptic statistics and allows easy search for demanded information.