Did you know that the biggest threat to your company data often comes from inside? Consider a disgruntled employee just (or about to be) laid off, or even dissatisfied about cut backs, deferred promotions and other realities of today’s tough economic times. While we sometimes want to believe “Not my employees,” the truth is that even an ethical and hardworking person can do extraordinary things when worrying about putting food on the table.
Some security breaches may seem innocuous to employees, such as copying customer data, account histories and contact information for future use at a competitor. More malicious attacks might sabotage systems or delete critical data at a date in the future.
The good news is that there are common sense things you can do to protect your corporate data, especially during layoffs:
First and foremost, make sure you have proper security programs and policies in place well before any layoffs, including antivirus tools, firewalls, and spam filters.
1. All companies should also have a secure identity and access management infrastructure (IAM). This is a system that essentially controls the Who, What, Where and When for user activities throughout your enterprise. IAM lets you wall off access to different parts of your system to secure data.
2. Delete employee login accounts immediately upon termination. So-called “orphan” accounts are a large part of the problem in stolen data or malicious attacks.
3. Record everything. Even if a breach takes place, if you have audit logs you can trace it back to the responsible party.
4. Hire an outside IT company that has no personal interest in layoffs.
Want help securing your company?
Contact us at DataSource Solutions. As a third-party, our job is to ensure the integrity and security of your company’s data. We can help you implement IAM infrastructure and prevent any hard feelings, even long after tough times are over.
For more information please email or call us at 310-464-3400
