Document Security - the protection of confidential information from intellectual property theft

The Austin Diagnostic Clinic case study Protection of confidential management documents using Lizard Safeguard PDF Security Summary The Austin Diagnostic Clinic need to make available management documents containing proprietary and/or confidential information to their physicians - who are the owners and managers of the Clinic. Physicians are not always able to attend management meetings - they have patients as their top priority, so there is a need to be able to share confidential information with physicians who are unable to attend meetings. The Austin Diagnostic Clinic purchased Lizard Safeguard PDF Security to provide their document security solution, allowing them to achieve their management requirement without compromise to security or healthcare regulations. "We would be happy to recommend LockLizard to any company needing a flexible way to secure PDF files. The support has been excellent and the customer service people very accommodating." The Problem Physicians, who face tremendous demands on their time, are obviously not always available to attend meetings. Patients must come first. Yet when the physicians are also the owners and managers, it is essential that they have access to key management documents giving them up to date management information about the overall practice, as well as their own area. Obviously such documents need to be delivered securely, because they may contain confidential and medically sensitive patient information, company information, and clinical data. The Austin Diagnostic Clinic's documents are created in different ways and are in different formats, including some from proprietary applications. This presented a major problem in identifying a generic document security solution. The most effective security approach they used for controlling access to and use of documents, prior to implementing Lizard Safeguard, was to restrict access to them using network access controls. However, a number of potential weaknesses were identified in this approach, and it was concluded that a more rigorous security solution had to be identified. The Austin Diagnostic Clinic also wanted to ensure that confidential and sensitive documents were only made accessible for a limited amount of time. This is a critical requirement when physicians are accessing clinical data, because of the need to be certain that only the very latest data are ever used. And lastly, the solution must be simple to use. Physicians focus on treating patients and won't waste their time solving minor IT problems (from their perspective).
© LockLizard Ltd 2007 The Austin Diagnostic Clinic case study - Lizard Safeguard PDF Document security Page 1 of 3 The approach A strategic decision was taken to convert all management documents to use the PDF format. This was decided in order to create a single document architecture for document security and management. This decision proved to be significant because it simplified the subsequent choice of infrastructure and approach, since they had only to apply one common architecture for format, delivery and security. The Austin Diagnostic Clinic then evaluated in detail several potential PDF security solutions providers that appeared to allow them to protect and distribute their confidential documents securely, before selecting Lizard Safeguard as their preferred solution. "We decided on LockLizard after our tests were successful and because the LockLizard sales staff were so quick to respond to our questions." Lizard Safeguard project implementation The Lizard Safeguard PDF Security solution proved to be readily acceptable in one of the most demanding of user environments. It proved to be quick to implement, since the Administration is already built, and there are no technical complexities for IT departments to resolve prior to going live. "The implementation was relatively painless, and even though installation of the client required administrative permissions, this was easily solved by using a remote installation program. We contacted technical support several times during the implementation phase and were very pleased by the speed with which they responded and their helpfulness. We have heard very little in the way of complaints, which in our environment we view as a ringing endorsement." Why they purchased Flexibility, ease of use, critical features, quick responses times and helpfulness of LockLizard staff. "Th... [download for more]