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When large companies and organizations run inventory checks of their electronic devices, managers often end up scratching their heads. How can it be that – like in the song – suddenly only 90 company laptops can be located instead of the original 100? Theft or absentminded employees are just two of a number of possible explanations. Over time, companies can lose track of mobile devices in the everyday “chaos” of the enterprise. If a device changes department, location, or user – and this might happen several times in the span of just a few months – it is often subsequently listed as “missing.” The danger is that confidential data on those devices can get into unauthorized hands and be sold to third parties or exploited for someone’s own ends.
Protect your data as a security precaution
Losing data is every company’s worst-case scenario. To prevent it from happening, devices at risk and critical documents should be protected right from the start. Professional encryption solutions protect data with a security shield to stop people from accessing data that they’re not supposed to. Inventory management solutions can help keep track of everything, and introducing company-wide security policies make employees aware of possible security threats. Doing this not only protects confidential data, but also prevents having surprising numbers of devices disappear.
Increasing numbers of security breaches and “missing” equipment
In a recent U.S. study, the Ponemon Institute found that the number of incidents of data security breaches had increased by more than 30 percent in 2005. The study reported that more than 90 percent of these incidents were a result of the loss or theft of digital information. And there was another bitter pill for the companies concerned to swallow. When the data abuse became public knowledge, 60 percent of all their customers either terminated their contracts or at least considered doing so.
When the U.S. Department of Trade announced in the spring of 2006 that it had lost 1,137 laptops in the past few years, there was a big outcry in the media. An especially embarrassing aspect was that 249 of these devices carried personal data about U.S. citizens who hadn’t been notified. Until the story came out, the Department of Trade wasn’t even aware that so many computers were missing. If the data on those laptops had been encrypted, a lot of trouble and anxiety would have been averted.
Encryption means no more worries about mislaid data
The larger the company, the harder it is to trace where mobile devices currently are. Sometimes it’s only a case of laptops, PDAs, or USB sticks moving to a different floor in the same building, but when entire departments move, it can mean a new site or even a different country. Inventory management solutions can help track where devices are and which devices are no longer in use. And even though the hard drives on retired equipment can be overwritten several times to protect confidential documents, or the special deletion software now available to prevent data from being reconstructed can be run on the devices, neither of these approaches can guarantee 100 percent security. However, if the devices had already been equipped with encryption protection, the disposal wouldn’t require any extra effort or expenditure. Disposal costs would be reduced, as would the worry that data could inadvertently end up in the public domain if there should be a lapse in security at the disposal company. Professional security software for mobile devices also ensures that a hard drive that has been removed from one computer cannot be read in another.
Tips for choosing an effective encryption solution
The best encryption software for mobile devices uses secure algorithms, such as the well-established AES algorithm. This algorithm also allows for installation at a later stage and can be used on several different operating systems. Additional criteria when selecting the software are low maintenance requirements, transparent and automatic operation, a high degree of stability, and a short test phase. The more thought a company puts into its security policy, the better and faster it will then be able to meet this list of requirements.
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