Reduce uncertainty in staff security risk

The main threat to data security is the danger posed by disgruntled employees, argues Paul Evans

Employees at many office-bound companies expect more or less seamless access to documents and files on and off the company network and on mobiles or tablets, and don't demonstrate much concern for the security risks.

The increasing popularity of mobile devices as well as company-wide BYOD poses many opportunities, but also risks, if not carefully managed.

Many work devices are lost or stolen. This presents challenges to managers wishing to maintain a work environment that is rich in features and accessibility yet is not detrimental to security.

Only a fraction of stolen devices are ever recovered, so the potential for data loss is huge. The majority of work-related electronic devices contain sensitive or confidential information, but how many can be traced or wiped remotely in the event of loss or theft?

A common approach to data management is arduous and ultimately counterproductive: trying to lock down the corporate network and mobile devices in order to limit and control employees' use of the many cloud services available today.

While this often has a limited degree of success in ensuring that employees don't use consumer cloud services on the corporate network, it is far from effective.

Use services that address data management and leakage issues while allowing administrators to provide user-friendly remote and mobile access and file sync and share functionality.

Resellers should consider secure, scaleable services that enable the same access and productivity as their unsecure consumer-focused counterparts without detrimentally affecting security.

Appropriate services eliminate risk through features such as remote data wipe. Once a device has been reported lost or stolen, IT staff can go to a cloud portal and wipe any confidential information, reducing the risk of business data being misappropriated.

Additional features such as two-factor authentication, device trace, and high-level encryption provide further protection against data leakage and theft.

Having this level of control and management in place will ultimately allow IT managers to sleep more soundly, safe in the knowledge that data is more secure and easily managed through an intuitive web interface.

At the same time, it will prevent employees having to resort to using consumer cloud storage services to access their files remotely and share files with other parties – making everyone a winner.

Paul Evans is co-founder and managing director of Redstor