Identity Theft Expert: 5 Ways To Stop Business Data Theft

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Do your employees have access to sensitive data?

Espionage countermeasures don’t need to be sophisticated or expensive to be effective. As Sileo points out, “Targeting these data theft hotspots is a savvy, incremental way to keep spies out of your profit margins.

Denver, CO (PRWEB) August 30, 2010

Business spies love data. Competitors hire discarded employees for thumb drives full of confidential files smuggled out of the office. Data thieves salivate over social networking profiles, which make it easy to manipulate people inside of the organization. Cyber thieves digitally monitor the wireless connection executives use at the airport to transmit intellectual capital, financial data and company passwords.

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, more than half a billion business records have been breached in the past five years. And that's only the breaches that are publicly reported, which are a fraction of the total.

Every business is under assault by forces that want to access valuable data: identity records, customer databases, employee files, intellectual property, and ultimately, company profitability. According to the Ponemon Institute, a privacy research firm, more than 80% of businesses surveyed have already experienced at least one breach (with an average recovery cost: $6.75 million) and don’t know how to stop a repeat performance. These are clear, profit-driven reasons that business must care about who controls their data.

According to Identity Theft Expert John Sileo, there are 5 Information Espionage Hotspots businesses must address right now:

Boring training. The average individual cares little about data security until they understand what it has to do with them on a personal level. Training employees to protect their own data first makes it easy and effective for them to apply what they have learned to the workplace. As demonstrated by Sileo in the embedded video, fraud training doesn't need to be boring and repetitive. The best education gets the audience involved so that they can personally experience the warning signs of fraud.

Misguided assumptions. The root cause of most data loss is not technology, but a human being who makes a costly miscalculation. Investing in technology without investing in education on proper usage is like installing an alarm system that never gets turned on. Proper training teaches staff and executives alike how to use technological tools to defend against hacking, phishing, social engineering, fraud, and manipulation.

Wireless surfing. The poorly encrypted wireless router in your office and the unprotected wireless connection you use to access the Internet while traveling are major root causes of data loss. Both connections are constantly monitored for unprotected data transmitted through the airwaves. Invest in security tools that protect the data on which most businesses depend, and in competent technicians that can properly install and maintain the technology.

Inside spies. Too much data theft ends up being an “inside job” where a dishonest employee moonlights by siphoning data out the door when no one is around. Smart background checks and simple human resource processes will discourage these thieves in their digital tracks. Employ a reputable background screening service and do the necessary homework before offering the job.

Mobile data. Almost half of all data breach originates with the loss of a laptop or mobile computing device (smart phone, thumb drive, etc.). Mobility, consequently, is a double-edged sword that must be sheathed before damage is irreparable. Making five or six adjustments to existing mobile data practices, some technology based, some policy based can minimize the risk before it walks out the door.

Espionage countermeasures don’t need to be sophisticated or expensive to be effective. As Sileo points out, “Targeting these data theft hotspots is a savvy, incremental way to keep spies out of your profit margins. But it won’t start working until you do.”

John Sileo speaks professionally on identity theft, data breach and social networking exposure and is the author of the newly released Privacy Means Profit. He will be making a guest appearance on Fox & Friends September 15th in New York City. His clients include the Department of Defense, the FDIC, FTC, Pfizer and the Federal Reserve Bank. Learn more about Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.

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