How to Ensure Your Business’s Data Is Secure
Keeping data and messages away from prying eyes is a key concern of businesses today. There are so many risks of message interception and the loss of privacy that Chief Information Officers are spending a considerable amount of their day working directly on these issues.
Let’s look at some ways to improve overall data security in business.
Secure Messaging
The need for HIPAA compliant texting solutions in the medical profession is clear. Patient-facing medical staff need to be able to communicate directly with each other, and sometimes with patients too, without needing to rely on insecure communications technology to do so. The requirements of HIPAA are such that messages much be secure because health information cannot be released directly, even if done accidentally or sent out insecurely.
When patient records are transmitted from one network to another, it must be done using encrypted packets that cannot be accessed even if one or more of the data packets were to be intercepted. In terms of secure messaging, end-to-end encryption technology systems must be employed to prevent the messages being read, even if they get intercepted by a third-party. Only this way can patient and medical staff communicationsbe done safely while meeting necessary standards too.
HIPAA-complaint Cloud Storage
The advent of HIPAA-compliant private and public cloud storage has been growing in interest over the last couple of years, as more companies see the benefit. Concerns about online security with the sheer number of data leaks from major companies hitting the headlines have caused an extreme focus on the security aspect of using the cloud, and not just its vast data storage capacities or low pricing.
While HIPAA technically relates to the healthcare field, other industries are seeing the benefit of using cloud storage that qualifies in this way. Dropbox, Box, Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive all have cloud accounts that conform to HIPAA. However, be aware that just using a HIPAA-qualifying cloud storage doesn’t mean the rest of your organization is HIPAA. Internal policies and actions must change to achieve that.
Consider Human Security Risk Too
In terms of human security risk, it depends how far you wish to take that. Data can be copied onto a USB flash drive and taken outside of the organization unless a hardware USB lock and internal software measures are taken to block it. Private documents can be opened and an HD photo taken quickly with a smartphone when no one is looking. Done often enough by an employee allowed to stay late unattended and it’s possible for someone to copy many documents page-by-page and remove them.
Data riskscome in many different forms these days. It’s useful to think outside the box when considering how to keep information safe because it can be compromised in many different ways using clever technology and old school methods too.
Data security is on the minds of many higher-ups in important corporations where proprietary technology and corporate secrets matter. Whether trying to keep the formula for Coca-Cola away from competitors’ eyes or avoiding leaks about new products coming down the pipe, information and data protection are two areas that need a greater focus to get right.
