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Data loss incident highlights importance of good security measures

Data protection has been highlighted again after a company had a laptop with sensitive information stolen.

There has been a raft of data loss incidents lately, with many of them seeming to occur in local government departments that allow staff to carry information around with them.

However, one of the most recent shows that any sector can be affected – and that business owners need to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances by implementing good security measures.

Mining group Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) said it may have lost some internal data after falling victim to a laptop theft.

The London-based producer of minerals said: "The first incident relates to the theft of a laptop during a domestic burglary, while the second incident relates to an intrusion into the group’s electronic systems by a third party."

It suggests the thieves may have used the hardware they stole in the burglary to access company information within its electronic systems.

The Information Commissioner has been notified about the data protection breach and affected staff were given guidelines on how to manage it.

The news comes after Sony’s VAIO Digital Business report said Britain is facing a ticking timebomb of data loss as more people take computers and memory sticks home with them.

One in four firms admitted they had had a laptop stolen or lost within the past 12 months, but only 28 per cent could say they had anti-theft security features installed as standard.

Trains were the most common places to lose laptops, meaning that information could very quickly get into the wrong hands.

Meanwhile, KPMG recently discovered that more than a billion people have been affected by data loss incidents in the past five years. It urged employers to be "committed to continuous improvement and adaptation" when it comes to protecting their information, something ENRC may now belatedly be looking into.

However, you can shut the stable door before the horse bolts by contacting Dajon Data Management. We will carry out a tailored assessment of company security requirements and then quickly implement them. Solutions include document scanning so that confidential paperwork can be kept in the cloud rather than on employees’ individual laptops.