Workers should be aware of how to guard against information breaches
As technology has developed and the advantages of electronic storage have become clearer and more efficient, many British businesses have adopted systems to enhance their productivity and properly backup their records.
While the best methods of secure document storage are integral to providing a means for the effective organisation of files, the security of the data is also particularly important to facilitating continuity and preventing potential breaches.
And considering that information can be compromised by irresponsible or uneducated staff – as well as hackers and criminals – one expert believes employees should be properly trained on the necessity of efficient data security.
"Education is a big one – people don’t come with a firewall in-built, you need to educate them because you can’t control a person like you can control an antivirus program," said Graeme Batsman, director of Data Defender.
As such, making sure workers are fully aware of the measures that need to be taken to ensure information remains confidential could prove vital to restricting any losses of important data.
Given that many people use USB keys to transfer their data between the office and the home, keeping files on these devices encrypted may prove just as imperative to data security as a firewall designed to protect a company’s network.
"There are so many different terminologies of what data security means, some people will say it means putting antivirus in, but in my view and others, it doesn’t.
"The main thing is thinking outside of the firewall and looking at encrypting most things around," Mr Batsman added.
If businesses continue to adopt electronic systems to support their networks and store their records, keeping these properly secure could be the key to a company’s working continuity in the future.
With various areas in which this can be implemented, educating employees appears to be one of the main ways in which the importance of defending against data breaches can be promoted to good effect and have a positive impact on business security.