Protecting Your Intellectual Property
With technology exploding, still in its infancy and opportunities galore, where do you go and what do you do to protect your business’ intellectual property? You look to the inside threat first and then the outside threat. Yes, protecting your perimeter is very important and should not be overlooked. There are plenty of tools in which to stand guard.
Beware of the Inside Threat
However, the inside threat is where you need to focus. Seventy percent of all data theft and loss happens because of an internal source – your employees. We all protect ourselves well with VPNs, SSH and SFTP connections from the outside, but do we take the same approach/like approach when working within the LAN? Most businesses don’t and this is where the issues start. If there is an open door, someone is going to look in. If it’s forbidden (secured) to be viewed, someone’s going to get the itch and try and gain access. Don’t forget, just because an employee is not on the technology team doesn’t mean they don’t understand or better yet, have infinity when working with technology. Computer hobbyists can be very dangerous.
Secure Internal Connections
Secure your internal connections from management stations to firewalls and other servers. Use encryption software for your email, especially if you are an employee who frequently transmits sacred data. PGP or similar programs can do the trick here. Don’t forget to lock your server room when you or your fellow technologists are not working in the server room. Set timeout parameters for workstation locking after a few minutes. The list of actions you can take is endless, but you have to take them. And don’t forget to audit your systems. This can be the first indicator that something is going on.
