If your company stores sensitive data about clients, customers or patients on removable media such as USB thumb drives, CD’s or DVD’s, protecting this sensitive information from being accessed by the wrong people is key to preventing a security breach within your organization.
CD's DVD's and USB sticks that contain sensitive information should always be encrypted.
In recent news, encryption could have been key to protecting information that was contained on a laptop and a USB stick that stored the medical records of 430 Vancouver General Hospital patients including their date of birth, medical diagnosis and their names.
The laptop and USB stick was entrusted to a medical student that was attending a conference in Toronto when they came up missing. To make matters worse, there was a 12 day delay in reporting the unaccounted for devices to the proper authorities.
This story is a timely reminder that the portable nature of USB thumb drives, CD’s and DVD’s makes encryption a “must have” for any business or organization that uses them for storing or sharing personally identifiable information such as social security numbers, payment information, patient data, medical history, student records, birthdates, or other sensitive information.
How does encryption work?
By adding a layer of protection using AES 256 bit encryption, it assures that unauthorized people are prevented from accessing key data stored on these types of hard media. This keeps your information safe, even if the USB drive, CD or DVD is lost or stolen, because the person that has physical ownership of the device(s) won’t have the proper credentials to access the files and data stored therein.
What other ways does encryption protect my business?
Losing critical information is problematic for any organization, so encrypting key information helps protect your business reputation by protecting information about your clients, staff, patients and others. Additionally, encryption helps avoid costly fines and penalties that could be levied against you in the event of a data breach as a result of an unsecured USB drive, CD or DVD being lost or stolen.
Security is key in 2011 and beyond - Encryption keeps your critical data safe at all times.
If you’d like to safeguard yourself against data breaches by way of physical media, we can help! Give us a call at 1-877-270-7753 or Request A Quote for Encryption services today. We’re always happy to help.
