Want to improve data management? Quit smoking
The ever-present risks of data loss through criminal activity, human error, software or hardware failure means any time is a good time to review your business’s data management processes...
Security software and data recovery specialist Kroll Ontrack has produced an entertaining, yet practical, “mid-year barometer checklist” aimed at encouraging organisations to bring their data protection protocols up to speed.
Here’s the list:
Quit Smoking – If a hard drive is producing a strange noise, grinding sound or even physically smoking, turn off your computer immediately and call an expert. Further operation may damage the hard drive beyond repair.
Get Organised, Carefully – Ontrack says one client tidied up his computer folders and inadvertently deleted the ones he meant to keep. He then cleaned his system, emptied the recycle bin and defragged the hard drive before realising his error.
Secure Back-up Tapes – To increase security, back-up tapes may be encrypted, so if the tape is lost, sensitive information will still be protected.
Location, Location, Location – Know where your important customer data resides. Every company should engage in data flow mapping, which provides an objective basis for company managers to track information and understand who will have access to data. Show Me The Evidence – Ensure that you collect evidence when there is any sense of a potential business risk arising. Failure to collect evidence in a forensically sound manner can make it impossible to pursue criminal charges or to seek virtual restitution.
Testing Times – Recognise the risks of wireless data transmission by regularly testing to ensure that no one is running a rogue network, and that authorised wireless networks are properly protected.
Minimise Your Data Footprint – A company should only retain data that can be linked to a specific requirement of a necessary business process or obligation. Also, reduce the number of places data is stored.
Reduce Stress – According to Ontrack research, 20 percent of us will panic when we realise we’ve lost data. Their advice: having an established relationship with a data recovery company can help reduce your stress levels during data loss situations.
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