August 14, 2013
The way we work has changed rapidly in the past few years. Laptops, tablets and smartphones have changed the way we work, allowing most employees to work remotely. These devices have created a cultural shift making it the norm for employees to work at all hours of the day from wherever they are. Unfortunately, this means that corporate data is being moved around more than ever before.
From the fragmentation of devices introduced into the corporate environment by BYOD and the desire of employees to make their work more productive, corporate data is being put at risk every day in a multitude of ways.
Dr. Guy Helmer, Assistant Vice President of Data Loss Prevention (DLP) at Absolute Software, recently detailed this struggle on Wired.com, noting that IT is often left supporting employee productivity (data access) before data security that often leaves corporate data at risk. "Even if IT has appropriate security measures in place – employees will find creative (and often non-compliant) ways to move data around."
DLP technology allows IT to follow the data, bringing the focus back to control of the data not the device (sound familiar?). DLP technology follows data on the move: via email, thumb drives, cloud storage and more. With options to send non-intrusive flags to IT or blocking of certain actions, DLP provides the level of control needed to secure corporate data.
Though traditional DLP technology was focused on data that is stored in servers, this is no longer relevant given employee mobility. DLP for the endpoint monitors data stored on devices both on or off the corporate network. Dr. Helmer outlines several considerations for protecting data in a mobile world including:
For more on these tips, including why choosing DLP software that is persistent, read the full article here.
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