Kroll Ontrack Urges Mgt Review

MINNEAPOLIS -- Each year, millions of people make new years resolutions on how they would like to manage their data, from the memorable family photograph to the legally sensitive document, but few take stock mid-year to track their progress. At the same time, according to statistics from Kroll Ontrack®, the leading provider of data recovery and legal technologies products, almost 90 percent of data loss occurs due to human error, software failures, or mechanical failure.

To help businesses take stock, Kroll Ontrack has launched a mid-year barometer checklist, enabling managers to breathe new life into long forgotten aspirations. The six point list advises the following:

Minimize 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. If there is no legitimate business need, companies should limit the number of electronic and hard-copy locations in which data is maintained. Re-evaluate data minimization before the end-of-the-year and use both internal audit and specialist external resources for this process.

Testing Times. Recognize the risks of wireless data transmission by regularly testing to ensure that no one is running a rogue network, and that authorized wireless networks are properly protected.

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. But there’s more that can be done to protect back-up files and other data in transit. Implementing exceptional security practices within an organization means that shipping or off-site storage must be held to the same high-level security and operational standards to which the organization holds itself. In some cases, corporate security, internal audit specialists or an independent third party can help by providing an assessment of the vendor’s physical and operational security practices.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 the data. The point is to create a “trail,” so that data doesn’t just proliferate randomly in different electronic nooks and corners of the company, where it can be accessed or stumbled upon by an opportunistic employee, contractor, freelancer or hacker.

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. Having qualified computer forensic resources, either in-house or readily on call, should be a part of every company’s plan.

Reduce Stress. According to a recent global data loss research study conducted by Ontrack, 20 percent of the respondents will panic when they realize they have lost data. Having an established relationship with a data recovery company can help reduce your stress levels during data loss situations.

Kroll Ontrack Inc.