Data risk is mainly a corporate concern
By Paul Smithson
30/08/2011
A senior police officer has told businesses that the data security threat is a greater concern for firms than for individuals.
Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Adrian Leppard, City of London police commissioner, noted that personal information is a tradeable commodity that professionals in charge of remote IT support software must work hard to guard.
He pointed out that there are a lot of individuals who will shred their utility bills and keep passwords and pin numbers safe, but this will count for nothing if the companies they deal with do not maintain this attitude of caution.
Leppard said: "The financial losses and reputational damage inflicted on businesses from a data breach will always outstrip the cost of putting in place security systems that can keep the criminal at bay."
In his opinion, it is vital that firms take a proactive approach to protect their data, rather than respond to a threat after it has occurred. The policeman suggested organisations could learn a lot from the recent breach at Sony, which saw the corporation's reputation take a huge hit.
They may take a leaf out of Facebook's book in fact, as the social networking site employs a novel approach to defending its systems from security issues - hiring hackers to identify exploitable flaws, reported PC World.
The company has been running the initiative for three weeks and has described it as a success.
