NEW DELHI, INDIA: Typically, information security related incidents that make news headlines are those of national importance, like cyber warfare, corporate espionage, etc. WikiLeaks is a classic example of this, which reveals just how serious can insider security threat really get.
Likewise, there are so many documented examples of information leakage in globally renowned enterprises. There's also an ample number of examples of malware programs being used to steal important information, intercept financial transactions, etc.
These are all interesting to read and gossip about, but what's really important is to realize that apart from these, there's also a plethora of instances of ordinary companies and individuals that have been the victims of information theft and mis-use.
Those are the incidents to really worry about, because you could very well be the next victim. Technologies and techniques have evolved to a level where critical data is taken away from right under your nose without your even realizing it. Here are five ways your data could be compromised:
1. The threat from within: Let's take the threat from your own employees for instance. How do you know that your most trusted employee is not secretly passing on business critical information to competition? You'll not realize until your business gets severely impacted, by when it'll be too late. We've quoted several examples of that in our article on "Dealing with data theft/siphoning in an organization", apart from the legal measures you can take of course.
2. Friend turns foe in social networking: The consequences of sharing your personal info on social networking sites is well known now and yet, people still share their personal information openly. But even by not sharing too much personal info, there's no guarantee that you're safe. For all you know, one of your close friends in your social networking circle ends up betraying you. It's a common cause of cyber stalking, which we've talked about it in "How I was Cyber-Stalked?".
3. Mobile users 'take' your data with them: What's even more worrying is that advancements in technology are making security breaches easier than ever before. It's not just USB drives and DVD writers you have to worry about. Those are old news. Now, employees carry all sorts of smartpones and tablets with them, and prefer to use them for both professional and personal work. There are so many ways these devices can be used to steal information, and we've talked about it in "10 Data Security Threats from Mobile Devices".
4. Consequences of Bring Your Own Device: This is another concept gaining popularity. Allowing employees to use their own devices for official work might improve their productivity, but it also increases the chances of important data moving out of the organization and mis-used. We've talked about this in "Security Implications of BYOD".
5. Cloudy consequences: Cloud computing might have helped take away the hassles of setting up your own hardware and managing it, but it could also take away your data. With so many free online office suites and online storage service providers out there, it's very easy to take out data under the garb of accessing it from anywhere.
Another key thing to mention here is the role of malware like viruses and trojans. Those are anyways there and continuously becoming more dangerous. They are constantly on the prowl across all channels, be it the Internet, your local network, or all your end-points.
In this story, we've talked about just how vulnerable you really are to information security threats and some of the ways you can use to safeguard your data from getting compromised.
Anil Chopra is Editor, PC Quest