The times they are a-changin'

Today, we are at a point in the technological evolution of encryption that is unparalleled. In the past, encryption was relegated to only government or military organizations due to the cost and expertise involved in the encryption/decryption process. However, now we are seeing the most advanced encryption technology available being used by consumers on a global scale.

This could not have come at a better time.

Nowhere in our past histories has so much information been so readily available to all that would look for it. And now the problem is becoming apparent that in a number of circumstances, data is too readily available and does not go far enough to insure that proper authorization is given before access is permitted. The pendulum has swung to the other side and organizations find themselves scrambling to reign in the generous amounts of access that once existed.

As different organizations have responded to the clamor of their personnel for the ability to have more access to more data, more of the time, the checks and balances responsible for insuring that prudent measures are in place for these actions have become skewed.

Enter mass data encryption.

It has now become a race by organizations to collectively attempt to plug the multitude of vectors for data loss that have sprung up due to all of this unfettered access that has been permitted. Daily we see the reports in blogs, online articles, newspapers, and even the evening news, where this organization or that organization has lost thousands or millions of pieces of their customer’s data. The ensuing fallout results in financial loss, name-brand disintegration, and loss of personnel. Additional measures by our state and federal governments are insuring stiffer penalties in the future for organizations who fail to protect the data of their customers and users.

However, encryption can provide a means to stem the flow of data exiting these organizations. Simply by deploying full disk encryption, a wide swath of potential data loss can be prevented, rapidly and with little or no interference to your current business processes. Additional measures to shore up the protection of removable media devices, e-mail, tape backup storage, network shares, and individual files and folders can allow any organization the ability to rest easier at night.

Taken as a holistic approach, users can have access to data when and where they want without compromising the integrity of an organization’s security policies. Through a phased approach of technology and education, each organization can insure that they are giving their customers an adequate level of protection against the accidental or malicious misuse of their data.

Michael Mongold