WAYS TO PREVENT DATA LOSS, THEFT AND DATA LEAKAGE FROM YOUR LAPTOP AND OTHER PORTABLE DEVICES

In this digitalized age, where almost everything has been reduced to zeros and ones (0s & 1s), the success of all ventures largely depend on its ability to gather data and process such data into information that will be used to make calculated and informed economic decision. If multinationals can maintain their financials by simply dealing on information, then, information/data protection is worth every amount of resources invested into protecting them. Please do not mistake data and information for garbage.

Laptops and other portable devices has proved to be among the most vulnerable computer devices as far as data loss and data leakages are concern, protect them, you will be fine, lose control of them, you may be in for it. In this hub are 10 simple ways to prevent data theft, data loss and data leakage.

• Encrypting your data/ data encryption; encryption is the process of turning plaintext into cipher text. What this simply means is to code information or data in a form that cannot be understood by people without the right combination of information and tools to decode the encoded data. Decryption is the term used to describe the process of converting cipher-text into plaintext, i.e. converting a massage into its readable format. The field of cryptography is so complex that it can fill many volumes of encyclopedia; hence, I will not bother to go into a detailed discussion of cryptography. Buy this Amazon book titled; principles of information security, written by Michael and Herbert and move straight to chapter 8 of the book for a reasonable account of encryption and decryption. Or, you can buy the other books with specific titles
• Education; one best way of preventing data theft, data loss and data leakage is to constantly educate yourself on the latest tricks that data thieves came up with. Learn about social engineering as this is the most common method of compromising your data. Social engineering is the phrase used to explain the non-technical activities of scammers, hackers and other information and data thieves. Keep reading hubs like this and those you will find at the end of this hub to be constantly informed.

• Storing systems and other devices that contain data in room built with copper; storing your primary storage device in a room built with copper can help block sniffers that read information from your systems. It does not matter whether the system is on or off. These soft-wares collect information from our supposedly strong room. This also is an aspect of computer forensics that cannot possibly be covered well in a hub like this. So do yourself a favour by buying this Amazon book on the right of this section of this hub and get more about this subject matter.
• Scanning your system for malicious code; it is a crime to run a computer system without strong, updated security software. Always scan your systems (laptops, desktops, ipod, ipad, flash-drive etc) an antivirus, antispyware, anti-adware, anti-spamming, etc softwares. PLEASE NOTE THAT I SAID STRONG AND UPDATED SECURITY SOFTWARES. It will be a waste of time to install the most powerful security software on your system when they are in fact out of date. Malicious programmers work round the clock to make sure that your data are stolen, so you need to keep up with the beat.
• Being skeptical; be friend to all but trust none. Never trust an email simply because it claimed to be coming from a trusted source. Do your best to verify the source of every mail that comes your way.
• Physically safe guarding your systems; jealously guard your systems. Don’t allow people to easily access your computer systems; else, they may expose your data to unwanted dangers. Keep your valuable data under lock and keys at all times. Make sure that nobody is watching you while you are inputting your personal data into the system, these include; your password, PIN(personal identification number),etc
• Properly deleting your information/ data from your hard disc before disposing; a lot of people make the mistake of disposing off their used computer systems without properly deleting all the information in it. Is not enough to format your computer system, as there are softwares that can recover bit streams of information from a formatted hard-disc. Use some third party tools to completely delete information/ data from your computer.
• Taking advantage of security technology; technologies like: firewall, IDS, access control and other security tools should be utilized to the fullest. If working on a network, combing these tools with VPN (virtual private network) will be an added advantage.
• Proper human resource management and staff training; you will be wasting your time and that of those you are dealing with if you don’t train your staff to make the best use out of the available technologies. The best technology and equipment is as good as the person operating it. Train your staff well to get the best out of your quest to prevent data theft, data loss and data leakage.

Please note that the content of this article is not an all encompassing one. A continuous education is the key to preventing data theft, data loss and data leakage. This is necessary due to the fact that hackers, spammers and information thieves are always learning new technology and how to use them negatively. One way of keeping informed and updated is to buy these Amazon books sampled on the right side of this hub.

To the safety of your data and information!