Abstract
Security is a major issue in the corporate world. Confidentiality ranges from employee information to competitive strategies. Private information about customers, clients, employees, and management is highly sensitive information that should be safeguarded. Being an IT manager, various actions can be taken to achieve this objective. Primarily, computer hacking is done via the internet. As such, having multiple firewalls and a highly specialized IT team can help minimize data loss. Secondly, creating a culture of confidentiality can also improve the security of data. Employees can also contribute to improving security by taking minor measures such as shredding documents before disposal and subscribing to organization loyalty. Hence, having smart people work in the IT department can also lead to the development of other IT solutions that would come in handy when increasing efficiency. Data encryption is an equally viable approach that will be discussed in this paper. Secrecy is the key to business success and change and thus, must be enforced at all times.
Confidentiality in any given organization is a major issue that has been largely ignored and overlooked. In fact, organizations have slowly developed strategies to combat privacy breaches but in time, some issues have been noted to be largely affecting these individuals. There are numerous issues that have arisen due to the increase in the cases of theft and data loss, which are rather interconnected with the use of the internet (Busser, 2009). As a new data manager, there are several initiatives that can be taken. Primarily, my main goal is to ensure that security is upheld at all levels of the organization.
One of the main approaches to handling security is to ensure that the organization is performing at peak conditions at all given times. The internet has become a necessity and thus having high-speed internet connectivity is vital for organizational success. Additionally, there are several other measures that can be taken to ensure that the organization is secure and yet performing at high-speed internet rates. Arguably, one of the main approaches that can be adopted is to ensure that there is adequate firewall protection at all times and all costs (Gutwirth, Leenes & Hert, 2015). Having an adequate and reliable firewall is one of the main ways to ensure that data is protected at all times.
Many strategies can be adopted to ensure that data protection is maintained and enforced at all levels of the organization. Primarily, one of the key ways to ensure that this is achieved is by hiring some of the smartest IT specialists to facilitate the protection of the firewall and to diffuse any attempts at hijacking the system. Arguably, this approach also helps to ensure that the organization is performing at its peak since the specialists can establish better ways to protect data. Having smart people work in the IT department can also lead to the development of other IT solutions that would come in handy when increasing efficiency, accessibility, security and profitability of the organization.
Privacy of the employee, customer, business and management data is vital for organization survival and thriving. Some measures can be taken by every member of the organization to protect data. Evidently, using password protected or encrypted files for highly confidential information is vital. Encryption would help reduce the cases of privacy violation and also develop sound solutions to the organization’s current data management problems. Secondly, passing a shred-before-you-dispose is one of the other ways through which each employee can actively participate in increasing security within the organization (Krizsán, 2001). Likewise, shredding documents before disposal also facilitates the protection of confidential information pertaining management strategies and employee information.
Appendix
Ideal Firewall Setting
Source: Insights on Governance, Risk and Compliance. (2016). http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY_Data_Loss_Prevention/$FILE/EY_Data_Loss_Prevention.pdf
References
Busser, E. (2009). Data Protection in EU and US Criminal Cooperation: A Substantive Law Approach to the EU Internal and Transatlantic Cooperation in Criminal Matters between Judicial and Law Enforcement Authorities. Antwerpen: Maklu Publishers.
Gutwirth, S., Leenes, R., & Paul, H. (2015). Reforming European Data Protection Law. Dordrecht: Springer.
Gutwirth, S. (2012). European Data Protection: In Good Health? Dordrecht: Springer.
Insights on governance, risk and compliance. (October 2011). Data loss prevention: Keeping your sensitive data out of the public domain. Retrieved from http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY_Data_Loss_Prevention/$FILE/EY_Data_Loss_Prevention.pdf
Krizsán, A. (2001). Ethnic Monitoring and Data Protection: The European Context. Budapest: Central European Univ. Press.
