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October 28 2013

How to Stop the In-House Data Thief

The highly networked computer technology that has made companies more efficient has also left them more vulnerable to threats from insiders intent on stealing information or sabotaging a company's operations. Companies looking to protect themselves from in-house data theft can undertake a number of preventive measures. According to Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute, about half of the companies surveyed each year since 2004 said they had experienced at least one in-house breach in the previous year. These breaches are further complicated by cloud storage, which may allow insiders to steal larger amounts of information at a time. To mitigate these risks, companies must implement layered protections. The first of these layers should focus on identifying and limiting access to the data and systems that are most vulnerable. Even system administrators do not need to have full access to all systems. Companies can also rely upon a variety of data-loss prevention technologies that can perform functions such as preventing employees from copying files to flash drives and other types of portable storage media. Network monitoring is also necessary, as this allows companies to quickly flag any suspicious activity and conduct a thorough investigation to minimize any damage.