The number of data theft cases heard in the High Court has sharply increased, according to UK law firm EMW. It seems that this is due to the availability of cloud storage, in addition to an increase in people working remotely for companies, away from the office. Between 2011 and 2012, there was a huge 58% increase in the number of such cases heard in the High Court, rising from 106 to 167 respectively.
It has been suggested that there was a 250% increase when compared to 2010 (45 cases), but this was somewhat of an anomaly, having decreased from 95 cases in 2009. In recent years however, there has be a definite increase, which is bad news for businesses in a variety of ways. Most cases heard by the High Court were civil, taken out by companies against former employees who had stolen company data.
Such cases have average legal costs of lb30,000 according to reports, without taking into account the value of the data. It's difficult to price this, as it can have both financial and other implications. It's also almost impossible to get back once taken from the company network.
A major issue has been cited as cloud storage services, for example Dropbox. Such services make it easy for huge amounts of data to be stored or transferred very rapidly, and without any technical expertise. Another factor is the ever increasing number of people working out of the office, or remotely, meaning employees are often more freely able to access and steal data.
Our data thieving hero in the movies would be impatiently waiting for the download of information to his hard disk to complete, whilst his boss' footsteps got louder and louder as he was on the verge of being caught. It's much easier in reality however, with the perpetrator able to download and share data easily from the comfort of their own home, whilst sitting comfortably watching TV in their chair.
The best way to monitor such breaches is through data leak protection (DLP) systems, in addition to restricting the employees able to access data, either in or out of the office. These systems can monitor even small fragments of data being transferred, as well as file systems, individual files and their movement across pre-defined boundaries. DLP also allows businesses to change such boundaries, making it much more of a challenge for employees to take data. Preventing the use of devices such as USB drives or DVD burners, and filtering web access to cloud storage services, may also help a great deal.
Whether these increased figures are due to a failure to implement such measures, or indeed an increase in their effectiveness, thereby catching more people in the process, is unclear. Theft of data, however, remains a significant issue for businesses, which needs addressing.
Company data needs careful protection and monitoring; keeping employees happy is one way to help. However, data theft penalties are seemingly not as effective as they could be at deterring such activities amongst employees.
It has been suggested that there was a 250% increase when compared to 2010 (45 cases), but this was somewhat of an anomaly, having decreased from 95 cases in 2009. In recent years however, there has be a definite increase, which is bad news for businesses in a variety of ways. Most cases heard by the High Court were civil, taken out by companies against former employees who had stolen company data.
Such cases have average legal costs of lb30,000 according to reports, without taking into account the value of the data. It's difficult to price this, as it can have both financial and other implications. It's also almost impossible to get back once taken from the company network.
A major issue has been cited as cloud storage services, for example Dropbox. Such services make it easy for huge amounts of data to be stored or transferred very rapidly, and without any technical expertise. Another factor is the ever increasing number of people working out of the office, or remotely, meaning employees are often more freely able to access and steal data.
Our data thieving hero in the movies would be impatiently waiting for the download of information to his hard disk to complete, whilst his boss' footsteps got louder and louder as he was on the verge of being caught. It's much easier in reality however, with the perpetrator able to download and share data easily from the comfort of their own home, whilst sitting comfortably watching TV in their chair.
The best way to monitor such breaches is through data leak protection (DLP) systems, in addition to restricting the employees able to access data, either in or out of the office. These systems can monitor even small fragments of data being transferred, as well as file systems, individual files and their movement across pre-defined boundaries. DLP also allows businesses to change such boundaries, making it much more of a challenge for employees to take data. Preventing the use of devices such as USB drives or DVD burners, and filtering web access to cloud storage services, may also help a great deal.
Whether these increased figures are due to a failure to implement such measures, or indeed an increase in their effectiveness, thereby catching more people in the process, is unclear. Theft of data, however, remains a significant issue for businesses, which needs addressing.
Company data needs careful protection and monitoring; keeping employees happy is one way to help. However, data theft penalties are seemingly not as effective as they could be at deterring such activities amongst employees.
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