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World Cup threat to UK businesses’ data security

A leading Yorkshire data destruction expert has warned bosses of the risks their businesses face if they have employees travelling to Brazil for the World Cup.

Figures released by the Brazilian police show that mobile phone robberies in Rio have increased 121 percent in the last year, which according to Julie Pickersgill, operations director for Harrogate-based data destruction expert Advanced Digital Dynamics (ADD), is bad news for UK businesses.

With up to 10,000 England fans expected to arrive in Brazil during the course of the tournament, Julie says that many fans will have business contacts stored on their phones - and bosses are likely to be oblivious to the security risks that presents.

“Most football fans will be well aware of the potential dangers of travelling to one of the most dangerous countries in the world and follow Foreign Office advice to hand over their phones and other valuables if confronted by attackers,” says Julie.

“However, the biggest mistake we make is that we look upon smart phones simply as a telephone, when really they are small computers and should be handled as such. Combine this with the fact that often people don’t understand that names, email addresses and telephone numbers are personal data, and you have a recipe for disaster if that data is stolen, goes missing or isn’t destroyed properly.

“The majority of people don’t realise that data can only be destroyed fully by using specialist software approved by the government’s own information security arm. It’s not simply a question of deleting all your contacts and text messages. At ADD we use military grade software to wipe data from all hardware, including phones and tablets.”

As mobile technology become ever more sophisticated, losing a phone or tablet or failing to erase data from an old device, can have long lasting and far reaching consequences – including damage to corporate reputations and hefty fines for data protection breaches.

Julie advises employers and staff to follow take three simple steps to minimise the risks of mobile security breaches if their phones are lost or stolen:

• Set a security password on the device and on the SIM
• Back up your data regularly, so that if you do lose your mobile device, you haven’t lost all your data
• Ensure that robust workplace policies cover both the security of organisation-owned devices and private ones where the user wants access to their work email and calendar.

ADD Ltd provides independent business IT solutions in hardware and software, as well as safe onsite data destruction, lifecycle asset management and disaster recovery. Clients comprise small to medium sized businesses as well as global blue chip companies, NHS Trusts, local authorities and police forces throughout the UK.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Advanced Digital Dynamics (ADD) Limited .