Hardware loss is perhaps the biggest threat to corporate security as the loss of a notebook computer or storage device could effectively give a hacker full access to not only files contained within the device, but also possibly full unabridged access to the corporate network.

Today’s growing trend for home workers and road warriors is a concerning reality for most major organizations. The necessity for people to work flexibly means that adequate security policies are suffering, and as a direct result data theft and loss is on the rise.

Shockingly enough, the growth in the trend of data loss is not changing the way information is being stored. Whilst many companies have security policies that refer to remote access, these documents tend to be very vague and ambiguous when talking about file-storage and the transport of files to remote locations.

Hardware loss is a reality, and the risks can be mitigated by ensuring appropriate file and system security is used to ensure that should a system get into the hands of anyone other than intended, it will be unbootable and unrecoverable. This ensures that data theft is negligible and the only financial implications will be the cost in replacing the hardware.

Whilst it is not always this simple, the reality is that any sensitive data should always be encrypted to ensure that only those intended recipients have access to it. This extends to ensuring thumb drives, notebooks, and media such as CD and DVD’s are encrypted with appropriately secure algorithm.

One of the best-known encryption algorithms currently available is known as AES. This is an encryption technique, which is successfully managed by the military grade,  freely available  Gold Lock Desktop encryption suite. This all in one solution ensures that organizations can encrypt files and email transfer, ensuring that risk factors are mitigated and cost implications due to data loss or theft are negligible.

Wireless networks have popped up in every town, every city and almost every corporation. Our government relies on thousands of networks nation-wide due to their flexibility and ease of installation.

However, wireless networks are also a way for potential attackers to gain access to whole clusters of computers that are constantly transmitting sensitive data. All it takes is for an attacker to acquire a network key and they effectively have all that is required to destroy corporations and steal identities.

In general, the importance of wireless access key security is grossly under-estimated. Many home users have installed networks for their own convenience, only to find out that they have been cracked in seconds due to the much-flawed WEP security protocol.

This has allowed hackers to eavesdrop on all information that is being sent over the network from a nearby physical location in relative safety. This has allowed many “war-drivers” to effectively invade whole neighborhoods of wireless networks and take copies of potentially dangerous information.

In a corporate world, wireless networks are ordinarily secured to an extent where access is restricted to authorized computers only. This has done a great deal in limiting drive-by attackers from penetrating the network, but there is a great deal of negligence when it comes to ensuring that wireless network range is limited to specifically targeted areas. As a result, attackers can target even corporate wireless networks and in some cases, even the apparently strong security can be breached.

Wireless network encryption is only part of the issue as it is not a case of inadequate technology, but over-reliance on a single point of defense – i.e. wireless network keys. Any experienced security analyst will be the first one to advocate the use of multiple points of defense, from firewalls to intrusion detection systems and of course by using third party encryption products, such as the freely available Gold Lock Desktop.