RenovoData Remote Backup Solutions Articles

Rising government mandates and intellectual property (IP) protection are the major driving forces of the high standards revolving around data loss prevention.  In today’s vulnerable economy, spending priority should be around enhanced data security.  Increased regulatory compliance requirements, layoffs and job insecurity have intensified concerns about employees sabotaging or running away with sensitive business information.

Most organizations fall under one or more state, federal or international regulatory mandates.  Compliance standards such as those within the Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLB) and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) are requiring corporations to take measures to safeguard private and personally-identifiable information.  There are currently thirty-five states within the U.S. which mandate companies attacked by data loss to notify individuals in the event that their personally identifiable information is breached.  

Data loss prevention is not only of significant interest to health care and financial industries, but also for nearly all companies that conduct business worldwide.  Organizations face several obstacles that make it difficult for them to maintain regulatory compliance.  Mistakes such as sending an email which contains unencrypted credit card data, or distributing a report revealing employee or patient medical information with an unauthorized person can be considered regulatory violations.

A down economy generates a more competitive business environment, making IP protection detrimental for all companies.  This is one of the most important assets belonging to any business and serves as a key motivating factor for data loss prevention efforts.  With there being so many forms of documented data that could be considered a trade secret (such as data pricing, marketing strategy plans and customer information), company insiders may not be fully aware they are handling IP.  It is therefore the company’s responsibility to take the necessary steps to protect critical IP.  This begins with an effective data protection and disaster recovery plan.

Fact:  U.S. businesses are losing approximately $250 billion annually from trade secret theft (United States Trade Representative).