The High Court has seen a significant increase in data theft cases being heard, according to UK law firm EMW. These cases tend to relate to information stolen from businesses by employees, and the availability of cloud storage is being blamed, together with the increasing number of people working remotely. Between 2011 and 2012, there was a huge 58% increase in the number of cases being heard relating to confidential data theft, increasing from 106 to 167 cases respectively.
Some reports highlight a huge 250% increase when compared to the 45 cases recorded in 2010, although this was misleading, as it was down on the 95 cases in 2009. It's clear that over the last few years there's been an overall increase; quite alarming news for many businesses. The majority of cases brought to the High Court were civil, by companies against former employees who had taken data, such as contact lists or financial information.
The average legal cost of such cases is lb30,000 according to reports, which doesn't factor in the value of any data stolen. This is difficult to value due to possible financial and business related costs of the data theft. In addition, data is almost impossible to retrieve or track once taken.
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.
The fantasy of the film world would have our data-thieving hero anxiously watching a progress bar on the computer screen before him, whilst listening to the footsteps of his adversary move ever closer. The reality, however, is far more stress-free for the perpetrator. Whilst comfortably sitting in their chair whilst watching television at home, he or she can copy or upload data with ease, with minimal risk of physical observation, at least.
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.
It could be that companies are failing to implement these measures, or that in fact, such measures are becoming more effective, catching more data thieves red handed. Theft of data, however, remains a big problem.
In short, data needs proper monitoring and protection, whether accessed in the office or remotely. Keeping employees happy may help, but data theft penalties don't always seem to work either.
Some reports highlight a huge 250% increase when compared to the 45 cases recorded in 2010, although this was misleading, as it was down on the 95 cases in 2009. It's clear that over the last few years there's been an overall increase; quite alarming news for many businesses. The majority of cases brought to the High Court were civil, by companies against former employees who had taken data, such as contact lists or financial information.
The average legal cost of such cases is lb30,000 according to reports, which doesn't factor in the value of any data stolen. This is difficult to value due to possible financial and business related costs of the data theft. In addition, data is almost impossible to retrieve or track once taken.
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.
The fantasy of the film world would have our data-thieving hero anxiously watching a progress bar on the computer screen before him, whilst listening to the footsteps of his adversary move ever closer. The reality, however, is far more stress-free for the perpetrator. Whilst comfortably sitting in their chair whilst watching television at home, he or she can copy or upload data with ease, with minimal risk of physical observation, at least.
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.
It could be that companies are failing to implement these measures, or that in fact, such measures are becoming more effective, catching more data thieves red handed. Theft of data, however, remains a big problem.
In short, data needs proper monitoring and protection, whether accessed in the office or remotely. Keeping employees happy may help, but data theft penalties don't always seem to work either.
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