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IT Asset Decomissioning Policies: 7 Questions You Need to Ask

A decommissioning policy is important for many reasons. It helps you maintain compliance with local, state, and federal regulations. It creates an efficient process for your IT department, and most importantly it can save you from a costly data breach. Creating the policy can be difficult as there are many aspects that must be taken into consideration. Below are 7 things that should be considered when you are defining your company’s decommissioning policy:

The Cost of a Data Breach

A malicious attack (hacking, stealing, etc) can cost up to 25% more than a non-malicious attack. However, most data breaches occur due to the negligence from within the organization. This includes, the loss of a mobile device (cell phone, external hard drive), unsecured storage of retired computers, hard drives, and other data bearing devices. Here are a few examples of some recent data breaches that are a product of improper disposal and lost media devices.

Does Your Company Have the Same IT Security Lapses as the VA?

Later this month, the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will release a security audit that identifies the IT weaknesses of non-classified government agencies, according to Data Breach Today. Surprisingly, the audit confirmed cyberthreats to the VA from both domestic and international hosts.

However, an expert quoted in the article noted that the same lapses uncovered at the VA are also prevalent in the private sector, and blamed a lack of education for failure to commit to basic security measures.

Compliance: Privacy Regulations Based on Industry

Compliance: Privacy Regulations Based on Industry [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]Protecting your brand and reputation is crucial to every organization as the number of data breaches is constantly on the rise. There are guidelines already in place for most organizations. Learn more about your industry’s regulations for data security. Do you accept payment via credit card? PCI, The […]

Outsource your IT without risking your data and device security

Outsource your IT without risking your data and device security [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]A 2013 Gartner report predicted the global IT outsourcing market to reach $288 billion, with Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Great China markets expanding more than 13 percent. In a recent article, Bryan Britz, Research Vice President at Gartner, said, “Enterprise buyers pursuing hybrid IT […]

Retiring point of sale terminals? Protect your data.

Retiring point of sale terminals? Protect your data. We’ve all been to the grocery store, tried to sign the screen for our credit card purchase, and watched as our careful signature is rendered as an illegible scrawl. In-store credit card terminals and point of sale (POS) terminals don’t last forever. But what happens when they […]

Data Loss Prevention Best Practices

  Data loss prevention (DLP) is going to become even more important now that BYOD policies are taking over. It is important to understand what steps need to be taken and what considerations need to be made in order to protect your organization and its brand. We have touched on this subject before but its […]

Intense Expectations for Healthcare Security Predicted in 2014

  In 2013, 45% of data breaches were in the healthcare industry. Because of this, compliance and regulations in healthcare are expected to intensify throughout this calender year. This will not bode well for what healthcare privacy, information security, and compliance officers were wishing for this year. In a recent survey performed by ID experts […]

What is Cyber Liability Insurance and Why is it Important?

  Cyber liability insurance protects an organization from risks associated with e-business, the internet, networks, and informational assets controlled by first and third parties. The original cyber liability policies written were almost soely for companies providing computer hardware and software services. Today, with ever changing state and federal regulations, plus the addition of compliance standards […]