Data Leakage Audit
According to a recent Merrill Lynch study of CISOs, 52% said leakage of proprietary/confidential information is the largest threat to their organization’s security. Over the past few years, announcements have streamed from businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions, informing the public of information leaks that have exposed confidential consumer, patient, and employee data. During the same time period, businesses experienced data leakage incidents that were rarely revealed publicly, but involved leakage of intellectual property, merger/acquisition plans, strategic business plans, and other sensitive information.
A Data Leakage Audit exposes employee behavior, business processes, or communications with third parties that leak confidential information and exposes your company to potential legal, regulatory, or public relations ramifications. While estimates indicate that 80-90% of data leaks are accidental, analysts expect an increase in data leaks by employees with malicious intent during challenging economic periods. Whether accidental or deliberate, data leaks often expose confidential and sensitive information and can prove costly, embarrassing, and damaging to a business or institution.
Using Data Leakage Assessment tools, a Networks Unlimited Security Auditor enables security policies appropriate for the type of business being audited. The tools filter all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic over a 2-week period, capturing traffic which violates the security policies in. The traffic is searched in real-time for data that should be kept private according to government or industry regulations, corporate policy, or security best practices.
Recent Networks Unlimited Data Leakage Audits have revealed serious data leak issues:
- Sensitive financial information such as tax forms and account details sent to customers via unsecure email
- Confidential employee personal info being potentially exposed via unencrypted emails to third parties
- Strategic corporate information sent via unencrypted emails to business partners
- Complete credit card information being sent unencrypted to vendors
- Employees sending confidential company documents to their personal email addresses
- Employees using company computers and email which violate internal policies
A Data Leakage Audit provides insight into the actual businesses processes and employee activities that need to be modified to achieve compliance with state, federal, and industry regulations. Reports delivered with a Data Leakage Audit identify the sensitive data being mishandled, potential regulatory and legal ramifications, and recommendations to ensure your confidential data remains private.