With tiny devices such as USBs, Staff using iPods and other gadgetry in work should you, the business owner be worried about E crime? 

• Losing Company Secrets, Resources, Data

I recently spent a very interesting and informative if not scary couple of hours with the Regional Police Business Liaison Officer from Dyfed Powys Police.  Karen was very knowledgeable, informative and left me with a vast amount of information which over the coming weeks I shall share with you between my two thebestof sites, Carmarthen and Cardigan & Teifi Valley

Have you ensured you have employee contracts in place, clearly stating your security policies?

• Consider the number of employees you have that can work remotely, wirelessly and have access to a wide variety of electronic gadgets, many of which can store vast amounts of corporate data. 

• Think of the number of iPods, PDAs, USB sticks, Smartphones people including your employees now own.  They can all store huge amounts of corporate data. 

• You think this won’t happen?  You trust your employees? 

 
Well a client of mine thought they could trust their employees but not once but twice employees have resigned complete with the company database and set up in competition and the business had no legal recourse.  Happily this business now has, on advice from experienced employment lawyers a good legally binding employee contract in place.  Could this happen to you and your business? 

Having security policies in place will not ensure 100% security but if an employee has signed an appropriate contract then if they fall foul of your company procedures and you can prove it they can be pursued through the courts.  Without a contract clearly stating your security policies and company procedures you will not have a leg to stand on. 
For more information on security polices you can download a personalised acceptable use policy with your business details from  www.ecrimewales.com/policy or use a reputable experienced employment lawyer.

Sadly this will still not protect you – The variety and mobility of all this gadgetry jeopardises business security – whether by intent or not and makes IT networks vulnerable to outside influences including the dreaded spyware and viruses.  It is becoming increasingly difficult to adequately protect company information and particularly in small businesses.
The following is taken from Preventing E Crime for Dummies (a copy of which can be obtained from ecrimewales)
Make sure that you and all employees with access to confidential business information follow these rules:
• When working remotely, follow your security policies
• Check every file copied onto company systems (from any source) for viruses
• Encrypt sensitive Data
• Regularly back up essential files and store copies in a secure place, away from the premises
• Control access to business premises and computer systems.

For more information www.ecrimewales.com or www.edroseddcymru.com

See my blog on thebestof Cardigan & Teifi Valley on Managing Employee Behaviour