The exact risk of losing any particular bit of computer information depends on the exact nature of the information in question. Securing your computer used to be about scanning floppy disks for viruses and checking the odd email.

Enter the Internet, lower prices for laptops and an explosion in mobile and remote working – in the last census, 60% of homes had a computer. If you store data then you’re at risk, at risk of being named and shamed for losing potentially important or embarrassing electronic information.

The HMRC in October 2007 lost unencrypted data on 25 million individuals when their Child Benefit database went missing. In June 2008 a set of top secret terror files were left on a train. Since 2002, Whitehall has lost an average of five laptops a week.

Data loss from the Government has been highly embarrassing over the last few years as these examples show, but these errors aren’t limited to officials. In August 2008 a private contractor lost a USB memory stick containing information on the 84,000 prisoners being held at her Majesties pleasure, including dates of birth and a few expected dates of release.

For small business the impact might not be as great but the implications are just as serious.  What if you were to lose highly important information such as manufacturing processes, trade secrets, financial records? Maliciously stolen by a disgruntled employee or competitor, or taken from the back of your car by an opportunistic thief?

We know about the importance of your computer backups and protecting the right files, but backing up only gets back what you’ve lost. How do you stop the data you’ve lost from getting into the hands of other people? This information is fundamental to the success of the business, the commercial consequences of leaking these files could be very significant.

The last line of defence is to encrypt the files stored on your computer or memory stick, a policy required for many government regulations and industry standards. Just encrypting your data is not enough, on its own you may as well lock up your house and leave the key under the mat.

For a recent client required to meet FIPS standards for an Advantage West Midlands project, we used the “DISK Protect” product from BeCrypt as part of their solution. Of course data security should be managed on a case by case basis, talk to your resident IT expert or call us on 0845 004 3025.