Are you concerned about sensitive information falling into the wrong hands? If a laptop is stolen, even a strong password will likely get cracked. And, once the thief succeeds, any private data that’s unencrypted is free for the taking.
One solution: keep sensitive data on a secure private cloud service, so it’s never on your employer’s hard drive in the first place. By storing this information in the cloud, you can immediately revoke access to it when a device goes missing. If you have an internal file server in your office, make sure it’s properly secured – you need to talk to your IT provider and discuss options for shared folders that only certain people need, such as the Human Resources. So, you might set up a q:\ drive for ‘documents,’ an s:\ for ‘accounting,’ and a p:\ for ‘workflows and processes.’ This way, everyone can use q:\ and p:\ while only people who do accounting can use s:\.
It’s simple stuff – but think of the possible damages and data compromises that can result from the inadvertent loss of a laptop at the airport. Or, if you’re in the medical field, such a lapse could engage the Office of Civil Rights as a HIPAA violation.
If your laptop hard drive has the option to encrypt – use it!
