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06/12/2006: "Key Considerations - Data Security"

In a week when Ernst and Young lost a laptop containing the names, addresses and credit card details of almost 250,000 Hotels.com customers it seemed appropriate to start my Key Considerations blog series on data security.

There is no doubt that security is a key concern of businesses of all sizes and this concern is only heightened with stories such as that from Ernst and Young. With more users away from their desk and the “wrong” side of the corporate firewall it is even more of an issue.

With mobile devices there are a couple of ways that data can be access: either via a client installed on the device with the data held in a local data store.

The other way, that taken by AppSwing, is to store nothing on the device and access the data from the browser on the device. Neither solution is perfect. With a local data store information can be accessed quickly but it is clearly available should the device be lost. This risk can be lessened by having the data encrypted but any determined hacker will be able to get at it in time.

Accessing data via the browser ensures that no sensitive data is held on the device and so is secure if the device is lost. However, the trade off for this security is that your device has to be connected to the network to download the data.

Which model is best for your business will depend on your approach to data security. Those in the police, healthcare, social services and, perhaps, those in recruitment and sale, may not wish to take the risk of having the data available when the device is lost.

Finally, if you don’t think that you will lose your mobile device, remember that on average 10,000 devices are lost or stolen each month in the UK.