Do you give end user data security the attention it deserves?

Authored by Indrajit Belgundi, Director & GM Client Solutions Group, India, Dell EMC

Of late, the incidents of unauthorized sharing of confidential information and data are on the rise. We have seen how the incident like a famous news website publishing secret reports from some whistleblowers left the whole world in awe. And such incidents are many in number. As revealed by security experts, across the world, confidential sharing of data and information takes place generally during routine activities. 

In most cases, no repercussion is there for the employee (s) involved in such misdeeds, as security teams of organizations may not even aware of any protocol breach or anything untoward happening. And the absence of any immediate action eases the way for employees to keep breaking their organizations’ security protocol. Eventually, important data reaches in a wrong hand, posing a big threat to the organization’s reputation and health. 

Quite eye-opening here is a global survey commissioned by Dell, which says that 72 percent of employees are ready to share their sensitive, confidential or regulated company information. Further, 45 percent of employees across organizations admit engaging in unsafe behaviors throughout the workday. These behaviors include connecting to public Wi-Fi to access confidential information (46 percent), using personal email accounts for work (49 percent), or losing a company issued device (17 percent). 

The importance of end user security for your organization 

Studies say that organizations invest millions of dollars in various security devices and firewalls. Nevertheless, they pay little or no heed to a significant link in their security chain: the people who have the access to data. It’s a big reality, indeed. It’s data that is ultimately transforming industries, coming up with more opportunities, and paving the way for a whole new range of malicious adversaries. 

These adversaries are more organized, better equipped and are working for exploiting security gaps, thereby leaving millions of people as well as the organization in complete jeopardy. Given these, governing bodies have started implementing different measures to enhance privacy, security, and individual accountability with the aim to ensure data security. A case in point is the Sri Krishna Committee draft Data Protection Bill, which provides a proper foundation for the privacy protection of our country. Tradition security is no longer an ultimate choice. There has never been a more crucial time than now for organizations to accelerate their security transformation. 

Time for end user data security 

The only way to address end user security data issue for organizations is to opt for higher levels of enablement, protection, and awareness, of course: 

Draft simple policies that clearly mention end-user access, data types, who can access the data, and its dissemination rules outside the organization. Make sure that your employees have a clear understanding of why security is significant and what they should do to comply with their organization’s security regulations all the time and irrespective of their devices. 

Use security solutions that protect data wherever your users go. Safeguard data everywhere right from PCs and mobile devices to the cloud to email communication and external devices. A comprehensive security solution goes a long way in ensuring data safety—such solutions protect, control as well as monitor the data everywhere. 

Organizations should control who can get access to data, monitor the locations of data more closely, and implement strict policies so that right people can get access to data that, too, under the right situation. And this is precisely where comes the importance of a robust and multi-layer security infrastructure that can safeguard data, without causing any hamper to employee productivity and workflows. 

Ensure end user data security with Dell 

At Dell, we provide Endpoint Data Security and Management portfolio, encompassing solutions from Dell, RSA, and VMware AirWatch. This portfolio is enriched with high-end cybersecurity and endpoint management solutions that ensure robust data protection while unlocking the speed, agility, and innovation of today’s mobile workforce. Further, we have our Data Protection Suite Family that provides organizations with robust data protection through a comprehensive set of service offerings customized mainly to address individual requirements of organizations. 

To know more about our security solutions portfolio, join us at our first-ever Dell Technologies Forum.