With a recent spate of high-profile data leaks, the need for reliable data security is top-of-mind for many business owners and administrators. And whether the leaks are intentional, unintentional or malicious in nature, an information leak can cost companies millions of dollars - and the trust of their clients or partners. In fact, according to the 2006 Cost of Data Breach Study from The Ponemon Institute, in 2006, data breaches cost companies an average total of $4.7, or $182 per customer record lost.

"The burden companies must bear as a result of a data breach are significant, making a strong case for more strategic investments in preventative measures such as encryption and data loss prevention," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of The Ponemon Institute, in a written statement. "Tough laws and intense public scrutiny mean the consequences of poor (data) security are steep - and growing steeper for companies entrusted with managing stores of consumer data."
Among the 31 companies that participated in the study (which all experienced security breaches) the breaches occurred as a result of the following:
- 45% of the data security breaches were a result of lost or stolen laptops, desktops, PDAs, or thumb drives
- 29% were caused by lost or stolen files acquired or used by a third-party
- 26% of the breaches were caused by lost or stolen electronic backups
- 13% were caused by lost or stolen paper records or files
- 10% involved hacked electronic systems
- 6% were caused by malicious insiders
- 6% were caused by malware
- 3% of the data security breaches were caused by a misplaced network or enterprise storage device due to a natural disaster
Data Protection: How to Increase Your Data Security
To diminish the risk of a data security breach, companies need an information-centric solution with proven coverage, simplicity, and data protection capabilities. And whether you choose a product like the Websense Content Protection Suite or another information leak prevention (ILP) solution, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of losing valuable data. These include:
- Using an ILP tool to discover where the sensitive data resides. This will help you not only inventory the data you have, but help you understand how you can develop a data protection plan to suit your needs.
- Monitor the data on the network and watch how it's used. This will reveal the risks and (perhaps) the broken business processes that exist.
- Set up data protection policies and assign a value to each piece of sensitive information. Once it is determined how sensitive the data is, you can determine the cost-benefit of protecting the data and the value of the data to your organization. With that in mind, you can set parameters for how the data will be accessed, who may access it - and for how long.
- Once the data protection policy has been developed, it's important to educate your employees and explain the consequences that not following the policy will carry.
Unfortunately, no data security plan is foolproof - especially when employees carry laptops from place to place. But with an ILP solution and a data protection policy firmly in place, your chances of experiencing a data leak can significantly decrease.


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About the Author: David Meizlik is the Product Marketing Manager for Security Solutions at Websense, Inc., the leading provider of web and content security solutions based in San Diego, California. His responsibilities include product positioning, go-to-market strategy and development, market and competitive analysis, program development, and management of all outbound marketing activities for Websense security products. Meizlik served as the marketing manager for emerging business opportunities, and the technology partner marketing manager building the Websense Web Security Ecosystem, an alliance of over 38 technology and distribution partners. For more information about Websense, visit Websense.com.