Sounds like a bad title for a movie, but unfortunately it seems to be business as usual for companies and the US government. A recent Inspector General audit came out showing that some Department of Defense (DoD) groups didn’t scrub data from computers before disposing of them. Sensitive information might get into the wild and either compromise DoD security or result in identity theft.
I wrote a post recently about lack of training being a cause of data breaches. According to the report, some departments didn’t train their people properly or they didn’t develop adequate (or in some cases any) procedures for proper disposal of IT equipment.
A quick analysis of current skills might help prevent some of these things in the future. Developing procedures are important, but if people aren’t trained on what to do and not to do, accidents happen. Create a few simple videos showing how to properly dispose of IT equipment. Post them on YouTube and let people see them. There are lots of DoD approved ways to securely scrub hard drives, so get the word out.
A little training in a fun way can help prevent data leaks that can cause havoc. Technology is great, but the people part is as important.
What do you think?
photo credit jon a ross
