Data Privacy: What Part of Your Network Is Vulnerable, and What Can You Do About It?

Doc thinks networked environments are both a boon and a burden to organizations. They greatly improve productivity and reduce cost by allowing customers, vendors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders to share and access information in real time. But increased access to sensitive information makes networks vulnerable to malicious activity and misuse. There have been numerous high-profile data security breaches and losses, prompting a rise in government regulations surrounding data privacy.

The combination of increasingly complex and connected networks, more sophisticated hacking tools, and a myriad of data-privacy regulations makes it challenging for organizations of all sizes to maximize data security. For a great, free look at network security (with a heavy emphasis on print management), check out a white paper from my friends at Ricoh.

Here's just an overview of what this terrific white paper covers. And did I mention it's free?

This paper examines the vulnerable areas of a network and new document-management technologies to shore them up as well as how to choose the most appropriate security services provider for your organization.

You have two major areas of concern in a distributed workflow environment: electronic and paper. Electronic vulnerabilities encompass any data that can be compromised when a user transmits from a device over a local IP network, the Internet, or a private intranet. All elements of your network are vulnerable, including servers, client computers, operating systems, firewalls, routers, switches and hubs, wireless access points, network services, and applications. Paper vulnerabilities arise when printed information is output from a device and could be retrieved or viewed by unauthorized individuals.

Protecting data has become a legal requirement, not just an ethical one. Several data-privacy regulations have been created that make data owners legally responsible for protecting sensitive personal information from inappropriate use. The types of information covered under these regulations include customer lists, financial results, non-public personal information, credit card numbers, purchase and sales records, access codes, health records, education records, corporate intellectual property, and confidential government information.