As more businesses are taking advantage of the benefits of cloud services, evaluating the information security posture of a potential cloud provider is essential, but can often seem like an exercise in futility. If you are going to trust a third party you need to hold their feet to the proverbial fire by undertaking proper due diligence. Before deciding to engage with a cloud provider, ask them to answer (truthfully) this security questionnaire to gauge their information security maturity.
The idea behind BYOD (“Bring Your Own Device”) is that employees can use a personal device such as a tablet for both personal and business use. As you can imagine, the scenario of users bringing in their own devices to connect to a corporate network gives visions of malware and/or other bugs spreading through the corporate network. This has led to some people dubbing BYOD as “Bring your Own Disaster”. As with many areas in IT, however, you can set some rules that should minimize the security risks of BYOD.
As an IT professional who works with businesses and organizations, I have personally witnessed numerous cases of employee fraud over the years. Frequently these crimes are perpetrated by the most trusted employee – the one who has been there the longest, the one who has been given the greatest access to the company’s data and finances, the one who is counted as a company insider. Often these acts are committed over long periods of time, without detection, resulting in the embezzlement of impressively large sums of money. In each case the business owners were blindsided when it was discovered. “We would never have thought so-and-so could do this or that.” A good rule of thumb for your employees should be: The more trust is extended, the more caution should be exercised.
There are many reasons you may need to replace or upgrade your pre-existing electronic equipment and devices. What do you do with the components you just replaced? You can’t simply throw them away in the trash. You may be fined and the components of those leftover devices contain metals not suitable for a standard landfill. Let’s discuss just a few options available to properly and safely dispose your outdated electronic equipment.
