Tips to Prevent Data Loss on the Company's Computer due to the Execution of the Former

The former referred to in this article are ex-employees huh. There are many cases where a former employee steals or removes important company data from the computer he uses. The reason the ex is quite diverse, ranging from motives because of heartache, selling data, personal interests, and so forth.

All companies implement their respective policies in preventing events like this. However, it is not enough only company policy to prevent employees from taking important information from the company, starting from customer information, price lists, marketing plans, sales data, company finance, and others. When an employee is dismissed or resigned from a company, there is always the possibility that the company will miss the important data.

According to a recent Veriato survey, it was stated that there were around 87% of employees who resigned or were stopped taking data they handled. The data includes confidential information, price lists, marketing plans, sales data, and others. And there are 28% of employees who stop taking data made by other people.

Companies in this case experience loss of intellectual property that can harm or even make the company go bankrupt. Then, what steps should the company take to prevent data theft by the former employee?

Reporting from the news published by ESET, the following are tips for preventing data loss on computers because of the behavior of former employees:

1. Establish and Enforce Company Policy

Some employees share company data with other parties from outside or bring the data to a new workplace. Often the theft of data has a negative effect on the old company where the former worked.

Companies can prevent it by making clear and binding policies, that everything related to company data belongs to the company. Regulations and consequences of data theft must be known and signed by all employees.

Employees also need to know the details of employee data that can be brought when they stop working and what should be left behind. The consequences for employees who deliberately take important data or delete it must also be heavy because it will greatly affect the company.

2. Data Loss Prevention

If possible, companies must apply the analysis of user and entity behavior with sophisticated machine learning algorithms. This can help determine the behavior of employees so they can detect anomalous behavior and investigate it immediately.

Data loss prevention technology can prevent data leakage by studying employee routines while working. When there is a change in the pattern of work that is usually done by employees, the company can detect it as early as possible.

With data loss prevention technology, companies can learn about employee habits and find out employee behavior that is harmful to the company. One example of the application of data loss prevention technology, the application can find out that an employee sends an email or transfers data that is not normally sent, or is downloading data to an external device, or entering an IT server in the early hours.

This technology also allows companies to digital security, for example, which data can be accessed or not accessible by employees / divisions. Which data can be sent, including determining which storage devices can access company data.

3. Limiting Data Access (Extraction and 2FA)

Make sure employees can only access the data needed for their work. That way, the employee cannot access sensitive data that cannot be known by just anyone.

In addition, companies can also prohibit employees from installing hardware or software for data storage activities. Companies can implement firewalls to block malicious sites that can be used for data transfer and data encryption. If necessary, all data storage and transfer processes must use two-factor authentication.

Leaks and data loss have become so crucial in the past year. According to PT Prosperita - ESET Indonesia Technical Consultant, Yudhi Kukuh said "With strict policies, and communicating this policy including the consequences given if violating it, it can minimize employees who resign from companies just to steal data that is not theirs.

In addition, the existence of software that can analyze employee actions and behavior, detect whether there are anomalous behaviors that cause actual threats, prioritize which behaviors have the most damage to the company, and respond appropriately, will certainly help the company prevent valuable data lost when the employee left. "