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If you operate a business you must consider how the concept of identity theft could be
extended to affect your business and potentially your relations with customers and
business partners. Could an identity thief benefit by using your companies credit,
assets, name and reputation? Can information that uniquely identifies your business
be used for another's gain? Remember, an identity thief does not have to conduct
activities in your geographic region. Use encryption to protect valuable
producer, source and customer lists, private employee, tax and financial information.
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Use encryption to help protect your company against legal liability. Legal liability
could arise if customer or employee information you collect is stolen and misused by
a computer intruder. Do you know if your type of business activity has to meet any
legislated requirements for the protection of customer and or employee information?
"HIPAA" (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) of 1996 regulates security
standards protecting the confidentiality and integrity of "individually identifiable
health information". HIPPA affects almost all healthcare organizations including all
health care providers, life insurers, as well as self-ensured employers.
What are the penalties for non compliance? HIPAA calls for severe civil and criminal
penalties including fines of up to:
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1) $25,000 for multiple violations of the same standard in a calendar year
2) $250,000 and/or imprisonment up to 10 years for knowing misuse of individually
identifiable health information.
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Use Encryption - To protect the privacy of your e-mail.
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E-mail you send can be intercepted and read at any point as its travels across the
Internet to it's destination. If you send an e-mail to a friend your e-mail
travels from your computer to equipment owned by your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Your e-mail is then routed through various devices and finally arrives and is stored on
a computer (mail server) owned by the ISP your friend uses for Internet and e-mail access.
Every computer and device your e-mail passes through has the ability to record (log)
EVERYTHING passing through it. Anyone with access to the equipment used to route
or store e-mail (mail servers) can access the information that passes through them.
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While your e-mail is stored at your friends ISP it can be viewed/read by anyone who has
access to the computer it is stored on. Generally access to these systems is limited to
authorized people who work for the ISP (Internet Service Provider). Does the fact that
someone has authorized access imply they are honest people? Is it possible that either
through idle boredom, curiosity or malicious intent your e-mail is scanned or read while
stored at an ISP? Do you know if your ISP conducts background and or criminal
checks on employees who have access to your e-mail and therefore sensitive personal
and or business information? Could a disgruntled employee seeking revenge
against the company (ISP) he or she works for pose a threat to your privacy?
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There are many people who send confidential information using unencrypted e-mail.
Stolen confidential information like credit card, social security and drivers license
numbers have value in the underground economy/black market. This information is often
sold for profit using the Internet and other means. We can assume that because this
information has value the computers that store e-mail are targets for malicious
individuals and viruses. These individuals and viruses are motivated to break
into systems to steal credit card and other valuable personal and business information.
Encryption can protect you, your family, employees and business contacts
by protecting the information you send through e-mail.
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For those of you who send e-mail from your workplace remember you have no expectation of
privacy. The company owns the computer you use and it's network infrastructure and has
the right to monitor it. Many companies employ e-mail filtering systems to monitor and
regulate the content of e-mail and attachments flowing through their computer network.
These systems are often used to monitor e-mail for confidentiality breaches,
information loss to include trade secrets, critical customer and product information.
Encryption can protect your privacy in the workplace. For more information on
privacy and the workplace visit
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
"The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse" is a nonprofit, consumer education, research, and
advocacy program.
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