Protect your organization's most valued asset

Since the earliest days of creating written documents some 2000 years ago, Royalty, politicians, diplomats and military commanders realized and understood that it was necessary to provide some mechanism or security procedure to protect the confidentiality

Julius Caesar is credited with the invention of the Caesar Cipher around 50 B.C., which was created in order to prevent his secret messages from being read, should a message fall into the wrong hands.Another old example of IT Security was the creation of the UK Secret Office and Deciphering Branch in 1653, the British Official Secrets Act in 1889 and0 the creation of the Government Codes and Cypher School in 1919.

So, there is nothing new about IT Security, except maybe the technology and the forgotten threats.

In the mid 19th century, more complex classification systems were developed to allow governments to manage their information according to the degree of sensitivity.

Encoding became more sophisticated between the World Wars as machines were employed to scramble and unscramble information.

Procedures evolved to ensure documents were destroyed properly and it was the failure to follow these procedures which led to some of the greatest intelligence coups of the Second World War. For example a German U Boat was attacked and captured on her first patrol by the British Royal Navy during World War II in mid-1941.

After their surrender, the German crew had attempted to destroy instruments and fittings, but the attempt appeared half-hearted. Useful papers had missed destruction.

Amongst other instruction manuals and documents were copies of encrypted signals and their corresponding, plain-language, German texts were found—material of use to the British Enigma Code breaking effort.

Modern organizations spend large sums of money on IT controls to safeguard their data. This, however, is only a small part of the information life cycle. The safety of printed and written data is often neglected, posing a real threat to an organisation's information assets.

Do you know what happens to the 'waste paper' containing your organization's personal information and vital intellectual property;once it is placed in a bin?

At DSSS we offer a unique service, which assists in detecting and minimizing potentially damaging information leaks, caused by the incorrect storage and disposal of printed matter; a safeguard every organization owes its employees, its clients and its business. Identity Theft is a growing global threat to organisations and individuals.

Our customized Data Document Audit profiles the real risks to your organisation’s hard copy storage and disposal methods and recommends solutions. Waste documents are selected and reconstructed from your waste disposal areas by skilled Forensic Questioned Document Examiners. Our team of risk experts also examine the physical security of your organization in relation to criminals seeking access to your information. Selected reconstructed documents are then analysed by our team of experts to harvest any damaging information that could be used by competitors and criminals alike.

On completion of the Data Document Audit, we compile a detailed report that is presented to your Privacy Officer or EXCO. Our reports illustrate and rate the level of exposure and key vulnerability areas as well as recommending safeguards against them.

With the imminent introduction of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI), the heads of major organizations could face hefty fines if adequate procedures have not been put in place and maintained to protect all personal data.

Ensure the integrity of your organization’s data protection programme and include our Data Document Audit in your organisations annual information security audit now. Not taking these precautionary measures could result in some costly mistakes. DSSS offer Data Document Audits as well as awareness training to organizations across South Africa.