Collecting and storing any sort of confidential data must always be done with the utmost care. The Data Protection Act 1998 outlines the procedures that must be followed by law when storing any personal information about somebody else for business purposes. It requires businesses to only use information for the specific purpose it was provided, states that no information may be passed onto a third party without express consent, and allows individuals to retain the right to access any data stored about them at any time.
Individual Rights Protection
It was designed to protect the rights of the individual and as such it specifies that companies storing such data must have appropriate security measures in place, and staff must be fully trained to handle confidential information correctly.
Firewalls
Any business that requires access to any individual’s personal data and stores this information on a computer is required to have, as a minimum, a firewall in place. However, to fully prevent fraud, or any upset over missing data, it makes sense to store information as securely as possible.
Data Insecurity
Laptops are notoriously easy for hackers to access, so accessing and storing data on them can present problems. External storage devices, such as disks or back up hard drives, can be mislaid or stolen, so again are not ideal.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing allows the secure storage of data in well protected servers outside of your business. These servers are kept in fully flood and fire-proof rooms, with state of the art security. They are then protected by the latest firewalls, and kept safe from virus attack with patches. These security measures are checked and updated on a daily basis, so you can rest assured that you are always as safe and secure as possible.
Using tools such as Lloyds insurance software, or other cloud-based software, automatically saves all data in this way. As it is stored and backed up on a number of secure servers, there is no need to have additional back-up copies lying around. Plus, the data can be accessed by yourself and other authorised personnel through secure internet channels at any time.
Data Protection & Risk Management
Full government legislation procedures are followed with regards to data protection, and risk management becomes an automated, and therefore unavoidable, activity at all times. There is little room for human error, and no chance of any confidential information being accessed by anyone who is not authorised. The systems are simple and accurate, and allow clients to feel assured that their personal details are being correctly handled.