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According to IBM, the average cost of a breach is roughly £2.75 million in 2017. The financial implications, for one, can be huge if data is mishandled. Using Encrypted USBs can help prevent against damaging consequences for organisations. personal and financial and therefore extra measures should be put in place to protect this information wherever necessary. It is often the case that customer information is shared between different parts of a business, as well, this information is often sensitive in nature i.e. Under the new GDPR guidelines, that come into effect in May 2018 and replace the old data protection laws, organisations must ensure there is adequate protection in place for all customer data and must show evidence that such information is being handled correctly and is not at risk of being misused or compromised in any way. Probably more important than looking after company information is looking after your customers. Large multi-national companies spend millions on making sure their internal security is up to scratch, even if companies do not have large budgets to spend on security, encrypted USBs which are password protected at least add that extra layer of security to sensitive information that is shared across the business. The importance of sharing information across functions and departments in organisations has never been greater but this has also led to more opportunities for data to be compromised and go missing. The Heathrow Airport USB contained information relating to the security of the airport itself including locations of security cameras on site as well as details of security protection measures put in place for the Queen, Cabinet ministers and foreign dignitaries visiting London, so not exactly a couple of MS Word documents. It is important that companies are able to look after the data they own and share it without risk of it falling into the wrong hands. To ensure companies do not suffer loss of earnings, time or customer loyalty.To protect customer information- in line with new data protection measures (GDPR).Using an encrypted USB stick is an important practice for the following reasons: Nonetheless, this has led to questions being raised in regards to how businesses share important information at the moment and whether or not many should rethink their current approach to the way they manage and share data. Luckily the person realised what he was looking at and handed the device over to local authorities. The importance of Encrypting USB flash drives has once again come to the forefront of conversation following the revelation that a branded USB stick with important security data relating to Heathrow airport was found and accessed by an individual at his local library.
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