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| Security at work | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
In the age of global corporations industrial espionage is as relevant as ever and companies are doing their best to ensure their secrets remain under wraps. In the same way that the exact recipe for Coca-Cola and the Colonels secret formula are very closely guarded secrets - Apple, IBM, Sony and Compaq all keep their latest products and extremely close to their chests until an official press launch. It is the same in every industry, from car manufacturing to the internet, to stay one step ahead of the competition you have to develop products and services that are unique and better than those available elsewhere. If the opposition gets wind of your plans then they may emulate your ideas that previously they hadn't even considered. An overall company security plan is often required but also individual employees must make sure that their personal data and possessions are secure in the workplace. Your computer hard drive holds all of your work, some of which could be very valuable to a competitor. Make sure your computer is password protected, if it is not then an external hacker could access it with ease, or someone else in the building could just log on and read some of your personal files. A password should be 6 characters long with letters and numbers combined. The most common passwords that people choose and that should be avoided are:
You should get into the habit of changing your computer logon password once a month or before you are asked to do so by the system itself, which prompts users to change their password within a particular timescale. Your Email programme should be password protected and used in conjunction with virus screening software. Attachments that you receive from an unrecognised source should be screened for a virus before being opened or simply deleted. Do not post your work email address onto the internet in bulletin boards, or when joining possibly questionable mailing lists or else you could be inundated with annoying Spam. To make sure your possessions are safe in the office keep anything valuable on you at all times, or else lock it in a drawer or locker. Secure anything that you have to leave over night at work because cleaning staff can inadvertently bin belongings, which look like 'rubbish'. When you are outside of work you should not talk about sensitive company information with anyone who has an invested interest in that knowledge. It is usually fine to confide in your friends and family but even reconsider that if they happen to work in the same industry as you. Industry gossip can spread so fast and you do not want to be traced as the source. In certain sectors, such as public sector industries, you may have to sign the data protection act, which would make it a criminal offence to talk about anything, including the price of pie and chips in the canteen, with your nearest and dearest. Some industries, most notably the defence sector and civil service require you to pass a security check after you are offered the position. This can take a couple of weeks and will entail the organisation looking into your employment background and checking to see if you have a criminal past or have been associated with others who have had relevant convictions. Do not be put off of applying for a job if it mentions a security check. The recruitment process is the same as normal but if you are offered the position and then accept, you will be asked to fill in a range of forms which will be reviewed to grant your security status. Unless you were previously a Colombian drug baron or a KGB agent you will have nothing to worry about. If you have doubts about what the security check might entail give the job advertiser a call. As you can see there are many areas for a possible security breach at work, you must be sensible and look after your own computer files and property. Be on your guard, even Fort Knox has a back door…
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