Corporate Threats

Companies suffer data losses not only through intentional data theft or malware that destroys their data. In most cases, such losses are caused by the negligent handling of data: Laptops are left in the taxi, USB sticks slip from the pocket, infected media are used within the company, sensitive data are transferred and saved without encryption etc. Often, the employees are not even aware of the consequences and therefore, they do not necessarily report such incidents. In 2010, in Great Britain alone, about 17,000 USB sticks were found in clothes that had been brought to a dry cleaner’s.

Even in cases of negligent actions the company risks know-how losses, competitive disadvantages, high penalties and major image losses in case of notifiable data losses (according to § 42 German Data Protection Act [BDSG], Section 42a, Obligation to notify in case of unlawful access to data).

Besides such data losses, companies are subject to and often underestimate related liability risks arising from copyright infringements and incompliance with licensing regulations, if corporate IT systems are used by their employees for private purposes. If illegal music or movie files are downloaded or PC games are used for which the company has not purchased the respective licenses, the company or the entrepreneur is liable – and enforcing claims for damages against the responsible employee is a lengthy and tedious affair. Therefore you should exclude the possibility of private usage from the beginning. And even if no such event of liability occurs, the private usage of IT resources causes productivity losses and related additional costs – an employee who is playing games or editing his private pictures cannot be productive.

Risk: Data losses

Any company, independent of its size and industry, is exposed to data losses through intentional theft or the negligent handling of data and risks know-how losses, competitive disadvantages, penalties and also major image damages in case of notifiable data losses (§ 42 a BDSG).

Risk: Malware

Malware is malicious code that can be infiltrated into the company through a variety of data paths. Malware may destroy data (traditional viruses), but also transfer data elsewhere (Trojans) – again, this results in data losses. Often, malware is used for industrial espionage purposes. While most people think that antivirus software or a firewall is able to protect them against malware, this approach does not go far enough, since infected devices (mobile media, USB sticks, smartphones etc.) may also infiltrate malware into the company.

Risk: Liability

The Data Protection Act provides for high penalties in case certain kinds of data are lost – and no company can ignore the related risks. However, companies do not only face liability risks based on data protection regulations, but also through copyright infringements or incompliance with licensing regulations, if the corporate IT is used by their employees for private purposes.

Risk: Productivity losses

Employees who use corporate IT devices, for instance, to play PC games, edit their holiday pictures, download music or movie files or chat in social networks, do not only expose the company to liability risks, but also cause higher costs due to productivity losses, a factor that is often highly underestimated.

Endpoints and Data Paths
Within the Corporate Network

Another problem arises through the large number of devices used to store data or play and execute software and files – laptops, tablets, smartphones, external hard disks, USB sticks and even digital cameras can be used to store data. Increasingly, employees do not only use company-owned devices, but also their private devices within the corporate network – this “bring your own device” (BYOD) phenomenon is a rather hot topic at the moment. While the high flexibility and variety of devices is very convenient for the users, this situation is a nightmare for any IT security officer.

Companies are not only faced with a great variety of devices, but also must deal with all kinds of data paths – they transport mobile media, transmit data through the Internet, use cloud services or communicate via today’s modern communications platforms, such as Skype. Protecting all of these data paths poses great challenges.

The C.A.F.E. management principle developed by EgoSecure accounts for all devices and data paths.

Easy Installation

Implementing EgoSecure Endpoint is not a project that consumes a lot of IT resources over a long time or causes high costs for external consultants. Basic protection is already ensured after just 20 minutes of installation. The security standard can be refined incrementally, without the need to involve external consultants.

Fast

Easy Administration

All functionality is controlled and monitored through the central, highly intuitive management console. The EgoSecure client on the users’ computers provides clear on-demand information on the individual security status without the need to contact the administrator.

Intuitive

Ease of Use

While most security functions run in the background, without requiring users to change their familiar workflows, the EgoSecure client provides users full transparency of all their actions on demand; this ensures full acceptance of the security system; users have no excuse and no reason whatsoever to try to bypass certain functionality. After all, a high degree of user acceptance contributes greatly to a high security standard.

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