The biggest security challenge that organisations face when it comes to preventing data loss and security breaches is knowing exactly what data and devices they have and need to secure, according to security specialists, Absolute Software.

Data loss hasn’t been out of the headlines throughout 2008. Some of the UK’s most data sensitive organisations have been victims of it, but have been equally guilty of inadequate management of sensitive information that should have been stored responsibly.

One organisation that took a strategic decision to take positive action and protect against data loss was Bracknell Forest Borough Council. It activated ComputraceOne from Absolute Software on its laptops. ComputraceOne is a unique software solution that is used to manage mobile devices, and in the event of a device being lost or stolen can track and recover it and ‘self destruct’ any sensitive data to stop it being used for malicious purposes.


The ComputraceOne application is loaded on the hard drive of a computer while support for the ComputraceOne agent is embedded in the BIOS or firmware. If the hard drive is reformatted or replaced, the ComputraceOne Agent support in the BIOS rebuilds the necessary application files on the hard drive as required by the customer.

Richard Dawson, IT Services Manager at the Council said: "For less than £60 per laptop over its life, ComputraceOne has provided not only value for money, but it has ensured that our data has not gotten into the wrong hands. In the last three months alone, we have been able to deactivate and remove all data from three decommissioned laptops as well as recover a stolen laptop. Had it not been for our wise decision to activate ComputraceOne from Absolute, we would not have been able to retrieve our assets.”

Every effort should be taken
to protect against data loss including:

• Security policy - Have a security policy that is understood and adhered to by every staff member where appropriate
• Authorisation - Make sure that only authorised staff have the 'keys’ to access sensitive data and, more importantly, the ability to copy data to devices
• Management - Know exactly how many devices including mobile phones, laptops and PDAs are used by the organisation to go about its business
• Accountability - Be able to account for devices that are decommissioned and retrieve devices from employees leaving the company
• Tracking - Have the right technology to track and recover lost or stolen devices and if necessary ‘self destruct’ sensitive data contained on them

Security specialist, William Pound at Absolute Software said: “Organisations need to take responsibility for the data on their mobile devices as the information often can be about customers or partners, so the consequences of a breach are far wider than just the organisation itself. To take responsibility there needs to be policy and traceability. Asset management is key. Knowing who has a device and, if necessary, where it is. This is particularly important if a device is lost. Tracking software will trace the device and allow it to be recovered. More than that, with this technology installed onto a device, sensitive data files can be deleted, preventing it from being used maliciously.”