10 Tips For Data Safety From A Former CIA Officer

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Today's global economy often requires that professionals conduct business while on-the-go. That makes protecting personal and corporate information a big concern. Lindsay Moran, a former CIA intelligence officer and the author of “Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy,” offers 10 tips on how to help protect corporate and personal information while working outside of the office.

1. Keep It On You - The best way to ensure that your data does not get stolen is to keep it on you at all times. Don't leave your laptop or other sensitive information in your hotel room. Resist the urge to ask the person next to you to keep an eye on your belongings when in a café or a restaurant. With today's increasingly prevalent threats of identity theft and active corporate espionage, don't make it easy to become a victim.

2. Use Your Own - It's tempting, especially while traveling, to pop into an Internet café to send e-mails and conduct business. However, it is always safer to use your own computer in the privacy of your hotel room. Public Wi-Fi spots are frequented by any number of amateur and/or professional snoops, including foreign spies and identity hackers who can potentially tap into everything you are doing online.

3. Encrypt It - The practice of scrambling data on your hard drive is standard among intelligence professionals, and it is just as important for the business professional. The added layer of security encryption requires a password - sometimes a series of them - to open programs or documents, and there are many free encryption programs you can download from the Internet.

4. Use a Privacy Filter - Remarkably simple and practically undetectable once installed, privacy filters help protect the data on your computer screen from prying eyes by making the screen visible to persons only directly in front of it. 3M, St. Paul, Minn., offers a line of privacy filters for LCD, CRT monitors and notebook computers that also improve visual performance and help prevent damage to computer screens in addition to protecting visible data.

5. Location. Location. Location. - When you hunker down in a coffee shop or other public locale to check e-mail or attend to other business, sit with your back to the wall so that other patrons are not afforded a bird's eye view of your screen. It is also a good idea to make sure there is no window behind you.

6. No Hable Inglés - When working in a foreign country, assume those around you can understand what you are discussing. Increasingly, English is the international language in which business (and espionage) are conducted.

7. Be Careful With Cell Phones and PDAs - The popularity of innovative and convenient features on today's mobile devices means that more and more people are conducting business - discussing mergers, making offers, “selling the deal” - over the phone and in public. It is best to keep cell phone conversations to a minimum, especially in settings where virtually anyone could be listening, such as elevators, trains, airplanes, restaurants, hotel lobbies and airport lounges.

8. Pack Your Bags In A Particular Way - Arrange your belongings - in a suitcase, at the hotel and in your rental car - in such a way that it will be immediately obvious if someone else has tampered with them.

9. Don't Carry Cache - No matter what browser you are using to surf the Internet, it takes only a few seconds to reset it or empty the cache (usually located in the “Preferences” or “Options” menu). Resetting or emptying your cache will make it harder for any authorized persons to view your site history or to use prompts to discover passwords and personal information in case your laptop does get stolen.

10. Shred It - Routinely shred (by hand if necessary) all bills, ticket stubs and bank statements on the spot. Then distribute the scraps in various trash bins. This is an easy way to foil the average identity thief.

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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

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