Protecting Information and Sensitive Data:

Protecting Information and Sensitive Data:

The need for protecting information and sensitive data within an organization has called for a transformation is security philosophy and the techniques used. This has in turn led to the emergence of new security technologies which enable IT and security staffers to automate security in measures that were impossible several years ago. There are several technologies that are available for protecting information and data with the three emerging ones being:

USB Authentication Tokens:

This technology is mainly used in the management of passwords which has always been a nightmare since employees and administrators forget them. While the technology involved the use of smart cards to assist organizations with specialized security needs, it has developed to incorporate token devices that fit on a keychain. Through this technology, an employee simply plugs in the token device, enters a password and is able to access the application or network. This technology has two major advantages including the possibility to scrutinize access during the entire period with which an individual is logged on instead of evaluation at the point of sign-on only. Consequently, the accurate tracking and prevention of unauthorized use is actually possible. Additionally, administrators can save multiple codes on one device enabling them to strengthen protection for restricted files and applications (Greengard, n.d.).

Built-in Biometrics:

While the biometrics technology is not new, the built-in biometric fingerprint detectors provide an additional layer of protection. These scanners perform this task by connecting the fingerprint image to the system the program instructions that run when a computer is turned on i.e. BIOS. Some of the built-in biometric models have gone beyond authentication and management of passwords to include biometric-based encryption.

Self-encrypting Hard Drives:

Since the weakest link in the security chain is people, many IT administrators and business executives face potential difficulties regardless of the significant advances in encryption tools. This is due to the fact that many people usually forget to encrypt sensitive data or even forget what they have already encrypted. The self-encrypting hard drives technology enables the automatic encryption of every data written to the disk while restricting access to people without the correct password immediately the computer starts up. Furthermore, since the encryption is built in to the hard drive, it automatically encrypts and decrypts with no performance delay.

Pros and Cons of Using Security Technologies:

The use of these emerging technologies in protecting information and sensitive data within an organization has both advantages and disadvantages. One of the major advantages of these technologies they help in protecting an organization in addition to being an important element of the general security puzzle. Secondly, along with others, the three emerging technologies make the jobs of employees and administrators easier since they don't have to spend a lot of time trying to figure how to protect information and sensitive data.