Today's computer networks are no longer self-contained inside your company's office walls. Not only might you have telecommuters who work from home some days, you likely have mobile workers who access the network from laptops. To further complicate matters, your entire workforce likely uses mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to access the network or check email. It's no longer enough to install a network security program on the servers and workstations in your building and on the laptops that are likely to be used from afar.
While a traditional network security program may block common forms of malware and make it more difficult for hackers, what happens when a company laptop goes awol or gets stolen? It doesn't take long for thieves to disable a network security program and extract valuable data from stolen laptops and mobile devices.
Another potential risk involves recycling no-longer-needed computers and laptops. Many companies take precautions by reformatting disks so that the data is erased before sending old computers to a recycling facility. However, inexpensive data recovery software can be used to recover deleted files as well as recover the contents from a reformatted hard disk.
An effective workaround to these problems is to use whole disk encryption software. With whole disk encryption software, the contents of the hard disk are encrypted. To unauthorized users, encrypted files contain meaningless gobbledygook. If a laptop protected by whole disk encryption software is stolen, the thief will not be able to do anything with the laptop's data. All of your sensitive files will be meaningless because the thief does not hold the "keys" required to unlock that data.
Whole disk encryption software also solves the problem of disposing of hard disks. Since the data is encrypted before it's erased, a data thief using data recovery software will be sorely disappointed to discover that the recovered contents are nothing but gibberish. All of your company's confidential data will be protected.
Incorporating whole disk encryption software into your network security program is a must if you're concerned about protecting company data. Once set up, whole disk encryption software works in the background and requires minimal interaction from authorized users. Users are prompted to "unlock" the hard disk before they begin. Once unlocked, they work as they normal do. After a period of inactivity or after the user locks it, the hard disk's contents cannot be opened until it is unlocked once again.
In order to protect data across the entire enterprise - including data residing on laptops, smartphones, tablets, and USB drives, you'll need whole disk encryption software designed for the task complete with a centralized management console. Enterprise editions of whole disk encryption software are available, making keep your data safe and sound a simple matter of deploying whole disk encryption software across the network.
Standalone versions of whole disk encryption software are also available and are suitable for companies and small businesses that have just a few laptops to protect. Whether you need to protect a single laptop or a fleet of them, keep your data from falling into the wrong hands with whole disk encryption software.
