Recently, a member of our finance team mistakenly sent an Excel file containing sensitive employee information, like Social Security Numbers and salaries, to an external consultant instead of our internal accountant. This happened due to similar names in recent contacts, and fortunately, we caught the mistake just 20 minutes later. The consultant claimed he deleted the file, but now we have to report this incident to legal, and our GDPR officer is involved. I'm curious if anyone has strategies or technical controls to catch such errors before they happen. We do have Data Loss Prevention (DLP) in place, but it only scans for specific keywords and doesn't consider the context of the recipient. I'm really looking for ways to prevent these compliance headaches in the future.
4 Answers
The administrative solution really should be that sensitive data never gets emailed, not even internally. This whole situation is a compliance risk waiting to happen.
Honestly, sending sensitive data over email in the first place is a big no-no. There are better options out there, like secure file-sharing links with proper permissions. If the link gets sent to the wrong person, the permissions can prevent unauthorized access. Implementing a review of how we handle sensitive information could really help.
Consider using a service designed for secure sharing instead of email. That's really where the focus should be.
Absolutely! Tools like share drives can be a lifesaver for this kind of data.
Consider enhancing your DLP rules to be more context-aware. Right now, traditional DLP mostly looks at keywords, but if it could analyze who typically gets payroll info and flag when that pattern changes, it could prevent this type of error from happening in the first place.
That’s a great idea! We definitely need to rethink how DLP is configured.
For sure. Understanding normal email relationships could really tighten security.
It may be time to accept that some leaks will happen due to human error. We should invest in training and enforcing better email practices to minimize risks. Plus, using encryption for any sensitive document sent via email could help a lot too.
Absolutely, training on data handling is crucial! Maybe even consider encrypting sensitive emails.
Yes! Building a culture around data security can make a huge difference.
Exactly, even internal emails can lead to potential breaches. We need stricter protocols.