IT Governance has stressed that major corporations are not following basic security measures as breach emerges from IRS.

BOISE, IDAHO, USA, March 24, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- IT Governance (the USA’s largest provider of information security, risk management and compliance books, tools, training and consultancy) has stressed that major corporations are not following the simplest of security measures as the story leaks that personal data of 20,000 US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees may have been exposed.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said that an unencrypted thumb drive containing sensitive information such as names, Social Security numbers and addresses, had been plugged into an employee’s unsecured home network, potentially making it available over the internet.

Encryption should be applied to all types of portable media that (might) contain personal information and should at least meet the Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 140-2 (FIPS 140-2). This US government standard has been adopted around the world for accrediting cryptographic modules on all sorts of media.

Encrypting portable media is a key area of ISO27001, the global standard describing best practice for an information security management system (ISMS). Other areas include asset management, physical and environmental security, access control, compliance and business continuity management.

By correcting basic security measures and aligning their security procedures to ISO27001, corporations can benefit from an increased level of security, enhanced customer satisfaction, new business and an enabler to comply with other regulations (e.g. SOX).

A range of pocket guides is available from IT Governance that provides either an introduction into information security for novices or popular hand-outs for all members of staff. Best-sellers include:

E-mail Security: A pocket guide: www.itgovernanceusa.com/shop/p-540.aspx
Ten Rules of Information Security for the Smaller Business: www.itgovernanceusa.com/shop/p-1147.aspx
Information Security Breaches – Avoidance and Treatment based on ISO27001: www.itgovernanceusa.com/shop/p-601.aspx
IT Induction and Information Security Awareness: www.itgovernanceusa.com/shop/p-775.aspx
The True Cost of Information Security Breaches and Cyber Crime: www.itgovernanceusa.com/shop/p-1338.aspx


Visit IT Governance for more information on best information security practices and ISO27001: www.itgovernanceusa.com/infosec.aspx

Melanie Watson
IT Governance
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