5 Steps to a Smart Outbound Content Management Strategy

Mon, April 09, 2007CIO No one should treat outbound content management as a panacea. "But it is a good first-line defense," says Richi Jennings, lead analyst for e-mail security at Ferris Research. Where do these tools fit into your overall security strategy? A comprehensive plan includes these five steps:

  • Identify confidential information, whether confidential for legal compliance reasons or because it involves company trade secrets.

  • Manage access to sensitive information, reducing the pool of users to those who need it and can be trusted to guard it, says Jennings. This requires knowing what information you have, what protection it merits and who should have access to it—something many large companies do not have a good handle on because they have so many offices and data stores, notes Security Constructs consultant Tom Bowers.

  • Educate employees about desired behaviors regarding sensitive data. This involves creating policies, communicating them and reinforcing them.

  • Lock down information when possible. Encryption is an important aspect of security for data at rest, says Bowers. Blocking potential physical exits for data—from locking down USB ports to blocking file-transfer ports on the network—also reduces risk.

  • Use outbound content management as a supplement. It provides a potential safety net if other steps aren't sufficient, says Jennings.
Loading...
Security MarketSpace
White Papers
5 Tips for Data Loss Prevention Solutions
RSA® The Security Division of EMC has identified 5 key considerations to help organizations simplify the evaluation process for selecting a DLP solution that is right for their business. Learn more »
Secure Training Videos to Prevent Theft
Learn how Dream Force extended their marketing reach without being constricted. Learn more »
Prevent Intellectual Property Theft
Learn what the key components were in Hock International's purchasing decision. Learn more »
Webcasts
Maximizing the Business Value of the PC Infrastructure
Reduced IT budgets have CIOs hunting for ways to maximize their PC infrastructure, while saving money and IT staff time. Diane Bryant, CIO of Intel Corp., talks with CIO magazine's Gary Beach about how her organization is addressing these challenges. Learn more »
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

Data Loss Prevention: A Better Way to Approach Security

Software Executives: Take Control of Your Organization's Code Quality

Delivering Secure and Reliable Data through Spreadsheet Automation

Taking the Service Desk to the Next Level

Why Data Loss is Increasing--and What You Can Do About It

Communications and Collaboration Needs at Business Organizations

Using Open Source to Deploy Web Applications

Mid-Sized Company CIO Community: infoBOOM!

Enterprise PBX Comparison Guide

Getting Value from Outdated Networking Equipment

Accenture IT Consulting: Logical meets technological. More . . .

White Paper: 8 Key Ingredients to Building an Internal Cloud

Read about virtualization and consolidation effort best practices

Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Infrastructure

Top 10 Business and IT Drivers for the Wealth Management Sector

Bottom-Line Benefits of Virtualization

White Paper: The Building Blocks for Cloud Computing

Oracle's Application Grid Technical Demo

Next-Generation Application Servers and Infrastructure

Application Infrastructure at Enterprise Organizations

Achieving Business Agility with Application Grid

Learn about The Information Technology Infrastructure Library.

Achieving Pervasive Performance Management

Gartner Shares Predictions for 2009

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

Stop Application Fraud at the Source with Device Reputation

Ready to Act: 3 Recommendations for Agile Processes

Automating the Generation and Secure Distribution of Excel Reports

Seven Ways ITIL Can Help You in an Economic Downturn

Maximizing the Business Value of the PC Infrastructure

Learn how to managing client systems in the enterprise.

Cloud Computing: Read about VMware's compelling vision & set of products

Enterprise PBX Buyer's Guide

Secondary Market Primer: Your Network at Half Price

Top-line Performance that's Bottom-line Efficient

Accenture: Outsourcing for uncertain times. Click to learn more.

Learn about the VMware vSphere (TM) & Intel (R) Xeon (R) Processor 5500 Series

Learn how a virtualized enterprise can help your company reduce costs

Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More?

8 Key Ingredients to Building an Internal Cloud

Data Center Optimization: Three Key Strategies

A CIO Executive Guide: Cloud Computing Looms Big on the Horizon

Oracle WebLogic Server Technical Demo

Data Grids and Service-Oriented Architecture

Achieving the Impossible: Unlimited Application Scalability

A Middleware Foundation for Application Grid

Tips for successful virtualization management.

Smart Decisions: The Role of Key Performance Indicators

Reduce risk, gain agility. See how Progress can help your business.

Improve ROI, lower TCO and reduce energy consumption.

 
 
RESOURCE CENTER