Laptop Encryption and GDPR – Protecting Your Data

Protecting the data on your company’s laptops is one of the key components for GDPR compliance. This is because unencrypted data is easy to obtain from a hard drive.

Data is valuable. That is why so many large organisations sell the data they hold on us. People want to obtain data and for some of them, the methods they use are far from legitimate.
 

Can Data Loss Affect You?

Do your staff take their laptops from site to site, or take their laptops offsite to work from home? If they do, then your company data is vulnerable.
 
A perpetrator may be able to access data stored on a lost or stolen laptop, or even gain access to your office network. For this reason, endpoint encryption is one of the key pillars for GDPR compliance. It is crucial that your computer hardware is secured from unlawful access. This will protect your data and also provide evidence to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) showing that your devices were in compliance if a data breach were ever to happen.
 
As the ICO can levy fines if organisations are in breach of the GDPR legislation, safeguarding your computers with encryption can also protect your business from hefty lawsuits.
 

Key Advantages of Laptop Encryption

Vantage IT has provided McAfee endpoint encryption for small and medium size companies as a managed service for many years.  The use of managed encryption will deliver significant benefits:
 

  • Stops data loss initiated by sophisticated malware that hijacks sensitive and personal information
  • Secures your data stored on desktops, laptops, tablets, and cloud storage
  • Remotely communicate with and control your computer endpoints.  This limits desk-side visits and endless helpdesk calls due to security incidents, outbreaks, or forgotten encryption passwords.
  • Proves compliance with advanced reporting and auditing capabilities. Monitor events and generate detailed reports that show auditors and other stakeholders your compliance with internal and regulatory privacy requirements.

 
To ensure your IT equipment is protected against unlawful data theft with the use of managed endpoint encryption, please contact Vantage IT today.
 
We also provide free IT audits which examine your IT systems to understanding what potential risks are present. Please refer to our page on GDPR for more information about how the legislation will affected you.