The danger of a major data breach is real and imminent if companies don’t have a firm grasp on the processes for creating and managing data within all areas of their operations. Each time a laptop, thumb drive or PDA leaves the building there is the very real risk that personally identifiable information or sensitive company data could be exposed. The impact of this type of data breach was illustrated recently when a hard drive containing the personal, financial and medical information of 1.5 million Health Net customers was lost. The hard drive was lost in May, but the breach was not reported to the state of Connecticut until mid-November which resulted in further backlash for the company.

Identifying and mitigating data vulnerabilities when information is stored off company servers is impossible to do with standard data loss prevention software. To shore up a company’s records storage security, companies must take a comprehensive look at how employees are creating and storing important information through the daily course of business. This type of assessment can help identify all locations where information is stored, and help companies to take control and prevent a major data loss.