Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 March 2010
This article by former law librarian, Jennifer Smith, highlights access and security issues to consider when handling sensitive information. Jennifer is a Director of the Information Management and IT consultancy, OneIS, which specialises in working with smaller organisations with complex information management requirements. The article provides practical advice and is particularly aimed at readers working in organisations without dedicated information security professionals.
1 Norman, D.A. (2009) When security gets in the way [http://jnd.org/dn.mss/when_security_gets_in_the_way.html]
2 For more on IT security see writings by Bruce Schneider http://www.schneier.com/
3 Child benefit data was lost by HMRC, November 2007, when sent on CD to the National Audit Office. Home Office data about offenders was lost on an unencrypted memory stick, August 2008.
4 For advice on choosing secure passwords see https://www.google.com/accounts/PasswordHelp
5 For an illustration of data breaches in a supply chain see ITV's Tonight Programme report, Health Records For Sale, broadcast on 19 October 2009.
6 McKilligan, NFJ and Powell, NHE. (2009) Data protection pocket guide: essential facts at your fingertips. 2nd ed. London, British Standards Institute, p. 100CrossRefGoogle Scholar.