Data Encryption Archives - INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE

Protecting your data from potential internal security breaches

Sharon Williams — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 08:58:03 +0000

When it comes to protecting your data and systems you will have security in place to stop external access and attacks. But recent events show that a security breach can just as easily come from inside your own company. When thinking about your information security you should consider protecting your data from potential internal as well as external breaches. And these internal security breaches could come from people and users who have authorised access to your systems, such as IT teams, administrators and system users. How do you provide maximum protection for your data whilst still allowing your teams to do their jobs? Who really needs access to your data – and who can actually see it? When considering internal system access you will no doubt have thought very carefully about making sure you only give the relevant users access to the systems and data they need. You will have put password policies in place to make sure your users change their passwords regularly. And that the passwords they do use conform to some format to make sure they are strong. You may also have linked your systems to LDAP or Active Directory for secure user authentication. But what about […]

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Protecting your information in LIMS, Sample Management and CRM systems using rules-based data encryption

Sharon Williams — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 08:46:45 +0000

This week we saw another announcement in the news where personal data had been stolen. This time it was student data from a prestigious UK University. As discussed in our last blog, some systems such as those relating to healthcare or that hold medical records, encrypt data as a matter of course. But we questioned why other systems such as LIMS and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software applications don’t. These systems also hold sensitive personal and commercial data that you should protect using encryption. And systems providing rules-based data encryption can give you even more security.. Identifying your sensitive data Data that is deemed sensitive varies and depends on what information you are capturing. If you use a laboratory information management system, you may record personal identifiable information such as name and hospital numbers which you deem as sensitive. If you are a University using CRM systems to manage student recruitment, you may be capturing name, email address, address and date of birth which you consider sensitive. Additional data that you associate with a person such as their qualifications or treatments may not be identifiable in isolation, but if combined with other such data might still pose a risk. However, you […]

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Why don’t all software systems encrypt sensitive or personal data?

Sharon Williams — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 11:27:16 +0000

The scientific research and healthcare sectors are constantly being reminded that they must protect sensitive and patient confidential data at all times. These are ingrained in their standard operating procedures and they understand too well the potential consequences of any data breaches. The need to encrypt sensitive or personal data is at the forefront of their system requirements. In our Achiever laboratory information software, we encrypt patient identifiable data as standard. In fact, it was the creation of our laboratory management software that drove our encryption methods and enhanced data security capabilities. To meet the needs of the research community that was using human biological samples, it was imperative that our software could protect this very sensitive, and valuable data. Not just from external access – but equally from unapproved people within the same lab or team. But other businesses also hold personal and sensitive data in their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems for example. How many of these systems hold your data in an encrypted format? Who has access to your sensitive data in your CRM system? We all know that our medical records are held in an encrypted format. But what about all the data that you hold […]

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Next Generation Biobanks – Integrating Sample and Clinical Data

Sharon Williams — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 12:00:00 +0000

When the term ‘Next Generation Biobanking’ was introduced a couple of years ago, it underlined the importance of storing clinical data, such as diagnosis, clinical trial and treatment information alongside sample data. You measure your Biobank’s value on how you optimise and use your samples in investigative research. Not by counting the number of samples you hold. Storing and maintaining your samples is expensive. And unless the samples you are holding in your Biobank provide significant value in research; you will end up wasting valuable time, money and resources storing and preserving those samples. Your role as a Biobank is becoming increasingly important to researchers. You need to be visible, accessible and able to provide high-quality samples that they can use in scientific research. With the emergence of precision medicine; your ability to provide accurate, detailed clinical information against each sample, including demographic data, lifestyle information, diagnosis and treatment history is essential. As a result of this, you are able to offer highly specialised biological material that can offer invaluable insight such as helping identifying trends, common risk factors or indicators. The expectations of researchers have also changed as a result of advances in technology and an increasingly competitive marketplace. […]

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