Data Security Archives - INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE

Modern challenges for Laboratory Managers

Sharon Williams — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 15:51:53 +0000

Modern working practises, coupled with the ongoing threat of cyber-attacks and the increased pressure placed on laboratory professionals and biobank mangers to comply with industry regulations such as the Human Tissue Act (HTA) and MHRA have placed the onus of responsibility on LIMS software developers to ensure their systems provide complete peace of mind for their service users. As part of our ongoing development programme, the team here at Interactive Software have recently introduced Modern Authentication for our current Achiever Medical LIMS customers. Modern authentication is also included in Achiever Medical LIMS 5.6, due for release later this year. This software development is designed to enhance and strengthen our existing system access and provide additional security features to safeguard and protect data. Modern Working The recent pandemic has changed how and where people work. The Office of National Statistics published an article in May 2022 titled: “Is hybrid working here to stay?” The article stated that the proportion of people hybrid working rose in 2022. In spring of this year, when guidance to work from home because of the pandemic was no longer in place in the UK, 38% of working adults reported having worked from home at some point […]

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Authentication and why it’s important

Paul Ward — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 09:14:34 +0000

The purpose of authentication is to confirm that a user is who they say they are. The authentication example most of us are familiar with is when signing-in to a website using a username and password. The username part of this combination is who the user claims to be. While the password is a way to confirm they are who they say they are. The website will verify the two pieces of information provided. If the password supplied matches the password for the username, sign in will be allowed. If the password doesn’t match, sign in will be denied. You can see that for anyone who possesses those two pieces of information, it would be possible to successfully claim to be someone else and impersonate their identity. This is why as a user we keep passwords secure by: Not reusing – Across different sites, services and applications Not writing down – On a Post-it note or in an email Avoiding the obvious – None of the most common Not sharing – With colleagues or family members Going long – The longer the password length, the harder it is for someone guess Methods for securing accounts and passwords There are other […]

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We take security seriously … and now we have the Cyber Essentials certificate to prove it!

Sharon Williams — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 09:00:58 +0000

We are pleased to announce that last year we successfully gained our Cyber Essentials certification. This is part of our commitment to cyber security and quality across our company and our LIMS and CRM products. Cyber Essentials is a scheme that the UK-government supports to help organisations protect themselves, whatever their size, from the most common cyber-attacks. Its aim is to ensure organisations are considering their cyber-risks effectively. As well as making sure they are mitigating the most commonly seen risks from Internet-based threats. The Cyber Essentials scheme defines a basic cyber security standard that organisations can be independently certified against. What the certification process includes To gain Cyber Essentials certification, we had to complete a self-assessment questionnaire with an approved assessor. As part of this we submitted a substantial amount of evidence relating to our existing security procedures for review and assessment. Following this, the certifying body carried out an external vulnerability assessment on our systems. This was to test that the necessary controls were correctly in place on the Internet-facing network. In addition to making sure that there weren’t any obvious vulnerabilities present. By completing the assessment and obtaining the Cyber Essentials badge we have proven we have […]

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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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Using encryption to secure your data

Sharon Williams — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 16:17:29 +0000

You need accurate information to thrive and grow. You are capturing more and more information about your customers to deliver tailored services and options. Technology has evolved to help you capture and manage your data – in increasing volumes. You may be using large databases to help you manage your information and analytical tools to analyse Big Data. Your customers are also more aware. They want to know how you are storing their personal data and, more importantly, how you are using it. New and updated legislation, such as GDPR, helps make sure you capture and use your customers data appropriately. But are you adequately protecting your data? With recent news articles exposing serious data breaches, never has the security of your information been more critical or apparent. Have you thought about using encryption to secure your data? Data security and protection options When thinking about data security, you may, like most businesses have firewalls and various systems in place. These protect your information from external attacks. You may also have financial systems that obfuscate data on screen as you enter details such as credit card numbers. And if you have a cloud-based system, your external provider will offer a […]

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