To retain or not to retain? That is the question

1 comment | 2I like it!
June 4, 2009, 07:26 PM —  Reclamere — 

Thanks to the Internet and the Information Technology Age, information is being generated exponentially faster than at any other time in history. Privacy has basically gone out the window, and it’s no wonder that headlines about data breaches have become commonplace.

In the past fifteen years, the Internet has revolutionized the way business is transacted, the way we communicate with each other, and the way we learn and research. E-commerce transactions and online banking and investments occur every micro-second, and sensitive information is exchanged for each of those activities. People sign up for free e-mail accounts and chat. Social networking sites invite us to post information about ourselves and we do so, often without even a thought as to what we are telling the world about ourselves. We go to school online. “Wiki’s” and research sites have replaced hardcover encyclopedias in many cases. Many of us choose the Internet to obtain news, sports, and weather rather than newspapers.

Over this amazing period of time, it has become more convenient to keep information than to get rid of it. This brings up an interesting change in risk exposure when it comes to records retention for organizations such as schools and businesses. Are we retaining too much information and is it exposing us to data breaches or legal problems?

Advances in technology have allowed us to accumulate more and more information. Can you imagine how much paper would be needed if we converted all of our electronic data into paper files? Would we retain as much information if it was not for the technology age?
It has become more convenient for organizations to “retain everything” than to have a sound document retention plan and policy, based on legal requirements, risk, and common sense. We accumulate all of this data, and we store it on electronic media and ship it off site. Are we keeping track of all of the data stored on site and off site? Are we classifying information into what should be protected, such as private information, sensitive trade secrets, etc? What about the risk of the document custodians losing some of that information? Another hazard is retaining too much information related to something that might become a legal issue, such as an employee termination. When the subpoena comes along, it orders all information and communications related to this employee. Got e-Discovery?

Is there is adequate tracking so we retrieve only the information that is needed? Is data being de-duplicated? Are we keeping several copies of the same information? What if media gets lost in transit? Should we be encrypting?

The risk landscape for retention of information has changed dramatically in this age of technology. Management, along with attorneys and regulators, have to decide what information should be retained and for how long. The best records retention policy is not to retain information, unencrypted forever. A policy based on legal requirements and risk is the soundest approach to records and document retention.

Kevin Doyle, CISSP, ISSMP, CISM, Security Audit & Assessment Manager, Reclamere

» posted by Reclamere

Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world

I like it!
Close

On Twitter now

data

Powered by Twitter
You are logged in | Sign out
Sign in and post to Twitter

What are you thinking?

Cancel Tweet sent

On Twitter now

Comments

Records management

"a sound document retention plan and policy,"

the correct phrase is records retention schedule. If you want to know more about records management then check out ARMA International www.arma.org which is the professional association for records and information management professional.
Also check out the Institute of Certified Records Managers www.icrm.org
| reply
peer-to-peer

jfruh
Apple syncing patent can't come soon enough

pasmith
New Twitter features borrow from 3rd party clients

Esther Schindler
Open Source Changes the Software Acquisition Process

mikelgan
How to set up continuous podcast play on the new iTunes

David Strom
Five important Windows 7 mobility features

sjvn
Guard your Wi-Fi for your own sake                        

Sandra Henry-Stocker
Grepping on Whole Words

 

Sidekick: The Good News & the Bad News
Either way you look at it Microsoft Data Center management did not follow standards or best practices in this failure. In which case it makes me wonder more about the outsourcing of corporate data much less personal data.
- mburton325

Join the conversation here

The Daily Tip

The Daily TipQuick, practical advice for IT pros. Made fresh daily.

Hot tips:

Want to cash in on your IT savvy? Send your tip to tips@itworld.com. If we post it, we'll send you a $25 Amazon e-gift card.

Newsletters

Subscribe to ITWORLD TODAY and receive the latest IT news and analysis.

I would like to receive offers via email from ITworld partners.
By clicking submit you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in ITworld's privacy policy.
Featured Sponsor

AISO founders envisioned a Web hosting company that was environmentally friendly. While the company employed energy-efficient innovations like solar panels, its infrastructure produced unacceptable power and cooling requirements. Find out how AISO leveraged AMD technology to overcome their challenge in this case study white paper.

In this whitepaper, Scalar explores the opportunity to change the landscape with respect to mission critical databases built around Oracle. Leveraging technologies such as Linux, high-end commodity processing power and Oracle RAC technology to architect, design, build and maintain database infrastructure that delivers maximum availability, reliability and performance at a fraction of traditional cost.

On a typical day, weather.com, the Web site for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, serves up between 15 million and 20 million page views. But in September 2004, when back-to-back hurricanes ransacked Florida, the peak traffic on one day more than tripled: over 70 million page views by more than 7 million unique visitors. Read the full success story now.

Marketplace