Dear Editor

Your PM news alert (PM bulletin, 27th August) highlighting a data breach of one million bank details is becoming tiresome in its regularity.  Will we as an industry ever learn?

Data professionals know that the source of nearly all data security lapses is the transfer of information to hard media.  At best-practice data bureaux, holding data on USB sticks, CD Roms and laptops is outlawed as a matter of course.

However, as this is patently not enough, the DMA must take a leaf out of the offshore data management sector and make the following a mandatory code of membership:  ban all data transfer on CD Roms, USB’s or laptops.   Any infringement should lead to one year’s immediate suspension from the DMA.

Too draconian? Hardly. Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) already exists whereby all data is transferred computer to computer using secure encryption technologies.  When properly firewalled this technology is almost impossible to penetrate.  In addition, data transfers of 3 gigabytes (30 million address records) typically take just a few hours to transmit.

Hardly a day goes by without the DM industry coming under attack for any number of reasons.  For once, we hold the answer and the DMA must take the lead and campaign for all hard media transfers to be banned outright both in the DM industry and elsewhere.  It’s time we claimed the moral high ground when such a rare opportunity exists.

Jed Mooney
Managing Director
Datahold

Source: Marketing Week
Publication Date: September 2008