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Encryption may not be key to data protection

26 March 2009

Businesses are being urged to protect their commercially sensitive data or fall foul of data laws.

But IT specialists at Shoosmiths have warned them not to rush into encryption.

The national law firm believes a lack of understanding and misuse of such technologies can seriously undermine their value and effectiveness.

Encryption transforms coherent and understandable information – text, sounds or images – into information that can only be understood by those with special knowledge.

There are two main types of encryption mechanisms: symmetric key encryption (SKE), and public key encryption (PKE).

Applications using encryption include USB flash drives, mobile phones, wireless networks, cashpoints, and digital rights management systems.

Shoosmiths partner and commercial specialist Karen Harrison said: “With extended networking capabilities, remote access and data transportability, protecting commercially sensitive data and confidential information such as intellectual property and know-how is more important than ever.

“Encryption is fundamental to compliance with the seventh principle of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), requiring organisations take appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised or unlawful processing or loss of data.”

And tougher powers under the DPA mean those responsible for data could face fines for deliberate or reckless loss of data.

Harrison advised: “To avoid damage to reputation resulting from data losses, businesses should maintain and, most importantly, enforce an up-to-date information security policy to protect confidential information. 

“Use of encryption technologies is likely to feature substantially in an organisation’s information security policy, particularly to ensure compliance with the DPA, but it must be adopted only with a full understanding of it.”

For further information please contact:
Name: Alastair Gray
Phone: 08700 864096
Email: Alastair.Gray@shoosmiths.co.uk

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