It's not often that a blog post issued by a government
agency is a combination of useful information and holiday festiveness. But,
thanks to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and enforcement team
manager Laura Middleton, government IT workers have a reason to smile during
the hectic holiday season. Middleton's recent blog post offering IT security
tips to government agencies is enough to put a smile on your face and remind
you of the necessity for extra security at this time of year.
As Middleton so eloquently explains, time constraints and
holiday activities often lead to workers cutting corners where security is
concerned. Matters are made worse by the fact that IT departments tend to work on
skeleton staffs during the festive season. The same is true in the private
sector. Data centres and IT departments experience larger-than-normal volumes
of people taking time off.
As a public service to all readers, we would like to take
the opportunity to present some of Middleton's tips to government agencies,
modified to be appropriate to the private sector too. Enjoy!
Keep Staff in the
Loop
Middleton's suggestion of keeping staff in the loop is
directly related to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. In the
private sector, the same principle applies. Staff who will be required to pick
up the slack during the holiday season need to be fully trained and prepared to
do so. They all need to be kept up-to-date on any information that will affect how
they do their jobs.
Alternate E-Mail
Addresses and Responders
In cases where key staff members still need to be reachable
while taking time off, consider providing alternate e-mail addresses. Those
e-mail addresses can be set up on a temporary basis, then shut down once the
affected staff members return to work. Along those same lines, automated
responders should be established for all e-mail addresses
that will not be monitored during the holiday period. People who try to contact
and organisation need to know that their e-mail was received.
Adjust Security
Procedures
Shutting down for the festive season means IT staff are lean
and offices are empty. Workers required to work even as most of their
colleagues are off may choose to work from home rather than coming into an
empty building, so they may also need to be reminded of security procedures. If
necessary, security may have to be adjusted to account for different ways of
working at this time of year.
Have a Contingency
Plan in Place
Data centres and IT departments should absolutely have a
contingency plan in place just in case an IT emergency arises. There is no room
for complacency, even during the festive season. Not having contingency plans
in place is asking for real trouble.
Christmas is almost upon us, but that does not change the
need for information and data access. You can make your festivities more
enjoyable by making sure your networks and data systems keep running securely
and uninterrupted.
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