As Economy Worsens, Business Protection Gains Importance

But the crime isn't limited to well-known targets in retail environments or homes. Businesses are also at risk to lose both physical equipment and proprietary data and information, especially if the company has gone through a workforce reduction.

It's a concern now on the mind of Tom Amrhein, director of information services at Forrester Construction in Rockville, Md. Although Forrester hasn't had any problems, the company has gone through a minor layoff, and it was Amrhein's responsibility to make sure nothing was taken.

"In this organization, [Information Services] is the protector of the data. We're lucky we have a good infrastructure in place to monitor for that," he said. Several years ago, Forrester put in policies to increase its protection of important company data, such as its business pipeline, to ensure that the information was not at risk. As the economy continues to suffer, Amrhein is now glad he took proactive measures.

"During a downturn, there is more potential for issues of breaches of confidentiality and breaches of security," he said. "We've increased our awareness without having it seem authoritarian. When we do exit somebody, it's a very detailed process but we've really focused on it. For us, it's one of our strengths."

For proprietary reasons, Amrhein didn't wish to share details of the measures that Forrester takes, and who could blame him? With thousands of new unemployed workers each week, it pays to be protected.

What measures are you taking to ensure your company's data is protected? Or the data of your clients? Let me know at scampbell@everythingchannel.com.