Firms are being urged to adopt data watermarking so that they can track their information more easily, following a highly embarrassing leak of sensitive broadcast data by a former Ofcom employee.
The ex-staffer’s plan to curry favour with his new bosses by offering them rival data he had stolen from the regulator seriously backfired after they reported him straight back to Ofcom.
And although no personal data was involved, it is understood that the man had pilfered up to six years’ worth of information on rival TV firms.
Ofcom said in a statement: “On 26 February we became aware of an incident involving the misuse of third-party data by a former Ofcom employee. This was a breach of the former employee’s statutory duty under the Communications Act, and a breach of his contract with Ofcom.
“Ofcom takes the protection of data extremely seriously, and we are very disappointed that a former employee has chosen to act in this manner. The extent of the disclosure was limited and has been contained, and we have taken urgent steps to inform all parties.”
But Christine Andrews, managing director of DQM GRC, the company behind DataIQ, said such leaks are an incredibly common and serious threat to businesses today.
She added: “High profile targeted attacks, such as TalkTalk and Sony, generate fear in businesses from external hacking attempts, but in this day and age businesses need to be wary of both those on the inside as well as on the outside.”
However, she added that there are ways companies can keep an eye on their confidential information – even when it has left the building.
“Data watermarking allows you to add unique tracking records (known as ‘seeds’) into your database and then monitors how your data is being used – even when it has moved outside of your organisation’s direct control. The service works for email, physical mail, landline and mobile telephone calls and is designed to build you a detailed picture of the real use of your data.”