Edward Snowdens Impact on HR and Data Secrurity - Workology

Edward Snowdens Impact on HR and Data Secrurity How-to Protect Your Data, Brand, and Company Im here at SXSW sitting in the session A Virtual Conversation With Edward Snowden and I cant help wondering what type of data security issues relate to Human Resources. Youve heard of the Bring Your Own Device policies that have been implemented to protect internal data and company managers demanding workers give them their social media passwords, but how has Edward Snowden really impacted the Human Resources industry? Edwards speaks on the importance of big data privacy and the entire concept that  Big Brother is always watching you.   However data in the workplace has become a growing concern and protecting it has become something that your local Human Resources department takes seriously. They might not built the infrustrature behind protecting everything, but they are usually responsible for helping draft and create policies that impact the workplace. If youre new to HR or your company hasnt set any type of polices in place here are some general tips on protecting data in the workplace: How-to Protect Your Data, Brand, and Company Have Clear Workplace Policies When working with data policies its important to be extremely clear on the dos and donts. For the majority of industries these are standard across the various industries like financial, technology, and general business concepts. For employees its important that they understand what they can do and what they cant do. Whether it be talking to a friend about a client or sharing senstitive information about something cool happening at their company. Dont Be a Robotic, Super Secret, Super-Causious Company We understand that protecting data is extremely important, but dont harm your workplace culture in the process. Protect your data, but dont be robotic about it. People like to feel trusted with information and apart of the team and not wondering whats happening behind the secret veil. Balance your company culture with sharing information and making your employeesfeel like theyre important. Be Firm on Consequences You hear everyday that the punishment must fit the crime. In this case leaking senstitive could put your company at risk of major lawsuits not to mention the implications a leak would have on your brand identity. Once the consquences have been set dont waiver on them for anyone. Making examples out of data leaks is important to prevent it from happening down the line. Although Im not a fan of Edward Snowden and his intentions, misguided as they were, were pure, I think there are ways to enhance data security in the workplace without being overly robotic. Create policies, establish the consequences, and dont keep everything a secret to your employees. When employees are let in on company secrets regularly itll make them feel like sharing random pieces of information isnt as important because they feel more important and apart of the team. Transparency in the workplace will destroy the overall feelings for employees to leak important data. .ai-rotate {position: relative;} .ai-rotate-hidden {visibility: hidden;} .ai-rotate-hidden-2 {position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;} .ai-list-data, .ai-ip-data, .ai-fallback, .ai-list-block {visibility: hidden; position: absolute; width: 50%; height: 1px; z-index: -9999;}