26 Nov 2008

Businesses storing other people's data 'should take more precautions'

Companies which store other firms' data in addition to their own on computers need to take extra security precautions, an expert has said.

According to Tony Neate, managing director of Get Safe Online, businesses need to have all necessary anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed on their computers.

Firms involved in ecommerce, for example, are not just holding sensitive information of their own, Mr Neate explained.

"Not only are you holding people's personal information, you are also holding their financial information so you need to protect yourself even more in relation to that," he said.

Even basic data, such as names and addresses, needs to be protected by firms, Mr Neate noted.

Data protection is also an issue that could affect businesses which host information belonging to other parties, he added.

Meanwhile, networking, low-level scalable storage and service hosting and management are components of Microsoft's new Azure platform, which was unveiled at the professional developers' conference in Los Angeles.