How to... balance the needs of remote working with data security risks

Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was recently subjected to embarrassing publicity from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO was notified that one of the trust's HR staff had saved the particulars of a case it was preparing on to a home PC. The information included sensitive personal data relating to a criminal conviction. As a result of this breach, the trust’s chief executive had to sign an undertaking pledging to introduce security measures to prevent this happening again.Security and data protection measures can often be overlooked in flexible working arrangements. In larger companies, HR employees who assist with disciplinary and grievance investigations often work remotely. On a company-wide level, with swine flu preventing employees coming to work, remote access and the rules regarding security systems are becoming increasingly important.