Colby Data Security Tips

Tags tips
  • Keep institutional data off of your local device and utilize cloud based services such as Google drive or our file server filer for storing all institutional data. This reduces the risk of files being affected by malware, ransomware or accidentally misplaced.
  • Backup all important data
    • College-owned computer owners, ensure that central backups are being made via cloud services such as CrashPlan or to our local file server.
    • The use of removable media of any kind is prohibited for institutional data backup purposes. 
  • Know the classification of your data, such as high, medium, or low risk. This will assist you in determining what methods of file transfer, or backups, is appropriate. The Data Classification Policy may be found by visiting the Colby Policy Library.
  • Be organized—keep track of where your data are, both on your computer and in physical form (CD/DVD, flash drive, paper copy, etc.)
    • It is poor practice to use removable devices (thumb drives, external Hard Drives etc.) to transfer high risk data. (If the device ends up lost or misplaced, Colby, by law, will need to report the event which will cause financial and reputational loss). Please use LiquidFiles if you need to transfer high risk data.
  • Verify access permissions for the folders in which you store files with sensitive information to make sure other accounts on your computer cannot access those files.
  • Password protect and/or encrypt files containing sensitive data
    • Assume that your computer will be stolen and that the thief will have access to all your files—what will they be able to access?
  • Securely delete documents that contain medium to high risk data
    • Use secure file deletion that overwrites the file, making it impossible to recover the contents. Methods of secure file deletion will vary depending on the model of hard drive and operating systems.
  • More data storage tips may be found here. 
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