Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Storage is another issue in handling secure items. Common sense
applies. If you don't want the information lost or stolen, store it in a des-
ignated area, under lock and key, limiting access to as small a number of
persons as possible. Information that is proprietary but does not rise to a
higher level of classification may be kept by individual employees as part
of their work product or files as long as they lock the documents in their
desks or filing cabinets. Higher-level documents should be placed in a
heavy, fire-resistant filing safe with access limited to a few select people.
Files that need to be taken out for use should be signed out by the respon-
sible party.
There also must be strict regulations controlling which documents may
be copied or may be taken out of the office. This includes physical docu-
ments as well as floppy disks and compact disks (CDs). Laptop computers
containing sensitive data on their hard drives must be similarly regulated.
Documents of the highest level of secrecy should be numbered and color-
coded to avoid any misidentification. The storing of sensitive information
on only red floppy disks, mentioned above, is one example of a coding
system. Those disks must be treated as classified documents in the gov-
ernment and may not be removed from the office. Many employees take
work home. Employers love this because they are getting extra productiv-
ity out of their workforce. However, this action opens up another avenue
of attack for those seeking to acquire information. Just as an individual on
a cleaning crew at work may be a planted or co-opted spy, so too can an
operative be placed as a domestic employee. Sensitive information that
must be taken home must be subject to the same types of safeguards as are
used in the office. If you are like most people working at home, you will
have work strewn out all over the kitchen table. When you get up to use
the bathroom or take a walk, your household help has unhindered access
to the material. Since there is no way to monitor employee behavior at
home, there are really only two choices: either forbid the removal of sen-
sitive information from the office for any reason whatsoever or allow it
and educate employees regarding the risks of not securing information at
home. David recalls a case where an informant was receiving suspicious
phone calls from a man pretending to be from a utility company. This was
a ploy intended to learn whether the informant was home in order to follow
him. David and his supervisor tracked the calls to the home of an unli-
censed private investigator who provided a convincing explanation of how
