08 Jan 2008
Many firms risk exposing sensitive customer data because they are failing to adequately disguise details when using them in application testing, according to new research by IT management software vendor Compuware.
The report found that nearly 60 per cent of UK companies used actual customer data instead of disguised data to test applications during the development process. This means that information such as employee records, customer account numbers, credit card numbers, and other payment information could be exposed, said Compuware.
Using real customer data during the testing process could expose it to unauthorised sources such as third party developers, consultants or offshore personnel, the firm added.
"By taking a holistic view of an organisations' business processes and looking at the way customer data is used by the applications that support these processes, organisations can start to tackle the problem," explained Compuware's enterprise technology manager, Atul Bhovan. "This analysis can then be used to decide which data should be disguised for use in application testing."
I always used to be a great supporter of ID cards, on the basis that if you didn't do anything wrong, you wouldn't haven't anything to fear. I thought that they would go someway towards reducing crime and illegal immigration, and maybe even help restore a sense of national pride.
But ID cards would mean extra storage of personal data. With sensitive data lost on a weekly basis, how can anyone be confident that personal information doesn't fall into the wrong hands? The latest missing list don't just contain the names of a few local Weight-Watchers. No, it contains the personal information of 600,000 people who had expressed an interest in joining the armed forces. Passport numbers, National Insurance numbers and bank details. A terrorist hit list.
Other data lost recently includes details of child benefit recipients. (I'm not too concerned about this one as, although the principle remains the same, I still don't understand why we should pay people money just for having kids).
Personal data is like the male reproductive organ. It's a wonderful thing, with many possibilities, but it should never be released into the hands of someone stupid.
Posted by: Charles Letterman 23 Jan 2008
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