Forwarded From: Nicholas Charles Brawn <ncb05@uow.edu.au>
02Jun98 CANADA: REPORT ON COMPUTERS - LOOSE LIPS SINK CHIPS.
Special to The Globe and Mail
OTTAWA
There's a story making the rounds at an Ottawa company about a man who
arrived regularly at the company headquarters, strolled past the reception
desk clutching what looked like a waybill and then disappeared into the
bowels of the building.
It was only after his visits had gone on unchallenged for some months - and
after some laptop computers, toner and other items had started disappearing
- that someone finally challenged him. He was last seen running to an
idling car.
Richard Bernes, a former FBI agent who now serves as executive director of
the California-based Technology Theft Prevention Foundation, says the thief
wouldn't have made it past the front door if the company's employees had
followed the first commandment of industrial crime prevention: security is
the responsibility of every employee, and all suspicious activities or
unknown persons should be reported to a supervisor.
He says this is particularly true in the high-tech field, where new
companies are being created regularly and may be too small to have their
own security departments. "Security will be the last thing on their mind,
and then they grow too fast and find out why they need a security
department after something happens."
The foundation has developed a series of tips designed to protect both
property and personnel.
Loose lips sink chips: Don't talk about shipments of equipment with anyone
outside the company or on CB radios in trucks.
Guard your identification badge, and never wear it outside work. If you
don't know the person you are talking to, keep mum about your company's
affairs and procedures.
Consider company secrets the same as equipment, and guard them. "It's the
lifeblood of the company," says Mr. Bernes. "Do not discuss company
operations in public."
Don't surprise a thief: If something looks wrong, it probably is. Report
it. If threatened, do not resist. Be observant, and become a good
witness.
Toronto Globe and Mail
-o-
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Received on Wed Jun 3 08:49:06 1998