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“IBM’s decision to ban employees from using removable memory devices is a direct result of the increasing cyber security threats companies of all stripes have had to endure recently. We have seen organisations that have had lost, stolen or misused data resulting in severe damages both financially and reputationally – Yahoo, Equifax and Ashley Madison immediately come to mind. As we know, the majority of data breaches occur as a consequence of human error. By limiting the sharing of data within an organisation to an internal network, businesses can have more control over the security precautions on that data and ensure the right measures are being taken.

“We fully expect other companies and institutions – such as healthcare and governmental organisations – to follow suit. As an example, a hospital employee could take home sensitive patient data which could be easily accessed on an unsecure network. The potential ramifications could be huge.
“As cyber breaches become increasingly potent and frequent, organisations need a multi-layered approach to their web security defence systems. This includes web filtering, firewalls, encryption and the latest in ongoing threat monitoring to weed out potential dangers. To ensure success, organisations need to ensure their employees understand the precautions being taken and why to ensure they are followed to prevent data breaches of any shape and size from occurring.”